Chapter 9 - Cries For Help

Focus Titian:

The world had blurred into a potage of endless suffering. The pain never numbed; nerves fired signals furiously, begging their body to move away from the source of harm.

Before Shin could bathe in the acute pain washing over him, where at least his mind was hazy enough to forget the world, his 'blessing' of an ability brought him back within minutes, restoring him to a point where his mind could comprehend everything. His reprieve from reality never lasted long enough to savor.

He wept to himself privately, unwilling to tear up physically anymore. His body was slowly adjusting to what his mind couldn't.

The brief moments of obscure thought eventually ended, and, as dozens of times before, all his memories came flooding back.

"You don't need to pretend to be out of it~"

- - - - - -

Hours before.

*Fuck you! If I am going to live in hell, I will keep myself as sane as I can to spite you! 

Do your worst!*

His ear burned in short bursts. Zeris had just liquified his left inner eardrum and any tissue behind it.

He reclaimed his resolve, shooting Zeris a glare. It was the most he would do, not daring enough to test her threats to harm Aizza.

"Oh, how wonderful. I thought you had already given up! 

That I'd have to give you motivation! But since you are so eager to continue, let's begin a few new tests for your verve-ish body!

Let's see…"

The demoness had looked down to a paper-packed clipboard. Messy handwriting filled each page to the point that they would appear gray instead of white from afar.

She flipped through a few sheets, arriving at the third-to-last page.

"Oh! This one has always been a dream of mine! 

What a perfect start, a question I have held onto for some time now."

She let the pages fall back down, extending her tentacle to the table and setting down the clipboard. She began to elaborate on the trial-to-be.

"Shin, what's the worst injury you've sustained?"

Shin kept his unrelenting glare, ignoring her question.

"Not willing to talk right now? You'll lighten up soon, I promise it~

But based off what I know, the worst you've experienced would have to either be a broken femur, or when Alrate-Nitirous 6 was injected into you.

What astonishes me is that your leg healed perfectly! No one mended your wound, and you left it crooked and un-splintered.

If your ability was simply to heal quickly, then you would be walking with a limp!

Or take any old cut you've had! Have you ever been infected? No.

What about scars? You have been dealt some severe damage, Shin~

That shoulder wound you obtained was done as uncleanly as it gets!

But look at you now! Unmarred, unmarked, any injury deleted from your body, but not your mind. No physical scarring.

And getting sick? The best you've experienced was throwing up after rancid food. No actual sickness from bacteria or chemicals."

She circled around Shin as she spoke, making every word of hers seem like a performance. 

"You see, Shin, your ability is much more than rapid regeneration.

I can make some guesses as to why, but in the end, I need data.

How far does your little trick work?

Alrate-Nitirous 6 was practically just a powerful acid to any living being, but you only reported moderate pain and indistinct thoughts.

A slurred brain, so to speak.

But even with that, you have recovered!

So we need to find out. 

To create a foundation to work upon~

Does a bone regenerate when half of it is removed? If so, then what's the lower limit? If there isn't one, or if it depends on the bone, what can be removed and then regrown? Oh Shin, what if your bones were fractured into thousands of pieces and then jumbled up? Do those pieces reform normally, or do they break your cycle of no scarring? What if your bones are switched around? Is it identified as damaged, or do you keep the new structure? Does blood flow affect or determine if and how it regenerates?

Can a missing finger regenerate?

A hand?

An arm?

What if your organs are damaged, removed, or spliced?

Can you regrow them?

Do they regrow separately from you if given the chance?

Can you reform an eye?

Do your enticing rubies flawlessly return? 

Is there a limited amount of regenerations?

Can I endlessly pluck your precious eyes without worry of running out?"

Her breaths became erratic and erotic once again.

"Oh Shin!

I would simply implode with joy if I could keep a few of your gem-like eyes, their deep and profound glossy stares forever saved and preserved!

And that, Shin, is where we'll be starting today!

