Chapter 43
Ryker
I lay there on the floor of the gym, drenched in sweat from head to toe. The simple act of taking a breath was made torturous by the evil A.I. All traces of the sweet, playful demoness was gone, and in its place stood a wicked beast that reveled in my suffering. She still wore the same beautiful face and lusty figure, but it was only skin deep.
It started with simple biceps curls, and then I transitioned to a rowing machine. I was working up a decent sweat and enjoying the workout when that diabolical serpent masquerading as a Vren decided to chime in. “I see you two found an interesting way to improve his workouts. That's nice of you to take it so easy on him, Ruby. At this pace, he will be ready to brave the depths of the Pyramid in 20 years or so. Keep up the good work.”
Ruby’s easy smile turned stony, and her back stiffened. She turned towards Silvar and spat, “What do you mean 20 years?”
Silvar shot Ruby a nonchalant shrug and said, “Yeah, it will take him about 20 years working at this intensity to have a chance at surviving. Why do you think Viltrix has stood atop the Pyramid for so long? Nobody has been able to stand toe to toe with the horrors that inhabit that place. I know what lurks in their shadows, and he will not be ready if you keep coddling the boy.”
A very serious look of determination darkened her features, and she said, “Is that so? Then what do you suggest I do instead?”
The look that crept onto Silvar's face was one of dark satisfaction. He turned his back to us and began to stroll away with his walking stick before calling over his shoulder. “That's simple… break him, let him heal, then break him again… enjoy.” He took two more steps then faded into nothing.
A look somewhere between fear and manic resolve etched itself onto her face as she said, “I am sorry, Ryker, but I think the worm's right… I hope you can forgive me one day.”
I gave her a puzzled look and started to answer her. “Uh, what do you mean forgi…” My sentence was interrupted by a sharp pain in my back between my shoulder blades, and I was sent face-first into the ground. I turned my head and groaned as I saw a medicine ball roll past my face.
A few feet from my resting place, I saw Red staring daggers at Ruby’s form with her hands balled into tiny furious fists, and she was stomping one foot down while screaming, “NO! You can't do this!”
Ruby donned a sad but comforting smile, reached out and stroked Red's cheek. Some sort of communication must have gone on in that instant between them because Red's demeanor changed an instant later, and she dropped her head and glanced at me guiltily before mouthing “Sorry dad”.
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The next second, I saw a black amorphic mass rise from the dirt and start crawling across the ground towards me. I didn't know what it was, but some part of my lizard brain told me to run, so I struggled against my suit's resistance to escape. In my panicked state, I reached inwards and activated Sacrificial Might. The red glow engulfed me, and the heady rush of strength was back. I overcame Ruby's attempts to bind me, and the suit creaked and popped as fibers gave way under my power. I was slowed but clawed my way to my feet and made my attempt to flee, but the crafty A.I. was two steps ahead of me. A white ball materialized out of the floor next to the mass, and it crawled onto the improvised torture device before it was sent hurtling in my direction. I tried to evade the strike but failed as an obstacle was erected before me. As I crashed into the wall, the medicine ball impacted directly into my gut, driving the air out of my lungs. The black substance clung to my suit and spread from the point of impact. Before I had a chance to put up any real resistance, the substance fully merged with the nanofibers, and I was shocked at the result. The thin, flexible suit had transformed into a much bulkier piece of hardware. The suit no longer resembled a skin-tight outfit and now appeared to be a lightweight exosuit of sorts.
The interlocking muscle weave now appears much thicker and anchored itself to the newly minted robotic joints that silently and seamlessly articulate along with my movements. I looked at the appearance of the upgraded version of my attire in awe until my body went stock still, then my legs betrayed me when they started walking over to an empty space in the gym area against my will. No matter how much I pushed Sacrificial Might, I was completely under Ruby's control, so I yelled out, “Ruby, what are you doing? Let me go!”
Ruby gave me one last remorseful look before she hardened her features and said, “Ryker, I am sorry, but this is for your own good. Me and Red have doubled the number of nanobots in your suit to better handle your growing strength. I am afraid you need a firmer hand in your training moving forward. This version will give us much more durability and control. Now… get up, my love.”
I stood there confused by her words; then, all at once, I was bodily thrown to the ground by my suit. I looked up angrily and said, “Ruby, seriously cut it out.” I felt control come back to my limbs, and I put my hands under my torso and tried to push myself up, but the suit contracted and instead of halting me, it rebounded the force back onto me, pushing me back into the dirt.
Ruby narrowed her eyes and irritatedly said, “Ryker, I don't think you're taking this seriously enough. You really should.”
A moment after her proclamation, she made a hand gesture, and the ground beneath me began to slowly feel warmer. A horrific feeling came over me as I recalled Silvar's words, ”break him.” I immediately redoubled my efforts as the temperature continued to rise. I managed to get one elbow under me and was doing everything I could to try and pull my leg up to my chest but couldn't manage to break the hold. I reached for my ability but came up empty. I roared in defiance as the temperature began to burn my skin and the rage inside me was ignited. I threw all my reservations to the wind and thrashed, bucked, and swore through the pain of my flesh cooking. I felt muscles tear and heard the creaking of bones being pushed and pulled in different directions. After what felt like an eternity, the heat dissipated, and I was allowed to flop onto my side. I could see Red snap her fingers and gallons of water rained down onto my burned and swollen form. As the water touched my pain-ridden body, a plume of steam punctuated the experience, and Silvar's traitorous words haunted me again, ”break him, let him heal, then break him again… enjoy.”