Alhen was dragged publicly in the streets.

  He remained aware and could feel everything, but was unable to do anything about it.

  Saliva dripped down his chin, and his open eyes started crying from the lack of moisture.

  The tears fell inside his glasses, making it difficult for him to see his surroundings.

  ‘No, this can’t be how I end. What kind of luck is this? Why would someone be interested in me?' Alhen thought.

  'If only I could so much as twitch a muscle, I swear I will kill whoever is doing this to me.'

  No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t activate his sign or his blessing, and there was no one to see him.

  He was carried into a dilapidated building, which looked burnt and decayed.

  The axe on his back screeched on the wooden floor, and he couldn’t see much around him.

  He could see only the dust and grime accumulated on the floor, walls, and ceiling, which eventually adhered to his clothes.

  A dim, pulsating light emanated from the cracks in the wood, making it seem as if the structure were alive.

  A nauseating smell of vomit and piss inside made him want to gag, but his muscles didn’t move.

  Alhen was eventually carried into a dark room with no outside illumination.

  The only object inside was a cranky chair that appeared as if it hadn’t been washed in ages.

  He had to watch helplessly as the person who carried him dropped him in the chair, not bothering to tie him up, and turned to leave.

  Before the person who had dragged him left the room, Alhen was able to glance briefly at his appearance.

  He was a man slightly shorter than his mentor and dressed in orange floral clothing.

  By the time he looked, his face was already covered by the door, which opened inwards.

  He slammed the door shut, leaving him in dead silence and darkness.

  ‘Right now, the only thing I can do is to try and gain control of my limbs.'

  'Don’t freak out. If they captured me instead of killing me outright, it means that I have a use for whoever took me,' Alhen rationalized.

  ‘I can only hope that I’m not paralyzed for long,’ he thought.

  He could only try to gain a semblance of movement, but no matter how hard he tried, nothing happened yet again.

  Time passed; he didn’t know how much, but he could now slightly move his fingers.

  His eyes had turned red and watered even further, filling his glasses.

  Saliva trickled down his chin, his mouth was open, and he couldn't close it.

  Occasionally, the saliva would fall, staining his pants and shirt, and some had even started reaching his shoes as well.

  His body didn’t have any restraint, but that didn’t help him feel less bound.

  His expression remained the same when the door was eventually opened after seemingly hours of waiting.

  ‘Finally! If I had to wait a second longer without anything happening, I would surely be driven insane by now.’

  ‘That bastard, I will kill him,’ Alhen thought, before stopping his train of thought.

  If he had control of his facial muscles, his expression would show surprise.

  The man in front of him was the same man who stared at him at the king’s castle dinner table.

  His orange hair flowed behind him, and his clothes were different, but it was him.

  He held a small candle in his hand, barely illuminating the room.

  “Hello, son of the Kovesh. I am sorry for the way you have been treated. Are you alright? My name is Kalle, son of King Otis,” Kalle said before approaching him.

  ‘This guy! So it was all an order from the king. No, that couldn’t be the case,' Alhen thought.

  'The king seemed desperate to have the Kovesh participating in the war, and for that to happen, I have to escort his daughter to her marriage.’

  ‘Could this guy be acting independently? Or is there something else I’m missing?’ He wondered, looking at him with intensity.

  Kalle took out a fancy handkerchief and removed Alhen’s glasses, wiping his tears and saliva with care.

  Finishing cleaning Alhen, he snapped his fingers, the sharp sound echoing in the small room.

  A couple of seconds passed before a slim man with pale features, elongated and twisted extremities, entered the room.

  The man had no expression, and his eyes looked lifeless, looking more like a dead creature playing human.

  It was taller than his mentor, Alaran, and it had to bend its entire back ninety degrees to fit through the doorway.

  Its head touched the ceiling, and it looked at Kalle with an open mouth that hung loosely.

  Kalle looked at it with a slight smirk before it spoke

  “Called… you meee?” he, or it, spoke with a gruff voice, its words inverted.

