“Drip! Drip!” Water dripped down Alhen’s head.

  He opened his eyes to find himself in a bathtub filled with water and bubbles.

  He lay naked and confused, tattoos fully exposed, looking around to make sense of his surroundings.

  ‘Where am I? The last thing I remember is… That guy!’ He said in his mind, thinking about the moment when he was knocked unconscious.

  ‘I couldn’t even see him move before I dropped. He’s even more dangerous than Kalle himself,’ Alhen thought before taking in his surroundings.

  The walls were pink, girly pink, and multiple dolls and necklaces lay around.

  The girl dolls were made of straw, and their dresses were made of leather.

  Their bodies and faces had numerous scratches.

  They each had a cartoony face with a smile, with the only difference being their hairstyles and dress colors.

  Something felt off about them, and Alhen couldn’t quite explain what made him feel the way he did.

  Before he could think more about it, he noticed the door leading outside was open.

  Alhen saw the faint outline of a dark corridor extending into what seemed to be the abyss.

  His surroundings were lit up by a small oil lamp perched on the end of the bathtub where he lay.

  “What do I do now?” He asked out loud.

  ‘Wait a second, why would the door be open at all? Don’t tell me that someone was supposed to be watching over me, but they left to get something, leaving me unsupervised…’

  Alhen opened his eyes widely. If what he thought was true, then his time was limited.

  Alhen held the side of the bathtub and stood, but a sudden pressure on his shoulder made him drop into the water, submerging him fully.

  He struggled against the pressure to take a breath, but it kept him down firmly.

  Water entered his nostrils and mouth, and he could feel himself losing strength by the second.

  Just as he thought he was going to die, he felt himself being yanked upwards with force.

  Whatever held him down took him out of the water, allowing him to breathe and cough the water out of his lungs.

  Alhen, not knowing what was happening, looked behind him and saw the same creature from his memories.

  “E-Erne,” Alhen said, barely being able to speak.

  Erne’s grip strengthened on his shoulder, and he felt the pressure mounting until it felt like it was about to break.

  “Argh! Stop!” Alhen shouted.

  Erne didn’t listen; he scrubbed his back vigorously using an old, dirty yellow sponge.

  Through gritted teeth, Alhen resisted.

  Pain from when Kalle had thrown him against the wall appeared.

  He was sure that his back was broken, albeit barely.

  His thuls and clothes were nowhere to be seen, but just remembering the fast movements of the creature was enough to keep him out of trouble.

  ‘I can’t do anything with this monster here. I don’t seem to be in any imminent trouble, but I should still be cautious and find a way out when I can,’ Alhen thought through gritted teeth.

  After a few seconds, and just when the pain started to become unbearable, the creature stopped.

  “Me, back,” Erne said before standing and leaving the room.

  Alhen heard a click coming from the door, probably from the creature locking the door behind him.

  Alhen was left agonizing in pain, but it didn’t compare to the tortures he went through at the Church of Orgurd.

  He recovered quickly, feeling the warm water heal his spirit.

  It relaxed him and reminded him of the time he spent in the private cleaning room, but this wasn’t the time to relax.

  He tried to think about what he could do, but nothing came to mind apart from figuring out a way to escape his situation.

  “Wait a second, my Luna Signum! Why did I not think of that earlier?” Before, he couldn’t use it, but now that the effects of the drug had disappeared, maybe it would work.

  Closing his eyes, he tried to feel the energy just below his neck, but didn’t find it.

  ‘Huh? Why is my sign out of energy?’ Alhen thought.

  Without his sign, he was just a normal kid.

  He pushed himself out of the bathtub and looked for his thuls in every corner, but couldn’t find them.

  The dolls lying on the ground seemed to be staring at him, no matter where he went.

  That’s when he noticed that they were indeed looking at him.

  They followed his movements, explaining the off-putting feeling he had experienced earlier.

  That’s when Alhen had a concerning thought.

