Malrik slowly walked towards his training grounds, hands marred the Threadripper's blood and drool.
Today's torture session was fruitless.
Malrik targeted the most vulnerable parts of Ori's skin with controlled bursts of heat, and yet Ori didn't say a thing, save for the few words exchanged at the start.
Sill, there was at least one thing he gleamed from the display of stubbornness - the Threadripper was scheming something.
It was impossible to tell what, exactly, was being concealed, but the silence spoke volumes in and of itself.
Malrik tried giving Ori an opening; around halfway through the interrogation, he switched to asking mundane questions.
However those, too, were left unanswered.
The most freakish part of all was Ori's utter lack of pain tolerance - clearly, he suffered greatly. More than regular humans, even, as was expected of a being know for insane sensitivity.
I've 'worked' with people who feigned pain - demonic cultivators that severed their very own pain receptors.
In other words, Malrik knew without a shred of doubt that Ori was the real deal.
He genuinely cried out in pain time and time again, for hours straight.
And yet, he couldn't make him talk…
It seemed that, tomorrow, Malrik would have to dedicate an entire day to the Threadripper if he wanted to succeed in fishing any information out.
And if not tomorrow, then the day after that. Malrik didn't believe, even for a second, that Ori would have the mental fortitude to hold on forever.
Nobody does, human or otherwise. His mind is simply stronger than most. I will make him spill everything, even it if takes weeks.
A wide clearing came into view.
Malik wiped his bloodied hands off with a handkerchief and set it ablaze, before finally stepping into the training grounds with a determined look.
***
Kaela woke up with severe neck pain, as if smacked from behind.
My posture's not thaaat bad, is it?
Once she rubbed her eyes open, the confusion only grew. It was nighttime, evidenced by the lack of sunlight.
She placed a hand on her sore neck in thought.
I could've sworn I told Ori to wake me up if I overslept… Did the fucker fall asleep too?
With an irritated expression, Kaela turned towards her unreliable friend to give him a piece of her mind, only to be hit by a rancid smell of charred flesh.
Her brows furrowed, and she leaned in to get a closer look, eyes now partially adjusted to the darkness.
…She barely held in the urge to barf at the sight that assaulted her eyes; it was just that grotesque.
Her new friend, Ori, was brutalized.
Almost none of the skin on his body remained intact.
If anything, he resembled a corpse, though upon closer inspection, a hitched breathing could be heard.
Fresh blood slowly seeped out from the numerous wounds.
"W-what the hell happened? Hey, Ori!"
Wiping the shock off her face, Kaela grabbed Ori by the shoulders and shook him awake, checking his pulse along the way.
Suddenly jerked awake, he let out a groan before letting a flood of curses out.
"Urgh!! Fuck, fuck, fuck! God motherfucking damnit, Malrik. It hurts so bad…"
Kaela let out a sigh of relief at his outburst.
That's a rough greeting, but… Well, at least he's alive.
***
The moment Malrik left, I collapsed to the ground. With the adrenaline rush gone, exhaustion overcame me and I swiftly passed out.
Dreamt of being in a pit of fire.
Terrible experience, by the way - would not recommend.
At least the nightmare didn't last too long; Kaela interrupted my rest, for which I could only be thankful.
My skin hurt. Everything hurt, actually. The burns went much deeper than I expected, as even my muscles were hurting.
After cursing up a storm, and subsequently vomiting a mouthful of blood, I turned to Kaela. The look on her face was priceless.
Feels nice to have someone worry about me. Friends are awesome.
Still, I felt it was only fair to dispel her concerns, so I took a moment to even my breathing, only then realizing how dire the injuries were.
Oof, wow. I'm so screwed…
My lungs were singed, nowhere close to recovering.
During the interrogation, Malrik brought a condensed flame to my mouth and clamped my nose shut; I was forced to inhale the unbearably hot air, without a chance to lose consciousness from asphyxiation.
The flame was small yet potent, making it barely consume any oxygen - I would've marveled at the technique, were it not directed at me.
Eventually, I was ready to speak.
Well, as ready as I could be in my sorry state.
"You can relax, Kaela. It may look bad, but I'm more or less fine. Just in pain."
She responded to my dismissive words in an even more worried voice than before.
"Oh no. Even your brain's been damaged…"
"The fuck? My brain's perfectly *Cough* intact! No, why are you insulting me first thing in the morning?! Umm, is it even morning right now? Wait, no, that's beside the point; can't you see I'm injured? Maybe show some pity, you pathetic excuse of a human?"
"Whew, your mouth is just as foul as I remember. I guess it's not all bad."
