Chapter Three: Pain

As Yin slowly opened his eyes, he felt a sharp pain in his wrists. He tried to move, but his hands were tied up with metal chains that hung from the ceiling. The room was dimly lit, and the only source of light came from a little opening their heads. As his eyes adjusted to the light, he noticed Dilan next to him, still unconscious. Yin tried to shake him awake, but Dilan didn't respond. Yin's heart started racing,He looked around the room, and the sight before him made his stomach churn. There was a table nearby that had a collection of sharp objects such as knives, scissors, and needles, things that would only be found in an infirmary or in this case, a torture chamber. The walls and the ground were covered in blood, and the room had a nauseating smell that made Yin feel lightheaded. He struggled to control his breathing and maintain his composure.

Dilan slowly came to, and his eyes widened with fear as he took in the surroundings. "Where are we?" he asked with a trembling voice. Yin shook his head, "I don't know, but we need to get out of here." Dilan looked around and saw the blood and the tools of torture. He broke down and started crying, "Yin!, what is this place?" Yin tried to comfort him, But tears began pouring down Dilan's face."Hey, we can't start crying now. We have to be..." Dilan interrupted him, "My parents, the village, Bran...it's all gone," he said with a sad tone. Yin felt the same sadness and despair, but he tried to stay strong, "I know...I know, but we can't fall apart now, not until we are out of here."

Suddenly, the door creaked open, and a man entered the room, whistling a tune. He introduced himself "Hello there, My name is Vargo"g and offered his hand for a handshake. The boys looked at him with fear. Vargo noticed their bound hands and giggled. He walked to the table and picked up a blade, twirling it in his hand. "You may be asking what this place is and who we are," he said. "Well, it's simple. We are the Followers." Yin and Dilan gasped at the revelation. Vargo seemed pleased, "Ah, so you've heard of us." Yin spoke up, "But everyone says you are all dead." Vargo looked away and said, "Not dead, just ….regrouping."

Dilan asked in a shaky voice, "What do you want with us?" Vargo giggled, "Like I said before, your lives. You boys have magical energy in you, and we are going to put it to use for our cause." Yin responded, "We don't want to join you, just let us go!" Vargo scoffed, "Well, it's not up to you, now is it?" Yin struggled with the chains, shouting, "Let us go!" The more he continued, the angrier Vargo got. Vargo went to the table and grabbed a bigger knife. "You know what? We don't need your tongues," he said maniacally and charged towards Yin. Yin was frozen in fear, and Dilan screamed.

Just then, a cold, soft, bold, chilling voice was heard in the room, "What are you doing, Vargo?" Vargo halted immediately. The boys stayed silent in fear as a man appeared behind Vargo. His presence cast an intense pressure in the room that shut all of them up.

The man's black robe draped over his tall and imposing figure, casting shadows across the room. His large black hat concealed most of his face, except for the small white cloth wrapped around his eyes. A deadly katana hung from his waist, glinting ominously in the dim light. Vargo fell on his knees, shuddered at the sight of him and spoke in a trembling voice.

"My lord," Vargo said, his tone filled with respect and fear.

The man's voice was deep and commanding as he spoke to Vargo. "You were to deliver three boys, unharmed."

Vargo's response was hasty and fearful. "My lord, there were complications. The monster, it went-"

But he was cut off by the intense stare of the man, and he crumbled in fear.

"I'm sorry, my lord," Vargo whispered, his voice trembling.

The man's response was cold and unyielding. "An order is an order...no excuses."

Vargo boldly responded, "Yes, my lord," trying to regain his composure. However, the man unsheathed his katana halfway in a second, and the boys watched in awe as he slowly and swiftly sheathed it back again.

Suddenly, Vargo's entire hand fell to the floor with a clean cut, as if it had been surgically removed. The boys gasped in shock as Vargo realized what had happened and let out a deafening scream of agony. The man's aura was so intense that it sent shivers down the boys' spines, and they knew they were in the presence of someone truly powerful and dangerous.

