Kaileo's eyes Snapped open, his vision was blurred by tears and pain. His chest rose and fell heavily, and the first thought that came to him was disbelief.
"Am...I alive?" he muttered, his voice trembling. "The last thing I remember... that monster—" His words caught in his throat as a sharp, searing pain surged through his body.
With a groan, he attempted to move, but his arms remained immobile. Looking up, he froze in horror.
His wrists were bound by thick, rusted chains, stretching his arms above his head and suspending him in the air.
His upper torso was naked and covered in fresh wounds, and his body hung limply, the ribs traced like sharp lines of pain by cuts, bruises, and dried blood.
Instinctively, he jerked his body and attempted to free himself, but the effort only caused his already frail body to tremble with pain.
"Wh-what is this?!" he screamed, his voice laced with confusion and fear.
The chains clattered loudly with every movement, reverberating in the damp, dark room surrounding him.
His eyes darted wildly as he looked around.
The room was dimly lit, the faint flicker of a distant flame was revealing stone walls coated in grime and decay. The air was cold, damp, and suffocating.
"Is this where we go after dying?" he whispered, his voice was trembling.
As he looked around the eerie room, his mind was racing, and his breath became more rapid. "Is this hell?"
However, as he noticed odd details—a strange insignia carved into the walls, the strange hum of energy in the air—his gaze steadied and his thoughts slowed.
"No..." he murmured, realization dawned on him. "This isn't hell." He swallowed hard, his heart pounding against his ribcage. "Did I... reincarnate?"
***
'From Arvian's memories...he was the adopted son of this family... the Nocturnes,' Kaileo muttered in his mind as the pieces began to fit together.
The weight of the name settled heavily.
Even Kaileo, now tied to this world, could feel the cruel reputation that lingered like a shadow over them.
'Arvian...' he whispered internally, feeling the boy's anguish as if it were his own. 'He suffered daily beatings and bullying from his own step-siblings.'
Kaileo's clenched his fist as flashes of those memories surged through him.
His brother's laughter as he struck him down with wooden swords, the cold smile of his sister as she practiced her spells on his frail body.
'They used him...he wasn't a person to them, just a thing to practice on... day after day. And he couldn't take it anymore...'
The vivid memory of Arvian's final moments hit him like a punch to the gut. The suffocating darkness, the trembling hands that silenced his own breath.
'He ended it himself, he suffocated himself... just to escape the pain. Just to stop the torment.'
Kaileo's jaw tightened. 'And now I'm here... in his body. In his pain. Why? Why put me here? Why bring me into this mess?'
His thoughts trailed off as the weight of Arvian's despair merged with his own confusion. This wasn't just reincarnation—it felt like a punishment.
With his senses overwhelmed by desperation, Kaileo writhed against the chains.
His wrists were being dug into by rusted metal as his body swung back and forth with each motion. Sharp edges tore into his skin and fresh rivulets of blood trickled down his arms.
He yelled in pain at the top of his lungs in cold, sterile hallway: "Ahhh!!"
As each movement stirs searing pain around like a branding iron, tormenting him yet again as his flesh is stripped off.
When he looked down at his torso, he saw something that made him feel extremely cold.
Wounds, deep and jagged, raw and seeping, smeared with dried and fresh blood.
The mere look of it made him want to vomit, but the pain was worse: constant, never letting up. And he was alive.
He opened his mouth to scream once more, but his throat was tightening, and the strain sent another jolt of pain through his neck.
His voice cracked to a hoarse whisper. "What...is this?" he croaked, weeped, as his body jerked spasmodically.
Kaileo breathed in short, ragged gasps. His heart pounded like a war drum in his chest, and the pain caused his vision to blur.
Yet, somewhere in the depths of his despair, a thought crossed his mind: Why am I still here? Why didn't I die?
"Why? Why?! Why...did I reincarnate?!" Kaileo screamed, his voice waa cracking as he wept uncontrollably.
The intense, unyielding pain raging through his body had him shaking like a leaf, the chains cutting deeper into his already battered flesh.
His body convulsed with every anguished breath, tears dripping onto the cold, blood-smeared floor below. "Why...why me?" he whispered, his voice cracking under the weight of despair.
Pain shot through him again, a burning ache that seemed to set every nerve in his body ablaze.
The chains seemed to dig deeper into him as he thrashed in frustration, sending new waves of pain through his shoulders and arms.
"AHHHHH!!" he bellowed, the sound a mix of anger, confusion, and pure torment.
His cry echoed hollowly in the dark, empty chamber, swallowed by the void around him.
Tears streamed down his face, blurring his vision as he choked out between sobs, "Why. when all I wanted was peace. why is this happening to me?"
The silence was broken by the faint sound of voices coming from beyond the heavy door. Kaileo froze, his ragged breathing halting as he strained to listen.
The voices grew louder, distinct, as if two people were in casual conversation.
"He's still alive, is he? Better be. Last time, he almost fainted too soon," the man said in irritation.
"Easy, brother," a gentler, though chillingly impassive voice retorted. "I made sure he'd survive long enough for me this time. I require practice, after all."
The door squeaked open and Kaileo opened his eyes further as two people entered the shadowy room.
A girl, striking features and icy calm hinting at cruelty. She reminded an awful lot of Arvian. In hand, a slight chain, gleaming with minimal light.
There was another - a man slouching across from her; he sported a wooden sword that seemed rested against his shoulder: intricate runes pulsing in lines across the smooth surface.
Their eyes landed on Kaileo, tied up and bleeding, and a wicked smirk spread across the girl's face.
"Looks like our plaything is ready," she said, her tone icy yet dripping with malice.
The man laughed darkly. "Perfect. Let's see if he lasts longer this time."
'W-wait these two are his step sister and brother...damn, what do I do?'
Kaileo's heart pounded, dread clawing at his chest.