Chapter 06: Emptiness

Pain.

So much pain.

That was the best way I could describe my current situation. I had to admit, Selene was a real pro at torture. Maybe she had a degree in it or something. She had been at it for what felt like hours, but I refused to break. I just couldn't let her win.

I tried my best to keep my spirits up as Selene tortured me. It wasn't easy, but I had always been good at finding humor in dark situations. Even as she zapped me with electricity, I joked about how it felt like a spa treatment. When she waterboarded me, I laughed and said, "I always wanted to learn how to surf."

But Selene was not amused. She was getting more and more frustrated with each passing day. I could tell that my jokes were getting on her nerves, but I just couldn't help myself. It was my way of coping with the pain.

"Enough!" she finally screamed, slamming her hand on the table next to me. "I can't take it anymore! You think you're so clever with your jokes, huh? You're not fooling anyone! Do you think this is a game?"

I winced as she spoke, feeling the weight of her anger bearing down on me. But I couldn't help myself. "Actually, it kind of feels like a game show. So, what's the prize for enduring all this torture? A new car? A tropical vacation?"

Selene's eyes blazed with fury as I continued to make jokes, trying to deflect from the pain. I could feel the physical pain that accompanied her punishment increasing, but I couldn't stop myself from trying to break the tension with humor. I was so desperate to hold onto some semblance of control, of sanity.

"You want to know the prize?" she finally snarled, interrupting my feeble attempts at levity. "Fine, I will give you the prize sooner than planned. The prize is the truth. The truth about who you are and where you came from."

I could feel a knot forming in my stomach, and the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. This didn't sound good. This didn't sound good at all.

"What do you mean?" I asked cautiously, trying to mask the rising sense of panic.

Selene stood up and began to pace back and forth. "Your whole life is a lie, a fabrication. Your mother wasn't your actual mother. You had no parents. I found you somewhere and brought you here."

I felt like I had been punched in the gut. No parents? Not even my mother, the woman who had raised me? It couldn't be true. It was impossible.

"What do you mean, brought me here? Here, to this town?" I asked, my voice shaking.

Selene nodded. "Yes. This town was made by me, for you—a baby I found alone in the dark, crying. Everyone in it is one of my people, including your mother. I put you here, raised you here, all for a purpose."

I felt my mind struggling to process what she was saying. This couldn't be true. It was impossible. My whole life had been a lie? No family, no home, no identity? What about my mother? It couldn't be true. She was my mom. Selene was just lying. She had to be.

"You're lying!" I exclaimed, grasping onto the tiniest shred of hope, but my mind had already started connecting the dots.

Selene's eyes locked onto mine, unwavering in their intensity. "You are nothing but a product of my twisted experiments. I will create the perfect specimen, to awaken the latent abilities within you and use them for my own purposes."

I felt a knot form in my stomach as she continued. "Don't pretend like you never noticed anything 'strange' with this town. Didn't you ever feel like you were being watched? How cute. Sure, I wasn't always the one keeping an eye on you, but my underlings did. Even I looked from time to time."

I shook my head in disbelief. "You're lying. My mom… she wasn't fake! She was- is my mom!"

"Awww," Selene's hand traced a slow and deliberate path across my cheek, her touch sending shivers down my spine. Her lips curled into a twisted deranged, almost lustful smile as she spoke. "Oh, she did a really good job at keeping the act up. A good manipulator, I suppose. I expected nothing less. I chose her myself, after all."

I couldn't help but feel a sickening sense of dread as I stared into her eyes. There was something about the way she spoke, something almost sadistic in her tone that made my skin crawl. And yet, there was also a hint of something else, something darker and more unsettling. A subtle undercurrent of arousal that seemed to pulse beneath the surface.

She was… aroused by all this?

I tried to pull away from her touch, but she only tightened her grip, her fingers digging into my skin as she brought her lips closer, brushing against mine as she whispered. "You see, Alex," she purred, her voice low and dangerous, her breath tickling me. "I take pleasure in the suffering of others. It's what makes me feel alive. And knowing that I was able to manipulate you, to use your own mother against you… it's the ultimate rush. I'm flowing right now, fully."

Her words sent a sickening wave of revulsion through me, and yet, at the same time, I couldn't help but feel a perverse sense of fascination. There was something about Selene, something dark and alluring that drew me in, even as I recoiled from her touch-

My eyes widened and pulled back. This bitch and her mind fucking! I gritted my teeth in anger.

"Your mother was a really nice woman, I suppose, for you to fall to her subtle manipulation so easily."

