Always can be worse

Victoria wakes up in intense pain. With four tentacles wrapped around her limbs, it is impossible for her to move. She is having trouble breathing, and the pressure around her neck seems to be the cause of it. A tentacle wraps around her and keeps pressure on her throat long enough for some air to keep her alive.

She gasped for air, and when she finally got it, she noticed that her chest stopped hurting, and in fact, with air in her brain, she noticed that her arms and legs didn't hurt either.

For a moment, she thinks the worst, but she manages to feel a smooth surface like silk, but when trying to put pressure on it, it feels as solid and hard as if it were made of steel; in fact, it feels even harder and more solid than steel. The only thing that comes to her mind as a point of comparison is some type of special metal like mithril or a precious stone like a diamond.

Her thoughts are interrupted by an intense pain in her lower back; she feels as if something is boring into the base of her spine.

Panic takes over her, and she fights with all her strength until she is exhausted from lack of air.

She didn't even manage to move her "bindings" even an inch. In her life as Victoria, she had never heard of a monster like this.

The pressure on her back only gets worse when she feels something rise up inside her body as if it were tearing her apart.

— It hurts a lot, it hurts a lot. — 

Victoria says to herself while the only thing she can do is cry.

From her perspective, Victoria can only see the faint light filtering through the hole in the ceiling.

— If only I could go there. — 

She laments as she fantasizes about ways to get up to the roof. Minutes of endless torture pass as her tentacle begins to move faster. The pain gets even worse, but finally, after a few seconds, when whatever is invading her body seems to have finally managed to pierce the vertebrae of her neck, the pain finally stops.

She tries to think about her current situation; her vision becomes blurry, and her eyes fill with tears even more. But calming down, she tries to see the good side of this situation.

— Apparently this creature somehow healed my wounds, and the fact that it is trying to invade my body in some incredibly painful way but being careful enough not to seriously injure me may mean that it intends to use me for something long term. —

— The bad thing is that it seems like he's trying to assimilate me somehow. —

Panic once again invades Victoria's mind, gathering strength, and she attempts to struggle against the creature again, but in response, the monster tightens its tentacle around her neck.

The lack of air forces her to calm down and put those thoughts aside. 

— The first and most important thing is not to drown. — 

The mere idea of dying again with that feeling of despair terrifies her.

— Calm down Victoria, otherwise, you're going to suffocate to death again. — 

She repeats in her thoughts, and it seems to work well enough to allow her to continue analyzing the situation.

The second thing is that she is totally immobilized and remembering what happened to her before she fainted. Even if she were completely free, it would be impossible for her to flee from this monster, and if, by some miracle granted by the hands of the gods, she could flee from the creature, she would still not be able to leave this room.

— I'm totally screwed; every scenario I can think of ends with me dead.—

Victoria reflects, and in what seems like a mockery of fate, as if she were aware and knew it could be much worse, the tentacle inside her body begins to burrow into her again.

— No, no, no, no… I beg you, no! — 

Victoria screams and squirms desperately as she feels dozens of small tentacles branch out from her spine and begin to dig into her flesh in all directions.

Her eyes roll back in her head, and her body convulses violently as her mind is unable to process the extreme pain her body is subjected to. In fact, she feels like she is torn in dozens of places at once.

— Gods… please… Just let me die… I beg you! — 

Victoria screams at the top of her lungs until her voice becomes hoarse and she tastes blood inside her mouth.

— That's it… My new life didn't last long but… it's better to die now than to suffer like this even for just one more minute. — 

Gathering all her strength and courage, she opens her mouth, extends her tongue, and just when she is ready to bite her tongue to commit suicide, her eyes widen in shock.

— Don't fuck with me… This is a fucking hell. — 

Victoria stammers, trying to close her mouth to cut her tongue her jaw does not respond; it is as if something is interfering with her nerves, preventing her from controlling her body according to her own will.

— So I can't even die? Gods, why are they doing this to me?… In neither of my two lives was I a bad person. — 

Desperation invades her mind; the feeling of helplessness completely overwhelms her as she realizes that she is at the complete mercy of this creature and no longer has the right to live or die according to her own will.

