HELIOS staggered, his back smashing into the wooden compartment he was in and blood dripped from his forehead. He could feel the slight pain that came from the open wound and he sighed. He hated how he felt now, powerless, unable to even fight for his own innocence.
For most of his life he felt untouchable, invincible in fact. He believed he was an angel of god summoned from the heavens to illuminate humanity. All he did was right as long as he did god's work diligently. Now he realized, all of that was a lie. There was no god, at least if there was he didn't send him, he was just among a long line of lucky bastards that were fortunate to be born in the royal family line.
"The Truth Serum won't work its best if he still possesses a form of Cryptological potion in him," Jamal explained. "Use the distiller first."
Just by hearing the word, Helios' face contorted from fear into terror. "No…" he heard himself say. "No… don't please. I haven't used any potion for the past five days. Please…" he shrugged, staggering backwards.
"Sage," the old man who was always beside the Marshal spoke, his voice ethereal, like it came from an ancient realm. "I can confirm he doesn't possess the level of Cryptological potion that can deter the process of the Truth Serum."
Sage Jamal glanced at Hevah with an eye roll. "When did I say you could address me?" He replied with a glance. "If you like your vocal chords, you will hold your tongue."
Helios observed as the Marshal's face twisted from anger to unbridled fury, yet he couldn't help but notice the steadying hand of the enigmatic diviner, Moriai, resting on her shoulder, keeping her from boiling over. He knew there wasn't much she could do to aid him, but the real mystery was why she wanted to help at all. During his time aboard her ship, she had barely spoken to him, and when she did, it was only to curse him. What had changed to make her suddenly stand by his side?
He couldn't focus on the thoughts as the man that 'd pushed in the chemistry set was now pulling a red liquid into the syringe. Helios easily recognized the distiller, it was something he'd used several times on Cryptids. In fact he'd perfected how to use it as a brainwashing device for them.
He'd never tried the effects on himself, but from their screams of agony, he knew how much it affected a Cryptid. The thing about sigils was that they seemed to be conveying materials that activated a part of the Cryptid's soul where untapped abilities lie. Using a distiller removes the traces of Sigils from the body of a Cryptid, thereby drawing a part of their soul away.
Even if he had his powers there wasn't much he could use to counteract the effects of a distiller. He watched as the man opened his cubicle with the syringe in his hand, drops of the red liquid dripping from its tip.
"Please, don't do this, Sage! Please!" He yelled. He wasn't the kind to plead for mercy, in fact he'd planned to just bear the brunt of all that happened to him today in silence, but as much as he could handle physical pain, he had no defense against his soul.
"Hold still," the man said, his face stoic and held no emotion. It was then Helios realized it was a Notary. He held his back against the wooden board as the man's hand reached for him, holding him down with little effort. The needle struck his neck before he could even gasp and he could feel the liquid gushing into his veins.
He struggled but the deed had already been done. The man left him alone and walked out of the dock. For the first few seconds he felt a cold breeze of serenity spread through his entire body. He paused, and didn't dare take a step, he wanted to delay the pain that was incoming as much as he could.
When the pain started, he first felt it in his head, it was like someone was repeatedly smashing a hammer against his brain. He held his head first, trying to brave it but soon enough he felt his heart knot and become as hard as a rock. He held his chest, his face contorting from terror to despair and then to anguish. He didn't know much about the myths of the old world, but currently he felt like he was going through the six paths of pain.
He held his head, yelping and banging his head against the cubicle. His veins had stiffened and brain strained from an unknown source.He stood up, trying to hang on to something, anything that would give him a bit of solace but the pain only intensified. He leaned against the dock and before he knew it, he cartwheeled out of it landing on the solid ground. Whatever pain he was feeling, he wanted to use another pain to drown it.
He then began to smash his head against the floor, banging it with all extreme force he could gather. Irene couldn't take it anymore, she turned away, her eyes getting teary. She shut her eyes as she heard his yelp and shriek. He couldn't even scream in pain, he could only jerk around like a fish out of water.
The entire hall murmured among themselves, with most of them recoiling in pain, but not Jamal. He smiled as he watched the whole thing happen. He was in fact enjoying himself. To punish those who fall short of the glory of their God was what brought him joy the most.
After a while, Heliosstopped moving, his nails had already peeled the skin on his face and his clothes had been torn with scratch marks across his entire body.
The Admiral smiled. "I am guessing it is time to administer the serum." He announced and Jamal nodded.
Jamal then signaled to the Notary to administer the truth serum. The man nodded and then administered the blue serum into his veins and yet again another round of pain began but this time, at least he could yell.