I felt like the world had come to a stop. My eyes were wide in horror as Selene spoke, her words sending a sickening wave of revulsion through me. This woman was truly twisted, taking pleasure in the suffering of others. As she spoke of my mother, I felt a deep sense of betrayal and anger boil up within me.

"What… what do you mean?"

As she wriggled in her seat, I could see the telltale signs of arousal on her flushed cheeks, "It's funny really, how you believed her. But, I guess it's expected of a kid to get attached to his mother. I love how she created an image in your mind. How amusing. But let me tell you, Alex," she continued, her voice almost a purr now, her eyes arching up into a smile, her lips stretching wide and her face flushed in pleasure. "She was no mother! She was nothing but a pawn I sent to guide you! To mold you! To groom you! To make you get attached to someone only for you to feel loss when it's snatched away! The perfect way to make a mutant; loss!"

And just like that, everything crumbled. The ground beneath me disappeared, and I felt myself falling into an endless void of despair. The reality hit me like a freight train—I had been nothing more than a pawn in Selene's game, for my whole life. All my memories, my experiences, my entire life—all of it was a lie.

For the first time in all these months, I felt myself breaking. My face contorted as the weight of the truth settled over me. I felt empty, lost, and alone. And I knew that there was no going back from this. My life would never be the same again.

Selene's eyes glinted with sadistic pleasure as she saw the despair etched on my face. She wriggled in delight, her cheeks flushing as she felt a wave of arousal course through her body. "Yes, Alex, let the truth sink in. Let the pain and despair consume you," she hissed, relishing in my suffering.

As Selene watched my emotional breakdown with a twisted smile, her sadistic nature became evident. I could see the lust in her eyes as she wriggled with pleasure at the sight of my despair. She was sexually aroused by the situation, and it was clear that she enjoyed seeing me suffer.

As everything got even more settled into my brain, my face lost all its expression, and my head spun.

"Ahn~!" Selene moaned suddenly, wriggling in her seat. "How wonderful your face is, that expression, that despair! I love it!!!" she hugged her body, her toes curling and her thighs rubbing together.

Her words sent a chill down my spine, and I could feel my body tense up with fear and disgust. This woman was truly twisted, taking pleasure in the pain of others.

Then, as if on cue, she let out a loud moan as her body convulsed with pleasure, her face twisted in ecstasy as she orgasmed right in front of me. I couldn't believe it—she was orgasming from my pain and suffering!

what the fuck was wrong with this woman?!

Her cheeks flushed with excitement as she continued to revel in my misery. It was a sickening display, and yet, at the same time, I couldn't help but feel a perverse fascination with this woman, this twisted and sadistic monster who took pleasure in the pain of others. (she was tempering with my mind surely, to make me feel extra on all sides, or make me feel at all, I would realize this later).

As I struggled to come to terms with the truth about my life, Selene's sadistic nature became more and more apparent. She wasn't content with just seeing me in pain—she needed to feel the rush of pleasure that came with it. It was a sick and twisted obsession that I couldn't understand, and I knew that I needed to get away from her as soon as possible.

My whole life… had been a lie? I had no family, no home, no identity? Even mom? it couldn't be right?

Ha… hahaha.

Something snapped and clicked inside of me at the same time. As if I lost something and gained something else.

This was a good one… I had to admit.

The world had crumbled around me, leaving me stranded in a sea of loneliness and despair. The weight of my solitude was crushing, suffocating me as I sat there, wondering what my next move should be. Who was even left to turn to? I was all alone, with no one to lean on, no one to confide in.

Selene leaned in, whispering into my ear, "You're mine now, Alex," she murmured, her voice sending shivers down my spine. "And I'll use you to create the perfect mutant. You'll do exactly what I say, and if you don't... well, let's just say the consequences won't be pleasant."

And yet, as she spoke, her words carried a cold, calculating edge that made me shiver. I could feel the power emanating from her, the way she was using my loneliness to her advantage, the way she guided my mind, tempering with it using her powers.

I knew I was being manipulated, but I couldn't help but be drawn to her all the same.

I was stunned, unable to process what was happening. Even as fear and uncertainty coursed through me, I couldn't feel… anything. I was numb at the moment, utterly zoned out. Possibly being mind fucked by this bitch… but I didn't care at this moment.

The air was thick with tension as she pulled away, leaving me to contemplate my fate. It was clear that she held all the cards now, and that I was at her mercy.

I mean, what was even there to do anymore?

I was empty.

***