We must be unrushed and methodical in our approach, testing each variable, factor, and possibility!

Shin, as I said before, I'd die for you. You are indeed a treasure to behold.

A treasure *I* behold~"

Shin could not remain silent as she approached his face with a device obviously shaped to pry and prop open an eye.

"No, fuck that! I am not going along with you little batshit crazy experiments!"

He shook his head vigorously, making it difficult for Zeris to insert the tool.

"I guess we'd need a control variable too. 

A variable to test your ability against, isn't that right, Shin? Another without your ability, just to make sure the data isn't skewed?

I'm sure Aizza would be a great candidate!"

*You fucking demon! You wretched bitch! No curse is enough, no punishment in hell will be enough for you!*

Shin kept his emotions in check, keeping his head still. He was afraid. 

Afraid of the pain. Fearful of the damage to his body. Scared to lose himself. Terrified of the 'tests' Zeris had detailed to him.

Dreading that Aizza would suffer the same.

"Well, it wouldn't be good anyway if we had you accidentally moving your head around!"

Zeris brought a tentacle to the screen behind her, tapping a key on the extended keyboard.

Two metal prods repelled off the table and held Shin's head in place with great force. 

Testing it, he attempted to move his head, which only accomplished a wasted effort.

*Holy shit, I can't move!*

"And as another precaution-"

Followed by another tap, a more considerably sized constraint wrapped around his midsection, tightly constricting him without affecting his breathing too much. Attempting to bend his waist, he learned he had lost total control over any significant movements.

"And now, Shin, let's begin~"

Zeris brought two of her smaller arm tentacles to his right eye.

"N-No! Not right! P-Please not the right one."

He pleaded to Zeris, wanting to keep the eye that seemed to have better vision. Though it made no real difference, he wanted to at the very least keep his right eye.

"Awww, since it makes no difference and you asked so politely, I shall make a concession this time~

But know such a plea will only work on my once~"

Instead, she placed the warm, thin tentacles to his left eye, lifted the lid wide, and set the device beneath them with her thicker hand-like tentacle.

It distressed Shin greatly. It felt as if rocks were placed into his eyes that he couldn't even attempt to remove. He gurgled a hiss while his eyes watered. His body wanted nothing more than to remove the obtrusion, but the constants gave him no leeway.

The tears only had the unintended effect of drying his eye out faster.

"Ooo, that seems beyond uncomfortable for you Shin!

I hate to see you suffer so!"

Her lasciviousness betrayed her concern. The lustful grin on her face only further proved her lie about his well-being.

"I happen to have a numbing agent. But it is in short supply!"

She placed her tentacle to her face, affectionately tilting her head.

Another exaggerated lie, Shin knew.

"But I'd be willing to expend some of the precious medicine in exchange for you calling me Mother ~

Just once?~"

*Fuck…

…

I don't want to feel my eye being ripped out…*

He locked his jaw, speaking through clenched teeth.

"May I pleash-"

"It is quite discourteous to speak in such a way and tone, Shin~"

*This. Bitch.*

Whispering in a forcibly polite tone, Shin reigned in all his hatred to appease her.

"May I please have the numbing medicine, Mom?"

"OhhHhHhhHhhhh, mmmMMmmmmmm!

Of course you can, darling~"

*Fucking disgusting.*

Zeris, giggling and squirming in satisfaction, walked to a wall behind Shin. Opening a cabinet stocked full of the same-looking bottle, she removed one of the green containers and brought it to the cartable table.

She wrapped a tentacle around it and twisted the seal off, which emitted a rotting smell that assaulted Shin's nose.

"This is the mucus of a wokeet beetle. A pest common to the sixth layer. Its taste is as putrid as its scent. 

It is commonly used as an anesthesia for most humanoids. And what better to use it on than a human in the flesh!

You'll need to down the whole container now, Shin~"

*I have to eat it!? 

I didn't think anything could be worse than the decaying food scraps I'd resorted to eating when I was younger.

