I let out a low groan as my eyes opened, blinking a few times to adjust to the lack of light. The room I found myself in was dimly lit; only a candle in the corner gave off enough light for me to grasp my surroundings for the most part. When I tried to move my arms, I realized they had been bolted to the walls, locked in heavy metallic coverings.

  My head was pounding like a drum, and a dull pain throbbed in the back of my head—most likely the spot where I had been knocked out.

  My legs were free, I believed I could move them freely, but given my current ordeal—locked on my knees and unable to move much—it was hopeless. In the corner of the room stood one person, a woman with crimson hair tied into a neat bun. Her attire was neater than anything I’ve seen in Clifton; she appeared more reminiscent of a noble than anything.

  This woman—who I suddenly remembered was Crylla—walked over to me. Her icy cold fingers grasped my chin, cupping it uncomfortably tight, and raised it so I was now looking into her eyes. Her soft, silky lips parted as she drew in some air.

  “Kael will have you locked up here until further notice.”

  “Where… even am I?” I hurt like hell to speak, but I had to ask the question.

  “The underground chamber under the safehouse. It’s heavily fortified, and only me, Ice Eyes, and Kael know it exists… so nobody will hear your screams.”

  Those words made my hair stand on end, a chill coursing through my entire body. I thrashed against the restraints, trying feebly to break free.

  “What does that mean?” I asked, trying my hardest to conceal the faint trembling in my voice. The last thing I needed in this current moment was for anyone related to Kael to know I was terrified.

  Crylla paused for a beat, looking towards the wooden door before me. She walked over to it, opening it slowly and stepping outside. The hallway behind it was dark, faintly illuminated by candles lining the walls. The floor was made of dirt, and cobwebs lined every crevice in sight.

  Her gaze traced back to me, and she smiled faintly. “That’s for Kael to explain.”

  I remained still, biting my lip so hard I felt warm blood seep between my teeth. Bitterly cold air seeped into my shirt, making me shiver. It was even colder down here than up in the woods. Crylla finally turned away after what seemed like an eternity of tense silence, leaving the door wide open.

  The only sounds now were Crylla’s boots as she made her way down the hallway, and the faint whispering of the wind as it blew harshly upstairs. I could also hear faint chattering, laughter, and the clinking of glasses—everyone in the safe house was being too loud for my screams to make a dent in their frolicing.

  “We went into the woods looking for a beast, but we left it with something even worse.” A voice suddenly emanated in all corners of the room.

  It was all too familiar, all too recognizable for me to try and shut out—Kael’s voice. Just then, ink-black smoke gathered in the doorframe, quickly materializing into Kael’s shape. The man with blood-red hair slowly walked over to me, his thin eyebrows perking slightly upon seeing my current condition.

  “I take it those bonds are uncomfortable?” He leaned in close, his icy-cold breath gracing my cheeks and nose.

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  It almost stung, like every molecule that left his mouth was composed of fiberglass. I didn’t reply, looking away from him as I snapped my mouth shut. Kael—as he usually did—remained silent and analyzed me for a few short moments.

  He took a step back, reaching into his pocket and digging around. “Do you know what happened to the last person who disappointed me?”

  I continued to look away from him, but Kael’s almost dominating presence habitually produced an inclination to respond to his question. Instead of following this alien instinct, I kept my mouth shut, biting down so hard I swear my teeth would shatter on my tongue.

  “We had them murdered,” Kael finished, taking out an object—a large knife with a slightly pointed tip.

  He held the knife up to show to me, but I still looked away. Just then, Kael’s hands grabbed me by my chin to a painful degree, yanking my head forward so I was forced to look at the instrument. Its handle was made of a polished wood, with small red marks tracing the mahogany surface. Ancient symbols, runes, and other miscellaneous pieces lined the hilt of the knife.

  The blade was slightly ridged on the side facing the moist ceiling, shaped almost like an ‘L’. Though, the only thing distinguishing it from the letter was its curved surface, giving the entire weapon a regal and elegant look to it. The longer I was forced to look at the blade, the more I felt my stomach was on the verge of bursting.

