It finally ended.
The excruciating pain, the soul-numbing torture, the intense burning of life-blood...
Everything ended at last.
The person, who was such immense torture for who knows how long couldn't be bothered with anything at this moment.
All he could feel now was a deep sense of relief.
An immense sense of gratification and a soul-curling feeling of freedom.
It was not the torture or the pain that loomed heavily on his soul, it was the restriction on his very being, where he could only helplessly watch himself getting torn apart and then remodeled together for another round of the very same cycle.
It was endless.
He didn't remember when it started or how much time he had actually spent in this vicious cycle.
He wasn't able to feel anything, touch anything, or grasp anything.
Everything felt like within his control but the moment he wanted to take them in his hand, they slipped away.
Every single time...
At first, he held hope that at least once he would be able to grasp one speck of light and free himself from this utterly repetitive vicious cycle of molding and demoulding.
But then he began to understand one very key concept of his current predicament; that nothing was actually under his control, not he could will to do anything.
Thus, he finally let himself go...he also wanted to see when this dream would end after all.
Was it a dream though?
He did not know, nor did he want to know.
He just wanted everything to finish so he could at least move his hand to touch his face and slap himself hard so that he could be awakened from this nightmare.
And now, the night has finally ended.
Freedom, at last...
.....
Soft rays of sunlight fell on the bed, making the person lying on it slightly uncomfortable.
"Hnng...", the man shifted to the side of the bed devoid of the sunlight or warmth, as if to embrace the coldness of the last night once more, only to find the bed was awfully short for his sleepy maneuvers.
It couldn't keep him on it if he continued to shift from one side to another by rolling, tossing, or turning.
"???"
Several question marks nearly popped out on his head before retreating into the back of his mind as he jolted awake and directly jumped away from the bed, taking a stance to fend the enemy off.
If anyone looked at this scene now, they would've thought there was obviously something wrong with this man.
After all, who jumps off from their bed just after waking up and takes a stance for hand-to-hand combat?
Probably, no one.
But the man in the scenario was someone who didn't fall into this group of nobodies.
He was a man who faced war, deadly battles, open skirmishes, covert assassinations, and many more.
Something probably no other person in this world has faced before.
But now, his mind wasn't into these things...as he was trying to focus himself and analyze every bit of detail that lay in front of him.
The man looked at everything with rapt attention as he couldn't afford to miss any clues in this place where he had never stepped in before.
Yes, he was at least able to remember and subsequently understand that he had never come to this place before.
The room now where he stood was not his, nor he could even remotely remember that he owned a run-down place like this ever.
By understanding this, he sharply concluded.
Either he came here willingly for whatever explanation or he was kidnapped.
Coming here willingly?
He thought for a second and shook his head.
He had no memory of that.
As far as he knew, he never had a meeting or appointment with anyone in a place like this, neither with the Rebel Groups nor with his fellow mercenaries.
Rebel Groups? Mercenaries?
In succession, two quick questions arose in his mind.
And swift answers came to him within milliseconds.
Yes, he was a mercenary, non-registered in the Charts of the New Earth Federation.
The reason for being non-registered in the Charts?
Not even being considered as a human being living on the face of planet Earth? or The New Earth?
It was simple.
He was a part of the Rebel Groups that stood against the New Earth Federation and their Masters.
The answers that came to his mind baffled him for nearly a second as if he was learning about himself in a new manner.
He was asking or doubting something and then, voila.
An answer, from the back of his mind, was coming to him, making him understand what was going on.
For a moment he even felt like he was reading and learning about himself from a well-written dictionary about himself.
Thus, he was able to swiftly decide that he had never come to a place like this on his own.
Which left him with only one answer, that, he was kidnapped or abducted by someone or a group of people.
He was more baffled as he thought about this scenario.
After all, he was not tortured at all and he had already confirmed that point, by zooming all over his body condition in the middle of all this thinking.