  ‘Could it be that someone is watching me through these dolls?’ He was almost certain of it.

  Given all the strange creatures and supernatural abilities in this world, his idea didn’t seem to be far-fetched.

  ‘It’s not like I can stay here waiting for my death, I have to get out.’ Looking at the closed door, he made up his mind.

  He braced himself and charged towards it shoulder-first, and the dolls followed his movements.

  Because his feet were wet, he couldn’t run at his top speed, or else he’d slip.

  When his shoulder made contact with the door, it felt as if he ran into a steel wall.

  The pain in his back rang out, making him shout in pain before falling to his knees.

  ‘Damn it!’ He cursed in his mind.

  Slowly standing up, he felt the door and the wall; they were both rock solid, impossible to budge.

  Looking back, he saw the dolls who looked to be making fun of him with that frozen smile on their faces.

  Standing it no more, he took the dolls as best as he could with one arm and placed them inside the bathtub, ignoring their gazes.

  ‘Alright, with that out of the way, I have to figure out something if I want to escape from here alive.’

  ‘Fighting or outrunning that thing is impossible right now; it’s out of my league. I have to remain unnoticed if I want to have any chance at achieving it,’ Alhen thought.

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  His gaze swept the room and didn’t find anything of utility.

  Frowning, he looked up, and that’s when it met the ceiling.

  He found some vents currently out of reach.

  ‘Maybe I can escape through there if I fit,’ he thought.

  The problem was that there were no objects in the room that could help him reach it.

  Looking at the bathtub, he had an idea.

  He stood on the walls of the tubs and jumped to grab the vent.

  His small fingers were able to fit through the gap, and he could feel the hatch slowly bending down from his weight.

  He held on for his life, feeling his back and grip strength about to give up.

  The pain from earlier kicked in with full force, but he resisted the urge to let go with gritted teeth.

  “Crack!” The ventilation hatch broke, and he fell to the floor with the hatch falling on top of him.

  “Yelp!”

  He landed on his back, and it felt as if it was about to break more than it already was.

  Alhen couldn’t help but smile somewhat despite the pain as he looked at the open vent in the ceiling.

  “Good, now I just have to hope there’s an exit somewhere up there,” Alhen said in a low voice.

  “Creak!” The door opened, and his smile fell.

  Looking back, he could see Kalle looking at him, confused.

  He entered the room carrying a candle holder that emitted a small light and started looking around.

  Kalle gazed at the dolls in the bathtub and the mess caused by Alhen, wearing a confused expression.

  ‘Fuck, I want to kill myself. What kind of shitty luck do I have for getting into the most unfavorable situations all the time?’

  ‘At this point, I will have to stop resisting if I don’t want to cause more trouble than I already have,’ Alhen thought.

  “What are you doing? Erne leaves you alone for a minute, and you are already causing trouble,” Kalle said.

  Alhen remained silent, cursing his luck in his thoughts.

  “Alright, I will forget about it. Follow me, you cannot be walking around naked,” Kalle ordered.

  Alhen took a deep breath before pushing the hatch off his body and standing.

  Kalle took him out of the room into the hallway, which looked worn and dusty.

  Alhen’s wet body received the cold air outside and started shivering.

  The darkness made the path hard to see, but Kalle navigated through it with practiced familiarity.

  He walked behind Kalle, who didn’t seem to take him as a threat, something that deeply bothered him.

  ‘In the end, it all comes down to how strong you are, and right now, I am nothing.’ He sighed and shook his head before focusing on the task ahead.

  His mind kept wandering on the best ways to escape the situation.

  His gaze was practically darting around, trying to find escape routes.

  His eyes met only the barely visible paintings on the wall, which seemed to be alive.

  Without his thuls and abilities, he was just a normal kid, powerless to do anything about his situation.

  Kalle guided him to a room with only a chair and an oil lamp hanging on the back of it.