Her strength is exhausted after hours of agony, and her vision becomes blurry little by little until finally the world around her disappears when everything turns black.

The sun shines through a window covered by a stained glass window depicting the moment when the first day of the imperial era began when the Holy Hero and first Emperor Vlalius Caeleus, wearing his white armor, defeated the terrible Demon King by thrusting his shining golden sword into his heart while gloriously two angels stood by his side, placing a hand on each of his shoulders and supporting him as a faithful representation of the two main churches of the continent.

Under the light, contemplating the stained glass window, was a 17-year-old girl. She was 5 feet 4 inches tall, had brown hair that reached just above her shoulders, and her body had an appearance that, when you see her, the first thing that comes to mind is average.

A modest figure with nothing remarkable and a face that is neither pretty nor ugly, Victoria Nightsun stopped contemplating the stained glass window and excitedly went to meet her best friend, Irene Aballane, who was visibly distraught.

After talking for a while, Irene told her that her parents were not happy with her performance and that if she didn't get a scholarship after graduating from the academy, they were going to commit her to marriage.

Victoria tried to cheer her friend up by telling her that she turned down the scholarship her teacher had recommended her for, how it wasn't much, and that she did it to pursue her biggest dream, to be an explorer, discover wonderful artifacts left behind by the ancients, and record her name in history.

With her sincerity and lack of common sense, she only made Irene's mood worse until she couldn't take it anymore. She looked into her eyes, and with words full of venom, she told her

— It's very easy for you to say all these stupid things, right? You are really talented in the field of investigation; damn, you are even a more than competent magician, much better than I could be in life, and that is why you are offered the incredible opportunity to continue your studies in one of the most prestigious academies of magical technology, and instead of accepting and being happy doing what you are best at, you stupidly choose to reject it to pursue the fantasies of children's stories. — 

Averting her gaze, she said. 

— Life is so unfair. —

Victoria could feel tears begin to cover her eyes, followed by a tightening in her chest as her heart rate increased. She instinctively confronted Irene and told her.

— Not all of us are satisfied with a mediocre life like that, if I can have the talent to investigate, but I don't want to end the rest of my life frustrated teaching in a shitty academy because I do not achieve anything in my life. —

Without waiting for an answer, Victoria turned away from Irene, the next class would start soon.

Victoria wakes up when she feels the tentacles inside her body move again. She doesn't know how much time has passed since she fainted, but now she can even feel as if some of her organs are being invaded by this horrible creature.

— Irene, I was so stupid. — 

Victoria lamented silently.

The monster continued to move the small tentacles inside her, slowly contaminating her body. Unlike before she fainted, now Victoria does not feel pain, not even any kind of discomfort; it is in fact a pleasant sensation.

Fearing that she will be affected by some mental attack, Victoria tries to open her state, something as natural as moving a toe. What she has done thousands of times since she can remember in this world now becomes impossible.

She spent almost an hour trying to open the status of it, but it didn't look like it had existed in the first place. 

— This can't be happening. — 

She lamented. As far as she knows, it doesn't matter how bad a person is; it doesn't matter if any person is about to die; it doesn't even matter if they still have eyes. As long as you are alive, you will have mana, and you will always be able to see your status.

— This is irrefutable proof that the gods have definitely abandoned me. —

— Don't fuck with me! Now your plan after corrupting my body is to play with my mind? You're a fucking sick shit… — 

Were the words that Victoria managed to utter between cries, but as if he sensed her hostility, the tentacle around her neck increased the pressure, preventing her from breathing for a couple of minutes.

The light filtering through the hole in the room's ceiling disappeared again, signaling the end of a new day.

Suddenly, the monster loosens its grip on the one wrapped around Victoria's neck.

She coughs to clear her throat without wasting the opportunity. 

— It's incredibly nice to be able to breathe freely. — 

Victoria gasps with relief.

In a desperate attempt, she decides to try to talk to the creature.

