Ray stood in the palace dungeon looking at the unconscious body of Number 1 chained up to the walls in one of the cells.
'Dream Lord.'
With a flash he felt his mind wander ad enter Number 1's.
It was about time for him to use that effect of this skill.
With this skill he could instantly create an illusion dream world and bring someone in it as he wanted. In this world only he was in control and he could whatever he wanted.
*Snap*
As Ray snapped his fingers, a dark room similar to the dungeon cell they were in appeared around him.
*Snap*
With another snap Lothaine appeared in the same room and started looking around in confusion.
This was Lothaine's mind and everything here was just an illusion that Ray was showing him.
If so… if Ray injures him here… can he feel the pain?
For that one had to first know… what was pain?
Pain was nothing but information that the brain perceives. If you cut yourself with a sword, the information finally reached your brain and that information is pain.
Pain is not bad in itself; it just indicates that there must be something wrong with the body, and something must be done to cure it otherwise the brain will keep reminding you with that same mode of information… pain.
So what would happen if Ray used this dream to make Lothaine believe everything was real, and for his brain to believe everything in this illusion as the reality?
If Ray cut his hand off in this place, Lothaine would feel the same pain as his hand being cut even if it does not actually happen. His brain would be constantly giving him information in the form of pain that something has happened to his arm and he must do something about it.
But what could he do? His hand was actually not cut, and in the illusion Ray could control everything.
In simple words, Ray could cause never ending pain to Lothaine with his physical body being completely fine.
"You should just kill me."
Lothaine looked at Ray with anger in his eyes.
'I can't believe this brat actually believes torturing me will make me speak…'
"You should stop talking for now."
Even before the old man could react he felt Ray teleport in front of him and place his hand on his lower jaw.
Lothaine immediately wanted to move away but he felt like he wasn't in control of his body.
He didn't know this was a dream or rather, Ray made him believe this was the reality and thus Lothaine suddenly thought that Ray had been hiding himself, not even using an ounce of his abilities back when they were fighting.
Ray tightened his grip on his jaw and a cracking sound came from the lower jaw.
As the bone cracked, Lothaine felt his gums bleed out and his teeth seething in his mouth, almost breaking their foundations and cracking open.
But Ray didn't apply anymore force, but pulled out with all his strength.
The lower jaw bones also known as the mandibles are connected to the upper jaw at the mandibular joint. Pulling out one's jaw and ripping it off one's face was not possible with normal human strength, for the strength of the muscles and tendons was quite high.
But Ray had beyond normal strength.
*Rrrrrrip*
*Crak*
With one pull, Lothaine's lower jaw was ripped out and the sight was just too gory to look at.
Lothaine had never felt pain like that. He wanted to die and he should have after a few seconds of such an injury but surprisingly he didn't.
He couldn't scream for his jaw was no more, he couldn't move for his body was not under his control and he couldn't die for he didn't know what the hell was going on.
"At least I won't have to listen to your screams now."
"You can nod your head twice if you would want to leave back all negative thoughts and work for me. Will I give you anything in return? Never. So it's the best deal you can get."
And with that, as Lothaine's skull with only the upper jaw remaining, looking like one of those undead monsters, blood dripping down incessantly, an immense pain piercing his brain, Ray started to slowly 'convince' him.
A nail was ripped out. A finger was broken. A hand was torn off. His teeth were pulled out. And after about an hour, Lothaine who had refused to follow under Ray finally felt life escaping him.
He felt pain life never before and he wanted to just let go for once, but he remembered how the organization had almost given him what he wanted, how much he hated Ray and how he would never surrender.
'I do not regret my decision…'
*Snap*
Suddenly the pain in his body disappeared completely Lothaine felt like everything before was an illusion.
"Huh?"
As he looked down on his body, he was extremely shocked to see that he was without injuries, completely like before and completely fine.
With huge surprise he suddenly looked up and saw Ray smiling at him.
"What did you-"
"Same rules. No speaking, if you don't agree this will continue for as long as you want. It's your choice."
And once again his jaw was ripped out of his mouth.
Two times.
Three times.
Five times.
At the sixth time Lothaine was beginning to question himself and why he kept going through the same hell.
He was in so much main that he never knew it could happen. He didn't even know how Ray was doing it but he wanted to end it as soon as possible.
Seven times.
He couldn't hold his resolve anymore. He would surrender.
'What good is the association good anyway? They pushed me into this hellhole! I only wanted to move out of my grandfather's shadow. It was for their stupid plans that I am in this situation!'
Belief. It was fragile thing.
Once pushed to the extreme one would question the belief and once beyond the breaking point, this very belief would be the target of all the misfortunes it might have caused.
Lothaine nodded his head twice suddenly.
*Snap*
And once again he reappeared anew.
His eyes appeared dazed and he didn't want to open his mouth. Ripping out his jaw the moment he opened his mouth had set an instinctive fear in him.
Ray who looked at Lothaine now knew that he was under control.
Ray could still feel the anger in the old man's eyes but it was no longer directed towards him but the association.
But one might say… wasn't shifting his target of anger and controlling him too easy? Well, getting tortured and dying more than six times wasn't easy either.
"Do you agree to become my slave and do everything that I want?"
Lothaine nodded his head again.
'What choice do I have?'
He really didn't want to spend an eternity getting tortured and dying.
"I have heard your decision."
*Snap*
Lothaine blacked out and this time he appeared to be lying on the floor of the cell just moments before.
The only different thing was that he could now control his body.
He wanted to ask something but instinctively clenched his jaws and stopped the impulse.
"Enslavement."
As a purple magic circle arrived under his feet, Lothaine was surprised to find that the king was an enslaver.
'Did he fake his system?'
But he couldn't think anymore as he felt his mind being controlled and watched over.
As a contract mark appeared on his forehead and disappeared, Ray stood there smiling.
A wrath quest completion had appeared before his eyes but he ignored it.
'Now my dear pawn. It's time to play your part.'
************************************************
At this point in time, in the Elven Empire and in the Beastman Empire, the two closest empires to the Celestial Empire, a few people moved around in tattered and torn clothes.
Their daily routine was simple.
Beg around, collect money, buy food and survive.
However when they roamed around and collected money, they would hear a lot of information and remember it.
At night they would discuss everything they had heard and compile it into one long list before sending it across through a communication device.
These beggars worked for a certain group of people who had suddenly appeared about three days ago.
As this group received the information, they would sort it out and sent it finally to their master, Ray Celestia.
This group was after all the corrupt nobles whom Ray had enslaved and set out on a task.
Their task was simple. Enter the empires, use beggars to collects lower tier information like recruitment as teachers, scientists, administrators, advisors and use that opportunity.
Then they had to obtain a stable profession in the foreign empire and collect better information.
Grow their group, and finally climb the hierarchy for better information.
It was a crude plan, but it was the best way Ray could utilize these people.
Unknown to most this group would soon start causing quite the chaos in both these places.