Darkness

Chapter 28

I felt a little uncomfortable with the chains that remained wrapped around my chest. It seemed as if they were preventing my magical power from spreading and limiting it.

I didn't really mind that, but the real reason for my discomfort was those little insects that were constantly wriggling around on my body. I don't like insects. Who does? Everyone hates bugs. Anyone who doesn't should see a psychiatrist, that is, if they can afford a single session!

I thought about it quietly and turned my head toward the door the men had left earlier. I caught a glimpse of the light flickering before they closed the door completely.

Kayan said as he approached me with the other huge man, toward the chair I was tied to. He pulled a transparent tube from the table next to the chair:

"I told you that before, Kiva. Despite the Kingdom of Kruthia's opposition to magicians, they don't deny their usefulness."

I remembered the sentence Kayyan had said earlier at the wooden hut as I examined the transparent tube from which strange-colored bubbles were coming out.

Am I going to be dissected?

I thought as I raised my eyebrows.

Is that his definition of not denying their usefulness? Dissecting them?

The glass of the triangular helmet hid his facial expressions, but I could sense his eagerness from his tone. I wasn't afraid, but rather curious. What was he going to do with that tube?

"Let's begin, Kiva," said Kayyan, his voice muffled under the helmet becoming harsher. "You'll feel a prick at first, but don't worry, it won't last long."

I tried to speak, but the gag in my mouth and the chains pressing against my chest were so tight that it felt like they were sucking all the strength out of me. All I could manage was a faint groan. I didn't resist. Maybe this time I would finally find a way to die, even if it was at the hands of these perverts.

Kayan grabbed the transparent tube and raised it high. I saw a thin needle glistening at the end of the tube, shaped like an insect, more like a mosquito with a sharp needle sticking out of it. I wondered why they loved insects so much.

Still, I didn't blink. I just stared at him intently. Would it hurt? Would it have a permanent effect on my body?

The needle pierced my arm. The pain wasn't as bad as I had expected. It felt more like a slight prick, followed by a strange sensation of heat and cold spreading slowly through my veins. The strange liquid in the tube began to flow into my body, and I felt as if something light was running through my veins. Kayyan quickly closed the tube, then took a step back, watching me intently.

"Now, let's see if the hidden power within you will respond to this."

Kayan said in a tone of tension mixed with curiosity:

"It took us a long time to find someone like you, someone with this kind of ability."

Someone like me? Ability? I thought. Was he talking about healing my body during what he had seen earlier?

As I thought about it, I began to feel heavy, as if a mountain had been placed on my chest, pressing down on my veins from the inside.

It wasn't pain, but a strange feeling of numbness and heaviness seeping into my veins. My eyes began to grow heavy, and my surroundings became foggy.

Was this death? Was it finally coming in this strange way?

I heard another voice, and the huge man began to say something, but the words faded away.

My consciousness began to drift away as if I were drowning in a sea of darkness. The last thing I saw was Kayyan approaching me with a sharp saw raised above his head. His expression behind the glass of his helmet looked strange; he was watching me intently, a slight smile spreading across his lips as if he had found what he was looking for.

…

…

Darkness enveloped me for a long time, I don't know how long. Maybe hours, days, or even years. It was a strange feeling of nothingness as if I was nothing and belonged nowhere. No pain, no thoughts, no existence. This is what I always wanted, isn't it? Death.

But, as always in my miserable life, this peace did not last long. I began to feel a faint chill, then stronger as if my consciousness was coming back to life. A faint light seeped into my dark world, then became brighter, like the sun rising after a long night.

I slowly opened my eyes.

The light seemed bright, causing me to blink several times to get used to it. I was not in the cramped room, nor was I tied to a chair. I was lying on a soft bed, surrounded by sheer white curtains. I smelled fragrant herbs filling the room, and there were large windows overlooking a beautiful green garden full of flowers.

Was this a dream? Had my body finally died and I had gone to a good place? But my actions were bad, I should be in a pit of fire, not this beautiful place.

I tried to move my limbs and found them surprisingly light. I felt no trace of the previous heaviness and prickling of the tube or the chains that had bound my body. I got up slowly and felt an unusual strength flowing through my veins. My muscles felt tight and my body felt light, as if I had never been sick in my life.

I walked toward the window.

I saw a large garden stretching out before me, filled with colorful flowers, tall trees, and a small river flowing quietly behind the garden.

The view was more beautiful than anything I had ever seen in my life. The colors were bright, the sounds were soft, and a gentle breeze carried the scent of flowers.

But this excessive beauty only made me feel more suspicious and anxious. This wasn't my world, it wasn't my place.

"You bastard, you fart of light, did you send me to another world?"

I whispered to myself, my voice barely audible, as I looked at my reflection in the window.

What I saw shocked me. My face looked older, perhaps in my late forties, and my familiar blond hair had turned black, and my blue eyes had become crimson, shining with a strange intensity.