"I'm not from the Asian Empire! I was trapped under the rubble after the impact and only got out after my Mana-Core formed." I tried to explain.
"Seems like you like to lie.." He said as he placed a wet towel over my face. "I'll make you talk."
He started to pour water on my face giving me the sensation of drowning.
"MMMHHH" I muffled, as I struggled to get a breath of air again.
I tried using my Salan ability, but I only felt a burn in my core, indicating it was empty.
I wiggled my whole body, trying to remove the towel off my face and breathe again. The tightness of the ropes reminded me of the months I spent under the rubble. A coldness swept over my body, an instinctive fear of not being able to move had left a scar in my soul that was now eating me up.
The masked man stopped pouring water on my face and removed the towel. "Tell me now!" He asked for information I didn't have.
'He'll never believe me..'
"I'm not from the Asian Empire you faceless motherfucker!" I cursed at him.
"You dog-eating pests are all like that, until you break and spill everything." He said as he started waterboarding me again.
***
Every time he tortured me that way, it became less effective. I knew he wouldn't kill me, so I just had to endure.
Later he pulled me back up letting me sit on the chair.
"That's it for today. I have to go to the commander's daughter's funeral." He said and punched my already fractured ribs.
I spat our some blood and realized I had killed the daughter of someone with authority. I was screwed, this torture method was only the beginning. Even if I had spilled the information they wanted, they would still keep going until I died.
I was mentally and physically exhausted. I couldn't even sense the Mana that kept me company for months. I was all alone, like a star that was just drifting in the galaxy, that had no planet or asteroids orbiting around it.
I tried to not to fall asleep but my exhaustion was too great.
***
I was woken up by a girl I recognized to be the one, who was frozen in fear, while I cut the other guy's hand off. She looked like she was 18 or 19 years old. She was around 170 centimeters tall, had the same moon-grey colored eyes and hair, a thin nose, thick red lips and mongoloid eyes indicating she had Asian blood. And she had a a body that told me it never missed a meal.
"What are you doing with these racist fuckers?" I asked, hoping for a response that showed on whose side she was.
"Shut up!" She yelled and walked closer to me.
"They took me in after the impact, fed me and trained me." She whispered with a sad face. "I have to place this emerald on your head now."
She proceeded to place a real emerald on my forehead. The Mana particles I could see vanished in an instant again.
The grey-haired girl put the emerald back into her pocket, then grabbed me by my shoulders. "This is for Melina!" She punched me in my face and knocked me down. Her punch wasn't reinforced with Mana, so it felt like a punch from an ordinary girl.
I was now back on the ground, the grey-haired girl on top of me. Instead of punching me over and over again, she came close to my right ear "I'll get you out!" She whispered as she punched me again.
The masked man grabbed her by her wrist and escorted her out.
"How does it feel to be punched by a weakling you spared?" The masked man asked.
"Nostalgic." I answered.
The masked man was confused by my answer but let the confusion go when he took out a wet towel again.
"How would you feel if I told you that the swords you carried with you were now being melted. Melted to forge a sword for me." He asked while he poured water on my face again.
'This motherfucker dares to..' I thought as I struggled again.'
'I hope he's bluffing or I'll use his blood over and over again until I harvested enough iron from his blood to make a great-sword.'
He started to punch me in my stomach, making me forcefully inhale water that made me choke.
When he paused and lifted the towel from my face to see if I would give him the information he wanted, I asked him a question I had on my mind since yesterday "You know that you are committing war-crimes, right?"
"Don't make me laugh. Bearers and Mana isn't mentioned in the the pact. You as a Bearer are a completely new species. You could say you have no rights outside of your country's border." He said, as he laughed.
He put the towel back and continued.
***
Hours passed again, this time I could slowly feel my mind trying to submit to the suffering. I didn't have much time left, another 2 days without Mana would make me break.
"That's it for today, prepare for tomorrow. The commander himself will come to visit you. Payback for his daughter, he said." He said and laughed, excited to witness his commander torturing me himself.
He left the room that was lit by a single candle.
"If I only had Mana, I could smash their faces in.." I said trying to sense Mana again.
I looked at my left shoulder and bit a piece of flesh off, opening a wound that hurt enough to hinder me from sleeping.
I started to meditate, this time alone, with no Mana. Only 10 minutes after I started, I was interrupted by the grey-haired girl who held a plastic plate and a cup of water.
"I'm here to feed the pig" She said, loud enough to be heard from outside the door.
"Will you feed me?" I asked.
"Pigs don't talk!" She said and closed the distance between us.
She started to feed me cold soup.
Tears welled up inside my eyes, as this soup was the first meal I had in months. It's taste was so good it made me forget all the hardships I faced.
The grey-haired girl was alone with me in the torture chamber. She had a look of pity and sadness on her face after seeing me tear up by simply getting to drink soup.
"Is it possible tomorrow morning?" I whispered.
"I don't know. You have to stay awake and concentrate hard enough to sense the Mana and fill up your core. This room keeps most of the Mana out. A few minutes or even seconds outside of this room, would make your senses strong enough to fight. One more thing, try to look for similarities between your individuality and your Salan ability." She whispered back.
The amount of information I got from her was enough to devise a plan.
"Help me go to the toilet tomorrow. I can do the rest, then we can both get out of here. And do you know if they really used my blades to forge a new sword?
She nodded "You swords are in the armory."
I wanted to ask more about this place and its structure but I had already eaten up the food and drank the clean water. It was time for her to go.
"Wait, tell me your name." I said to her, before she had the chance to turn around.
"Tsuki" She whispered and went out the door.
'A full belly and an ally was enough to get out of here.' I thought and meditated again.