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The Breaker’s conceited look confuses me. I insulted his comrade, and yet I amuse him. It unsettles something inside me, taking root among my doubts and silent fears.
“No sharp wit or reply?” he asks with humor in his eyes.
I say nothing. My words will not aid me now. My stare is blank, stripped of any emotion. Nothing but numbness will be a companion.
The Breaker’s smirk finally turns cold. “Take her.”
No sound arrives from the two guards who have steadily slithered up behind him and step toward my cell. Their cloaks are as dark as the night, concealing most of their face and body. They don’t bother looking at me as they pull me out.
I don’t fight them.
I don’t call on my shadows.
I let them drag me down the dark corridor without question.
We turn into a row of more cells, slightly different from my own; these ones with brick covering most of the cells and a small space only big enough to pass food through that is covered withthick bars. We pass half a dozen more cells before I spot a door off to the side. Its bare look makes it stand out among the rest, piquing my interest.
I had thought the only way into my cell block was the way they brought me in, but it seems there might be another, one that I might be able to exploit. Storing that thought away for now, I focus on the guards as we continue down the corridor of cells, reaching one at the end. They wait for the Breaker’s permission before going any further. With the dip of his head, we move forward into the room.
Instead of a cell, it is a small hallway, one with another door at the end. Icy shivers slide down my spine at seeing the wooden door up close. Scratches scale their way up it, and chunks are missing, caused by what appear to be claw marks. Dark colors of every kind are splattered across it, soaked into the grooves.
They push the door open, shoving me inside.
Another prison, though one with no bars. One that is darker and colder, but not from any breeze, as there are no windows for it to pass through. The air itself is stagnant and stale, smelling only of death. The stench permeates the small room, making me want to vomit. I breathe through my mouth, trying and failing to prevent the vile odor from seeping in.
As the Breaker steps forward, the dark room casts shadows, concealing most of his body and face, making him seem otherworldly and more dangerous.
“Bind her,” he orders.
I ready myself for an attack. Though they will try to break me, I will not make it easy.
But the fight never comes, nor do the guards move. Their shadows whip out, forcing me to my knees, stringing my hands up. I hold back my own shadows, which are begging to break free to aid and punish.
My plan is reliant on my stay at the palace. I can’t afford to jeopardize my place here so soon. Not until I compete in the competition and meet with the royals.
Shoving down my shadows once more, I focus on the Breaker. The dim room casts shadows over his face that slither over his dark eyes as he steps closer. The guards’ power forces my face up to look at him. His cold eyes stare back at me as the guards’ punishing grip tightens.
I have come across many cruel people, their eyes always displaying their true nature. But never have I seen eyes so dark and empty of any remorse and light.
“This will hurt.” No compassion or emotion is on his face nor in his voice. This is merely a means to an end. I am nothing more than another project he can attempt to break.
Around me, sound disappears as pain erupts across my body. Sharp blades pull and tear as something foreign moves about inside me, searching without care. The Breaker spares no thought to my torment as it continues on a constant loop. It rips and tears at my soul, agony just as afflicting as physical pain.
I breathe through my nose, the putrid smell doing nothing to distract the torment.
Looking forward, I find a jagged brick that has shifted in the wall. The muddy slab is barely visible in the dark room, but it captures and holds my attention. The cramped cell dissolves around me as I fixate on the chipped edges and surfaces, counting each scratch, each furrow and groove, until I am no longer in my body but someplace far away. The numbness, like a warm cloak, wraps around me, pushing the pain to the far reaches of my mind.
My purpose here is bigger than myself, bigger than my pain. If I follow through with my plan and make it through the competition, I might be able to bring light to the endless torment the Sidus have been living through.
Just like hope is so capricious when darkness appears, it can grow if lit by a single entity. The Sidus desperately need some form of hope to continue on. We cannot keep going the way we have been. It will not be long before that small light dwindles and is forever extinguished.
The moment of peace is quickly stripped from my mind and body as a burn, so intense, slices up my back, shaking my focus. I try to push it back, picturing Meira and her warm smiles. Natasa and her unyielding will. My mother’s embrace, and Ryuu’s strength. I take their warmth and let it guide me out of the dark pain and hold on to the slight reprieve. I grab on to that feeling and embrace the numbness as it settles over me once more.
But the freedom from affliction is fleeting. And a violent tug pulls me back to my body and reawakens the agony once more. The sharp pull grows, clawing its way into my skull. It passes in waves as it moves throughout me. I hold in the scream that wants a release to ease some of the torment.
“It seems this one is not going to be as easy as I had expected.” The Breaker’s voice is a distant echo as I fight to stay conscious, though the displeasure in his tone is evident.
My eyes blur as sharp needles splinter every nerve, the torment growing more intense. They burn hotter than any fire, spreading to every inch of me. I clench my jaw shut, not willing to give them any sound. Not willing to show them a moment of my weakness.