  “Erne, give me the powder,” Kalle said.

  The creature whose name appeared to be Erne opened its loose mouth even wider and inserted one of its hands inside.

  He took out a dried, white, opaque vial and gave it to him.

  “Thank you, Erne, you are the best. Could you prepare my favorite dish for me? I want to celebrate after I have my fun here,” Kalle said with a perverted smile.

  A chill was sent down Alhen’s spine.

  Without saying a word, Erne nodded and retreated from the room.

  As Erne’s big body left the door, it burned a terrifying image in Alhen’s head.

  “Perfect, now that I have this, we can continue,” Kalle said.

  He unbottled the vial and dropped some red powder into his palms.

  Without wasting a second, Kalle held Alhen’s chin and raised his head, driving the powder straight into his nostrils.

  Alhen had no choice but to inhale it, making his whole body contract and spasm.

  He fell limply to the side and hit his head hard against the floor.

  Small dots of light danced in his vision, which had turned completely black just a second ago.

  As the pain slowly subsided, he could feel control of his limbs coming back to him.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

  Despite his condition, his heart couldn’t help but calm down.

  It didn’t hurt, and at least he could move somewhat now.

  “Let me help you,” Kalle said before carrying his small body effortlessly.

  “Can you speak?” He asked.

  “Y-Yeah,” Alhen let out with difficulty.

  Kalle smiled.

  He helped Alhen into the chair, and when he looked up to look at Kalle, a fist made its way to his stomach.

  “Bam!” It felt as if he’d lost it, but it was nowhere near the level of his mentor’s punch, so he took it with grace.

  Alhen fell backwards with the chair and tumbled to the ground.

  The air was knocked out of his lungs as he rolled and hit his back against the wall.

  He could move, but just barely.

  He tried to stand, but couldn’t, only managing to lift his finger.

  Alhen could only try to regain his breath as he didn’t feel his stomach anymore.

  He heard footsteps approaching, and Kalle came into view once more before he grabbed Alhen’s head.

  Kale was about thrice the size of Alhen, and his muscles bulged underneath his clothes.

  Kalle lifted him in the air with one arm, covering his face with his big palms.

  “It maddens me to see a privileged brat trying to act important. Do you think you are higher than the king? Just because you are the son of the Kovesh? Think again, you are shit, nothing, useless.”

  He threw Alhen to the other side of the room, and his body flew like a rag doll.

  The wall cracked, as well as his back.

  “Arghh!” He screamed, and Kalle laughed loudly.

  Kneeling beside Alhen, he said, “Do you know why I am doing this? It is not because you make me mad, or I want to prove something.”

  “Do you really want to know?” He paused, expecting an answer.

  Kalle looked unbothered by the lack of response and answered, “It is because I was bored.”

  He let those words sink in.

  Alhen’s mind had frozen for a few seconds after listening to him.

  ‘Just because he was bored… this bastard! So this is what this is? I will kill him!’ Alhen thought to himself.

  A burning feeling crept up to his heart.

  He clenched his teeth and narrowed his eyes on Kalle, who feigned a fearful expression.

  “Oh no, I am so scared. What are you going to do?” Sarcasm oozed out of his words.

  “I wonder what will happen if I torture the Kovesh’s son. What will he do? I hope he kills me and tears me apart slowly, how wonderful.” Kalle hugged his body, panting heavily.

  ‘He’s sick in the head, fuck! Why do I always have to deal with people like him? Is it that in this world, there are no normal people?’ He questioned, his anger rising at the thought.

  Alhen screamed at his body to move, to get out the revolver from his hip and shoot a bullet through Kalle’s head.

  His muscles twitched and moved slowly.

  Alhen felt that it would take a while until he could grab his revolver.

  He had to distract him in the meantime.

  ‘If I don’t kill him here, who knows what this madman will do to me? I cannot let that happen, I cannot die until I kill Father Vincent and find out why I killed my real dad in my past life,’ Alhen thought.

