“I’ve tried… And I lost…” The man was full of regrets that he wanted to hide by turning his head away.

“Is that how far your hatred goes? Someone titled the greatest enemy of the gods… Did you forget why you hate them? Do I need to remind you?” The wolf circled the man, mocking him, trying to pursue him.

“There is no need for that.” Asval quickly answered, clenching his fists. The wolf noticed his reaction and smiled a bit. “I do hate them. Their names are enough to make my blood boil.”

“Then use that hatred. Get your sweet revenge.” The wolf whispered into the man’s ear.

“It’ll be the same as last time. I’ll be defeated and sent back here…” The man could clearly recall the day he lost to the gods.

“This time will be different. You have something that you can use against the gods. Time is no longer a problem for you. Death won’t come for you any time soon. Time to turn that curse of yours into a gift.” The wolf whispered, his voice coming from a different direction every second, almost like he was in the man’s mind.

“You mean-” Asval tried to say something but the wolf cut it like he was reading his mind.

“Immortality. Not all gods know about your gift. They won’t use their godly weapons on a mere human.”

“Fine. I’ll make that deal with you. Set me free and I will kill all the gods far above and below.” The man said as he reached his hand toward the wolf.

“Splendid…” The wolf placed a paw on the man’s hand. Once he did that all the chains shattered and Asval could finally move. “But… Your full freedom will be granted after all of them are dead.” The chains that were shattered began flying toward the man’s right arm, the very arm he gave to the wolf. The chain became a tattoo on a man’s body that was wrapped around his arm and reached toward his chest, toward his heart.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

“You tricked me…” The man eye’s widened as he observed the new tattoo on his body.

“Tricked you? No… I gave you a chance and this is a reminder of that chance… Now go and slay them.” The wolf’s voice echoed through the cavern.

The man rapidly turned toward the wolf to argue with him but the creature was no longer there. It disappeared. He was “free” from the chains. He could walk out of this place any time he wanted but he only watched the exit, thinking about the earlier conversation.

He would stay there for hours if not for the flames that slowly appeared around him. It reminded him of the pain that had been inflicted on him for years. He barely stood up and began running toward the exit. He was slow and sloppy after years of torture his body forgot how to move. He had to focus on not falling because if he did he would feel the agonizing flames on his whole body.

The flames grew taller, slowly reaching his knees, eating his flesh, reminding him of the pain he felt for years. He fell to the ground once he reached the exit which wasn’t covered in flames. His legs were burned, flesh missing and bones slightly visible. He lay there, gritting his teeth, waiting for the curse to heal him. He had to endure the pain for an hour, screaming as the regenerating process took its time.

The doors were right in front of him. His freedom was right in front of him. He placed his hand on the door handle and used all his strength to open the door. Behind it was a tunnel that would let him out of the deepest part of the hell’s dungeon.

Guarding his cell were two creatures that were shaped like a human but their body was rotten and looked like it was falling apart. The two creatures were wearing leather armor that was torn, barely covering their body. They both had rusty short swords by their belts.

Hearing the door open they turned around, their eyes dark blue and empty, noticing the man who was supposed to be chained in the room he just left, they took out their swords.

Without much thinking, Asval jumped one of the creatures before it could attack him but he himself landed in front of the sword that went deep into his stomach. He let out an agonizing scream disorienting both guards. With pain present, he walked forward to get closer to the creature.

The other guard tried stabbing him in the back but before he could hit him Asval stumbled and fell to the ground, dragging the creature in front of him down. The sword missed the man and hit the neck of the falling guard, severing his head from his body.

The guard ignored the death of his companion and began stabbing Asval in the back as he lay there on the ground. With each stab, the man was curling. The guard thought that it was because of his stabs but the man tried to take out the sword out of his stomach.

He let out another scream and with it, he swung the sword and sliced off the guard's arm. He grabbed his leather vest and pulled himself up, thrusting the sword into the creature's head.

Lying on the guard’s body he watched it. It was no longer moving but it was a living creature. Giving up to his hunger he bit off part of the creature and swallowed the rotten flesh. The smell and taste were awful but that didn’t stop him. He had to eat something.

He grabbed his mouth, trying to prevent vomiting but what he ate was unwanted even by a hungry body. He had to give up on the idea of eating the rotten bodies of ghoulish guards.