Chapter 383: intervention (3)

Perseus POV

I found myself plunged into a mental battle unlike any I had ever experienced. As I tried to breach his thoughts, my powers were met with an impenetrable resistance. The strain was immense, and I could feel my own consciousness fracturing under the weight of his resistance.

But then, something changed. It was as if the tables had turned, and suddenly, I was no longer the one probing his mind. Instead, it was his presence that loomed large in my thoughts, a force that I couldn't resist.

At that moment, I realized the extent of his power. He had not only repelled my intrusion but had managed to infiltrate my own mind, turning the tables in a battle of mental dominance. My thoughts were no longer my own as I struggled against his influence.

Alright, it's not like I didn't expect this, plan B. I shifted my focus. Instead of trying to overpower the god's formidable mental defenses, I attempted to redirect his perception, to make him see only what I wanted him to see.

*****

God POV

I was immediately inundated with a flurry of thoughts and memories. His consciousness was a chaotic sea of emotions, each wave crashing against the shores of his sanity. I sifted through his memories like a specter, however, I was being pulled toward something, and he still had control of his own mind.

I found myself in a dimly lit laboratory and looking up at a bright light source, the scent of unknown chemicals and blood was hanging heavy in the air. I was laid and strapped to a cold metal table, his body wracked with pain, and his eyes filled with terror. The room was filled with shadowy figures in white lab coats, their faces obscured by masks.

The lab-coated figures, the scientists, their faces hidden behind masks, moved with a mechanical precision that sent shivers down my spine. Their eyes were devoid of compassion, devoid of humanity, as they conducted their illicit experiments on me. Needles pierced my flesh, wires snaked across my body, and there was even a monitor that measured the level of my pain.

I was begging for mercy and for the freedom that is death, for release from the torment, but my pleas fell on deaf ears. I could feel the agony etched into every fiber of my being.

Each moment seemed to stretch into an eternity as I witnessed the unspeakable horrors inflicted upon me, upon Perseus.

"I'm so scared... It hurts so much... Please..."

They probed and dissected, pushing the boundaries of ethical and moral limits, all in the name of some twisted pursuit of knowledge. They reveled in his torment, drawing pleasure from his torment to satisfy their desire for revenge. His screams, though muffled by a gag, tore through the silence of the laboratory like a wounded animal's desperate cry, a primal and haunting growl that echoed through the room.

I could feel his mind fracturing, the once-clear waters of his thoughts turning murky with fear and confusion. The darkness of despair crept into every corner of his psyche, threatening to drown him in a bottomless abyss. But, as I delved deeper into his mind, I also sensed a flicker of defiance, a stubborn refusal to surrender to the darkness.

"It hurts... It hurts so much. Please stop."

It was prayers and memories of happier times, to the love of family and friends, and to the belief that someday, somehow, justice would prevail. However...the only happy memories were his time on the outside escaping, as for the prayers...all went unanswered.

I tried to fight it, I used my powers to dive into his memories, to find any possible joy that could help me get my mind off of this torment and torture, but barely anything came up.

He had not known the warmth of a loving family or the embrace of friends. His world had been confined to the cold, sterile walls of the laboratory, where cruelty and suffering were his only companions. There were no memories of laughter, no recollections of childhood joys. Instead, I encountered a relentless, unending nightmare.

Perseus or...Loki in this scenario, had been raised in captivity, subjected to a life devoid of kindness or compassion.

"Please... Please, you have to stop this. I can't take it anymore."

I couldn't help but empathize with the intense hatred that festered within him. It was a seething, burning resentment that had grown like a tumor in response to the unrelenting torment he had endured. I, a god, had never before experienced the raw, unfiltered emotion of hatred in such a way.

"I just want it to end. I want to be free."

I am in his body, I am also giving out this intense hatred. He questioned his very worth, wondering why he had been condemned to a life of unrelenting suffering. His prayers whispered in the dark corners of his mind, had gone unanswered, leaving him with a sense of abandonment.

Despair washed over me like a tidal wave, a sensation I had never before experienced in my immortal existence. I understood now, in a way I never had before, the profound darkness that could consume a mortal's spirit when all hope was extinguished.

In his world of cold steel and artificial lights, he had never known the warmth of a loving touch or the soothing reassurances of a caring voice. Every day was a relentless descent into the depths of despair, a struggle to find meaning in a life filled with unending pain and isolation.

It eroded his spirit, and gnawed at his sanity, just when there was hope, there was something that brought it down within the next second.

Please... I can't take it anymore. It's too much...

Somebody... anybody... help me...

I just want to be free... to live... to be...

Why won't you stop? What do you want from me?

I just want to live... just one more day... one more moment without this pain...

Is there no one out there? No one who can hear my cries?

Please... help me...