Question

The haggard-looking woman locked up underground breathed out heavily and lowered her head without replying.

She was far too weak for any word that reached the tip of her tongue to roll out.

Slowly, her chest rose and fell while she panted lightly as she heard Empress Himiko's response.

What followed next was her unearthing.

Clicking her tongue against the roof of her mouth, Empress Himiko asked, "Cat got your tongue?"

She did not wait for the other lady's response as she tsked away, "Well, I will come to you."

Immediately, she gathered some energy like the wind around her hand. Without warning, she removed the dirty earth beneath her feet to reveal an old wooden door.

Wasting no time, Empress Himiko gathered another round of wind in her hands before holstering the door, forcing it to fling open.

But right when it was about to knock hard against the earth, she quickly raised her palm to stop the force, being aware of the attention it might bring.

With her intervention, the wooden door that pushed open with great force and was about to kiss the earth gently lowered itself to the ground.

Unmoved with the result, her gaze slowly returned to the opening before slowly walking inside.

Right beneath her feet was a flight of wooden stairs that led down to the underground prison.

With each step she took, descending quietly with the corners of her lips curling up as she went, the sound of her wooden slippers remained unheard in the dark.

Soon she came to the foot of the stairs and turned to stare at the woman chained to the hard cemented wall.

The second her prey lifted her head to meet her gaze, a triumphant smirk turned on her lips.

"I was about to ask how you are faring, but I found it to be a useless question on second thought."

Empress Himiko let out a soft sigh and as her gaze darted around her body, she continued, "You are so filthy that my spell can not even block out a good amount of your odour."

Hearing this, the woman breathed out unevenly while maintaining eye contact with her. "Then don't appear before me."

Knowing very well how unkempt she was as the Empress was the one that locked her up, the woman would have appreciated it if she ceased to visit.

Regardless of whatever it was, she was in no mood to speak with anyone altogether, not to mention her nightmare, Empress Himiko.

"Don't think so highly of yourself," Empress Himiko said with her eyes wandering over her body as if she were trying to find something new to taunt about.

At this point, the woman had only one thing to do. Ignore her words and not let them bother her as she shut her eyes briefly.

"I must be special… for the Empress… to come down to me dressed in her sleeping clothes… in the middle of the night," she said a little breathlessly.

Empress Himiko scoffed as she found her words ridiculous.

"If I did not have any need for you, I wouldn't even grace you with my presence," she spat out sharply.

"Hahaha…"

Almost soundless laughter tore through her lips the second she heard Empress Himiko speak.

"Of course, I am still very important to you," she added after a minute of reeling in her hate.

She knew she was very important to the Empress otherwise, she would not go through the trouble of locking her up and also moving in the middle of the night to visit her each time she needed answers.

And for this very reason, she would allow her to enjoy her fetid state.

But her response did not dwell well with the Empress whose fury rose from the depth of her heart at her mockery.

"Keep talking and I will make sure you continue to live so miserably for a few more centuries," Empress Himiko said through gritted teeth.

Suddenly, her fingernails elongated and slowly stretched toward the woman who did not bat an eyelid at it and only stopped one inch away from piercing her body.

The menacing bored stare which she used to hold Empress Himiko's menacing gaze further made the Empress angry within her.

"Although I find everything that has to do with you filthy, I still wouldn't mind draining your blood to get any little power you still have. And I won't be afraid of you dying from it because you will still pump more next time."

The lady's eyes narrowed at her as the Empress confidently voiced and let out a small laugh her eyes turning darker by the second.

However, the woman looked at it or perceived her actions and words to be, Empress Himiko was least bothered because of the familiarity. As such, her confidence only ended up growing.

This was not the first time she was doing this; just like every other time, the woman would still look healthy each time she returned.

Hearing her vulgar words and seeing the next step she was about to take, the woman's eyes widened in anger as her eyeliner turned a deep shade of pink.

"Himiko! You dare to treat a prophetess of the old this way?" She flared up and yanked strongly on the chairs holding her down, making a sharp clanking sound.

The level of disrespect she had received and endured from that woman was too much.

Sadly, all her actions and efforts proved abortive as she got weaker and the chains remained unmoving.

The woman whose hands were chained and reduced to such a state by the female ruler was one of the respected Prophets of the Old.

But here she was, being forced to resign to a well-sculptured human fate.

Watching her efforts go in vain, the Empress stared at her like she was the most foolish woman on Earth.

Trying to free herself from the magic-bound chains? Her efforts did not even hold a candle to the effect required to be set free.

Choosing to ignore her petty actions, Empress Himiko informed her boldly, "As you can see, I have no fear."

To prove her words to her, she instantly let two of her elongated nails pierce into the sides of her head.

"Ahhh!"

A terrifying scream tore through her lips from the depth of her throat as she tried to wriggle away from her grasp.

She felt the sharp sting inside her head as more pain seeped into her brain, spreading fast through her body.

"Aahhhh!!"

Her screams increased as her struggle intensified but the pain only got worse with each movement she made.

Each second that passed, brought a terrifying pain to her body. And after realizing there was no way out of it, she stopped struggling.

In the end, she was forced to shut her mouth and sit still while bearing every pain that enveloped her.

This was by far the best response to alleviate the effect of the strength and wit-draining torture.

Finally, finding a reason to hold on to her pain, her lips turned up a bit, revealing a menacing grin.

However as quickly as it came, it disappeared.

'You… just keep… drinking my blood… and… you will continue to die… slowly.'

Unaware of her thoughts, the Empress let her go after the long torment. Satisfied with the result, she retracted her long nails with a satisfied smile.

"Now, let's get down to business."

How those words smoothly rolled out from her tongue felt as though she didn't just torture anyone a few minutes ago.

Freed, the prophetess on the floor panted heavily as she tried to catch her breath while at the same time listening to the reason she came over in the middle of the night.

"The Seer," she started, but the prophetess felt the hairs on her body stand at attention as soon as she heard her first statement.

"H-Have t-they… F-Found her? N-No! H-He… would not…'