"Save him! Keep him alive, you hear me? He can't just die like this. If he dies, your only option is to follow him to the grave!"
"I'm not a doctor, I'm just a..."
"Shut up! Keep him alive, you understand?!"
"Alright..."
What a helpless response.
In this deep, dark cave, it had been a long time since such a voice was heard. How ironic.
There were many people in this cave—those standing, those still alive—but all they carried was the sound of death, bringing only the demise of life and suffering. And then there were the others, those kneeling, lying down, or collapsed, who yearned for death, hoping for a swift end.
But now, someone wanted to live! Someone wanted another person to live! How intriguing.
"Who among you! Can save a life, speak up now, or else next month rations will be cut in half!" A guard from the terrorist organization, holding a gun, banged the barrel against the cell door.
"Stop yelling! There are only a few of us here. Can't you see for yourself?" From a dark corner behind the iron bars, a voice sneered.
"You..." The guard started to speak but then seemed to remember something. He spat at the iron door and walked away.
"Don't leave! I can save lives." A man with a scruffy beard and disheveled hair emerged from the darkness, pressing himself against the iron door and pounding on it.
His voice carried through the thick iron door.
The guard hesitated for a moment, then walked over and opened the small window on the door. He glanced at the man—a disheveled figure with a thick beard in the pitch-black cave, but his eyes shone brightly beneath the dense hair.
The guard opened the cell door and led the man to another cave. This place was also used to detain people, but the environment was much better than where the man had been before. At least here, there were no signs of agony, no signs of death, and there was even a dim oil lamp.
The guard shoved him in without ceremony, and the man fell heavily to the ground, but he made no sound, simply stood up, brushed off the dust, and chuckled to himself.
....
"Do you know how to save him?" the bespectacled man in the cell asked timidly.
"Hey! Brother, shouldn't we introduce ourselves first when we meet?" The man strode over casually and slung an arm around the bespectacled man shoulder.
"My name is Yinsen" the bespectacled man said meekly.
He looked at the man with disgust. The man was covered in filth, utterly repulsive. His unkempt hair and beard were like wild grass growing out of control, and the stench emanating from him was unbearable.
But Yinsen dared not show his disgust. He was afraid of this man.
"My name is Raiden. Nice to meet you," Raiden face bore a friendly smile.
But that smile sent a chill down Yinsen spine, a cold sensation creeping up from his core.
Yinsen wasn't afraid because of the way the man facial expressions moved the thick hair on his face, making him look even more menacing. It was because...
Yinsen had been imprisoned here for several years now. He occupies the best cell in the prison, at least one where he can't see or hear how the other prisoners are being killed, dissected, and treated like lab rats.
Yinsen knows the reason those demons haven't killed him is that he still has some use. But the man before him...
This man had been imprisoned here before Yinsen arrived, trapped in hell... living every day amidst wails and agony... It's a mystery how he survived, and why those people haven't killed him.
Yinsen is terrified of the man before him...
"Do you know how to save him?" Yinsen asked again, his voice trembling.
"Save him?" Raiden shrugged. "Of course I don't know how to save him. I'm not a doctor," Raiden said matter-of-factly, even raising an eyebrow at Yinsen.
"Then why did you tell the guards you could?" Yinsen asked, puzzled.
"I got tired of that room. I wanted to move to one with people," Raiden laughed heartily, walking over to the blood-soaked man lying on the ground. He looked down, and suddenly his expression froze.
"Is this about saving him?" Raiden coldly demanded.
Yinsen didn't understand why Raiden tone had changed so drastically. He could only respond softly,
"Yes."
Raiden looked up at Yinsen and smiled. "Looks like I know how to save him now!"
......
Raiden had spent an unknown number of years at the end of time. He had read all the books in the sky, those chaotic knowledges and the biographies recording various creeds.
Raiden even felt that if he returned to the world of the past, his novel-writing skills would be maxed out.
Finally, he left the end of time and returned to a world of color and life.
