Hello my few, but beloved readers! I have a new chapter for you today! I hope you like it, and if you find any problem, grammar or other, please leave a comment so I may fix it!
Enjoy!~
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‘Am I going to die? Why am I being treated like this; this is all a misunderstanding. Will they believe me? They have to!’
That was the thought that ran through my head as I’m currently chained to the wall in an upright position. My skin is in terrible shape and all my muscles are throbbing in terrible agony.
Breathing heavily, I gazed defeatedly at my hooded torturer. His short but stocky frame, bare chest and rippling well trained muscles indicated some dwarvish ancestry; but he was far too tall to be a full blooded dwarf though.
His back was turned to me while he was facing a table. On that table was the various different tools he uses, and the one thing that makes me feel unimaginable dread deep in my bones was on that table.
An internal fire potion.
My eyes widened in horror and I stuttered out a weak whimper, “Pl-please, you ha-have to believe m-me!”
He ignored my plea while lifting the front part of his black hood, I wasn’t able to see his face from my pitiful position, but what I did manage to see was his right arm. He was reaching for a bottle, and to my relief, a blue bottle.
While holding the blue bottle with his right hand, he used his other free hand to uncork the bottle. He then proceeded to drink from it, and after about ten seconds of keeping it up to his face, he put the now clear bottle on the table.
While flipping the front part of the hood back down, he began reaching for another bottle. I winced at the incoming pain the internal fire potion would bring, but yet again to my surprise, it was another potion. It was blackish green and looked sickly even from within the bottle.
My stomach dropped with what he did next. His previous actions made sense now, why he drank the blue potion and stopped my suffering for just a moment, it was all preparation.
While holding the sickly looking potion he began to murmur a chant. I was hoping this wouldn’t happen, but it was. He was preparing a potion that required mana to activate, and only the highest of grade potion requires mana infusion. I knew he wasn’t preparing anything beneficial, so that narrowed down the options to something truly sinister.
“Ple-please! I’m telling the truth! Please!”
As I pleaded with the last of my strength, he finished his chanting and the bottle started glowing a dark green. I began shaking when he slowly walked over to me.
It looked like the time for questioning was done, he no longer asked any questions or attempted coax any more information out of me. He was dead silent.
When he finally reached me, he grabbed my face in a vice like grip and attempted to push the bottle in my mouth. But I kept my lips sealed and my jaw clenched as tight as I could.
He didn’t seem bothered by my resistance and instead of wrestling with me to open my mouth, he pulled back his free hand and struck me with the strongest punch I’ve ever felt in my life, right in the gut.
A moment after the punch landed, my mouth flew open along with a bit of saliva, and with professional timing and accuracy, he grabbed my face and shoved half the bottle in my mouth while jerking it violently back.
I had no choice but to swallow the foul concoction, unless I wanted to suffocate. The nasty green liquid slithered down my throat in such a manner that I gagged on reflex. But my hellish torturer was ready for such an occurrence, he removed the bottle and clamped my jaw shut along with my nose with his large, and incredibly strong hands.
I fought hard to keep it from going back down, but after a one minute struggle my face was turning purple and my lungs felt like they were going to burst. I needed air badly or face suffocation, so without much of a choice, I swallowed the foul ooze.
The liquid began to slither back down my throat, and when it reached my stomach, it started to feel like a million bugs crawling around. The crawling feeling then turned into a pain akin to a million little needles piercing the walls of my stomach, but it wasn’t done there. My torturer moved his hands from my face to my shoulders, to keep me from struggling against the evolving pain.
Millions of needles turned into billions of flaming hot daggers, spreading throughout my body. The pain was so intense that an almost permanent scowl of utter agony glued to my face, while loosing any power to scream.
After a minute of this terrible pain, it evolved once again, and I instantly became alarmed. The billions of flaming daggers started forming into one giant mass of suffering, and after its terrible fusion, the searing pain began to attack all the accumulated progress that I had made with my mana-body infusion, destroying all my progress.
However it did not stop there. The mass of agony started attacking the most precious thing to me other than my dream, my mana pool.
“ST-TSOP P-P-PLE, GAHHHH!!” Was the last plea I could ever get out.
Losing every last shred of talent, hard work, and patience at this point would destroy my capability to accomplish my dreams.
If I could look into the torturer’s eyes in this moment, even after I had begged and begged, the only thing I would see is indifference. This man must have done this hundreds of times, what difference is one more? Nothing at all.
‘I cannot lose now! I must fight this poison, would I really deserve anything if I laid down and took this crippling without even the smallest of growls?’
After thinking of that, I began focusing hard. I looked into my body to survey the damage and to fight the poison advancing on my mana pool.
My teeth were on the verge of cracking, while my tendons risked tearing as I tried with all my effort to focus on fighting the poison, and all that mattered right now was me riding this poison out of my body. Even at the cost of my teeth or mobility.
After all this effort I finally managed to see within my body, what I saw was the greenish ooze enclosing and devouring any and all mana within myself. The only bit of mana left was my shrinking mana pool.
My previously horrified face turned to one of sheer determination as I focused the last of my mana pool to fight. The poison enclosed all around my sparse blue pond, but every time the greenish ooze attempted to gain ground, the deep blue glowing water lashed back with unequaled fury, driving the ooze back.
