Wavering peace

The men eating sheep were no more. Slaughtered and skinned, their meat stored in our internal spaces waiting to be brought back to our ship while some being cooked for us on the spot.

After killing Polyphemus and neutralising the unknown mage, Eurylochus went back to get the kids and Merlin into the farm, we still didn't know how to resolve the locked space situation even with the artefact dagger in my hand.

"How long until he wakes up?"

"He's already awake."

Odysseus looked at me with confusion.

"Then why aren't we questioning him?"

"Well, firstly because it's not like we are in a hurry, better eat something while we starve him and also we're waiting for Merlin. He'll know what to do with this dagger."

He nodded and went back to the others exploring the farm for whatever it could contain in some hidden place.

I then looked at the mage. I could feel he was awake, he just couldn't do anything about the situation he was in, but he could hear completely fine.

"Where did you even find a poison pill in this day and age? If it wasn't for my old habits you might have gotten us."

I could see his skin crawling with goosebumps.

Yes, inside his mouth, right behind his last molar I found a typical suicide pill.

"If there was any doubt that you belonged to that crazy group of people trying to bring the king of titans, now that doubt has gone."

I waited for my words to settle.

Yes I knew about Chronos and his little following.

Yes I knew he carried a suicide pill.

Yes I held his life in my hands.

"Well, either way-"

"WE'RE HEEEEREEEEE!"

Merlin with Xander and Astrea in tow entered the scene just at the right moment.

"Well, let's go eat some meat then."

Merlin spared a look at the paralysed mage and turned around uninterested, the kids swiftly came to my side and all together we left the unmoving foe behind us.

Odysseus and those who were not cooking soon followed us with empty hands. It seemed this cyclops didn't hoard anything particularly interesting and our current clothes, thanks to Hali's shopping spree, were much better than some animal skin.

I chuckled at the scene, a legion of ancient greeks wearing black tracksuits and sneakers. More than warriors we looked like a bunch of gym buddies, well… except for the kids.

"What's so funny?"

I looked at Odysseus beside me and I felt somewhat at peace. This man came into my life like a hurricane relentlessly demanding my entire being and quickly became an anchor for me.

"Nothing really, if we are ready we should go interrogate that mage."

_______________________

I removed the thorns responsible for the paralysis of his mouth, but the mage showed no signs of free speech, clearly trying to circulate his mana and failing miserably.

Merlin was able to appraise the dagger, but it became clear that in wasn't a very useful artefact for us.

The effect of cutting and sealing space was bound to that mage, soulbound. It meant that even if we killed the bastard, the dagger would simply destroy itself and reverse all the modified spaces to their original state.

Sure we could get out, but before that we need some kind of answer. And that was Merlin's job.

"Well, let's start this."

The mage of flowers snapped his fingers and a seed appeared on the mage's cheek.

"That, my dear fool is the seed of treachery. It absorbs lies and takes root the more one lies, even the intent of saying the truth while trying to deceive is considered good food for it, so I'd be careful if I were you?"

"HA! So what?! You will kill me either way, what's a seed gonna do?"

"Oh no! This plant will not kill you! If you lie long enough, it will be able to capture your soul and transform you into a burning wickerman! Some kind of golem."

Fucking hell!

A shiver run down the spine of everyone present, Merlin's showcase of power was really unnerving.

"Dimitris of course I'm bluffing for Avalon's sake, it's just a lie detector creeper, the wickerman spell doesn't work like that."

"Fuck, and here I thought I could learn a scary spell."

Our mental quarrel ended swiftly, now it was time to get real answers.

Sometime, fear was enough. Especially when you are powerless, stripped of your mana and in front of an enemy that knew even the most complex trick up your sleeve.

I focused back on the mage that was now trembling with panic and waited for Merlin to start extracting informations.

"Now, seeing the absence of a time fragment on your person or anywhere near these islands, I'd say you weren't trying to bring back that Being. Soooo, what's up?"

The mage stayed silent, clearly believing that not answering was, in fact, an option.

"Not answering uh? Very well."

Merlin turned my way with an expectant look, I knew what he wanted.

House Damocles, was first and foremost an assassin's household, but we also excelled in extracting informations.

"Odysseus, take the kids and everyone else, go to the ship."

"What?! No! We want to stay with you!"

Xander was adamant in staying, but what was about to happen…

I knelt in front of him and brought Astrea right beside him. It was clear they didn't like that I was letting them out of my next course of action. But some things should not be shown to kids.

They should just enjoy their wavering peace.

However I didn't just want to impose.

"There are ugly things my family has trained me to do since the day I was born, things I don't like to do, but I am good at. Things I don't really want to show you."

I waited for a moment, letting my words sink in and only when a spark of recognition showed in their eyes I continued.

"Could you please go with Odysseus? I really don't want this show this part of me to anyone, Master Merlin already knows, so there's no problem with him… but I'd like if you could just go."

Xander was about to retort, he would have probably said something on the line that he didn't care and wanted to stay, but Astrea was sharper.

She held Xander's hand and nodded bringing him away without saying anything.