"I apologize for Vargo," the man said, turning to Yin and Dilan. And with a quick, fluid motion that their eyes couldn't follow, he cut off their chains. They began rubbing their sore wrists.

"Leave us, Vargo," the man said sternly, and Vargo tried to pick up his severed hand from the floor. But the man stopped him. "Leave it," he said, and Vargo bitterly left, writhing in pain from his injury.

The man turned to Yin and Dilan again, and his gaze was intense. "I am the leader of the followers, but you may call me Kensei," he said. "You have been chosen to serve a high purpose. One of you will be the answer to saving our kind from annihilation. We will give you power and-"

Yin interrupted him, whispering under his breath, "Bullshit." The man asked him to repeat himself, and Yin said it again, louder this time. "We never asked for any of this, to be chosen or for your power!"

Dilan joined in, his voice shaking with fear. "Yes, we just want to go home."

But Kensei was not deterred. "Your home is gone," he said, his tone matter-of-fact. "It is quite unfortunate, but that is the reality. We didn't want bloodshed, but Vargo can be a bit reckless."

Yin spoke up again, his anger rising. "A bit reckless? He destroyed our entire village!"

Yin's eyes blazed with a fierce anger, and Kensei could see the fire in his soul. Two other figures, cloaked in black robes disrupting the conversation, they entered the room with a table bearing two small, black, glassy orbs. "These energy capsules hold the essence of our survival and our hope," Kensei explained, his fingers delicately touching the orbs. "But the power they hold is not easily wielded, and it is no small burden for one person to bear alone".

Kensei stood tall, his eyes ablaze with conviction, as he held out two black energy orbs towards Yin and Dilan. The orbs pulsed with an ominous energy that sent shivers down their spines.

"These black energy orbs contain the power of our one true master Ashra!" Kensei declared, his voice filled with purpose. The mere mention of Ashra's name made Yin and Dilan's blood run cold. Ashra had once been a powerful and feared witch, whose name was infamous throughout the kingdom. She had been the one responsible for the calamity that had befallen the land years ago.

"I thought she was dead," Dilan spoke up, his voice trembling with fear.

Kensei's eyes flashed with anger. "But her power, her dream... it lives on," he replied, his passion evident in his voice. "The orbs will be inserted into you, and as it dissipates in your body, its power will course through your very soul, making you stronger than you could possibly imagine."

"Only then will we be able to complete our master's dream for a just world," Kensei continued, his voice rising in fervor. "Join us, and together we can bring about a new age of righteousness!"

Yin's eyes widened as he realized the weight of what Kensei was asking. "What happens if it doesn't work?" he asked, his voice trembling with fear.

Kensei paused, a sly smirk crossing his face. "Don't worry," he said. "it will work,for our cause is just." When one of the followers approached him with a surgical blade, Dilan began to squirm and scream in terror.

Yin tried to calm him down, but Dilan was too frightened to listen. Yin stepped forward, taking it upon himself to be Dilan's protector once again. "Start with me," he pleaded. The follower pushed Yin aside his attention on Dilan, cutting open his chest with precision and care. The black orb was inserted into his body, and then it was Yin's turn. Kensei watched as the two boys writhed on the ground in agony, black veins spreading across their skin.His face full of anticipation. Kensei and his followers leave the room, Yin and Dilan were left alone, their bodies wracked with pain..

Time crawled by, the room was shrouded in an impenetrable darkness that seemed to stretch on endlessly. Yin and Dilan had lost all sense of time, unable to distinguish whether it was day or night. But one thing was certain: they had been suffering for what felt like an eternity.

Yin crawled towards Dilan, his body wracked with agony. He could hear his friend's pained screams echoing off the walls. "Hang on, Dilan," he whispered, his voice barely above a hoarse whisper. "We'll make it through this together. I'll keep you safe."

