The dust covering the book had initially prevented Lidien's Echoes of the Flesh from activating automatically, but his fingers accidentally brushing the cover forced the vision upon him.
Lidien watched the memory unfold at the back of his mind... the skin being detached from its owner, still chained and screaming, skinned alive... before he could pull his hands away.
Taking a deep breath, Lidien touched the book again and closed his eyes.
As the scene replayed, another memory layered over it: the skin being used as a record for an experiment... a brutal account of a living subject being dissected.
Lidien panted after removing his hands. With the old Lidien's corrupting brutality gone, he once again almost retched from the inhumane experimentation.
He gulped, forcing down the contents of his stomach.
Lidien steeled his resolve as he had promised himself to endure the monstrosity of the world he now lived in.