  “Though, I won’t kill you, you’ve proven your usefulness to the cause, even if you want to run from it,” Kael whispered.

  I spat in his face, the spit mixed with blood from my lip. The projectile landed on the dirty ground beneath the both of us. Kael, almost amused, stepped back and marveled at the ‘attack’ of mine. He opened his mouth, chuckling to himself.

  “Though, something is only useful if it never disobeys.”

  Before I could comprehend that phrase, Kael swung, the blade slicing across my cheek. The incision was paper-thin, barely permeating the first layer of my flesh, but it still stung. As the warm blood poured down from the wound, Kael leaned in, running his bronze-colored finger along the crevices of the now puffy flesh.

  “There’s a vast difference between total submission and reluctance…” He began speaking once more, bringing the blood to his lips.

  “Someone who bows without question—like me to my emperor—is held in high favor. While the person who hesitates, backs off when things get too dirty, is discarded like trash before they realize what happened in the first place.”

  “Does your emperor know what you’re doing in this place? Does he know you want to slaughter the village?” I looked up at him, my voice slightly hoarse.

  Kael clicked his tongue. “It’s best he doesn’t know. All the emperor sees in me is the person who does whatever he says without question. Just last week, I took a traitor to his throne, cut off his tongue, and executed him in the dungeons.

  “You don’t want to be that person, right? After all, the man who had his tongue taken from him initially hesitated to accept my proposal… it would have made him rich.”

  “Bullshit. You probably wanted to use him in this ritual of yours too.”

  “He’s not worth an ounce of power I possess. I’ve already converted everyone in Clifton to the belief of Khorvath, and they’ll be useful assets in His resurrection."

  As my blood diffused onto his tongue, Kael swallowed it down and sighed. “I could break every bone in your body with the snap of my fingers right now, but that pain would surely overwhelm your senses, make you go into shock, and kill you.”

  “Then… What do you plan on doing to me? Y’gonna torture me until I give in, use me in this bullshit ritual? Is my blood in this now?”

  Kael shook his head. “I don’t usually torture them unless they’ve done something bad enough, like what Paxton did to that poor little girl.”

  “Heh, I’m surprised the Seraphis rogues haven’t gotten on your ass about that. After all, wasn’t he their leader?”

  “The moment one enters Clfton, they might as well be walking right into my hands. Given only a few minutes, they’ve already forgotten the incident and moved on—why do you think they were laughing around the fires after I castrated their leader?”

  “Because you’re a manipulating, conniving douchebag—”

  Before I could finish, a surge of pain ran through my body. The Apocalypse sigil on both my left hand and forehead ignited with a fiery red, my veins glowing with the same hue. It felt like my entire body was on fire, yet no actual flames charred my flesh.

  “While you may not stand in the center of the chaos, watching it all burn beside me, you’ll be down here… listening to the cries for mercy, unable to do anything. That’s not if my emperor wants to see you first.”

  “Y-your emperor? What would he want with me?” I asked, my body slumped forward, head hanging low as I recovered from the initial attack.

  “He’ll want to see the man—or boy—guilty for what happened over at Clifton.”

  “What?” I barked, my body thrusting forward like a man possessed. I wanted to rip his head from his spine, but I couldn’t do so due to my restraints.

  “You’re framing me for what you’re going to do?!”

  Kael backed up, smiling as he turned to the door. “No, I’m doing what I do best for the emperor—help without question.”

  Another violent surge of pain coursed through my body, my head thrashing back as I stifled an ear-shattering scream. My fists clenched and unclenched in their restraints, my knuckles grazing over the textured, spiked surface inside.

  My vision turned blurry as Kael stepped through the open door, laughing to himself as he slammed on its own. When the torture finally ceased, I was too weak to move on my own. My body fell limp, breath light in my chest. It hurt to breathe, it hurt to talk now, it hurt to do anything that wasn’t crying.