With great effort, Yin lifted Dilan into his arms on the ground, cradling him like a newborn. He held him tightly, trying to calm the erratic thrashing of his body. "It's okay," he repeated softly. "I'm here with you."

As they drifted off into a deep slumber, Kensei stood outside the door, listening intently to their murmurs. A small smile played across his lips as he turned away, pleased with their progress.

But as he walked, Kensei stopped abruptly and spoke with authority, "Reveal yourself, Vargo." The figure emerged from the shadows, his face contorted with agony. It was Vargo, his hand still severed.

"My lord," Vargo spoke, his voice quivering with fear as he knelt before Kensei.

"Pathetic," Kensei sneered, looking down at him with disdain. "The infusion process takes three days to complete. I must attend to urgent business elsewhere, so I'm leaving you in charge until I return."

"Yes, my lord," Vargo replied, struggling to control his breathing.

Kensei's presence was suffocating, and Vargo felt his body go cold. As Kensei leaned down to meet Vargo's gaze, he whispered, "This is your final chance to make up for your failure. There won't be another."

Vargo's heart pounded in his chest, consumed by fear. As Kensei vanished into thin air, Vargo punched his fists into the ground, enraged "Because of those little shits" he looked at his severed hand "I'll make them suffer,if it's the last thing I do" He stood up, moving forward, gasping for air as he entered the room where Yin and Dilan lay unconscious.

The darkness was suffocating, and Vargo's eyes had to adjust to the lack of light. Slowly, he made his way towards the two boys, his footsteps echoing off the stone walls.

"We have tried this test so many times with so many people," Vargo muttered to himself, his voice barely above a whisper not wanting to wake the boys up. "The results vary from different transformations to death."

Vargo stepped closer to the boys, his face a mask of anger. "But one thing is always the same," he gritted his teeth as he leaned in towards them. "The hellish pain they have to endure,the pain you feel now is nothing"

Without hesitation, Vargo stuffed more black orbs into the boys' mouths. Immediately, they convulsed, their bodies wracked with uncontrollable seizures. Their eyes turned black as they screamed in agony, but Vargo did not flinch. He stood there, watching with a sense of satisfaction as the boys writhed in pain.

As Vargo left the room, the boys were left alone in their suffering, each breath more difficult than the last.

The next day as Vargo strode through the dimly lit lair, his mind consumed with thoughts of Yin and Dilan. He had imbued them both with black magic, expecting them to be writhing in agony for days and was visibly happy about the pain they would have to endure. As he walked to their room he was joined by two masked followers, They entered the room and he could tell that something was amiss. Yin was breathing heavily, but seemed to be in no pain. Dilan, on the other hand, was still shivering with the black magic coursing through his veins.

Furious, Vargo ordered the men to take the boys out into the yard. Yin, confused and worried, asked urgently what was wrong with Dilan since his had cleared up but Dilan was still in pain. But he was met with silence. As they were thrown to the ground in the blinding sunlight, Yin still moved to comfort Dilan, but Vargo barked at him to get up.Yin carried Dilan and stood at Vargo's orders.

Closing his eyes, Vargo stretched out his hand to feel the magic within the boys. After a moment, he opened his eyes in shock. "I can't believe it... it worked!" he exclaimed, a smile creeping across his face. Yin and the masked men were stunned, but Yin quickly asked what about Dilan, and begged Vargo to help him.

But Vargo remained silent, a cold anger in his eyes. Then, with a maniacal laugh, Vargo revealed his intention. "Since the process has worked on you, there's no need for the other one now, is there?" he said, gesturing towards Dilan. Yin replied in confusion "What?" but after a moment Yin's heart sank as he realized what that meant. With a flick of his wrist, Vargo summoned a sharp root that emerged from the ground and impaled Dilan high into the air, the root piercing through his body like a snake and spilling his blood onto the ground. Yin was frozen with despair as he watched his last friend taken away from him, and Vargo continued to laugh, feeling accomplished in his cruelty.