Chapter 20: Puppet's Community

Diana sat on the edge of her huge bed and looked at her new puppet.

It seemed they had washed him well before sending him.

He wore the usual puppet clothes: a loose white shirt and black pants.

She read in her grandfather's message, filled with useless words, that he would be mentally broken for a long time since his mental resistance required it.

His long black hair was being cut by another puppet, and his gray eyes made Diana delve deeper into her thoughts.

Despite being mentally broken, he still seemed capable of thinking.

What caught her attention the most was the small tattoo on his forehead, written in a strange language, and she couldn't help but wonder about its origin.

Without hesitation, she began asking him some questions.

"What's your origin?"

Cassian's mouth opened, and he spoke in a cold tone. Resistance was evident in his voice, but he eventually gave in.

"My name is Cassian StarHold, from the main lands."

"The main lands? The original home of humans?"

After interrogating many other puppets, it seemed that people here had an idea of what the main lands were.

"Yes, I'm from one of the four royal families. From The StarHold family that is responsible for defending the western borders, and I am the heir of that family."

Cassian began to speak nonstop and introduced himself accurately. The only strange thing was that he didn't mention anything about the twenty-first century.

"Interesting! My puppet was destined to become a king!"

Diana laughed with joy. In past meetings with her few friends, they competed over which puppet had a better origin.

"What does the word on your forehead mean?"

"It's the Commandment of Sloth."

When Diana asked about its function, origin, and anything else about the Will of Sloth, Cassian always said he didn't know, which was true to some extent.

It seemed that what was sedated was his body, and his body could access memories of this world only.

If not for his knowledge from the game, he wouldn't have known anything about this martial art.

In the end, Diana only learned that it was a wonderful martial art and that the seal somehow enhanced it.

"Read me your status screen."

"My strength is at level **, my speed **...."

Cassian quickly finished reciting his stats, and Diana stopped him when he started mentioning his Beast Form.

"Show me the Beast Form! Show me!"

Cassian suddenly stopped speaking, and his body began to grow taller.

His eyes turned yellow, and white horns sprouted from his head.

The puppet cutting his hair suddenly stopped as it grew long again.

For some reason, it seemed no one could see the ether between the horns... not even Diana.

"Describe your abilities!"

Cassian opened his mouth again but couldn't say anything. It seemed he couldn't find an answer.

"Something to do with a certain energy called Ether."

That was Cassian's final answer, and excitement was clear on Diana's face.

"So, you are deprived of using mana, but you can use another energy called Ether?"

'The name sounds strangely familiar. I think I saw it in the library a long time ago...' Diana thought as she looked at Cassian.

It seemed the puppet she had received was truly special.

"If you used all your strength, could you defeat another puppet at rank C?"

Diana looked at Cassian with concern as she remembered something, a conversation she had a few days ago.

"I need a weapon."

His answer astonished Diana. Did he mean he only needed a weapon to defeat an opponent two full ranks above him?

Diana looked at Cassian with amusement, then at the puppet behind him.

"Once you're done fixing his hair as I requested, go find a sword with the specifications he mentioned."

The puppet nodded in response and continued fixing Cassian's hair as he returned to his normal state.

Diana looked at him and continued to ask random questions.

"How did you end up here?"

"Who was the person you came with?"

"How were you captured?"

"How did you survive on that mountain?"

…

The day passed quickly, and with Diana's intense interrogation for several hours, she knew almost everything about Cassian.

Everything related to this world only, as his body's sedation wasn't enough to access the memories of a person from the twenty-first century.

After the sun finally set outside, as evident from the window, Diana stood up from the edge of the bed at last.

She had already sent all the other puppets outside, so she was alone with Cassian.

With slight hesitation, she handed him a white box from under her bed, containing a few dozen shining golden fruits.

"I will send you away for two days. Eat six fruits a day and train with the sword as much as you can when you get it."

He nodded unconsciously and looked at the other puppet that entered after Diana called her.

"Remember, only six fruits a day to avoid permanently breaking your mind!"

Diana shouted from afar, still feeling some curiosity about Cassian and wanting him to have a sound mind to fulfill her curiosity at least.