I prepared to argue further, but in the end decided not to strain my voice any more than necessary, and acceped her insults in stride.
How mature of me. Maybe getting tortured helped improve me as a person? I should thank Malrik once he returns.
Oblivious to my ridiculous thoughts, Kaela finally asked what's been on her mind since shaking me awake.
"So, what happened here, exactly? Did we get attacked? My neck's sore too, so I'm assuming I've been knocked out - but then again, we're alive, and I don't see any bodies… Wait, did you eat their corpses?!"
"No, I *Cough* did not eat anybody. Don't make me raise my voice again, please. I'm already one foot in the grave."
*Cough*
*Gargle*
My throat produced a disgustingly moist sound as more blood welled up, prompting Kaela to give me a pitying look.
"Fine, I'll stop joking around for now, since I do feel bad for messing with a disabled person."
So much for not messing with me anymore… Welp, the situation's not her fault; let's not hit her with any strays.
Those, I'll save for Malrik.
"Okay, but for real this time - what kind of mess did you get yourself into?"
I thought for a bit, trying to form a sentence that would have me speaking the minimum amount of words to avoid harming my already damaged lungs, and took a shallow breath before opening my mouth.
"Remember? Torture… Malrik Nether. Int… Interrogation. Me. He… Interrogated."
The words came out comically disjointed, as if spoken by someone with a speech impediment.
My great hearing - annoyingly great at times like these - caught the sound of Kaela's shoulder muscles twitching.
Is this for real? She's holding a laugh! I'd be talking properly if I could, damnit! Oh, how much I wanna smack her right now…
All that stuff I said about not being mean to your friends? I take it back. She's just begging for a gut punch at this point.
Eventually, she regained her composure, while I somehow held back from getting violent.
Im letting you off the hook this time, my dear friend. But don't be mistaken; once I'm recovered, you're in for a royal beating.
Noticing the dangerous glint in my gaze, she wrapped her arms around herself with a shiver.
"Why are you staring like that? Ah, nevermind. Just, uhh… Is he coming back to do this again tomorrow? Malrik, I mean. Is he coming back to torture you again tomorrow?"
I grimly nodded at her words.
"That's rough. Actually, remember how I told you that I got imprisoned after getting destroyed in a fight? Thing is, it was actually Malrik I fought - the guy had freakishly high essence reserves."
I could only agree with her words.
That's right, his essence is abundant. And very, very pure. Just right for my needs.
I recalled my new plan, at which my lips involuntarily twisted into a crazed smile.
Kaela, sensing that something about my expression was off, distanced herself, but I ignored the action, absorbed in my own thoughts.
I need you to keep coming back, Malrik. Again and again, until I'm ready to retaliate.
The pain? I've been through worse. Even making bladed appendages sucks harder. Sure, I felt like dying to release myself from the pain all throughout, but at the end of the day, it's just that - physical pain.
Infinitely more tolerable that mental anguish, I tell ya.
Kaela asked me a few more questions, but I simply waved my hand in the air, with an expression that begged her to shut up.
She did as told.
I was in desperate need of rest, and there was a ton of planning to do; certainly too much to waste time on pointless chatter.
***
The night passed in a flash, and it wasn't long before the basement door slid open.
My eyes lit up.
Hello there, my personal interrogator. Burn me to your heart's content today - I'll make sure you go deaf from all my screams.
Malrik met my unwavering gaze with one of his own, just as determined.
At the same time, I heard Kaela shuffle nearby, before gracelessly collapsing to the ground with a bang of her head.
Knocked herself out before Malrik could? That…would've been a good move to avoid getting another bruise on the neck, but, uhh… Her head's gonna hurt even more than yesterday, I reckon.
Eventually, Malrik reached the cell with the same, irritatingly slow steps as last time, and sat down before me.
We didn't bother exchanging words. Both of us knew it wouldn't be so easy.
After another staredown, the torture started.
The day dragged. I cried, and screamed, and cried some more.
My thoughts turned into a scrambled mess, courtesy of Voracity's influence and the soul crushing pain.
Yes, keep going. You can do it, Malrik. Just a bit more flame, and I'll break. I'll tell you everything you want to hear, so don't hold back.
Believe it, Nether's Eldest Prince. Believe those delusions, and my time will come.
By this point, it was unclear who between us was the truly deluded one.
I didn't mind.
A bit of delusion comes a long way, when push comes to shove. So, let's see who wins this war of attrition, Malrik.
Will Nether's flames shatter my mind, or will my plan come to fruition first?
"Heh. Heheh. Hahahaha!!"
My laugher, fueled by sheer determination to see things through, rung out without pause in the face of Malrik's inconceivably cruel torture for a very long time.