Damn it, I don't want to suffer!*

Scrunching his nose, he lowered his jaw. A movement that caused a little pain with his head restrained as it was. Zeris poured the mucus into his agape mouth without hesitation.

If any of it spilled off, it was on him. 

Immediately, Shin felt his neck contract, and his body shrieked in pure revulsion. The cells in his body refused to let such a putrid thing into him. But his mind was more willful than his instincts, more terrified to feel the entirety of his eye being removed. And so, he swallowed it, letting it flow down his unwilling throat and to his stomach. 

After a few unsuccessful heaves, his body relaxed, forgetting what it was fighting against. Following its consumption, a cool tingle surrounded every limb of his body.

Every muscle in his body gave up. He could even feel his own heart slow down. He sagged, his weight now held mainly by his waist and wrist restraints. No sensation existed besides the fresh tingle that pulsated throughout him. Unknown to Shin at the moment, even his control over his bladder and bowels had been lost. Beneath the table was a metal grate, allowing fluids down a drain. 

Zeris made no sign that she cared. Only the arousal of 'testing' him seemed to matter.

Shin, unable to see beyond the room's light and ceiling, lost control of his eyes as well. They stayed where he left them, looking forward. His left eyelid only stood open due to the device holding it open. 

Losing all senses besides sight and hearing, his mind became antsy from the lack of simulation. 

That was until Zeris popped into his view. She clarified the situation as she increased the angle at which the table leaned and its height.

"You seemed so relaxed, I'm glad you're ready now!

I'm thrilled and impressed I didn't have to restart your heart!"

*What!?*

"Oh dear, I can see the question burning in your soul.

Yes yes, it was a grand risk. The mucus is only to be applied to the area you need to be antithesized, otherwise the patient risks countless health issues. But you see, Shin, you're special! Had I just applied it to your eye, as you are certainly wishing for now, how long would it have lasted? Your recovery from such an effect would have left you in great pain. It would've made me seem akin to a liar!

You paid for what I asked, and I am one who upholds promises!

Yes yes, be very thankful to this genius~

Now that we have cleared up that, let's bring you up and closer so I have reliable access to your beautiful eye, Shin~"

Despite being relieved that he wouldn't physically feel the removal of his eye, he was displeased with being forced to have the demoness fully in his view. He couldn't even change the focus of his own pupils to blur her out, which required the use of a muscle.

Shin wished he could spit at her all-too-close face. Even if he wouldn't do it, not wanting to challenge her and experience another punishment or risk Aizza getting hurt, knowing he had the ability would've made him feel a little better.

*Sucks I can't even display my emotions on my face. 

Why didn't the damn mucus just knock me out completely!?

Fuck, I am going to watch my own eye be removed*

"Ahhhh~

I am going to begin now Shin~

I can't wait any longer!"

Out of his visual range, Zeris then brought up a precise and petite blade. Its edge was slowly brought to his pupil.

"I'll explain as I go~

I would love it if someday you'd be as technical and methodical as me, holding yourself back and doing each step properly, correctly, and precisely~

Yes, one day you'll be just like your Mother here!"

The knife cut into his pupil. The unfocused edge became dyed red, or rather, his own eye. The vitreous fluid within had become soaked with blood, partially blinding him.

*Holy hell, this is not okay!*

"I am first going to create a small slit, enough so that blood rushes to the site of the wound.

I will first record how quickly your eye heals from such a small incision, if at all.

This will allow me to compare the results to future studies, giving me data to predict whether you have a regeneration limit. If the time between healing is affected by all sorts of variables!

How well your blood is saturated with nutrients? How stressed are you? How often can it happen within a particular period?

Think about it! Does your ability need to 'rest' too? Or if I pump you with enough nutrients, can I just indefinitely farm your body?

While I'm not so conclusive about whether rest is necessary, I am certain your body needs resources to recover, just as anyone else would.

Can't create matter from nothing!"

