Nyx's momentary blackout, due to the intense pain that had erupted from her chest, lasted only a couple of seconds. Yet, by the time she had regained her senses, Nyx discovered that she had been raised off the ground and was now looking into the man's eyes with a lolling head.
Without needing to look down, Nyx could tell by the agonising pain, strangely accompanied by a bone-chilling numbness, that her body had been dealt a mortal blow and, even with her impressive abilities, had minutes to live.
While, if this has been according to her plan, Nyx would have felt slightly relieved, this fact now caused a bubbling terror to rise from her soul. Nyx knew, with every fibre of her body, that her old master, with a personality that would make a devil blush in shame, would never waste so much time to let her die so quickly.
"Going to rip my heart out?" chuckled the man, the smile on his face warping, looking more and more like a demon's with every passing moment. "My foolish, little Nyx. You don't, and will never have, the ability. You are nothing more than a weapon, a toy, a plaything."
Nyx's features twisted in agony as foreign energy flooded into her body through the wound in her chest, smashing aside the carefully cultivated dark essence that was struggling in vain to stabilise her condition as it passed.
This was the master she knew: one that didn't practice an eye for an eye, but life for every perceived slight.
The only question, one that was firmly at the back of her mind due to current circumstances, was why he had beaten around the bush in the first place if this was to be her end.
Nyx valiantly attempted to struggle, but the most she got from her body was a twitch of the finger.
For a normal human, even cultivators, they might have already passed away from the severe damage. But as a summon, an entity that could control and manipulate a body at an unprecedented level, Nyx was able to restrict the blood flow and create false blood vessels with the energy stored in her body.
It wasn't a long-term solution, especially with the man's essence interrupting her attempts as it completed an unknown objective, but one that had gradually developed alongside Nyx's need to carry on until the host was utterly destroyed.
The magical backlash if a body was incapacitated before death or completing the mission was something every summon feared at a fundamental level. Even destroying one's core was perceived as mercy in comparison.
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Barely able to keep her head from flopping listlessly, Nyx tried to speak, only for a mouthful of blood to spill from her mouth.
Seeing the pitiful state Nyx was in, the man's smile returned to its previous, friendly manner.
"This is just the beginning Nyx. I will find your crystal and then take my time breaking your will over and over. I will make this experience," the man squeezed his hand, causing crippling pain to wrack Nyx's body. "seem like nothing more than a pleasant dream."
Realising that the man's energy had actually been restoring her bodies nervous system, removing the shock and adrenaline that had been somewhat numbing the pain, Nyx's eyes raged with fury, seemingly to want to rip the man apart and feast on his soul.
The man's smile mocked her as Nyx's lips continued to try and form words. However, the best she could do, even when manipulating essence in her throat, was a weak gurgle accompanied by pink, frothy bubbles.
In the situation where her current existence was about to end, Nyx wanted to tell her old master that even with her death, it was an empty victory. That she would return from the darkness as many times as it took and drag his soul to the lowest levels of whatever hell he believed in.
Yet, it seemed that no matter what she tried, it was an impossible task.
Seeing that, even as his fist was grasping her heart, carrying out the threat she aimed at him earlier, Nyx's willpower didn't dim in the slightest, the man couldn't help but nod his head in approval as he wiped away the blood from her mouth with his other, spotless hand in an almost loving gesture.
"That's my girl." While the being of his memories was always male, the man decided that he actually prefers Nyx in the female form.
The seemingly frail, weak feminine body was much more fun to torment and, unlike the past Nyx, she actually revealed emotions. "Continue to struggle. To fight, no matter how pointless it is. Bare your fangs, even in death. No fear, no compassion... no mercy. There is only my will. Stop hiding amongst these sheep and reveal what you really are."
After staring into Nyx's eyes for a few more seconds, having said all he had to say, the man flicked his wrist and sent Nyx's body crashing to the floor before glancing at his hand.
With a frown of disgust, the man flicked his wrist again, the bone, flesh and what remained of Nyx's mangled heart splattered across the nearby floor, leaving his hand so spotless that no one would be able to tell it had just been in another's chest cavity.
No more than three feet away, Nyx lay on her back as black mist, along with copious amounts of blood flowed from the gruesome hole and her vision started to dim.
While a soul wouldn't be damaged by this, Nyx's current state of mind had already been affected by the dire state of her body and was jumbled and incoherent.
The horrors she had not only witnessed but been forced to commit floated to the surface now that the barriers and subconscious repression had vanished. This made the experience even more unbearable, having forced Nyx into a state that straddled the boundary between life and death.