The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.
This scene played out many times for what felt like decades, and in the end, the water stood its ground while the poison surrounding it was held at bay by my now small blue puddle.
After such a long internal fight, I pried my left eye lid open to see what my torturer would do next.
He was standing there waiting for the poison to finish its job, and when my left eye met his hidden face he started walking towards me. He must have assumed the poison worked because he didn’t say anything about my surviving mana pool.
‘This brute must not be able to use magic of any kind, that’s good for me since even a beginning acolyte could sense my remaining pool.’
When the torturer reached my pathetic frame, he cocked his head sideways and grunted, “Questioning Is done fer tonight, traitor, I aint got all night and you have a big day ahead of you tomorrow, hehe.”
Something snapped, I couldn’t take it any longer.
His crude sounding voice and sadistic laugh angered me to my core. I’ve begged and pleaded more today, than I ever have in my entire life. That thought fanned the flames of my anger into a raging inferno, greater than any internal fire potion ever could. My face then began twisted into a snarling expression.
“I-I’m do-done.” I growled in between bated breaths.
After observing my deep scowl and hearing my growl, the torturer yelled with a not so surprised tone, “Oi, so yer true nature shows after all!”
Every word that this vile wretch pronounced only added fuel to my seemingly endless fury. My helpless state didn’t allow me the luxury of fighting back, but I could do something. Maybe something I would regret, but I didn’t care. This day was a dream that turned into a nightmare.
Killing men and undergoing excruciating torment left my body, and possibly my mind, in shambles. At this point the only thing I cared about was inflicting pure agony upon this brutish subhuman.
‘If only there was a way for me to express my sheer disdain for this nearly manaless mound of meat.’
My mouth was numb and my throat still tingled.
‘That’s it! Not all of the poison went down, there is still residue in my throat and mouth. I wonder what would happen if it entered a non magic user’s eye…’
After that thought I began hacking violently.
“Hehe, hackin’ again are we?” Was the bulky torturer’s mocking reply as he walked right into my face.
Ignoring his taunts, I began to hack for a few more seconds before accumulating more saliva containing that vile poison, and after he was close enough I raised my head with the rest of my strength, looking him dead in the eye with the most angered look I have ever given anyone, and I began to smile.
“Whats so fun- GAH ME EYE, YOU LITTLE SHIT!!”
My smile grew wider as I saw him clutching his right eye while kneeling on the ground. Giving this vile excuse for a sentient being just a shred of my anguish filled me with unparalleled joy.
That joy, however, was very short lived.
The large torturer pushed himself up and faced me with a hand over his eye before threatening, “You have the nerve ta spit in me eye?! Just ya wait, if It wernt’ me job ta get answers outta ya, I woulda killed on the spot fer that. But that’s the executioner’s job.”
After the threat he then cocked one of his large arms back and delivered a swift blow to my chest.
“Gah!...” Right as the brutal punch landed on my chest, I felt heard a cracking sound and I coughed before passing out.
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When I awoke, I found myself in a cell. I then began to push my aching body up while around, and when I looked to my left I saw another cell, it was empty. I then turned my head, while holding my sore neck, to the right. What greeted me was the dim silver light of the moon seeping into my cell through a small window with bars.
“Finally, some time to think.” I said to myself while letting out a sigh.
I laid back down upon the cold stone floor, I didn’t mind the chilling feel of the stones, in fact, it relieved my terribly achy body. I placed an arm under my head and another across my chest, but as soon as my arm made contact with my rib cage, I winced with pain, so I moved it to the side of my body.
‘I can feel the poison gaining small bits of ground against my mana pool, I need to find a way out of here, dispel this poison before it cripples me, and find help. Going to the Raingrips wouldn’t be wise, since nobles care more about status, and I imagine since I’m accused of treason they would be suspected too, therefore, they would trade me in within a heartbeat to prove their innocence.'
My gaze turned from the window, to the wooden ceiling.
‘I couldn’t blame them. Giving the circumstance, I would call them crazy if they didn’t turn me in. That leaves only one possible option, Mrs.Enhana. She would never turn me in and I know if I explain myself she would defend me. She also has great credentials being a Water-Arch and even an Alchemy-Grand.’
I closed my eyes and smiled slightly.
‘She’s the closest to a mother I’ve ever had. I know for a fact she would never betray me.’
My thoughts were interrupted by a tapping noise, my eyes snapped open and the hair on the back of my neck stood on end. “Who's there?!”
I would have at least sat up, but my condition wouldn’t allow it. All I could do is turn my head in a painful manner, and what greeted my eyes was a young woman with brown hair and a grin upon her face.
“You! I-”
My voice was cut off by hers, “Shut up you moron, do you want the guards to find me?”
My storm gray eyes fell upon her deep purple eyes and I attempted to shake my head, but to no avail. She noted my attempt and continued.
“You’re pretty lucky that my objective overlaps with your location. That means I can pay you back for your…” She giggled, “Assistance.”
‘This bitch!’ Was all I could think, but my grievances had to be put aside. My ticket out of here had arrived, and I’ll be damned if I let it fly away in the wind.
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