The servant was waiting by the door when the trainer finally dismissed Kaidan. She stood with her arms crossed, her expression impassive as she motioned for him to follow. Kaidan tried to stand, but his legs refused to cooperate. Every muscle in his body screamed in protest, his limbs trembling as he pushed himself upright.
This is what hell feels like, he thought bitterly, his breath hitching as he forced himself to take the first step.
His bare feet scraped against the rough floor, every movement a new lesson in agony. The pain was everywhere: sharp in his ribs, dull and throbbing in his legs, and burning in his shoulders and arms. His mismatched eyes—one blue, one gold—narrowed with determination as he shuffled forward, each step feeling heavier than the last. The servant glanced back, her face devoid of sympathy.
"Hurry up," she said curtly, her tone as cold as the stone beneath his feet.
Kaidan didn't answer. He couldn't. His throat felt tight, his jaw clenched to keep from groaning. Each step felt like a march into the abyss, his body weighed down by exhaustion and the lingering sting of the trainer's blows. Just a little further. One step at a time, he told himself, though every fiber of his being begged him to stop.
The corridors blurred together, the dim lights casting long, flickering shadows on the walls. Kaidan's thoughts churned with the pain, spiraling into despair. Is this all I am now? A body to be broken? A pawn in someone else's game?
He stumbled, catching himself against the wall. The servant stopped, looking back with an impatient sigh. "If you fall, I'm not helping you up," she said. Her words were like a slap, but they stirred something in Kaidan. Not anger, but resolve.
I'm not going to fall, he thought, pushing himself upright again. His breath came in shallow gasps as he continued walking, his movements slow and labored. Each step felt like a triumph and a torment all at once. By the time they reached his room, Kaidan was drenched in sweat, his body trembling from the effort.
A Battle Within
The door closed behind him with a heavy thud, the sound echoing in the small, dimly lit room. Kaidan collapsed onto the bed, his body sinking into the thin mattress. The coarse fabric scratched against his skin, but he barely noticed. The pain was overwhelming, a relentless tide that refused to ebb.
He stared at the ceiling, his mismatched eyes glassy with exhaustion. The silence of the room pressed down on him, broken only by the sound of his ragged breathing. Tears welled in his eyes, unbidden and unwelcome. He blinked rapidly, trying to force them back, but it was no use. They slipped free, trailing down his cheeks in hot, silent streams.
Why am I even here? he thought, his mind a storm of emotions. Anger, despair, fear—they all crashed against him, leaving him adrift in their wake.
The faces of the raiders flashed in his mind, their cruel laughter ringing in his ears. He saw his adoptive parents, their smiles forever burned into his memory, now twisted by the screams that had echoed through Kaelith that night. His fists clenched at his sides, his nails digging into his palms as a fresh wave of tears spilled over.
"I'm sorry," he whispered, his voice cracking. "I'm so sorry." The apology was for them, for everyone he had lost, for the village he had failed to protect. But it was also for himself, for the boy who had once dreamed of a better life and now found himself trapped in chains.
His body shook with silent sobs, his tears soaking into the mattress. He cried until he had no strength left, his exhaustion dragging him into a restless sleep.
The Nightmare
Darkness engulfed him, suffocating and absolute. Then the screams began.
Kaidan's heart pounded as he turned in the void, the cries of Kaelith's villagers echoing all around him. The voices were familiar: the baker who had always slipped him an extra roll, the blacksmith who had shown him how to sharpen a blade. Their screams grew louder, each one piercing him like a dagger.
"Kaidan! Help us!"
He turned toward the voice, but there was nothing but darkness. More voices joined the cacophony, overlapping and growing more desperate.
"You failed us."
"You ran while we burned."
"Give up. You're too weak."
"You'll never escape."
Kaidan stumbled back, his hands clamping over his ears. "Stop it!" he shouted, his voice raw. "Just stop!" But the voices didn't stop. They grew louder, rising into a deafening crescendo that threatened to consume him.
Then he saw them. The raiders emerged from the darkness, their weapons dripping with blood, their faces twisted into cruel grins. They surrounded him, their laughter echoing in his ears as they stepped closer.
"You brought this on yourself," one of them sneered. "And now you're ours."
Something inside Kaidan snapped. The fear and despair that had gripped him gave way to something else—a burning, unrelenting fury. He clenched his fists, his mismatched eyes blazing with defiance.
"No," he said, his voice steady despite the chaos around him. "You don't own me. And you won't win."
The raiders laughed, their laughter ringing hollow in the void. But Kaidan didn't falter. He raised his head, meeting their gazes one by one.
"I'll escape this place," he vowed, his voice ringing with conviction. "And when I do, I'll find you. Every single one of you. And I'll make you pay for what you did."
The darkness around him shuddered, the figures of the raiders wavering as his words echoed through the void. For the first time, Kaidan felt a flicker of control in the nightmare, a spark of hope amidst the despair.
Healing in the Shadows
Kaidan woke with a start, his body drenched in sweat. His breathing was ragged, his heart pounding as he sat up in the bed. The room was quiet, the only sound the faint rustle of leaves from a window he hadn't noticed before. A sliver of moonlight streamed in, illuminating the bruises and cuts that marred his body.
The pain was still there, a constant reminder of the day's torment. But as Kaidan sat in the silence, he realized something had changed. The despair that had weighed on him felt lighter, replaced by a simmering determination.
His body was healing, slowly but surely. He could feel it in the faint tingling of his skin, the way his breath no longer felt like fire in his lungs. It was a small victory, but a victory nonetheless.
Kaidan leaned back against the wall, his mismatched eyes gazing out at the sliver of moonlight.
"I'll survive this," he murmured to himself. "I'll survive, and I'll get stronger. Strong enough to escape. Strong enough to make them pay."
His voice was steady, the tears from earlier dried on his cheeks. The nightmare had left its mark, but it had also reignited the fire within him. As Kaidan closed his eyes and drifted back to sleep, his dreams were no longer filled with screams, but with the promise of vengeance.