Chapter 4: Shattered Will
The cold stone of the cell had long lost its sting. The lack of light, the oppressive silence—it had all blended into the background. Theo could no longer tell if it was day or night, or if it even mattered anymore. His body felt weaker than ever, his strength depleted from the endless torturous training sessions, the deprivation, and the psychological games they played with him. The shackles on his wrists were tighter than before, the pressure mounting every time he tried to move.
He had come to learn their rhythm—how they would test him, break him down, and then leave him to simmer in his thoughts, in the darkness. Every time he showed any hint of defiance, they escalated. They twisted his mind, making him question what was real, what was worth fighting for. His system had already begun to glitch, flicker, and buzz with strange notifications, though they were always followed by an eerie silence.
The door creaked open again, and Theo didn't even flinch. He knew who it was before she spoke.
"087," Seraphina's voice echoed through the empty cell, cool and unfeeling. "It's time."
She wasn't just speaking to him as a subject. She wasn't just his captor. She was a predator, and he was her prey.
Theo remained seated against the wall, his body slumped as though the weight of the world had crushed him. His eyes barely flickered to meet hers, but he didn't say anything. What was the point? He had no more energy to fight her. Every ounce of his will was being drained from him, piece by piece.
"Get up," she ordered, her voice carrying a cold command. There was no hint of affection, no remorse in her tone.
Without a word, he stood. His legs were unsteady beneath him, but he forced them to hold him up. His body had grown accustomed to the pain now, every muscle feeling like it was about to tear from his bones. His powers—his Void—were restrained, held back by the energy-draining shackles.
Seraphina gestured for him to follow, and he did, without hesitation. There was no escape from this place, and for now, no hope.
---
The chamber was even darker than the rest of the facility. The walls, coated in thick layers of strange, alien material, hummed with energy. A strange, metallic scent filled the air, and the faint flicker of lights overhead revealed harsh shadows.
Seraphina motioned to a chair in the center of the room, the shackles attached to the armrests. "Sit," she commanded, her gaze unwavering.
Theo didn't hesitate. The quicker he got this over with, the quicker he could return to his cell. He slumped into the chair, the cold metal biting into his skin as he was secured to it. His heart was pounding in his chest, but it was more out of frustration than fear.
"We're going to begin now," Seraphina said, her voice almost soothing, as though she were preparing him for something that wasn't entirely unpleasant.
Theo could feel the hum of magic in the room, the strange aura surrounding him as his system flickered again, threatening to collapse. His body was already on the edge of breaking, but he knew this was just the beginning.
Seraphina stepped closer, her figure casting a long shadow in the dim light. "You've been resistant, 087. But you'll learn that resistance is futile. The moment you came here, you became ours."
A strange, painful sensation ripped through him as she placed her hand on his forehead. His mana began to pulse out of his body uncontrollably, like a flood of darkness pouring from a broken dam. But it wasn't his control anymore.
The light around him shifted, and the world seemed to distort. His Void powers—the very powers that had once given him freedom—were now being manipulated, turned against him.
"You have power," Seraphina whispered, "but you don't control it. We control you."
The flood of magic surged through his body, tearing at him, bending his will. He felt his heart pounding in his chest, his lungs gasping for air. His head spun. He could feel his very sense of self starting to crack. The chains on his power were not just physical—they were mental. They were forcing him to submit.
A voice inside his head screamed to break free, to fight, but he was too weak.
"087," Seraphina said, her voice sharp and cutting through the haze of his thoughts, "this is where you break. This is where you become nothing."
The pain surged once again, sharper than before, and Theo couldn't help it. He gasped, feeling his mind splintering under the pressure. The image of his past—his life before the cult—flickered and blurred like a forgotten dream. His name. His identity. All of it started to slip away from him, as though he were losing himself. He felt the darkness creeping in, suffocating him.
His system, his only connection to who he had been, flickered out completely.
SYSTEM ACCESS: LOST
Theo's breath hitched as he realized what had just happened. His connection to his power—the one thing he had held onto in this place—was severed. The last thread that had kept him tethered to his identity was gone.
He was nothing.
A shadow. A tool.
---
Seraphina stood over him, her face cold and impassive. "We've broken you," she said, her voice soft, almost triumphant. "You belong to us now."
---
The next few days passed in a blur. There was no more resistance left in him. His mind was clouded with the remnants of who he had once been, but they were fading. He could feel it, could feel himself becoming less and less of the person he had been before.
Seraphina's voice echoed in his mind.
"You will obey. You will become our weapon."
He had no choice but to comply.
And with that, a part of him broke completely.