'The next few days are going to be really interesting...'

Those were her last thoughts before she closed the window and turned off the lights to sleep. It was customary for people here to sleep as soon as the sun set, and she was no exception.

***

Two puppets could be seen walking down the wide corridor inside the palace. One's identity was familiar, while the other's was not.

The other puppet explained things to Cassian patiently, and it seemed he was listening well.

The only strange thing was that his expression appeared quite irritated for a puppet supposedly mentally broken, and it was noticeable that the seal on his forehead was glowing intensely.

Eventually, it began to dim slowly, and his expression returned to its previous state.

"After tomorrow, when Lady Diana turns eighteen, you will be moved to the main coffin right next to her room. For now, you will be placed in the spare coffin."

"Please follow her instructions: consume six fruits daily and train with your sword as much as you can, even if it means stopping your sleep."

"I will bring a sword with matching specifications shortly."

Cassian's face didn't change, and with a flat expression matching his tone, he replied:

"Understood."

The two stopped in front of a plain white door with a black handle.

Despite being called a coffin, it resembled a small room.

The assisting puppet opened the door and allowed Cassian to enter.

"The lady made a special exception for you, placing you in a training room to spend the rest of your time in."

The assisting puppet closed the door afterward without giving him a chance to respond, not that he wanted to anyway...

Cassian continued to stare at the room with a flat expression, devoid of any visible emotions.

Unfortunately, his mental state was not an act...

For fifteen minutes, he stood there staring at the ceiling due to a lack of any other thoughts in his head.

If he had followed the main system in the puppet facility, he would only be under the influence of addiction and madness, and his thoughts would remain his own.

Unfortunately, Cassian decided to rebel and ended up like this.

As for when he would be able to regain his mind, that largely depended on his endurance, and even if he succeeded in regaining it, it wouldn't be perfect...

These were the consequences of rebellion in this hell. If it weren't for Old Adam's promise to give this puppet to his granddaughter, Cassian would have been thrown into an even worse place, the Hell of Black Oil...

After a short while, Cassian's head finally moved, and he looked at the exit. He wanted to head towards it, but the door lacked an internal handle.

And that was not a design flaw...

The door opened afterward, and the assisting puppet carried a sword with an indistinct weariness, matching exactly what he had described.

For a moment, the seal on his forehead lit up, but that was all... just a moment.

As soon as he grasped the sword, the assisting puppet left immediately, leaving Cassian alone inside with his sword and the fruits.

He placed the white box on the ground, finding dozens of golden fruits inside.

He felt no temptation; he wasn't addicted.

Because of Diana's order, he took one and ended up eating it.

He focused on his mind since the art required it.

He felt a fog covering his mind completely, all his thoughts restrained, moving and thinking only as the fog desired.

However, there was a set of memories stuck at the top, unaffected by the fog. It seemed the fog felt helpless against them, dozing off whenever it got close.

With a deep breath, the sword began to move on its own. Cassian felt a tremendous strength boost from the fruit, but his emotions didn't stir.

In that room, he continued swinging the sword until his muscles refused to move.

He swallowed another fruit and repeated the process.

After the sixth fruit, he finally stopped.

He couldn't continue...

He placed the sword on the ground and stared at the floor.

Using the sword wasn't the only method.

He barely remembered Jor's teachings, training for a short time each day while spending the larger half in meditation.

And that was exactly what he planned to do.

***

=+=

Everything was white, the walls, the floor, and even the ceiling.

I felt my exhausted body gasping on the floor, barely able to think.

The seal gathered enough strength to restore my thoughts, but it was still not enough; it would only last for a few minutes.

Instead of focusing on keeping my consciousness for as long as possible, I begged the seal to prioritize something else.

If I continued like this, I would end up recovering in about a year, and I didn't want that!

To regain myself... it needed to focus on other things...

Fortunately, the seal had some awareness, and I felt the energy keeping me sane gradually lessen.

I was scared; I didn't want to return to that darkness again, anything would be better than that!

For the first time since arriving here, I felt true helplessness...

'I didn't create any of this hell!'

Those were my last thoughts for a very long time.

***