It's been a week since I arrived in the seeker camp. Marulk seems to have opened up to me a bit more and I've officially become a part of the Subterranean Bandits. They put me in charge of most of the hunting and pest control around the Seeker Camp, probably because I seem to have this innate desire to kill anything that's just wrong to look at.
Speaking of wrong to look at, did you know that there's a device capable of resurrecting the dead? Yeah, it exists, and it's inside Ozen's chamber.
You know what else is going on inside Ozen's chamber? Me, strapped on a table naked with Ozen towering in front of me with that cruel grin on her face. Beside her is Marulk who has his hands covering his face and his whole body trembling in fear and slight curiosity.
"This is gonna hurt a lot huh?" I asked her while eyeing the pins lying down on a table nearby.
"Of course," Ozen replied with zero amount of hesitation. "The pain will be extremely excruciating as the pin binds itself with body. It will feel like you're being skinned and gutted alive."
Ozen and her savage unfiltered words, can't get enough of it. "So uhh... How long is this going to take?" I asked as the white whistle put some mark on my body. One on each of my arms, one on each of my legs, and one on my abdomen. "Also, does it really grants me the strength of a thousand men?"
"Compared to other human, yes," the woman put down her marker and picked up one of the pins. "Though, strength alone is useless in the depths of the abyss..." She put the point end of the pin on to my left arm. "Take a deep breath."
I took a deep breath and Ozen hammered down the pin with all her might. Blinding agony shot out of my arm and spreads throughout my entire being faster than neurons. My whole body, twisting and churning from the inside, as if being electrocuted and being sliced apart from the inside.
"AAAAAAHHH!!!" I finally managed to yell out in pure agony as the artifact installed itself on to my being. The mind-numbing pain lasts for what felt like hours and don't think I can take more than that.
Soon, the pain lowered down from excruciating to agonizing. I found myself hyperventilating and my hand bleeding just from clenching my fist. "Hah... hah... Is this going to get better or worse?" I whispered in bated breath.
"Worse, the artifact will bind itself with the early one so the pain will be doubled." Ozen replied easily. "Don't worry, sooner or later you will lose the capacity to feel pain,"
I looked at Marulk who just stood there petrified, watching me going through this ordeal.
"Marulk... Don't fucking tell anyone but... Could you please put your hand on mine?" he nodded mutely and was about to slip his hand between my bloodied finger. "No, I'll crush your hand, just put your hand over my forearm."
Ozen watched Marulk giving me slight comfort coldly before grabbing another pin. "The pain will double," she put a pin over my right arm. "Take a deep breath."
My breath hitched midway when Ozen hammered down the pin without warning. The pain from both artifact spread throughout my body, making the pain of being eaten alive felt like a stab wound. If the first pin was a burn, the second one is a frostbite.
Though, a midst all these torture I can somehow feel Marulk's hand pressing against mine. The way he gently rubbed my hand and calmed me down in a non-lewd way. It's really comforting and I really think it's a good idea to just focus on that.
Soon, the second pin is all over and I was left an incoherent mess. I struggled to even form a single word and my entire body seems to have paralyzed out of sheer pain alone. The only thing I can think about at that moment is the unending agony and the soft hand pressing against my arm.
"Impressive..." muffled voice came from all around me. "…would've… right now...…even half… Marulk…"
The pain returned and I almost begged her to kill me right then and there. Every nerves and every atom of my body turned into a prison of pure pain for my very being. It's not even a matter of resisting the pain anymore, more like resisting my mind from slipping into insanity.
To be honest, I think I've lost it. The mind numbing pain messed up my head and shifting from that of pure agony to a mixture of pain and ecstasy. My incoherent wails slowly calmed down, forming into a various hissing sound as I clenched my mouth shut from letting out anything indecent.
With the pain slowly fading away, I can hear Ozen once again.
"I see you're entering stage two," she commented in the background. "When you lose the capacity to feel pain, the other intense... sensation will take over until you've lost the capacity to feel anything…"
"Is that… what happened to you?" I asked with bated breath. "You literally can't physically feel anything?"
"Yes, now let's move on to the next part…"
The next wave of agony comes with a jolt of pleasure coursing through my veins. The two sensations mixing together inside my mind, dragging me down closer and closer to insanity. The agony hindering me from forming thoughts while the pleasure corroding away my sanity from the inside.
"Nghh... NGAAAH!" I found myself climaxing out of sheer pain and pleasure from that. My whole body shook and I can't stop gasping and moaning in pleasure that kept on coursing through my veins.
Soon, the sensation fades away. My senses slowly returned and I can barely see Ozen holding the last of the pin in front of me.