Although he felt a lingering discomfort in his whole body, as if it wasn't properly listening to him...he didn't find a trace of torture on his whole body.
No pain, no rope marks, no claw marks, no cuts, no gauging, his internals were in perfect condition too, all of his five senses were also in perfect condition....and moreover, he didn't even feel a trace of any unknown substance like poison or drug running within his bloodstream.
But, that was not the end.
The thing that made him more baffled and skeptical about this whole abduction scenario was that he was sleeping quite soundly in this dilapidated room before suddenly waking up.
Was his abductors so generous that they allowed him to sleep first before starting their playtime?
Of course not.
He clearly remembers his status; a non-registered person, a part of the rebels and their collaborator.
To the New Earth Federal Government, he wasn't even considered an animal.
He had no human rights.
Well, forget about human rights, he didn't even have the right to live in a gutter.
The New Earth Federal Government had issued shoot-at-site orders for any rebels and oppositions starting from the very day it was formed.
They had also launched several large-scale manhunt operations, conducted by the regular Military, Special Forces, and even the Awakeners.
All was to capture or eliminate the non-registered persons in the Earth Charts.
Thus, he knew that after his successful abduction, his abductors would never give him any slack nor they would show him any leniency.
Which made his current situation more ambiguous.
While thinking everything, for once, his mind also shifted towards the probable cause of his abduction.
Several reasons came to his mind, but the most striking was the one that humankind always feared yet never stopped doing.
Betrayal.
Without someone very close to him betraying his trust, there were almost close to zero possibilities even for the upper echelons of the Earth Federation to catch him off-guard.
Although he was not very sure about the abduction topic, he still felt this would be the most probable reason if it became true.
After all, he was not a simple, normal person, who stood against the World Government to become a hero or a messiah.
Like those beings, who stood above everyone else and controlled the life and death of billions, blessed by the Stars and Gods, he was also an Awakened Person.
Moreover, as a part of the opposing forces, not only he was decently skilled to stand his ground against powerful opponents but always extra careful in hiding his tracks, much more than anyone else in their lines of operations.
And so, the word 'Betrayal' became more and more clearer to him.
Even though he wasn't trying to think about this in his current situation, he couldn't stop his mind from overworking itself.
Betrayal?
Who? Who is that son of a bitch who betrayed me?
For what reason? Information? Money? Something else?
For a moment, a storm raged in his mind while he was still trying to focus on his current messy situation.
Though he tried to mask his uncertainties, make himself look calm, sharp and ready for anything that was about to come at him, reality was different.
He could distinctly feel that his control was slipping, not only over his mind but also over his body, slowly even though he was acting against it with everything he had.
What is happening?
Why do I feel like that something is about to happen and I'll not be able to control it at all?
What is this sense of foreboding?
When did it even start?
Betrayal??
Yes, that's it.
As his mind raced for an answer to this growing sense of unease and foreboding that was lingering over his head, he found an answer, swiftly from the back of his head, just like before.
He could feel that the moment he started to have any thoughts about someone close enough to him might have betrayed him for his abduction or any other purposes...this growing sense of foreboding started to linger around him.
Was it true then?
Someone did betray my trust? Is this true?
If it is then who was it then?
Moreover, why can't I remember anything properly?
Why so many details are like, uh...hidden in the fog? Veiled...by something?
Why is everything slowly moving away from me?
While trying to maintain his facade of calmness, he didn't had to wait for long for the answers to greet him.
A searing pain, which felt like a red-hot branding staff was plunged into the depths of his soul, hitting his mind and cutting though his nerves, knocking the air out of his lungs.
His mind throbbed, his limbs wavered, movements got disoriented and within moments whatever fighting stance he was taking earlier to fend off any intruder into this run-down house crumbled away like dust.
He staggered and fell on the cold mud floor like a doll cut off its strings.
As his face hit the hard surface, another throbbing sensation passed through his mind, his body twitched and jerked violently....and with that, soon, his vision went dark.