She spoke with an official and knowledgeable tone. Her over-sexualized energy seemed to have vanished when faced with what she considered fascinating work while also imparting her methodologies.

She finished her first test, backing the tool off. Her tentacle held a stopwatch she clicked to life after removing the blade. Shin saw none of this, his vision a bright red, aided by the incandescent light shining at him.

*I am forced to see my own eye get stabbed and gutted. I can't even choose not to look.

This sicko probably knew that as well. I am sure she could have given me something to knock me out too.

She just wants me to suffer. 

To break me.

Fuck you, I won't break, not until the day I die!*

His thoughts were filled with rage, with the will to not give in no matter what was to come. A short time passed before his vision was once again viable. His eye had recovered.

A click was heard in the room, and the stopwatch ended its timing.

"Holy Sovereign!"

Zeris squealed like a schoolgirl.

"Shin, do you know what just happened!?

You healed your eye within three minutes. I was expecting it to take at least 15 minutes, similar to other sustained bodily harm you have showcased in the past. But no!

2 Minutes, 48 seconds, 772 milliseconds!"

She regained her passionate tone, and her panting breaths returned.

"We will be able to accomplish so many great things, Shin~

Time was already negligible, but now it's nonexistent!"

*Damn it all! Why the hell was I given this accursed ability!*

"Normally, I'd repeat the process three times more, but let's skip to a more, intricate, operation~

I'm sure you can handle it, especially while you are still numb~"

*No breaks, just my luck…*

Zeris, her once creamy face now rushed crimson with blood, began her subsequent trial.

"We will now be removing the section between the ciliary body - around your iris, in laymen's terms - and deep enough to release the eye's vitreous fluid. 

I will time the process again while noting how exactly the repair takes place.

Will the eye close off the lens and iris first and, like a balloon, refill with vitreous? What about the gasses that make their way in to fill the space?

Or will your body give up on the eye and start growing anew?

Possibly, although the least 'fun' result, is your eye recovering with such a painful defect.

Those are most likely outcomes, and now let's test them."

Holding true to her words, she cut with the same knife as before around the ruby iris of his eye, and after creating a round incision, she brought a small tubal rod to suck it out, leaving a gaping hole in his eye.

To Shin, it looked like a shadow oscillating closer and farther until his vision became flushed with pure white after he removed his iris and lens.

A shot of sensation pricked Shin.

*What the f!...

No.

No, No, No!

NONONONONONONONO!*

Shin recognized that the numbing mucus was wearing off.

"I will now forcibly collapse the eye with an applied pressure, releasing around a quarter to a half of the vitreous humor."

Bringing a cup just below his eye, she took her two smaller tentacles and slowly pinched the edges of Shin's eye. Finished with her side of the experiment, she capped the container of liquid for her prospective studies. She had much to learn.

"With the timer going, I shall jot down how your body handles the injury.

Blood had entered the innards directly, mixed in with the remaining vitreous humor. Minimal amounts of air have made its way in. 

Note to singe the vessels within the ciliary body and prevent bleeding in future tests to see if it affects recovery times.

Oh, it seems like the fluid is rapidly flowing out. Is the body attempting to fill the damaged hull before the gaps are closed? That would imply an inefficient order of the healing process.

Maybe it's attempting to eject the contaminated vitreous humor? That would explain the seeming waste. Does that mean the body is incapable of cleansing the vitreous fluid directly?"

Shin's eye felt warm. A sense he had lost.

*Please heal! Please heal faster. I don't want to feel it!*

Half his sight was as if it was underwater and unfocused, with strewn lines of red slowly floating away.

"Coming to a stop 2 minutes, 18 seconds, and 102 milliseconds later, the lens seems to be reforming in a bent shape after excreting most of the vitreous humor. 

How will the eye inflate itself with the deformity?

…

Ah, so the iris, lens, cornea, and sclera reformed first, albeit incorrectly.

Interesting, will the eye inflate in such a state?"