— Please let me go; I'm begging you. — 

Her pleading words seem to fall on deaf ears; the monster does not move, nor does it seem to react in any noticeable way.

Frustration takes control, and this time, screaming, she tells the creature.

— Ok, don't set me free, but at least do me a favor and kill me. Yes, I know it won't cost you anything to do so; just please kill me once and for all. Kill me, I'm begging you! — 

Abundant tears fall from her eyes while her face reflects an expression of misery, but to her surprise and in response, the monster makes a guttural sound coming from who knows where, and the tentacle on her neck strangles her again, but this time only for a few seconds.

Victoria understands that the monster can hear her, but she does not understand what she is saying or does not care in the least about her pleas. The only thing she made clear is that the monster does not like being talked to, so she rules out the option of negotiating with him.

This time, Victoria tries a different approach, using one of her hands to gently caress one of the tentacles that imprison her.

— I feel so stupid trying this. Do I have anything to offer you that you don't already have? Right now, I'm just his toy, his property. — 

Victoria reflects, remembering the purr the creature produced after she petted it; it was something similar to the purr of a kitten; it could even be considered adorable if it weren't a disgusting monster like this that produces it.

Her thoughts are interrupted by an intense pain, this time in the lower part of her head; she felt as if her skull were being drilled.

— No no no! Please… I will be good, I will be good, and I will do whatever you want, but please stop! —

She kicked, cried and moaned using all her strength, but as usual, that was in vain; her vision became blurry and she heard something like a buzzing of static directly inside her head. The tentacle on her neck increased the pressure until she finally passed out.

Victor suddenly opens his eyes as the hot desert air mixed with smoke irritates his airways. The taste of blood and a loud ringing in his ears accompany him as he looks around and sees in a daze how the post where he was on duty was attacked, and a burning car seems to be the cause of the commotion.

He sees his superior moving his mouth as if shouting orders. One of his comrades approaches him and tries to ask him how he is doing. Victor doesn't listen to what he says but gets an idea and tries to convey that he is fine by shaking his head. Not looking very convinced, the man drags Victor behind the wall of an abandoned building to take cover.

Little by little, the hum diminishes, and the sound of shots is heard in the distance while their eyes close.

Little by little, Victoria opens her eyes, the headache has completely disappeared. Praying to the gods, she hoped the whole experience of the tentacles burrowing into her brain would be a nightmare.

— It wasn't a dream, was it? — 

That was what she thought when she felt something move, rubbing against her skull from the inside. Unable to understand how it is possible to have such bad luck, an involuntary nervous laugh escapes through her nose and mouth as she reflects.

— Fuck me gods, so now you fucked my brain too, and the fact that it doesn't hurt in the slightest means this thing entered my head where there are no pain nerves. — 

Increasing her nervousness, she laughs as hard as the tentacle around her neck allows.

— What is the meaning of a life like this? There is no hope for me. Even if, by some miracle, my father or brothers' hearts were softened and they managed to rescue me after the trauma of this entire experience, I would not be able to have a normal life again. —

As if confirming her assumptions, she again felt the static buzz inside her mind, her body felt very good, and her bad thoughts little by little stopped overwhelming her.

Days passed, then weeks turned into months and Victoria no longer counted them. Every time she had negative thoughts towards the creature she was punished. At first, she was only strangled, but over time, the monster's punishments became more sophisticated, as if he had become more clever.

Now, in addition to strangling Victoria's neck, he also whipped her body until her skin was torn; even her bones were crushed until she fainted from pain and her mind became numb. She became confused after the feeling of a static buzz constantly numbed her mind.

— I haven't eaten for months? So why don't I die? Am I immortal, or what the fuck? —

 — I don't understand why every time I wake up, my body is completely healed; maybe I died and I'm really in the hell. —

Victoria tries to rationalize her situation, but she cannot fully understand how she is still alive or why this monster is doing this to her.

— This is a very interesting discovery; in all this time, I have not felt hungry again, nor do I have the urge to urinate or defecate; this creature is in charge of meeting all my biological needs. — 

Her maddened eyes watch as the ceiling light slowly disappears.