I followed the witch into an underground cave. Inside, I witnessed horrifying scenes that even the cruelest of goblins would find repulsive.

The cavern was vast, illuminated by purple lights summoned by the witch. The pungent scent of blood made me flinch. I could already see what was coming.

As my eyes adjusted to the light, I saw rows of cages lining on the walls. Three to four prisoners were inside each cage. Their hollow eyes stared vacantly in the air, their battered figures slumped into corners. Vicious scars crossed their mutilated bodies. My stomach churned when I noticed some had missing limbs and organs.

All those poor creatures had something in common. They looked broken, in minds and bodies.

This demonic human was insane. She liked to torture people in the most vicious ways, goblins and humans alike.

The witch walked ahead of me, totally unconcerned about letting me see her back. Seems like she didn’t even deem me a threat. This thought filled me with dread.

Was she THAT powerful? Did I even stand a chance against her?

On our way, the prisoner’s hollow eyes followed us like a single man. I couldn’t even see despair or resentment in their eyes. This didn’t bode well, trying to make them join me, to kill the witch, wouldn't work. They were too far gone.

We soon reached a stone altar covered in blood. Chains hung from the ceiling, their purpose ominously clear. The witch turned to me with a devilish smile.

“Welcome to my sanctuary, little goblin. This is where I conduct my... experiments.”

I felt a chill run down my spine. “What kind of experiments?” I asked, though I wasn't sure I wanted to know the answer.

She gestured at the altar. “This is where I test the limits of magic. Where I push the boundaries of what is possible with the human and goblin body.”

My stomach churned. "And what do you hope to achieve?" I asked.

The witch's smile widened, revealing some rotten teeth. “Nothing much. I just find the sight entertaining. You see I love making little goblins like yourself cry and beg."

Before I could react, she uttered another incantation in that strange language of hers.

“Aritis lokum nitus maratus!”

The purple chains appeared again, wrapping around my wrists and ankles, dragging me towards the altar. I struggled, but it was futile. Magic chains were unbreakable.

“You're going to help me with my next experiment, goblin.” she said, almost gleefully.

Her words made me fall into despair. My heart thumped loudly in my chest as I was put onto the altar, the chains binding me in place.

The witch began to chant again.

“Lorasim nerephim tanis!”

Pain flared through my body once more, but this time it was different. It was something deeper, more invasive. I could feel the witch's magic probing into my very soul, searching for something.

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"You have a divine blessing, don't you?" she murmured, more to herself than to me.

The pain intensified, but I refused to scream, not wanting to give her that pleasure. I couldn’t even describe the pain into words. She searched through my memories, forcefully making me relive my worst nightmares again.

The first memory was the worst.

I saw my mother’s and tribesmen’s death.

It was a peaceful evening. Laughter filled the air. Children played amongst themselves with fake swords. My mother was watching over them with other women. Her face lit up with a serene smile as she chatted and occasionally called out to the children, reminding them to be careful. The men of the tribe were gathered nearby, bantering among themselves, sharing stories of past adventures, bragging about heroic achievements in the war against humans.

Suddenly, chaos erupted.

“BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM”

The ground shook beneath our feet as booming noises reverberated through the air.

The sky was set ablaze with swirling flames. It was as if reality itself was being torn apart by a gigantic maelstrom of flames.

The air was thick with smoke, stinging my eyes and choking my lungs with every breath.

My mother’s face twisted in fear, her eyes widened as she tried to shield me with her body. My tribesmen screamed trying to put out the fire. Blood splattered everywhere and people burned to death, their body catching on fire like goblin-torches.

They were grilled alive, roasted like mere chickens.

Soon, our tribe turned into a hellish graveyard. The acrid scent of burning flesh filled the air. The screams of agony ceased. Charred corpses laid on the ground.

Amidst the disaster, my mother voice sounded, “You must survive Ryan. Promise me you will.”

“Mother you… why did you protect me? I should have been the one to shield you with my body…”

“Promise me Ryan!”

“Yes, I will!”

As soon as I answered, her lifeless body fell to the ground.

I stood there, numb, surrounded by the carnage that had once been my home. My mother sacrifice, my tribesmen death and agony. Nothing made sense - Nothing.

When I looked at my mother, I couldn’t believe she had died. She was lying there, as if asleep. She didn’t look any different from this morning.

Only, she had stopped breathing and her back was charred from the flames.

I wanted to scream, but I couldn’t. I wanted to die, but I couldn’t.

Small tears fell from my eyes.

I hoped everything was a nightmare and I would wake up soon.

At least half of the tribe died in a matter of minutes, yet, I couldn't even figure out what had happened.

It couldn't have been the work of a magician or dragon. Dragon were extinct long ago and nine circled magician didn't exist in our era. The only viable explanation was that a magical disaster took place. But our tribe wasn't even located into an area prone to such disaster... This didn't make sense - Nothing did.

Suddenly, everything turned black. The first memory had come to an end.

A few seconds later, I was sent into another nightmarish memory. Unable to catch my breath, I started to relive my metamorphosis.

The pain. The despair. It started as a burning sensation under my skin, a fire that spread through my veins and muscles. My bones and skin broke and healed simultaneously, my body transforming into something vile and weak. The pain was unbearable. I could feel my very nature slipping away, replaced by something darker, something monstrous. A human.

I was trapped in my now human body and my goblin soul rebelled against it.

I wanted to be freed from this nightmare.

I wanted my green body, muscles, claws and pointy ears back.

I wanted - everything back.

The memory was replaying in my mind again and again, like a broken record, nearly driving me insane.

That demon made me watch, helpless, as everything I loved was taken away from me.

Just when I thought I couldn't endure any more, the memories stopped. The chains loosened, and I was left gasping for breath, my body and soul trembling.

"You survived," she said, almost impressed. "Good. You're stronger than I thought. Seems like you won’t die on me so soon after all!"

She released the chains completely, and I collapsed on the ground, barely able to move.

“I will kill you witch, I swear!” I said, glaring at her with burning hatred. If looks could kill, she would have died a hundred time over.

The witch knelt beside me, her hand gripping my chin, forcing me to look at her. “I like your guts, goblin. It makes me want to break you.”

Then, she used her magic to put me into a cell, like the other prisoners and left whistling a strange song again.