Eight minutes after the start of the test, Shin regained a small sense of his pain and, along with it, control over his body.

He moaned out from the light sting, fearful of what it'd feel like after fully recovered.

This caused him to flex his damaged eye, allowing a sharper sting to make its way through.

*Shit shit shit, please stop. Please stop it Zeris, I beg of you!*

"Nnnnhuaaa..."

"Hmmm? 

Oh, how silly of me. The mucus must be wearing off faster than I predicted. You can only blame yourself for being more than what I could have fathomed~

A shame. It's unfortunate for you that you'll have to learn to handle these experiments sooner rather than later! 

I wonder if the substance affected your regeneration rate at all? I guess You'll get to use it again at some point once we get a solid foundation for your recovery-

-Ah, the eye is inflating! No repair work occurred to the deformities, prioritizing the unbalanced vitreous humor first. 

Where does the air within the voided space go? 

Carried off by the blood, presumably?

What if foreign objects reside? 

Jotting down to test with larger solid objects within the eye."

Another three minutes passed. 

*Shit, this hurts! 

My damn vision is returning. Maybe it'll be fixed before I can feel it!

Please, please!*

Shin prayed for his eye to outpace his returning pain. He conveniently ignored the horrible things Zeris would do to him later.

"The eye seems fully inflated, while muscle walls have also started to reattach.

It's hard to tell, but the cornea may be reshaping. 

This may just be a reaction to the bright light and returning functionality rather than a repair to its deformity."

Every word she said was written down by tentacles behind her, constantly at work scribbling into one of the dozens of notebooks around her. She had the muscle memory to not have to look at her notes, even if the result was messy and unorganized.

"Pl-llease, muuuasss…"

Shin let out a groan, asking for Zeris to give him another dose of the mucus. She picked up on his request immediately.

A mother can tell such things from their deep bond, after all.

"Ah, I'm afraid I can't Shin. 

You'll just have to become as adaptive to your pain as your body is to physical harm~

Oh, the iris and lens are reshaping, and the cornea has already been restructured.

Make sure to compare the size and shape to the right eye; degradation may have occurred, although unlikely.

Note to self, test how a lack of resources available affects the recovery of varying organs…

Ah, but Shin, I would sure love it if you told me what the experience was like!

I'll only ever be able to watch and taste what happens~

I only have two eyes, after all, and for that, I thank you for your sacrifice!"

*This fucking psycho! Taste? Who the hell eats other beings!

Thankfully I don't feel pain anymore. And my vision is back, even if my eye's a bit dry.*

"Nnnnooo..."

Shin slurred his answer to Zeris.

"Aww, alright then Shin, that is fine with me.

Oh, before I forget, about 14 minutes, 57 seconds, and 24 milliseconds for regeneration!

That was an exciting process, and now that you have feeling back, I would be fond of witnessing that again while your face contorts!

What emotions will you show me?

And that's precisely what we'll be doing now, at least 2 more times before we remove half the eye~"

"M-Mom, please lllet mmme ussse mmmorrre muccussss…"

He attempted to ask again, poking at her weakness.

She squealed and wiggled in place at the magic words spoken.

"Ahhhh! How adorable!

MMnnnnnnnn, I am sorry darling, but I can't! 

It's unfortunate, but I can't handle not seeing all the pulchritudinous faces you can make anymore! I've waited far far too long!"

With an unrighteously regretful look, Zeris started towards his recovered eye again, beginning a new cycle.

*This is it…*

Losing his resolve a second time, he gave into despair.

- - - - - -

Focus Aizza:

Coming to, a wretched stench burned her nostrils. A mixture of bleach, feces, and rusting metal jolted Aizza to fully awaken. 

^*What's going on!? What's this awful stench!?*^

Sitting up from the cold floor while holding a hand to her nose, Aizza focused her vision.

^*Where am I right no-!*^

"H–mnnnnnn!"