  “Kalle, that’s your name, isn’t it?” Alhen asked, talking for the first time since he arrived.

  His words came out with surprising ease, and Kalle raised an eyebrow at his question.

  “Yes, that is how I am called, Kalle. Are you going to beg for mercy? We have yet to start having fun, though?” Kalle asked, genuinely confused.

  “That’s not what I’m going to do, where's the fun in that?” He asked, hoping to elicit a reaction out of him.

  “You are so very right, what is the fun in that? I like it when I force a plea out of someone; it excites me,” he smiled perversely.

  “If they are quick to break, I would rather kill them on the spot; that is so very boooring,” Kalle said with a small laugh at the end.

  Alhen held back the urge to spit on the ground from disgust and kept his facade.

  “So, mind explaining what you’re going to do? I seriously hope that I won’t die of boredom; that would be disappointing for someone who talks this big,” Alhen attacked.

  “If your abilities are not up to par with what you said, it would be a shame, wouldn’t it?” Alhen asked, hoping to provoke him.

  His words, however, didn’t have the desired effect.

  “Hahaha! You are a funny kid. I like that. Being the son of the Kovesh means that you are not normal.”

  “You have probably been trained since you can remember to be able to handle pain, breaking you will be very fun indeed,” Kalle responded with a wicked grin.

  In Alhen’s mind, he was feeling in control, smiling mentally at the thought of winning the mental battle against this man.

  ‘Good, his reaction works in my favor. I have gained some control over my muscles; in one or two more minutes, I will be good to go.'

  'After I gain more control, I have to wait until the perfect opportunity arises to kill him,’ Alhen thought.

  Without waiting, Kalle spoke again.

  “Your name was… Alhen? It is a good name. I will torture you until you forget it. It makes me mad,” Kalle commented.

  ‘Crap! He looks ready to start doing something. I have to distract him somehow, make him think about something that will make him stop,’ Alhen thought.

  He racked his brain as he saw Kalle smiling wider and approaching him with dubious intentions.

  Alhen felt desperate until he remembered the words spoken by Father Vincent.

  ‘If you accept his help, I will aid you in the upcoming war.’

  That’s what Father Vincent had said to the king when he offered to help him in the war, and the king agreed.

  “What is your father, the king, going to do to you if something were to happen to me?” Alhen began.

  “He will lose my father’s help in the upcoming war and will most likely be upset for what you did to me. Just think about what he will do to you, and you will realize that it’s not worth it,” Alhen tried to make him reason.

  He hated himself for referring to Father Vincent as his father, but it was a desperate situation.

  Alhen hoped that his words would at least make him think about the consequences of doing what he wanted to do.

  Kalle’s smile dropped, and for the first time, he could see that he was angry.

  “My father? The king? Who cares about that old man? He is not what he used to be, ruthless, cruel, decisive; he has gone soft,” Kalle said.

  He spat on the ground at the end of his words.

  ‘This is clearly not working, I have to dig deeper,’ Alhen thought.

  “It doesn’t matter if your father has gone soft; he is still king. And even if your father does nothing, mine will surely move, and he will make sure that your family will be destroyed,” Alhen pushed.

  Kalle stopped moving, his expression becoming cold.

  “Arghh! Shut up!” He held his head and screamed.

  Alhen froze as Kalle ran to the wall and started banging his head against it, turning it red.

  Kalle's expression turned sinister; he was mad.

  Looking at Alhen with fiery eyes, he said, “You are a bad boy, did you know that? Why are you looking at me like that?”

  Kalle had wide eyes, and when he looked at Alhen, he didn’t see him; he saw a black cat meowing at him instead.

  Alhen was shocked enough by his outburst that he couldn’t even think.

  “No!” Kalle screamed.

  He quickly approached Alhen before patting his head.

  Alhen froze for a second, not knowing what to do.

  ‘What is he doing? Is he having some sort of crazy episode?' Alhen, for the first time, felt some fear.

  'Whatever it is, he seems distracted; it’s my chance,’ Alhen thought.

