His consciousness slowly slipped from the embrace of darkness. His eyelids felt like the heaviest thing in the world, he had to strain every muscle to open them. When he finally opened his eyes, he was in a dim, foul-smelling room. Blinking, he looked around.
His drowsiness vanished when he saw the woman sitting in the chair opposite him. She was like cold water to him. When he shook off all his drowsiness, he felt the weight of his body. His arms were tied behind his back and his feet were hanging from the ceiling.
Where was he? Why was he here? Fear swept over his heart like a wave. He didn't know how he had gotten here, what would happen next. Fear overtook him completely, he felt he could hardly breathe. He tried to move his body but it was useless.
He could not feel any of his limbs.
Even his eyelids felt heavier than anything else.
Baek Yisoo tried to calm himself, but it was useless. Was he going to die? Just the thought of it was enough to send him into darkness.
[Warrior's Will kicks in...]
Baek Yisoo began to take deep breaths in and out. These breaths brought him to his senses and calmed him down enough to think about what was going on. He started to think about what had happened last time. Was she at home? Or in the car? He remembered leaving Minji's side and deciding to go on foot.
A street artist.
He remembered watching a street performer. Immediately afterwards he felt a pain in his neck. And then... nothing?
All that was left was fear and anxiety. His heart felt like it was going to jump out of his chest, his breathing was ragged. He was so sweaty that sweat beaded down his chin and into his nose. For the first time in his life, he felt helpless.
His heart was beating rapidly and violently, as if it could stop at any moment. He was gasping for breath and felt a lump in his throat. Every breath was a struggle. This fear had taken his body captive, poisoning every thought and every second.
He had to do something.Yes. He had to do something to get out of here. Then he heard a voice... A fragile, weak voice. More like a whisper. Her heart sank when he realized it was coming from the woman sitting in the chair opposite him.
"Minji..." he murmured in a very low voice.
He was tied to the chair by his hands and arms. Those who had done this to him were not only after him, they were after Minji too. But why?
"Unbelievable..."
Suddenly there was a muffled, masculine voice.
Slam!
A metallic door slammed shut.
When Baek Yisoo turned his eyes in the direction of the voice, he started to struggle.
Step, step, step, step...
The man in the black robe came up to Baek Yisoo, dragging a trolley. His steps were incredibly rhythmic. Baek Yisoo still couldn't clearly sense his surroundings. He had completely lost his judgment.
There was only one thing he felt.
Fear.
Fear of this man and what was about to happen.
The black-robed man brought the trolley in front of Yisoo as if serving food and lifted the cover. Seeing the tools on the cart, the blood drained from Baek Yisoo's face. He wanted to shout but could not find the strength.
"Welcome, you don't seem to have woken up from your sleep. I hope you had a good night's sleep, because you have a long night ahead of you."
The trolley the man had brought had daggers, knives, pliers and stakes of various shapes on it. He also brought a tube of needles and a syringe. All this foreshadowed one thing...
Torture.
"Where am I? What do you want from me?" he said, but he could not suppress the trembling and fear in his voice.
The black-robed man put on his gloves and spread a blanket under where Baek Yisoo was hanging.
"First of all, let's get acquainted. I am Poison Shadow, as my friends and enemies call me. I'm new to my job, so please forgive me if I make mistakes." he said sarcastically after glancing at Baek Yisoo's body. "I don't want to lie Mr. Yisoo, I've been watching you for a month and this is the first time I've seen someone so mysterious."
Baek Yisoo said nothing.
"Not only did you go from zero to a third-rate warrior in a month. Your appearance has also changed a lot. Gosh, when I accepted this mission, I never imagined that I would encounter such a mystery." Poison Shadow finished his preparation as he spoke.
Then he took a knife and cut Baek Yisoo's clothes, exposing her chest.
"Now. Let's get to what I want. You have a file, a file containing images that could pose a threat to my client. I want that file."
Baek Yisoo smiled bitterly. "Did Baek Iseul send you? Or Namgoong Bong?"
"Does it matter?"
"You're right, it doesn't."
Baek Yisoo tried to hide his fear, but he was failing. This fear was unlike anything he had ever experienced before. No, it wasn't. Actually, it was like something. The anxiety he felt the night he met the system, while recording the union between Baek Iseul and Namgung Bong.
"The feeling you have is called fear of death. The fear of death is a feeling that keeps me awake until the middle of the night, sitting like a heavy burden on my chest. Even though I want to live every moment with a sense of preciousness, this fear lurks in the darkest corners of my mind like a lurking monster. With every beat of my heart, I feel the cold breath of death on my neck."
Poison Shadow twisted the dagger in his hand and grabbed the skin on Baek Yisoo's chest. Baek Yisoo's body trembled in pain as he made a slight cut with the dagger and let out a scream. Poison Shadow inserted his index finger into the wound and gently lifted the skin.
Baek Yisoo began to struggle, but this did nothing but make the Poison Shadow's job even easier. The Poison Shadow began to peel away the skin like peeling an orange. It wasn't long before Baek Yisoo's tears began to flow.
"As the colors of life fade, I too shudder to know that everything comes to an end. Although death seems like an inevitable end, I am not ready to face it. To live, to love and to feel... All of these are so precious that even the thought of them makes me tremble. The silence of death cannot drown out the melody of life; but still, not knowing when that last note will be played shakes me deeply."
As the Poison Shadow spoke, Baek Yisoo's body shook with excruciating pain. It was as if every cell was on fire. Tears welled up in his eyes, but they did nothing to ease the intensity of the pain.
"Don't... Please!"
Ignoring her, the Poison Shadow made new cuts and peeled away the skin. As he did so, his voice or his hands did not tremble in the slightest. Instead, he continued to speak.
"What do you think of my thoughts? I was thinking of becoming a scholar before I got into all this. You know, I ranked first in my region in the imperial exam. Ahh, I'm flattered to remember. What do you think? I have potential, right?"
After a while, he realized that there was no sound from Baek Yisoo.
"Really?"
Baek Yisoo fainted from the pain.