She quickly covered her mouth. Her memories had come flooding back like a smack to the face.

^*SHIN! 

Where's Shin? Is he alright!?*^

Aizza looked around the room after crawling around the cabinet in the corner of the room, where she had fallen unconscious.

She almost screamed in terror when she located the source of the putrid smell.

Shin was still strapped to the metal table. His innards hung out on a rollable table in front of him.

Behind the table, a meticulous Zeris stood observing the innards removed from him, writing behind her back. She was humming to herself as she was solely focused on prodding specific spots with a needle.

^*SHINNNNN! N-NOOOOOOO!*^

Aizza leaned over and let out a dry heave, a sound masked by Zeris's humming and unshakable focus.

Nothing came out of the attempt, with no food for over a day to throw up. 

She began to cry silently, still sane enough not to be caught. She was hyperventilating as she pictured the beyond-gruesome sight.

^*I-Is h-he dead? N-No! He can't be!

S-Shin's gotta be in so much p-pain!

-W-What d-do I do!!!!!?

Ahhhh! Shin!-*^

Slammed back to reality before her mind collapsed from overload, she noticed her pristine white arms as they covered her ears in her frantic worry.

She traced her arms to the rest of herself, realizing she was no longer invisible.

^*O-Oh no, t-think Aizza!*^

She bit her cheek, gradually ending her panic.

^*You saw the Lux shift around him, he's still alive…

Okay Aizza, you gotta save him. You have to save him.

Only I can save him.

Focus. Focus. Focus.*^

Aizza regained her composure by taking deep but quiet breaths, faltering a moment as she remembered the scene of Shin's ear being destroyed and his now exposed chest. But she shook the image away. She had to do what she could.

Looking around the room, she held her hair so it wouldn't drag and get caught on anything as she crouched. She spotted the terminal off-center of the room, well behind Zeris and Shin, close to the opposing wall.

As she planned, Zeris began to speak to the deathly pale Shin.

"What a terrifying body you harbor, Shin. 

Growing muscle tissue to manually pull the removed contents back in.

Are you consciously willing it? If not, what force is doing so? This is beyond just recovery; it's as if there's another sentient process putting you back together—a puppeteer of your very self!

Is it really your DNA, programmed to such a sophisticated degree it can perform such intricate and willful actions?

Will the muscles dissolve after they are brought back inside?

How does the body know the state of your condition?

The cut I made into your chest isn't convalescing closed, as if it is waiting for your intestines to return. Do the cells of your body act as a second brain?

How curious! I want to know more!

Can this ability be given to others?"

Aizza listened to the manic statements, questions, and beliefs of the corrupt jumble of a woman. 

Eyeing out the terminal, she thought over the actions she could take.

^*Trying to remove the metal pieces holding him wouldn't be good in his condition…

Maybe if I open the door and distract her, I can lock her out?

No, she overrode the door close, so she would probably come here to close it again.

What do I do!...

Maybe I can get behind the terminal without Zeris seeing me. That way I have more options…

That's the best idea right now Aizza, you can do it!*^

She cheered herself on within her mind, giving her the courage to sneak to the terminal with utmost silence. Taking quiet steps towards the desk of screens and buttons, she was fortunate that Zeris was dutifully watching Shin and ignored every other irrelevant sound, which allowed her to make it unnoticed.

Coming to a silent full-stand, she was terrified Zeris would turn around and see her, but she continued anyway.

She glanced down at the board of keys. Many she identified as simple letters of the alphabet, while dozens of others depicted characters and words unknown to her. 

A select few had short statements for their functions.

One read while another said . 

Aizza gazed through each and every understandable key, neglecting the incomprehensible clutter of words adorning the screens that she didn't know.

Minutes passed as Zeris mumbled to herself, each word stabbed at Aizza, worrying it'd be the last before she suddenly spun around and caught her.

^*Focus Aizza, what can save me and Shin? None of these seem useful!?

Like, what is supposed to mean!?

Or what about