Volume 1.11 Days of Hollowness

The feeling of hollowness was all Myrene could feel. Everything sound around her were like echoes that kept reverberating through her ears. Only two voices were clear to her.

{You are Frayah's daughter.}

One was the whispers that kept repeating through her mind, telling her that she was Frayah's daughter. However, Myrene was fully aware that it was all lies. It might be because due to her request that none of her past life memories would be removed that was why whatever Frayah fed her was not working.

{You are the daughter of the Blood Witch.}

{You must do everything she asks you to do. That is your duty as her daughter.}

Though Myrene wanted to erase all of those. But each time Frayah locked her in embrace and asked her to do something. It was like someone was controlling her body. Her consciousness was awake but her body won't follow what she wanted to do no matter what.

For the next three days, Myrene's body remained without an ounce of a will of her own. Her body was filled with different bruises left and right from the training that Frayah started for her.

It ranges from drinking poisons so that she could build resistance against it. Being hit so she could get used to the pain. Being starved so that she could withstand hunger.

More like training, this was more like a insufferable torture to Myrene. But no matter how hard she tried to protest, her body felt like someone was completely controlling.

She could feel all the pain there was nothing she could do about it.

She remembered that she still had a brother in this world, she needed to persevere while those voices in her head kept repeating the same thing over and over as if trying to brainwash her. And from what Frayah whispered to her, there was only a day or two before her brother's first naming ceremony.

And the second voice that was clear to her was Frayah's voice. From time to time echoing along with the special trainings given to her.

"You are the demon king's daughter. You must do everything to become stronger so we can be together with your father."

When her body collapsed from drinking stronger poisons.

"You're weak. Be more stronger!" Frayah's screams echoed through her head along with those whispers. Then she would make Myrene drank something and she would return some of her health, enough for her not to die.

{Do everything for her.}

{You are the Blood Witch's daughter. It is your duty to follow her.}

Another day had passed, and Frayah entered her room. She had this unusual grin on her face.

"It is now decided. You will have your first trial."

Myrene looked down at her hands, which held a single blood-splattered dagger. She had just slashed the throat of a boar Frayah had left in her room. It was a razor-thin margin of survival, and even if she damaged some of her bones in the fight, she merely kept moving until the threat was defeated. She felt like a puppet right now, with strings controlling her every move. She couldn't do anything on her own.

Myrene could glance as Frayah approached her. And caressed Myrene's face. She wanted to scream, she wanted to cut her hand away from her face.

"Dear daughter, it is time for your first trial now."

Myrene's vision was clear but even glaring, she couldn't even do that. There was no time for her to think things properly since Frayah would do some unnecessary things for her so-called 'training.'

She found herself being dragged by Frayah once again. And finally they stopped in front of an underground arena, where even Myrene had no idea that such a place existed in the mansion.

Frayah let go of her hands then walked towards a cell and unlocked the metal chains binding it. Frayah looked at her with a sinister smile.

"Kill whatever comes out from this. This is your first trial after all the training we have."

Myrene head nodded without her will. Frayah let out another satisfied grin before walking above the seats.

Myrene glanced ahead when she could hear the terrifying growls of something. From the darkness of the cell, a huge black shadow started to appear until Myrene could finally see it.

Muscular and towering built that was almost ten feet high. Sharp razor teeth and green slit eyes that were eyeing Myrene ravenously. He was holding a huge mace with razor spikes. It looked exactly like the image of an ogre that Frayah showed her before from those books of monsters, she made her memorize for straight two days. It was completely different from the wolves and wild boar Frayah made her fight.

Myrene wanted to run, but both her body wouldn't follow her. Her body positioned like how it was during the harsh "training" that Frayah gave her.

{You are the Blood Witch's daughter.}

{As the Blood Witch's daughter, it is your duty to follow her.}

{If you do well, she will become happy.}

'Happy my ass.' Myrene gritted her teeth inside her mind.

The chains binding the ogre were one by one released. His gaze was fixated to the small girl in front of him. As the final chain was released, he immediately ran towards Myrene with his mace in the air.

Myrene evaded his mace as she leaped to the right side. But she didn't expect the incoming second fist. It completely struck her and sent her flying coughing up some blood.

Even sounds of pain wouldn't let out from her mouth as she hit one of the pillars and plunged through the ground. She could hear some of her bones cracked with that hit.

Myrene could feel some cold liquid gushing out from her. From there, her mind became clear as if she just broke out from the spell casted on her. However her body was too weak now to even move. The ground was trembling and all she could do was look at the monster running towards her.

'I-I can't die like this. My brother, I still need to look for him.'

But some of her bones broke from that punch and fall. No one would not be able to stay alive after getting hit by that, especially like her who was still not more than four years old.

The only gifts that she had left, was the appraisal, space ring and the soul bind. None of those could help her. Her eyelids were becoming heavier.

"It's a pity." In her blurred vision she could see someone approaching her. "This is all you've got after all those trainings I gave you?" She heard Frayah's disappointed voice. "It doesn't matter. I still have your brother. With your brother's naming ceremony to be held tomorrow, he will prove himself more useful than you."

"Bro-ther," with all her remaining strength, the dagger that she held tightly in her hands. She raised it in a last attempt to fight back. 'Do-don't you dare do anything to him...'

Her consciousness finally faded into the abyss. The dagger only hit the air as Myrene's hand slumped on the ground along with her body that was now growing cold.