"Kill him," Malphus walked away without a thought.
In Celine's hands was an assassin with a very scared and desperate look as he gazed at the red diamond on the black knight in front of him.
"Please!"
*Shrrk!
Celine tried to pierced the neck of the man with her fragile sword but failed. "I'm becoming too weak," she thought while striking again and ignoring the screams of the man.
The man died on the second strike but the bitter taste of weakness didn't wash away.
Her broken vitality was becoming unbearable but at least her divinity and affinity returned to a semi-normal state. It was a shame she couldn't improve them however.
"I can't get out of here if I'm constantly weakening. I need to find a way to train and somehow fix my vitality under his watch."
She secretly pulled out a smartphone that she had hidden from Malphus. She looked at news and things of interest before coming to a conclusion.
"Oh, I forgot about this because it's been so long."
She put the phone she had stolen away and let Malphus see her again. Celine was careful to not let Malphus know what she was planning. Now, Celine finally had a plan and began to set it into motion.
"Life as a slave is a lot more fun with a stuck-up asshole like Ray," she mumbled.
Celine ensured that Ray was in her plan.
…
A broken man was blindfolded, cuffed, and bound while being moved in a car. The cuts on his body were severe and lashes from whips began to pile up.
His shattered mind began to ramble.
"I want to die"
"I want to die"
"I want to die"
"I should've taken her offer."
"Please kill me"
The man was forgetting his name due to the insanity. Isolated in the dark with a broken body, the man was wondering when his pain would end, when he would awaken from this horrible nightmare.
Two people in the front seats of the car stopped and got out in front of an inconspicuous house. They roughly grabbed the man and threw him inside as he crashed to the floor with a thud.
Suddenly, the man felt the presence of a third person kneeling in front of him.
"Welcome to Solaria, also called the lawless land. The God, Malphus, doesn't really care about laws and only wants us to swear loyalty. Heh, who wouldn't side with a powerful God who's already defeated Valeria."
A fragmented memory suddenly recalled in the man's mind. He remembered a slight violet radiance being snuffed out but he couldn't pinpoint the details.
"Hmm?" The kidnapper looked at the lost gaze. "I'll show you a little, I want you to remember who you are and maybe this epic scene will jog your memory."
Then, the amnesiac saw it. The sight of a violet haired woman whom he somehow knew the name of fighting for her life.
He saw how even after countless hits, Celine would rise no matter what. He saw how unbreakable and unshatterable her resolve was. Most importantly, he saw her hatred for humanity. How she would never side with them despite being human herself.
Then, words she said to him brought everything back.
"Rough times are ahead."
"People will come for you, Ray. you will lose your family, and you will be left alone in this world, forced to make new friends to try to remember your family."
"And especially, avoid humanity."
Before he could reach an epiphany, he saw her capture. How Malphus had imprisoned one of the few Gods that belonged to Valeria.
"Wait, if this is the city of Solaria, the territory of Malphus, and Celine got imprisoned by him."
"Then that means she is here. That means I can get help."
A sudden fire ignited in Ray's heart. Earlier he was just praying for death but now he couldn't understand why he wanted to fight to live.
Why does he want to struggle desperately for a pitiful life?
Ray's family is dead and he has nothing but the embers within him started to burst into flames. Then, he realized why he suddenly gained motivation.
"I'd rather die knowing I tried to survive than live while wishing for death," he thought. "Watching her fight desperately showed me this."
Now, Ray refused to remain still. Before the big man in front of him could react, the bright white light of creation blared and a knife was deep within his throat.
"What th-"
He couldn't even finish his sentence as Ray twisted the knife without hesitation. He looked at the blood on his hands and the corpse in front of him.
"That was my first kill. I am now a monster," he mumbled but felt no different. All Ray wanted was to survive and his humanity was the price to pay then so be it.
A black cloak was created and Ray wrapped it around himself. "I was luck that man still thought I was an amnesiac otherwise the surprise attack would've failed. I'm not strong enough to fight yet."
Ray began to examine his options. "Running to a nearby continent is dangerous because of the distance and the other races don't seem that friendly either. There's only one person who I know will help me."
"Celine may be imprisoned now but she doesn't seem like one to back down. When she breaks out, I need to be there as well."
With all that in his mind, Ray thought of a way to leave his mark. A way for Celine to know he was here and needed help.
Ray thought of their first encounter and how he had tried to kill her. That finally let him put down his mark.
…
A few hours later, some random thug walked by the burning building Ray had set aflame before leaving and walked inside.
On the floor, surrounded in flames, there was a dead body with its blood spilled everywhere. The scrambled blood spelled something.
"Help," it seemed to be like a classic message murders sent in movies as a way to get people to fear their murders.
However, Ray wanted to receive actual help so there was also a revolver at the scene.
A distinct revolver that looked strange but one person could recognize it.