The world was dark and somber, with the very few vestiges of light barely penetrating the deep inky blackness of the dark abyss.
Bian's thoughts were murky and disheveled, with most of her senses either entirely unusable or simply shut off, as if a switch had been flipped in her brain.
It was calming... in a way.
Which was very unusual. People tend to panic or go mad when losing certain senses, especially necessary ones like eyesight and hearing, as well as touch and occasionally smell. Taste was a minor loss depending on the person. Losing just one of these is extremely debilitating, especially for fighters and spellcasters that rely on their given senses to fight monsters and people, giving shape to their desires.
And yet, she found it soothing. Depended on it, even. As if it was something to be treasured, kept, and nurtured. She liked the eternal silence that had been bestowed to her, as though it was a blessing by 5he gods themselves.
"Am… Am I dead?"
She tried to sound macabre and depressed, but the light and jovial tone in her voice told the world otherwise… especially her captors.
"No, you're not. But that can change. Depending on your choices."
For the first time since having passed out, she finally decided to open her eyes, and the unfamiliar and disappointing image of the room of the inn she was scouting. The light of an incandescent lamp burned her eyes as if she had not opened them for a millennia. As though a vampire had awoken from its deep, ancient slumber.
"You."
The man sitting with his arm rested on the chair's back and his chin on his arm had a face that she had recently been acquainted with. A deep scowl formed on her head as recognized him.
Bian clicked her tongue, glaring at the man.
"What do you want? My soul?"
The man laughed boisterously. His voice grated in her ears like the clanging of rusted metal, scraping against each other. There was joy and glee in that laugh, but it was fake. Bian recognized from experience the cold calculating mind inside of that head, as well as the sadistic persona trapped in that man's body, just waiting to be unleashed like some kind of primal beast.
There was a cold glint in his green eyes, something she had noticed before in the alleyway, but had not taken note of. It was dangerous and insidious, as if the mere sight of was nothing more than a lying dream… or a lying nightmare.
The man smiled widely as he wiped a fake tear on his eye.
"Where were we…"
He glanced at Bian, making her legs shiver. If it wasn't fir the rope around her arms and body tying her down to a wooden chair she would have already run away from the man and exited the inn room by jumping out of the window. If course, she could still do that… ae long as she was ready to break some bones and shatter a couple of organs most of them being vital.
'Speaking of broken bones…'
She looked down fully, taking notice of her body. Both inside and out.
There was indeed a couple broken bones in there, mostly at her limbs and right arm. Other than those and a couple of non-vital organs, she was perfectly fine. As much as she could be with her recent scuffle could allow, anyway.
The real problem was outside of her body.
Cuts and bruises littered her lithe body, with the exposed parts of her legs and arms covered… with… bandages?
'Did he… they…'
Just before she could put two and two together, the man spoke, his tone lost and carefree:
"Oh, right. Of course."
He leaned forward on his chair, smiling gleefully like some kind of lunatic.
His voice was cold and menacing, betraying his exposed attitude as he said casually and frigidly:
"I want everything in that head of yours. From your deepest secrets to the reason you were trying to rob me. As well as the people who informed you of my identity. I want it all."
His lips were smiling but his eyes were not. The glacial contradiction sent a cold shiver down Bian's spine. As though a Wraith had just passed through her with its immaterial body.
Her scowl deepened as she spat poison at the man. An involuntary grin crept up the side of her face.
"And why the hell should I tell you that?"
The man only smiled further, his eyes alit like a blazing flame.
"Because if you do not, and I'm certain of this, you WILL suffer great consequences. And this will happen either way, really, no matter which path you take."
He pointed at her.
"What you should be asking isn't what I will do. But to what extent will I do it. And believe me, I'm willing to go as far as it takes."
A macabre mood descended on the room, silently killing all those present. It was as though a crushing pressure was pushing her from all sides, making her feel small and insignificant. As if her capture hadn't already injured her psychologically.
'What… what the hell?'
Her eyes swam, twitched, and unfocused from her surroundings as the pressure continued to build up both inside and outside. With the former trying to escape outside, and the latter clawing to get in.
It was in this moment of utter desperation and dread that she noticed something… somebody else in the room with them, sitting idly on the corner of the room while immersed in a book. The cover of which was incomprehensible while in he dizzied state.
There was a strange sense of comfort in watching the boy flip s page and read his book rhythmically. Despite the crushing pressure in the room assailing her from all possible directions, just the sight of the black-haired boy was enough to keep her mind sound and stable. Slowly but surely, just the sight of him gradually snapped Bian out of her trance and let her eyes gradually focus on the world around her.
She shut her eyes close and took a long, deep breath.
"…I'll cooperate."
The man raised a surprised brow. His voice contained exasperation as he said:
"Curious. May I ask why?"
Bian opened her eyes and closed it again, thinking for a long time before responding.
"I was just, shall we say, convinced, is all. However, my knowledge does not come for free."
The man smiled gleefully.
"Sure. What do you want?"
She opened her eyes, revealing a set of somber obsidian, as if tge Sky Beyond had been trapped within them eternally.
"I want you to kill my boss, the most powerful crime leader in this forsaken city."