It was just another endless day in the depth of Kazalkar, the mountains of never-ending torture.
The mountain ranges in their rights, were fearsome and towering like the heavens themselves. Each peak was majestic and sat upon the ground like a god's castle.
Within each, countless upon countless of caves were dug. Forming rooms where innumerable prisoners were being held, the latter were tortured for the rest of eternity.
Where do I stand amidst all of this you might ask?
Well…
My name is Yugrus Akilaba. And I'm a prisoner myself in Kazalkar.
34 599 years! That is how long I have been contained in this hell after I was captured by the Demonic God and his minions.
(I've been keeping count…)
What do I look like?
I'd say I'm quite handsome, haha! My eyes had a glistening in them. They were plain brown, topping the aquiline nose beneath them. Lips were sharp and ears were quite rounded. Nothing of note.
My hair was very long by that time due to my inability to take care of it. It almost reached the floor and was now a mix between black and grey.
My body has long since lost its build due to starvation, lack of exercise and the fact that being tortured on a daily basis does not make the skin very great. It looked like it was about to decay and crumble the next time anyone attempted to touch me.
(No. Not that kind of touching, you perverted reader!)
I wore a difficult expression. I always looked I was on alert and anyone could get the jump on me. A bad habit I picked up during my life.
My voice? Is it really necessary that you know how I sound like?
Oh well, sure I guess…
Deprived of any kind of water during the thousands of years I've spent here, my throat had gone rather dry, making my voice coarse and unrecognizable from the one I bore during my mortal life.
"Hey, you! Akilaba…have you finished your monologue?"
A person…or rather I should call it a monster due to what it's been doing to me all this time, had finally heard enough of my mumbling and shut me up.
"It is getting quite creepy, you know?" it said.
That monster of an entity was my personal torturer. His…or let us say, its name was Tiff.
It may look like a normal human to the eyes, but the appearance it maintained was not simple. As a punishment to my sins, the torturers are tasked with making my life as miserable as it could be, while assuming the faces of those whom I have wronged.
Quite sick isn't it?
But to tell you the truth, in all these 34 599 years that I have been here, all 12 637 284 days that I have been tortured in this place, the faces that Tiff took were never the same. Never!
So to say, my kill count may have exceeded the number of days that I have currently spent in those mountains…
Have I killed that many during my lifetime? I probably deserve my fate in this place in the end…
"Well, I guess it is finally time for your daily fun. Excited, Akilaba?" Tiff was grinning so wide, the slits of its lips were reaching its ears. "Don't you prefer I call you, King? Or perhaps Titan?"
As if someone prickled my bare bones, the mere mention of these titles gave me both a fury unimaginable and a fright that rendered even me, scared of my own self.
My bound hands begun to shake. My lips were trembling extensively. My breathing accelerated. My heart skipped a few beats.
Even though I knew the nature of Tiff's job…to torture me even by means of words, I could not control my emotions at the remembrance of my past names.
They were not much in terms of words.
"King!" "Titan!"
But these years of torture had proven their efficacy. I despised these names. I despised myself even more.
"Do not call me these names anymore…" I could make out during my stutters. "I am no longer them…
My fists were torn between clenching as hard as they could or crackle under the pressure of my current stress.
But, this was Kazalkar. Showing mercy was not a virtue.
Tiff burst into laughter, sniggering and chuckling like a crazed pig. It was as if I had just cracked a joke.
The laughter continued until the torturer was nearly out of breath, after which it slapped its own leg, yet unable to stop.
"It is not…you who decides that" it responded to my funny statement, occasionally slipping a small laugh between the words.
Tiff was no longer sitting idle. As it had said earlier, the daily torture was upon me and Tiff took its job very seriously.
It was setting up the equipment it needed. Most prisoners would crack under the severe treatment when questioned, but this was no such case. I, and countless others like me here, are brought in for suffering and not questioning.
Whatever method the torturers used, their goal was to make each day a living hell for us. None could effectively die inside the mountains of Kazalkar under the grace of the demonic god…
Tch! More like curse rather than grace.
With that being said, Tiff and all those that had to take care of the prisoners, could absolutely do anything to us as long as it made us feel absolute pain, regret, anger…
(I'll leave the rest to your imagination.)
"You know…" Tiff conversed yet again before readying itself. "In my millenniums of doing what I do, I had never seen someone with victims as much as yours."
I did not speak, I did not remark to its assessment. I could only wait quietly until it was done for the day and wait for the next as I always did up until now. That was just how things worked here and there was no deliverance from it. I had to pay, or at least suffer for what I had done. That was my fate.
"You probably never knew, but we do not use the faces of those who you've only killed or had someone kill them."
Hearing this, my ears flared and my eyes stretched worryingly.
