Alora woke up to the slight thrumming of energy coursing through the ground.

While kneeling on the ground with her arms bound by chains reaching the endless ceiling of the cave, she almost didn’t notice the dull sensation of pain as she moved her body.

Almost.

While years of practice allowed her to hold the pained groan, she couldn’t help but wince when the slight movement of her chest caused the swords piercing her body to shift a little. 

Of course, the blades were not really real, but more so an illusion enchanted to emulate the same sensation. When the first blade had gone through her stomach years ago, it truly did feel as if someone had just put a sword through her body.

To make things easier, they had stripped her naked when going through with the procedure. Now, there wasn’t a single open space along her skin, as if her body was a canvas littered with paint.

Her eyes, bounded by an enchanted cloth, picked up on the slight shift in energy in the room. The energy permeating the area moved toward a single point, as if a vacuum had just manifested.

“Who’s there?”

Her voice sounded raspy and unnatural even to her ears, unused to speaking during her entire time locked up in this hellish place.

The silence that followed was deafening, and just before she could delude herself into thinking that she had finally gone mad, a slight chuckle left was heard mere meters in front of her. 

It was a man. 

“That’s surprising. I was sure I hid myself well enough.”

The hairs on her body stood up in apprehension, having already gotten into many instances in the past to sense whether a situation was dangerous or not.

Life-threatening or not. 

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Despite not being able to see him, Alora could tell this person belonged to the former category.

“Who’s there?” she asks again, putting more energy behind her words this time.

“Ah, forgive my manners. My name is Julian. It’s an honor to meet the esteemed lady.”

While there was no such indication, she could’ve sworn the man settled into a deep bow, as if greeting someone of higher status.

Alora plasters on a cruel smile. “Mockery will get you nowhere.”

“My words are sincere. I have no intention to humiliate you.” 

You being here is humiliating enough, she wants to say, but holds her tongue. At the very least, she wants to keep that small dignity she has left.

Being naked in front of man was a thought that burned the farthest part of her conscience. There really were more pressing matters to focus on. 

First and foremost, during her entire time here, no one has ever dared to visit her. She hadn’t even known there was a possibility of having visitors. Even so, someone willing to spare her their time was someone that was truly out of their mind.

There was a saying across the continent of Irelia. 

When you meet the one called Alora, your fate gets thrown to the hands of the Devil. 

And that person right now was chained and bound by hundreds of swords, barely able to hold her consciousness for a few hours, much less lift up a finger.

“If not that, then what other reason would a man come to visit for? Perhaps the Emperor sent you?”

The Emperor was the one that imprisoned her in this god-forsaken place, sealing away her magic and damning her to eternal torture. If that man was still the same as he was before, Alora imagined it would’ve taken a great deal of convincing to even enter this place.

 That, or this person somehow snuck himself in.

Somehow, that idea sounded even crazier.

The man chuckles. “What a crazy statement.”

Huh?

Mind reading?

“While it’s true I got permission,” he continues. “Believe me when I say that there would never be a second in my life where I’d willingly side with that bastard.” 

And for some reason, a faint memory from many years ago clicks in Alora’s subconscious:

Of a young soldier kneeling in front of the throne, his blue eyes clouded with hidden contempt as he bowed to the Emperor.

The sudden revelation leaves her with even more questions, because the man in front of her was none other than–

“Now, I’m curious. Proper introductions aside, to what do I possibly owe the Housemaster of Lanoste the pleasure of visiting?”