77 The Fate of Lapis

A white room

White bed, white walls, white ceiling, white floor, white door, white paintings. This, paired with the complete silence made for quite the eery setting, even the food sitting on one of the benches was entirely white and tasteless. Every surface was smooth to the touch and the room was lit up in a way that everything was around the same temperature and so that not a single shadow could be seen

The only thing that wasn't white was the man on the bed, an older man, sitting in a white hospital gown, his eyes empty of sentience, and a pair of women, one whose hair was white and the other light blue

"Realy! That was all it took?" Alice complained, looking unsatisfied as she stared at the collapsed man "it's only been one day!".

"One day for us" Jasmin corrected, writing on a clipboard, her eyes filled with a clear sign of smug glee. She was currently doing measurements and calculating effect "according to the dosage of Serenity we gave him, for little old Lapis it"s been… 32 years," she said as she pulled out a needle from her pocket before jabbing it into the man's arm "and within another day it will have been 69"

"Whose idea was this?" Alice demanded, looking bored and frustrated as they left the room. She clearly wasn't satisfied with the method they were using "this isn't nearly as fun as RIPPING HIM APART!" she complained, letting Wolfey slip out slightly

"This was Akari's idea, i think she just didn't want to see any more blood after yesterday" Jasmin shrugged, during their attack Akari had fully let loose with her powers, turning dozens of superpowered cultists into minions at a time before having them slaughter each other "although i must admit, I quite like this technique, despite how much i want to pull him apart" she smiled viciously

"What the hell are we even doing?" Alice demanded

"White torture" a voice answered as Akari appeared behind them

"It's a form of torture that was used in Iran, Vinisvela, and the US back in the day. The prisoner is deprived of all color. Their cell is completely white: the walls, floor, and ceiling, as well as their clothes and food, and there, are no shadows. Auditorily, the cell is soundproof, and void of any sound, voices, or social interaction. In terms of taste and smell, the prisoner is fed white food to deprive them of these senses. Further, all surfaces are smooth, robbing them of the sensation of touch."

"And how does this hurt him?!" Alice demanded, slamming a fist on a desk, cracking it

"It doesn't hurt him" Jasmin answered calmly before a twisted grin grew on her face, her eyes glinting madly "it breaks him"

"That's right" Akari nodded, happy she was understood, before leaning against a wall and continuing to explain "while it may have little to no effect on a person's physical state, its effect on the mind is… irreversible and devastating. When faced with complete sensory deprivation a person can experience depersonalization, hallucinations, and even psychotic breaks"

"And by this point, he would be experiencing all of them?" Jasmin grinned, looking excited

"Nope!" Akari hummed, popping the P as she spoke, causing both of the girls to look at her "all those things happen in the first few months, even the first year... but in 34 years… he's not even Lapis anymore, just a broken man that has been reduced to a mumbling fool that only knows suffering!" she finished, her eyes sporting a mad gleam that didn't seem entirely out of place amongst the three of them, causing Jasmin to chuckle slightly

"Are you sure you don't love my Darling?" she questioned, asking what was possibly the most loaded question in existence

"Pssht NO!" Akari denied, blushing and shaking her head and hands vigorously before walking a bit away "I only did this because i owed Cane for him saving me!"

"Uh-huh"

"Soooo What do we do with him now?" Alice asked, looking like all this talk about human psychology was too much for her small head "if he's been reduced to an empty shell what do we do now?

"Who said he was empty?" Akari asked, "i said that he was broken and he's likely completely depersonalized and facing such a level of inhuman suffering that he would claw out his own throat if he could remember how, but he's not empty, he just doesn't know who he is anymore"

"So i can hurt him now?" Alice Asked cautiously, her eyes momentarily flickering red

"Isn't it even better if he doesn't know why you're hurting him, he'll finally feel something and all it will be is pain, ruthless unendearing pain" Jasmin grinned devilishly, handing the key to Lapis's room to Alice, before also pulling out another needle from her pocket and also passing it to her "he's about to feel pain for what will seem like the next few dozen years but i think it might be nice to give him this when you're done with him"

"What is it" Alice questioned, her eyes slowly turning red as she paced in place, clearly wanting to get started

"The most concentrated dose of Serenity i have ever made, no that anyone has ever made" Jasmin answered with a proud smile, letting her arrogance shine for a moment "if 34 years of sensory depravation could reduce him to little more than a sub-human blank slate, i wonder what 1000 will do"

"UNDERSTOOD!" Alice yelled, her eyes now fully red as she ran back in the direction from which they just came, screams soon erupting from Lapis's cell

"What do we do now?" Akari questioned, having now calmed down from her little fit of Denial

"You can go back to the Catacombs," Jasmin said dismissively, before walking towards the nearest exit of the cult headquarters which was the giant hole in the wall they had to create earlier

"I have a homewrecker to kill"

(I get that some people may have wanted a more guttural and gory torture scene but I wanted to try a new approach, if you have any suggestions or other methods you might like to see, please speak your mind..... there is definitely no FBI watching you)