Don't tell me that…
"Those are also the faces of those that went into poverty"
No…stop…
"Those that were forced to kill their own in order to survive"
I said stop…please stop…
"Those that became common criminals and stole"
No…no…no…
"Those that sold themselves as slav—"
"I SAID STOP!"
Indeed. I could not contain my rage any longer. But, it was true. My victims are not only the ones I have killed. There are those whom I have made suffer.
"Hehehe! That's a good sound you just made. Music to my ears."
Tiff had once again proven my guilt and succeeded in torturing me, at least mentally. Only a few words it had said, but it was ample enough to make me bellow like a maniac.
"It was fun and all. But did you know I have yet to use any of these faces?"
What…is it that serious…what I have done…
"I teased you long enough. Now time for the true fun—"
Not soon had Tiff uttered these words that an imposing figure made its way into the cave-like room we were in.
The person's footsteps were as silent as they could be. But whenever the bottom of his bare feet touched the floor, my lungs tore themselves apart so much that I wished to be tortured instead of seeing him.
Tiff, as a reflex, dropped the tools in its hands and knelt with one knee to the ground, his head prostrated.
"Great Demigod!" Tiff said, its flat hand glued to its chest as a sign of respect.
"Good morning, Tiff" Demigod expressed with his sour voice.
Unlike his appearance, his voice was not as elegant.
Contrary to how I look now, the man had an amazingly well shaped physique apparent under the unbuttoned red shirt he wore. Although a man, I, as a man too, felt deeply aroused by the handsomeness of his face.
(No, I'm not gay. But I know a good looking man when I see one.)
Other than his almond shaped green eyes and his rosy lips, the wig upon his head dangled over his shoulder, black of tint.
Upon his smooth looking face, several weaves and threads were drawn with a turquoise colour which emitted a faint glow whenever his eyelids batted.
"What might I assume from your visit? Surely this lowly torturer is not worthy of your presence…"
"Do not flatter yourself Tiff. I have come to order this prisoner's transfer."
He had a serious look going on about right now.
Although Demigod seemed well-mannered when he greeted the torturer, the fact remains that he is in a better status and does not allow much jests.
But what was that part where I had to be transferred? Surely not to a new cave? I have grown quite comfortable of the scenery in this one. I even named the different stalagmites and stalactites. There's also a bat which comes often and perches on my chains.
Don't tell me I have to move after all this time…does it also mean I would have to change my torturer…
Tiff may be a pain and extremely irritating, but I've grown fond of its character and others might be softer when it comes to torture. I need to be punished properly for what I've done.
"Tr-Transfer? But, where will you transfer him?" Tiff asked conveniently.
"To brother Demonic's hall of course. Unbind King Akilaba's hands and feet then show him the way" the man turned his back and walked away slowly.
"But, Great Demigod…" Tiff kept interjecting, hoping this was a misunderstanding. "Why would a prisoner be allowed to gaze upon Demonic God's greatness?—"
Same as before, the air tightened in the crumbling cave. This time, even Tiff was taken aback and struggled to breathe so much that sweat dropped down from his forehead. The soil lightly shook and dust fell from the ceiling.
Whatever these monsters were, if they decided to intervene in the matters of the likes of humans, then the world would be in chaos.
Just who were my hosts exactly? Why would the master of this place want my transfer to his hall most of all?
"Presumptuous!" he struck a foot to the floor and the torturer was forced to lower his posture. "What makes you qualified to question my brother's decision so lightly."
"I-I-I apologize Great Demigod, I overstepped…"
For some reason fortunately, I was only mildly affected by the surge of this imposing aura. The one struggling at the end of it was Tiff. It was, as of now, wriggling on the floor, still begging for mercy.
As simply as I could describe it, the aura dissipated. If it had gone further than that, I fear my personal torturer would have throttled upon the mass.
Free of the pressure, Tiff remained flat to the cave's floor, not daring to lift its head.
"Don't be late. Escort the king to the hall before noon…" Demigod resumed his exit, "after all, the prisoner wouldn't want to be late to his own exoneration now would he?"
The imposing man left, leaving the room in an inward ruckus. The only thing I could glimpse off his face before he made leave was the arching of his lips. A malicious but comforting smile took away my worries but threw me in a whole new world of questions of which I could only be answered when I reached the mentioned hall.
"Y-Yes…as you wish…" Tiff fumbled, its expression yet unclear due to its current posture, but I was sure he was as floundered as I was.
There I was, still hanging from my binds with my mind gone awry. Nothing shocked the living out of me anymore than what transpired before me. What the handsome man just said...was it true?
Perhaps it was all a trick. A joke. Or even part of the torture Tiff subjected him to. Maybe it decided to add another person into the action for more efficiency…
Exoneration? Exonerated? Me? Why? There must be a mistake…right?