"I had not believed you would be the one," the goddess said. "But I can see it now." She walked around my body, tracing electric lines across my chest and back with her nails. That minuscule amount of physical contact was enough to overwhelm the agony I felt with desire.

"You will live for me. You will hunt for me. You will be my Revenant of Pain," her irresistible voice addressed me again. And I knew I would do it. After everything I went through, my soul wept at the thought of this gracious creature using me, at the mere thought of someone giving this whole affair a meaning. Just that single detail grounded my tortured spirit to a conscious level once again.

"Ahg, my," I stuttered, unable to form the words that lay on my tongue.

"Don't worry, my dear pet, language will come with time. My servants will keep you company until you are ready to be claimed by me," the goddess whispered into my ear, my erection twitching just from the tingle of her breath. A faint whisper of my shattered consciousness told me that it was not normal. Not appropriate for me to get aroused in this situation. But endless torture had burned the voice of reason away.

I was brought into a room rich with cushions and pillows. The walls were a soft gold, and a chandelier brightened the chamber in a pleasant, dim white. The guards closed the door behind me.

I was... what was I? I stared at the king-sized bed that stood in the back of the room. It was the object that was in my immediate view, nothing more. I stood where the guards left me, in front of the closed double door and stared at whatever was in front of my gaze.

I don't know how long I stood there, gazing at nothing, but I remember a faint voice calling out to me at that moment.

"Chosen one, can you hear me?" I finally registered the words and turned my gaze to the right. A lithe, human-looking girl stood in front of a large, metallic table, repeating the same sentence once more. I blinked, not really comprehending her words.

The girl slowly approached me, her palms held out in a placating gesture. "My name is Cyphry, and I am tasked with tending to your wounds, Chosen one."

The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

My wounds. Yes, I hurt. But when I looked down at myself, there was nothing to be seen. No blood, no flesh quilling out of my skin. No bones poking out of my limbs.

"Please, lay on the table behind me. I will not hurt you— I will make a bit of the pain go away." She intoned every word slowly and clearly, intend to let me keep up with the meaning of the sentence. "You are placated by the mistress influence, but it will fade after time," Cyphry said. "We need to get as much done as possible before that happens."

I studied her for a moment, trying to make sense of her words. I couldn't. Instead, I focused on her facial expression. Was that sorrow I saw in her furrowed brows. Or was it pity? I was lightheaded— too much to decide on either.

Following orders was easy. So I headed over to the table and laid down. I stared at the ceiling, wondering idly about the golden adornments that decorated the rounded stonework.

Cyphry's face suddenly filled my vision, and for the first time, I actually realised she was there. Her face was friendly. Hearth shaped and soft. When she realised that I really looked at her, a brilliant smile graced her features. She wasn't impossibly attractive like the goddess was, but her lovely appearance calmed me.

"Close your eyes," Cyphry said, gently putting her index fingers against my temple. "Imagine you are floating weightless inside of a colourful bubble."

Before I could even try to comply, my eyelids closed by themselves, and I found myself floating in the sky. A soft glowing sun was in front of me, fuzzy clouds beneath. And a transparent bubble of all colours encompassed my figure. I blinked in astonishment. The serene atmosphere hit me with a fluffy pillow to the head— part of the goddess influence vanishing too sudden. The sky turned black for a moment, a meathook as big as my body descending from the void. I cried out as my mind became my own again, my body jerking on its own, trying to get away from the torture instrument.

With a resounding clang, the massive hook bounced off my colourful bubble. I blinked again, watching the terrible memory vanish into nothingness. And the sky broke up into a dazzling blue once again. No, not again. It was blue all the time. I just couldn't perceive the colour anymore. The sun was never gone, and the void never real. I was safe here.

It felt like I've been gone for days when I opened my eyes again, staring into the smiling face of Cyphry. I noticed the cute dimples that formed on her cheeks, and despite my own condition, I started to smile back.

"Remember this scene, Chosen one," she whispered. "It will help you whenever I am not around. And when I am, I will lead you there as often as you wish."

Exhaustion suddenly took over, and I slipped into unconsciousness before I could reply.