Vivo woke up, his arms and legs were stretched out with ropes connected to two poles, he felt his arms protest against carrying his own body weight as he was hanging about a foot above the ground.
He was held in a large cave, lit up by both torches hanging between two and ten meters up on the walls and a large fire in the center contained by a glass metal contraption.
To his left was a small wooden staircase and a couple of meters rightward Kal'more was hanging from a similar contraption facing Vivo. All around them were goblins and a few tables, some of the goblins were sharpening different kinds of tools, then putting them back, as far as Vivo could make out there were also four shamans.
From behind him, Vivo could hear tormented screams. Two Goblins approached Kal'more from behind, evil grins were pasted across their faces as the first whiplash landed on his back.
Kal'more Screamed in agony, the goblin didn't let him recover before the next blow landed.
Watching as the whip struck Kal'more repeatedly, Vivo felt helpless and angry while wishing that he could trade places with his friend.
His anger soon subsided and left room for pity, when the goblins put the whip down and started carving at his body with a blade.
Behind him, Vivo could hear screams come to an abrupt end. He noticed one of the shamans walking towards where the screams had come from. He feared the worst, no mater who it was, no one deserved to die like that. A second later he heard a gulping sound from the same direction, his fear subsided somewhat, whoever it was, was probably still alive.
Suddenly he felt a lashing pain radiating from his back, he almost let out a scream of pain before he understood what was going on, the goblins had grown tired of whomever was behind him and switched to him. Feeling lash after lash land on his back, Vivo suppressed his urge to shout out his agony. The goblins didn't seem to mind, one of them was standing in front of him smiling while playing with a dagger, awaiting his turn.
The lashing continued on for what seemed like hours, the pain warped his sense of time, Vivo began doubting in his ability to resist the pain. He wanted nothing more than to scream, and release his anger and anguish in a roar. But he didn't want to give the goblins any satisfaction, if anything he wouldn't utter a sound just to be spiteful. Seeing his friends fall prey for these barbarians, and their foul torture, Vivo's anger once again flared up and he made his decision. He steeled himself for what was to come, no longer doubting himself, he wouldn't yield an inch to these distasteful creatures even if it cost him his life.
Remembering how detached from his body, he had felt during his sessions with Mordecia, Vivo once again conjured the familiar flame in his mind. He allowed it to devour everything, his fear, anger, pain, what was left was the vast void inside his mind. From within the void, it was as if he was looking through another persons eyes and feeling another persons pain.
When the lashes seized the dagger equipped goblin walked up the small staircase and plunged the dagger into his side, while watching Vivo's face for a reaction, all he saw was a face carved in stone.
The goblins evil grin dissipated somewhat from his failure, but he didn't stop at that, he continued by slowly making shallow cuts all over Vivo's body to maximize the pain.
This continued for hours on end, but Vivo didn't budge. He hardly felt any of it, but by the end he could feel his body growing weak, it became hard for him to focus and he couldn't finish a thought.
Black spots began filling his sight, but before he fainted, he felt something pressing against his lips.
He felt a liquid pouring down his throat, the taste was disgusting beyond imagination.
He couldn't refuse it, the liquid was forced down his throat. The void had shattered, making him feel the taste of every single drop of the disgusting fluid.
His head became clearer by the minute, he felt his wounds closing, and the pain faded.
Raising his head, he saw the goblins beginning the torture all over again on Kal'more, expecting the same thing for himself he entered the void again.
Nothing happened, the goblins just continued torturing Kal'more.
Watching helplessly from the sidelines once again, Vivo felt despair and anger floating outside the void.
The more he watched the harder it became to hold on to the void, he couldn't take it, watching as his friend screamed in agony he made another decision.
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The goblins took their time torturing Kal'more, before they once again turned their attention towards Vivo.
They began as before, with the whip. None of the lashes striking his back bothered him.
-Vivo: HAHAHHAHAAA. Is that all you've got green-skin, my grandmother hits harder than you.
His words sent a shock throughout the goblin population in the cave, the smiles on their faces were replaced with a stunned expression.
It didn't take long before the first goblin recovered, only to walk up to him and plunge a dagger into his abdomen.
Ignoring their attempts to hurt him, Vivo laughed and taunted them, soon all of the goblins focused purely on him. They didn't allow him, neither sleep nor rest, working in shifts they experimented with new methods of torture since their old measures were ineffective.
A week passed like this, Vivo constantly tortured and on the brink of death several times a day. During this time, Vivo had several episodes where he felt a strong feeling of déjà vu, these episodes disturbed him more than the torture itself.
Becoming quiet creative, the goblins came up with several different methods of torture. One such method involved hundreds of needles piercing his body while simultaneously slicing him up with a dull blade and forcing the disgusting tasting healing potion down his throat.
The result was excruciating pain, his body was forced to heal both open wounds and those caused by the needles sticking out of his body.
This wasn't even among the top ten most heinous methods they implemented during this time, but none of them bothered him compared to the sleep deprivation he was forced through.
With his mind clouded by sleep deprivation, Vivo had a hard time holding onto the void, his laughs and taunts became further apart as time progressed.
Vivo began to doubt that he would resist for much longer, more and more pain reached him inside the void, then finally after a week of constant torture they gave him a moment's rest.
Looking down, Vivo saw that his once plain skin, was now covered with open wounds, blood and scars.
Understanding now what he had gone through already he did not fear what was to come. The days of torture had left their mark on him, and if he could endure all of this then he surely could endure much more.
While thinking this he became so amused that a genuine laugh escaped his mouth, once again the goblins froze by the unexpected development.
A minute later when he regained his composure Vivo said in an amused tone.
-Vivo: If this is all you've got to offer green-skins, then we'll be here until the end of time, before you break me.
In an instant, he could feel the frustrations the goblins had felt over the last week turn into red hot rage.
Without hesitation two of them grabbed a pair of odd looking instruments and rushed towards him, meanwhile another pair seized a staircase and placed it at his side.
Suddenly two pairs of small hands grabbed a hold of his head, keeping it in place.
The first pair, had climbed up the staircases, Vivo could see their faces contorted by evil grins.
With their hands they held his eyelids open, as they used the odd instruments to take a hold on his eyeballs, the pain was immense. Time slowed down, every second became an eternity, as they gradually pulled out his eyes.
The void crumbled in an instant, he felt everything, every sensation in his body. All the pain his body, registered, was now flooding him, but nothing compared to what they now were doing to him.
No longer in control, he let out a terrifying scream.
The world went dark, the pain didn't subside nor did his scream. A new sensation replaced his sight, something was flowing from his eyes down his cheek.
He didn't know for how long he screamed, engulfed in pain and darkness he couldn't think, barely registering the sounds of commotion coming from around him before he passed out.
---
It was dark, his whole body was hurting as much as before, he felt ropes around him.
He felt himself being pulled upwards...
---
Still dark, still pain, someone was carrying him.
Not goblins, no, it was a single person...