"Don't worry, this next bit won't hurt at all," she then gazed me those empty eyes and black mouth. "Though, I do wonder... Will this next bit drives you into insanity? I wonder how you looked like when your mind snapped in half?"
The woman hammered down the next pin on my abdomen and I found myself desperately grasping and clawing away at the very edge of my sanity. No longer that I cared about what kind of indecent sounds and expression I have, all I could think of right now is to not slip away into the abyss of insanity.
With every breath I took, I found myself shuddering and moaning in climax. Waves of pleasures doubles with each climax and my mind slowly breaking apart. I couldn't think of anything, I couldn't feel anything but pleasure, my mind is breaking. My mind is breaking apart, I can't take it much longer.
But despite all this, I can still feel it. A single warmth that's slowly caressing my forehead. A single comforting sensation that lets me focus through all this nightmare. A single warmth that caught my hand and pulled me out of the abyss.
From that, I can finally slip away to the heaven that is the world of unconsciousness.
...
When I woke up, I found myself staring at the ceiling of my room. My whole body was sore and I barely had enough strength to even breathe.
I struggled to move my head and saw the pin deeply attached to my arms. My smooth cream white hand has these long pattern that connects each pin with one another.
If my math is correct, I should have the strength of five thousand men now. But I feel even more powerless than when I first came here.
Then I looked at my right and saw Marulk sitting on a chair. His eyes were closed and his breathing steady, seems like he's been sleeping for a while. I wanted to wake him up but my voice won't came out.
A low wheezing sound was the only thing that came out of my throat. But Marulk is a light sleeper. He slowly opened his eyes and our eyes met. He then leaned towards me put a hand over my cheek.
"Haios san, are you alright?"
I mustered all my strength to clench my fist and a tingling sensation spreads from each one of the pins. "Perhaps..." I whispered as I slowly sat up from my position.
Then, I felt my heart thumping and a surge of energy flows through my veins. I took a deep breath and start breathing rapidly. "Okay, okay, whoa..." I cringed a little at how hoarse and tired my voice is. "Water?"
Marulk swiftly handed me a cup of water and I wasted no time downing it in one go. "Okay, thanks..." I muttered before handing the cup back to him.
"Careful Haios san..." Marulk said while carefully taking the cup from my hand. "You cracked the cup..."
I looked at the cup and realized that it is nothing but miracle that the cup didn't flat out shatter in my grip. Cracks covered every inch of it and the handle is hanging by the metal ornament at the side of it.
"Guess it worked..." I muttered to myself. "Say, can you do me a favor and let me hold your hand?"
The boy's face turned red and he looked down nervously. "Wh-why?"
"So I can control my power better, I'm just going to hold your hand and you will tell me when it feels hurt," I explained.
Marulk complied without another words and held out both of his hand. I gently grabbed his hands with mine and closed my eyes in concentration. His hands were soft and slightly cold, but a bit bigger than mine. It's kinda pleasant actually...
"No, it feels nice..."
I pressed it a tiny bit more. "How about now?"
"It doesn't hurt," he replied.
I pressed it again with a tiny bit of effort. "Now?"
"Keep going,"
I then pressed it again like how I would grip a door handle. "What about now?"
"It started to hurt a little bit but not that much," Marulk replied.
I let go of his hands and looked at him. "How long have I been unconscious for?"
"Two days," he said. "Lord Ozen said it will take at least a week for your body to get better," he added.
I nodded a little before stretching out my arms. A jolt of pleasure ran through my back and I stifled a quiet moan. I gripped the blanket in front of me and took deep shallow breaths. "Goddammit creator… You perverted bastard…" I whispered to myself.
After a moment, I lay back on the bed and sighed in defeat. "Judging by how good it felt to stretch my arms…" I hissed a little when another wave of pleasure courses through my veins with each deep breaths I took. "I am very much bedridden… Goddammit…"
A cold soft hand gently caressed my head. I looked to my right and saw Marulk looking at me with a gentle smile on his face. "It's alright Haios san, I promise I will take care of you until you get better…" he then grabbed a book from a table beside my bed. "We can even continue our lessons if you want."
For the next few minutes, I found myself staring at his gentle gaze. An unfamiliar feeling rose in my chest and I'm starting to yearn for his presence more and more. Just to have his soft hands stroking my head and telling me it's alright.
Yeah, something's definitely wrong with my head, because now I'm falling for him. Me, the girl who don't age, the ruthless killer who brought down civilization, the defiant immortal who stood against the powers that be itself, is being smitten by a trap.
"Thank you…" I muttered before closing my eyes. "But not now, I need a rest…"