10 Chapter 10: Eyes (2)

3rd Person POV

The meeting continued with Harold taking charge as Harold was the leader of the more powerful group of their people.

"Their security might be tough, but it's not impossible to succeed in our rebellion." Yurd brought up, "Think about it. They've got their heads so far up their own asses worrying about security that they've become blind to everything else."

"I agree." Cato nodded, "I've noticed it during major visits of the past. They're so focused on keeping us in line that they've forgotten just how dismissive they've become. And that's our ticket out of this hellhole."

"Yeah, the few days before the visit itself would be hell for us," Harold sighs, "We can at least pass around the weapon and change its hiding spot, but the worse inspection would be on the day itself when they'll have to show off their inspection skills.

"They'll be so busy patting themselves on the back for their so-called security measures that they've left themselves wide open after giving us their so-called heavenly treatment."

"So what's better than using their own arrogance against them?" Torrin smirked, "We're gonna wait until the day of the Duchess's arrival when security's at its tightest and their guard is down the most. And then, when they least expect it, we're gonna strike."

"But what are we going to do about the barrier surrounding the whole camp, the ones that are suppressing all of us?" Harold asked

"That's what we need to figure out, but if there's no reliable information, we'll just do it the old-fashioned way."

*****

Perseus POV

The eyes...I looked at myself from a mirror I borrowed from someone, my right glows gold and my left glows silver.

But Horus and Ra? Are they Egyptian gods? What do they have to do with this world?

Questions are just arising in my head. First the twerking robot, then this system that got some sort of live agent who's responsible for customer service or whatever, and now this?

A-san, or Person A, or whoever they are also refused to answer any personal questions, but they're also the only clue I got to figuring out everything that exists in this world.

[Eye of Ra: A symbol of divine power, those who possess the Eye of Ra find themselves imbued with strength and fortitude.]

[Eye of Horus: A symbol of healing and regeneration. Those who possess the Eye of Horus can heal their wounds and regenerate from all manner of injuries.]

This is both a blessing and a curse in disguise, if they find out that I can heal quickly and effectively without magic or other items, they'll want to experiment on me somehow, maybe even try to torture me for the secret.

It'll probably be effective too since my wounds would just heal after a short while and I'll just relive those painful moments over and over. I got back to the cave gave back the mirror and then stayed out late outside the cave.

It's not technically against the rules, but I still have to be careful, so instead, I jump down into the water and hide down there, I can sleep underwater if I get tired anyway. I went down to the bottom and swam into those underwater cave veins and tried to mine the glimmerite.

As I chipped away at the rocky surface, my mind buzzed with thoughts of escape. The conversations I'd overheard on my way here are stuck in my head, and it's not good news in the least.

They said the glimmerite we were mining here was depleting. We'd soon have to go deeper and farther, into even more dangerous waters. That meant higher pressure and scarier creatures lurking in the depths.

The longer we stayed, the worse it would get.

I thought about just swimming to freedom, but this empire got a proper navy to keep us in check as well.

But perhaps this could be turned to our advantage.

If I were swift enough, I could seek out a sea creature accustomed to the pressures of the abyss, one capable of swimming to shallower waters. Using myself as bait, I could lure these creatures towards our enemies, turning their strength against them.

Would such creatures truly venture to the surface? Were they intelligent enough to discern the ruse and remain in the depths, beyond our reach? The plan was flawed, though.

*****

In the morning, I came up just in time for breakfast, I dropped off a lot of Glimmerite that I packed in one large sack and then headed for breakfast, it seemed that we were running out of food because the guards who were responsible just gave us a piece of bread for it.

As it was my turn in line, the guard dropped the bread onto the ground before me and let out this mocking laugh.

I gritted my teeth in frustration as I reached out to retrieve the bread, I was still hungry and I felt my hunger gnawing at my insides. But with each attempt, the guard cruelly whipped the bread away, his sadistic laughter ringing in my ears.

I know that I won't get second portions, and not only that, no one got enough to share, this bread is all I got, my stomach should be able to process it anyway.

Again and again, I tried to grasp the bread, only to have it snatched away from me each time. The guard took delight in my futile efforts, relishing in the power he held over me.

Sometimes, the whip would hit my hand or any other part of my body, it stings quite a lot, but I just have to resist it. There was definitely anger that burned within me, boiling beneath the surface. But I knew better than to lash out as any sign of defiance would only invite more punishment.

I finally got my broken hard bread and just walked away as he lashed out one last time on my back, I winced, but I kept quiet as I headed back to my quiet spot and ate as usual. I felt my wounds healing and with my fatigue from mining all night, I just slept.