Although it was a desert, Raiden felt surrounded by vitality; the dryness in the air, the scorching sun—it all made him feel alive again!
But soon, he was surrounded by a group of people who didn't look like they were up to any good.
From their vehicles, weapons, appearances, and clothing, Raiden thought he had returned to Earth, perhaps to the Middle East? Some chaotic region? This was indeed the Middle East, but not the one Raiden had imagined.
These guys didn't even exchange a few words with Raiden before firing a barrage of bullets at him. Although the last remnants of Raiden strength deflected most of the bullets, one still hit him.
Pain.
Raiden wasn't angry because this pain, for him, pain was truly the most wonderful feeling in the world—the feeling of being alive.
'But, how dare you fucking shoot me?!'
In his anger, Raiden eventually turned those rough men and their vehicles into dough. However, more enemies quickly surrounded him.
Feeling the last, insignificant remnants of his strength, Raiden knew that even if he killed them, he wouldn't be able to survive the desert. So, he chose to surrender and was "captured" by these guys and taken back to their lair.
In that cave, Raiden met the leader of the group, who was curious about Raiden power and wanted to possess it for himself.
Raiden had initially planned to use his psychic abilities to control the minds of these individuals, alter their memories, and make them call him "Daddy." However, the endless passage of time had led Raiden to overestimate the remnants of his power.
Raiden was imprisoned, but he also managed to plant a subconscious suggestion in their minds that he was an important figure who must not be allowed to die.
Locked away, Raiden remained in captivity for four long years.
In fact, because Raiden was of no use to the organization, its leader had even forgotten about him, leaving Raiden to languish in confinement indefinitely.
Due to the differences between universes, Raiden couldn't absorb the chaotic elements of this world, and the rules here were also distinct from those of the Elder Scrolls universe. As a result, Raiden had no way to escape this place on his own.
All he could do was endure the pain and waiting, day after day, as he delved into the study of power and the rules of this world.
Over the four years, Raiden witnessed the gruesome deaths of countless humans. To the people in this cave, humans were nothing more than a label, a code name and treated them like an animals.
In this world, Raiden encountered a side of existence far more brutal and filthy than anything he had seen in the Elder Scrolls universe. It turned out that civilization didn't just bring peace; on its unseen side, it was far more brutal.
Over the four years, Raiden gradually came to realize that this couldn't be Earth—at least not the Earth he had lived on. Perhaps this was just a parallel world.
Still, the endless years and the loss of emotion had forged Raiden into someone with a heart of stone. Everything around him... it no longer mattered.
And today, in this dimly lit cave, Raiden saw a familiar face—Tony Stark.
Was this the Marvel universe? It seemed the temporal chaos caused by the Infinity Stones had brought him back to its origin.
This was an interesting world, a world brimming with power, but also a murky and filthy one.
Unfortunately, at this moment, Raiden had no power to speak of.
In the palm of his hand, a small flame flickered weakly.
.....
cough, cough...
The man on the ground, Tony Stark, let out painful coughs.
"He's alive!" Yinsen exclaimed excitedly to Raiden.
Raiden shook his head indifferently. "That's none of our concern."
As soon as he finished speaking, two guards rushed in from outside and took Tony Stark away.
"His body isn't ready yet. He'll die soon" Yinsen said, stepping forward to stop the guards, only to be knocked down by a rifle butt.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Why bother? Those guys won't let him die. Otherwise, they wouldn't have gone through all the trouble of having us healed him," Raiden said, walking over and extending a hand to help Yinsen up.
Yinsen looked into Raiden eyes, peering through the thick beard, and finally reached out to grasp Yinsen hand, standing up. Raiden smiled at him and then walked alone into a dark corner, sitting quietly by himself.
Sure enough, not long after, Tony Stark was thrown back in, lying on the ground barely alive—but alive nonetheless.
Yinsen glanced at Tony on the ground, then turned to look at Raiden in the shadows, and finally shook his head before walking away.