Are You Watching?

[One week passed. The torture continued to escalate, and all kinds of tools were used on you.]

[Even without food, even with your body constantly broken, every morning you would be restored back to full health. And so, you kept holding on. But by now, your disheveled appearance, your bloodshot eyes, and the way your body tensed with every breath — it made you seem less like a man… and more like a beast.]

[Coren seemed to enjoy the changes taking root in you. In a particularly good mood one day, he suddenly cut off one of your fingers and smiled.]

["I think I'll send this to Selena. Want me to include a message?"]

[You didn't reply. You just clenched your jaw so tight, your teeth felt like they'd break.]

[And just like that, the days dragged on — your time with Coren continuing without pause.]

[Another week passed. And then finally… a change.]

[The door creaked open — not with the heavy stomp of Coren's boots, but the lighter, steady steps of someone unfamiliar.]

[A young woman entered the cell, her eyes sparkling with interest as she looked you over like you were some rare animal. She didn't speak at first, only scanned you from head to toe — and then, without turning, she spoke to Coren.]

[Her gaze sharpened as it landed on him, and in a tone dripping with disdain, she said, "You've had your fun. I'm not letting you ruin my test subject any further. Get out."]

[A small argument broke out after that, but the woman — with eyes that looked at him as if he were nothing more than an insect — didn't waste her time. She didn't spare Coren even a few more minutes before she really kicked him out.]

[That was how your torture shifted hands. Now it continued… under her.]

[Liora, that was her name.]

[Her methods were different.]

[She would place her hand on a part of your body — your shoulder, your chest, your spine — and from that place, vines would start to grow. Plants twisting out from under your skin, blooming in unnatural shapes, roots curling through your nerves.]

[It should have been easier to endure — more "clinical" than Coren's savagery. But in truth… it was worse.]

[You endured it anyway.]

[At least she didn't speak to you like Coren did. No crass words. No taunts.]

[Just quiet murmurs to herself, as she scribbled notes on a tablet — her eyes shining with curiosity every time something new happened to your body.]

[Three months passed. And under the care of Liora — who, as it turned out, was Coren's elder sister — your body had become more than ruined. And you knew it wouldn't be long before it collapsed completely, and you died.]

[Your form was emaciated, covered in scars that even supernatural healing couldn't erase. Grotesque plant growths twisted from parts of your flesh, creating a body that would strike horror in any sane person who dared lay eyes on you.]

[But even with all of that, your eyes still gleamed — not with hope, but with madness and obsession — as you once again tried to use the Crimson Body Manual to train in this deplorable state. Escape? That was no longer an option. You'd searched for a way out, again and again. But it was clear now. This place was inescapable.]

[24 years old. By now, your body was beyond deformed, and how you were still alive, even you didn't know.]

[Even if you didn't admit it out loud, you used to have hope — that maybe, Lilith or Selena would come for you. That even if you couldn't escape on your own, one of them would eventually appear. But now? You knew it wouldn't happen. And the time you had left… was already counted.]

[That day, Liora didn't touch you. She didn't experiment on you either. She only stood there in silence, staring at you — not at your ruined body, but deeper. As if trying to see something else.]

[You didn't understand what was going on, but in the end, Liora simply turned away and left, her expression tinged with disappointment.]

[And soon after, another visitor came. A familiar one — with a shining smile stretched across his face.]

[Coren looked at you gently, too gently, as he asked: Did you miss me?]

[You frowned at his strange behavior and stayed silent. You didn't reply. And yet, Coren, without a flicker of anger, casually took out a new set of torture tools — gleaming, pristine, and clearly custom-made for you.]

[As he hummed to himself, he said cheerfully, Rejoice. Selena entered a trial dimension recently and came out injured. She should be joining you here soon, so you won't be lonely anymore. I'll train her personally, make her the most obedient little bitch in front of you. So please… try to stay alive until then.]

[Then, still wearing that same cheerful expression, Coren stepped toward you with a metal tong in his hand, and asked: So, are you ready for your real torture?]

[A ripple passed through your eyes at that moment. At Coren's attitude, at everything that didn't make sense. Your body was exhausted. Your mind fraying. And you desperately wanted to know what was really going on.]

[But instead of asking, instead of showing anything, you gave him a smile. A wide, horrifying smile — your gums fully exposed, no teeth left to show. A smile soaked in madness, deeper than anything Coren could ever conjure.]

[And then, your hoarse, broken voice echoed for the first time since he returned: Excuse me… but can you remind me who you are?]

[Coren flinched. His elegant mask nearly cracked as he heard your voice, low and shattered yet still mocking. But in the end, he just shook his head, and with a strange glint in his eyes, decided to put even more effort so you will not forget him again.]

[Two more weeks passed. Maybe because he truly believed he'd soon capture Selena, or maybe because your words had provoked him… Coren talked a lot during that time.]

[And from his endless chatter, you pieced together the truth. He had a crush on Selena. And he carried a festering inferiority complex toward you, rooted in something from your past that you still couldn't remember.]

[But none of that mattered anymore. Not now. Not when you were this close to the end.]

[On the verge of death, your eyelids heavy beyond bearing, you knew this wasn't just unconsciousness creeping in. No… this time, you would breathe your last.]

[And yet, in that final moment, your gaze changed. The madness and brutality that had long clouded your one remaining eye… lifted.]

[Your serene gray eye, now tinged with haunting amethyst, glowed softly — eerily beautiful, horrifying in how calm it looked against the blood-soaked backdrop.]

[That one gaze — so quiet, so unfathomably still — broke the illusion of control, as Coren, who had been preparing another set of tools for your final torture session, froze.]

[His hands trembled. For the first time since this began, he looked at you not with twisted joy… but pure, bone-deep fear.]

[But you didn't spare him a second glance.]

[With what little strength you had, your eyes moved — searching the dim room, flicking over the ceiling, the bloodstained floor, the draining pipe… as if trying to find something. Or someone.]

[In the end, you gave up on that though, and your gaze landed on Coren once again. Only this time, there was no emotion in your eyes. Not hatred. Not madness. Just a strange, calm clarity.]

[In a voice barely above a whisper, you asked: Are you watching?]

Noel's clenched hand trembled over the simulation interface.

His bloodshot eyes flared wide.

The aura around him twisted with dense, suffocating killing intent — so thick it seemed to deny the reality that he was now just an ordinary person.

He, who now seemed to understand what was going on, muttered in a low, growl-like voice—

"Yes."

["You'll kill this piece of shit, right?"]

"Yes."

["…You won't face this kind of end like me, right?"]

"No. I won't."

["…You need a pet too, I think. So… maybe his sister and mother can help with that?"]

"…Yes. I promise."

[Those last words cut through the stagnant air like frozen steel. Coren blinked, finally snapping out of his stupor, rage beginning to boil in his veins. His mouth opened, babbling, snarling, spitting words too messy to matter.]

[But you no longer heard him.]

[The flame of your will, the final spark of your soul, had ignited just long enough to speak those last words.]

[And then — it was gone. Your battered body finally gave in.]

[You died.]