  On the chair, he found his clothes, cleaned and folded.

  “There they are, what are you waiting for? Put them on,” Kalle urged him, but Alhen hesitated.

  The last time they saw each other, he tried strangling him and almost killed him.

  Now, he seemed like a nice guy, treating him too nicely for his liking.

  Alhen neared the chair while looking at a smiling Kalle, never taking his eyes off him or giving him his back.

  “Do not fear me, I am not planning on doing anything right now,” Kalle said.

  “I don’t trust you,” Alhen said while reaching out for his clothes behind him.

  He didn’t care about being exposed; in this situation, losing focus would mean certain death.

  “Where are my thuls?” He asked, now with the clothes in hand.

  “Fear not, your thuls are safe. I would not dare throw away useful artifacts. Of course, you will not be getting them back, but rest assured that they are not going to go to waste,” Kalle said with a playful smile.

  Alhen narrowed his eyes on him, “Give them back,” he ordered, and Kalle laughed at him.

  He wanted to pounce and beat the hell out of Kalle right there and then, but held back.

  ‘Calm down, I won’t be able to do anything in my condition.’ Despite his thoughts, anger raged within him.

  ‘It wasn’t long ago that I could finally use both of my arms. Those thuls were becoming part of me. I swear that I will kill this fucker with them,’ Alhen thought, fuming with anger.

  He looked away to avoid the sight of a smug smile on Kalle’s face, not wanting to lose control of himself.

  Alhen slowly started dressing with one hand, having difficulties doing so.

  He gritted his teeth as he felt the pain starting to resurface again, and his body trembled.

  “Do you need help?” Kalle asked.

  “Fuck off!” Alhen shot back, the situation messing with his head and his mood.

  “Oh, by the Supreme. I just wanted to help.”

  Alhen didn’t pay it mind.

  When he finished putting on his jacket, he heard, “Now sit on the chair,” Kalle said, sounding colder.

  His eyes widened, and he looked up from his clothes to stare at Kalle at top speed.

  He hadn’t moved, but the way his body stood, the shift in his gaze and demeanor, he felt it.

  Kalle wasn’t playing anymore, turning into something colder that demanded absolute obedience.

  Kalle continued to stare at him, waiting for him to do as he asked.

  Alhen’s body froze, wondering what to do.

  ‘Should I sit down? No, if I do that I’m dead, but it’s not like I could do much either,’ Alhen thought frantically.

  “Gah!” Getting tired of the wait, Kalle slapped Alhen on the face, sending him flying into the wall, injuring his arm in the process.

  “When I tell you to do something, you do it quickly and without complaints. I get mad when dogs try to disobey their master. And you know what happens when I get mad?” Kalle slowly walked towards a dazed Alhen on the floor.

  He picked Alhen by the collar and held him up in front of him, forcing him to look into his eyes.

  “Do you know what happens?” He repeated.

  Blood trickled down Alhen’s mouth, and one of his teeth had fallen out and was bleeding.

  The taste of iron invaded his gustatory sense.

  “Pthoo!” Not playing by Kalle’s rules, Alhen spat on his face, staining it with his blood and saliva.

  “Fuck you,” Alhen said with a nasty grin on his face, laughing at Kalle’s expression.

  ‘Fuck it, if I’m going to die, I’m going to do so on my own terms. I’m tired of cowering before the challenges that come my way. I will embrace this one fully with open arms,’ Alhen thought with a smile on his face.

  Kalle froze for just a second in shock before his expression twisted in anger.

  “You! Be prepared. I was going to be nice, to be merciful, but I changed my mind. You will die, and I will make sure that it will be slow and painful!” Kalle shouted, having lost his mind.

  “Do you think I’m scared of you? Think again. You are an immature, worthless, sad, pathetic, and stupid piece of s- Thwack!” Alhen didn’t get to finish his words as Kalle kicked him in the face.

  The force almost broke his neck, but it held on somehow.