  Alhen desperately tried to reach his revolver, and he could feel his fingers starting to touch the handle.

  “Li, I did not mean to hurt you… I am sorry.” Tears started streaming down his face.

  Alhen was sure that he’d lost his mind at this point.

  Kalle’s tears stained Alhen’s cheeks, and he grimaced in disgust.

  Alhen took hold of the revolver and started drawing it out of its holster.

  “I will show all of them that I was right. I did it for your sake.” Kalle continued rambling, but something made him stop.

  Alhen… no, the cat stared at him with fear.

  ‘No! Please, I already told you that it was an accident. I love you! I love you more than anything in the world, please stay with me!’ Kalle shouted.

  Kalle’s grip tightened on Alhen, who struggled desperately against it.

  ‘Only a little more!’ Alhen thought, taking the revolver out of his hip.

  He celebrated in his mind before aiming it at Kalle’s stomach.

  Kalle, being bigger and stronger than Alhen, had a killer grip on him, and he could feel his bones straining against his strength.

  Just when he was about to press the trigger, the pressure increased, tensing his muscles and distracting him from the action.

  “I see… You bastard!” Kalle gripped Alhen’s neck with both hands and squeezed tightly, drawing the life out of him.

  With Alhen’s skinny neck, it wouldn’t take long before it snapped; he had to be quick.

  “You ungrateful animal! I did everything for you! Why do you look at me like that? Do you want to die!?” Kalle shouted.

  Alhen had had enough of it; he aimed his revolver at Kalle’s stomach and fired.

  “Bang!” The shot landed.

  Blood left his stomach, but Kalle didn’t seem to be fazed; he squeezed even harder.

  ‘Fuck! Is this guy a fortress or what?’ Alhen thought, momentarily taken aback from the ringing in his ears caused by firing in a small, enclosed space.

  When he recovered his focus, his finger was prepared to fire again.

  “Bang!” Kalle still held on.

  “Damn it!’ He thought desperately.

  It would only be a few moments before he died for real.

  Not caring about anything anymore, he continued firing until he had spent all his bullets, and that seemed to do the trick.

  “Gasp! Cough! Cough!” Alhen fell to the floor.

  Kalle released him, and he could barely breathe.

  When Alhen raised his head and looked at him, Kalle seemed to have returned to his senses.

  “Oh, I almost killed you without torture, sorry,” Kalle said as if he were talking about something trivial.

  He ignored all the bullet holes and stood, looking to be in peak condition.

  The blood dripping from his stomach resembled more of a decoration than anything.

  ‘Does this guy not feel pain or what?!’ Alhen cursed in his mind while he tried to recover.

  Kalle snapped his fingers, and Alhen could immediately guess what that meant, and he didn’t like it one bit.

  Erne came inside, his body moving at an unnatural angle.

  “Master, called… I?” The creature said with a broken and raspy voice.

  “I want you to clean him; he needs to be prepared for the next cycle. I am quite dirty myself, so I will go ahead first, keep him company for me, will you?” Kalle ordered.

  He headed out and closed the door behind him, leaving Alhen alone with Erne.

  Shills crept up his back when those empty eyes met his.

  There were no thoughts, no emotions, like the eyes of a dead fish.

  The creature didn’t talk, and Alhen waited to regain his strength in silence, never taking his eyes off of it.

  When he felt that his strength had come back, he went to take the axe on his back.

  Just as he blinked, however, the creature was kneeling in front of him.

  Erne knelt inches away from his face, still looking into his eyes.

  “Very, unwiseee,” it simply said, and Alhen’s heart jumped.

  He remained still, holding the handle of the axe, pondering his next action.

  ‘If I don’t do anything, I will most likely be fine, but I would just be waiting obediently until Kalle feels the need to kill me,’ Alhen grimaced.

  ‘That man is insane, and based on what he said, he’s planning on torturing me. I cannot let that happen, I have to escape.’ Alhen thought.

  Making up his mind, he activated his blessing, but just as he did, everything faded into darkness.

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