I stood back up and looked at Merlin, who was clearly amused by the whole situation.

"If I didn't know better I'd say they are yours."

"Shut up Merlin, just give me a pair of gloves."

He obliged without delay and I got to work. First thing first I removed the thorns blocking his nervous system without freeing his mana circuits. If he couldn't feel the pain everything would be useless.

"Esteemed guest, as you might have understood from our conversation, we are now about to begin standard interrogation."

Every word was pronounced with a pleasant smile. Comforting, reassuring. But this was only the beginning.

"Our specialist lie detector will ensure that nothing but the truth will be said by any of us."

I turned to Merlin who snapped his fingers and conjured the same seed on my face.

This was the second step. Putting myself on his same situation, it reassured him, but at the same time, the constant thought that something was wrong would pile up madness and fear in him.

"Of course, since we need any form of answer, I will be responsible for… helping out."

Still smiling I conjured a piece of jade,manipulating it into a surgical scalpel and kneeling right in front of him.

"Master, you can begin."

He didn't miss a beat.

"What were you up to? Under whose orders?"

Of course he was thinking how to answer, but I didn't want that, what I wanted was a primordial answer. So I begun my work.

"No daley, esteemed guest."

I stabbed the blade of the scalpel between his index nail and flash, uprooting it slowly, but as soon as the blade made contact…

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!"

"FUUUCK I WAS JUST ABOUT TO ANSWER!!!"

I looked at him still with a smile plastered on my face. Clearly this mage wasn't used to pain, or maybe the inability to use mana was a torture on and in itself, but I didn't care.

I continued with the other nails, his screams unending.

"WHY? WHY ALL TEN NAILS FOR JUST A DELAY?!"

I was silently continuing, my intent was to remove the bones from his fingers slowly pulling them away, but Merlin held up his hand and I paused.

"This is not how torture works Merlin."

"I know, but he doesn't, let me handle the timings."

My smile never wavered, the perfect opposite of our guest.

"Let me make one thing clear. You only need to answer the questions I make without delay and nothing but the truth."

He took a step closer.

"Dimitris, keep up the good work until he gives us and answer that satisfies you."

Oh, I'm the psycho maniac.

"Yes, now get moving."

As soon as the order was issued, I continued my job and began pulling on the bones one at a time. Closed each wound with fire and shattered each phalanx right in the mages face.

The cries for help started, snot and tears mixing on his face and dripping everywhere while he was trying to answer Merlin's question, but I kept going.

"I WAS TRYING TO BRING BACK KHAOS!"

I opened his wrist without cutting any main blood vessel and pinching his tendons, I pulled.

"PLEASE! PLEAAAASEEEE!!! THE BISHOP'S ORDER!!!!"

I closed the cut with pure fire and repeated the process on the other wrist.

"NEGATIVE PROBABILITY!!! IF YOU ACQUIRE ENOUGH NEGATIVE PROBABILITY IN A DISTORTED SPACE YOU CAN SUMMON KHAOS!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH MAKE HIM STOP !!! AAAAHAGGGGG PLEASE!!!"

I gouged out one of his eyes and proceeded to thinly cut it right in front of his other eye, of course, I closed the wound, this time with my electric Archana.

"I DON'T KNOW!!! I SWEAR I DO NOT KNOW!!!!"

At some point I was able to sound out the screams and only listen to the actual answers. For every nerve I struck, for every bone I shattered, for every blood vessel closed, new pieces of information were added, but I never stopped.

Merlin continued without a second of rest, healing there where he thought I was about to kill him accidentally.

Did he take me for an amateur?

"Dimitris, this man has never experienced being tortured, especially without being able to use his mana."

Tch.

We were finally able to get some real information about that fucking organisation.

They called themselves "The church of broken time" and of course they wanted to resurrect Chronos. However the time fragments in this planet were not enough, that's why they were trying to evoke Chaos' authority. To open gateways to other dimensions: the dungeons.

He worked for the Bishop of space, but he didn't know anything else and whatever else he knew he couldn't tell.

He had sworn on the Styx.

But there was a piece of information he told us, something they used to recruit new members.

When we had successfully extracted every possible piece of information, fact that Merlin directly confirmed to me, that's when I finally put an end to this whole mess.

Finally, our guest could rest. Forever.

[Space is returning too its rightful place, correction completed in 3 hours.]

That was the final confirmation we needed.

The knife was slowly turning to dust and Merlin and I simply dispersed a cascade of flowers teleporting away.

Before reaching the ship where everyone was waiting for us, I burned my bloodied clothes and changed in a new truck suit.

Merlin didn't say anything, he could feel the weight my actions had brought upon me.

After all, I had never imagined I'd be using my family's techniques for torture ever again and it most definitely left me with a sour taste in my mouth.

I needed a reset.

"Do you think it's real? Their prophecy?"

"I think they believe it's real, but honestly, it's unheard of. And it honestly makes no sense."

"Why?"

"Well, it's easy really: Solomon could not create a child, his inheritance would immediately destroy every possible vessel."

<AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH !!!!!! CAN STOP HIM!!!>>