  Alhen’s vision went dark for a few moments, and when he opened his eyes, he found himself sitting in the chair.

  ‘Did I lose consciousness?’ He wondered, wincing from the pain ringing in his head.

  In front of him, Kalle stood pacing around the room, back and forth.

  He bit the fingernail on his thumb and looked frantic, anxious even.

  Incoherent words came out of his mouth in rapid bursts.

  Alhen remained silent, waiting for the moment his head stopped ringing, and the pain in his body subsided enough so he could focus.

  This didn’t happen, however, as Kalle noticed the brief change in Alhen’s breathing.

  He turned to look at Alhen at high speed before hurriedly approaching him.

  Kalle held Alhen’s shoulders with strength, looking desperate.

  “You! You are the cause of my misery! Oh, how I wish I could kill you right now, but I cannot. I have to hold myself, I need… to breathe,” Kalle said before retreating into doing what he did before.

  ‘If I talk right now, I feel like he’s going to lose it and kill me. I will stay silent and see where this goes,’ Alhen decided.

  “Li, stop haunting me. I can feel your presence, you are watching, aren't you? Argh! Stop scratching me!” Kalle shouted at the air.

  Alhen, watching the show from his chair, couldn’t help but grimace at the sight.

  ‘What can I do? I feel like no matter what I do, this guy is going to kill me by mistake before he tortures me.’

  ‘At least if he tortures me, I can think of a way to escape. Can I not do anything to calm him down?’ He thought.

  At the next second, Kalle stopped everything he was doing and stood still, not moving a muscle and not breathing at all.

  ‘What is he doing now? Do I take this chance to escape?’ He wondered and decided to do just that.

  He slowly stood from his chair, feeling every bit of pain throughout his body.

  Alhen walked steadily to the exit right behind Kalle, who stared intently at the wall to his left.

  Alhen thought Kalle was completely still, but that seemed not to be the case.

  He saw his lips barely moving and forming coherent words that he couldn’t hear because he was focused on the exit.

  Alhen passed by Kalle, feeling his heart about to break free from his chest, and reached the door.

  As he took hold of the handle and opened it, Kalle was still distracted.

  This didn’t last long as the door creaked loudly, making him freeze on the spot.

  He slowly turned around to look at Kalle, who stared directly at him with no visible expression.

  A couple of seconds passed with both of them staring at each other in silence.

  Alhen saw the faintest trace of movement from Kalle before he bolted out of the room, closing the door behind him and running down the dark hall.

  “Huff, huff, huff!” He breathed heavily as he used everything in his power to run away.

  He didn’t hear Kalle following after him, but he refused to be careless.

  His caution reached its peak as he tried navigating the unfamiliar environment.

  ‘Crap! If Kalle finds me now, I don’t want to think what he will do to me. Where the hell is the damn exit?!’ he thought.

  No matter where he looked, everything looked the same.

  A second later, he heard rapid footsteps approaching his location.

  He darted down the hall in an endless run, and the sound kept getting nearer and nearer.

  “Tap, Tap, Tap.” Alhen could feel that whatever was following him was right behind him, and he turned in a hurry to find nothing.

  ‘What happened? Could I have imagined that sound?’ He wondered.

  Turning around to keep on running, there he was, Kalle, looking at him with a serious expression.

  Alhen widened his eyes before trying to run away, but he felt a killer grip on his forearm that stopped him.

  “I am done playing nice,” Kalle said.

  The next second, Alhen could feel his legs give out, and he landed on the floor with a thud.

  He looked down to see what had happened and saw his legs facing the wrong direction.

  “Arghh!” he screamed from the shock before being dragged back where he came from.

  He clawed at the floor, trying to stop his advance, but it was useless.

  His fingernails came off, leaving a small bloodpath in his wake.

  Alhen didn’t mind the pain, as he kept trying to get away, but it was useless.

  He was dragged to certain misery.

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