Chapter 7 - It Never Heals

I need to power down this thing. But what happens if I screw up somehow?

My breath stops.

If I fuck this up, I'll get squashed against the nearest floor, wall, or ceiling. I look ahead toward the desert, not fancying becoming a living cannonball, but it's still the best option. At least it won't be an instant death, I hope, aiming far into the horizon. Here comes nothing. I close my eyes and reach for the lonely bottom symbol. This will either shut the bracelet down or...

Nothing!?...

I let out a deep sigh.

I'm not dead, nor flying toward the sands and certain death. That's good, right? It must be!

I open my eyes. I am still standing, alive, away from the edge. I look at the bracelet; the inner core is spinning like crazy, burning red, as the top symbol slowly fades off, powering off. I breathe, relieved. The test, whatever that was, is done. I've passed it. The bomb is defused! Fear fades away, and confidence sips in once more.

I did it! One more deep breath, I fucking did it!

All that is left is for the core to stop spinning and...

"Aaaaaaaaggghhh!!!!"

The pain hits me so hard that it makes my arm go crazy, twitching left and right like possessed! I wish to stop it, but I can barely stand, breathless, body shaking, mind freezing! What the hell is going on?! There's no time to think... the bracelet... malfunctioned?

I try looking at it, but I can't! The pain shoots through my brain, and my vision starts to blur, eyes tearing. I breathe, quick, breath again! My instincts demand release, yell out, shout my pain away! But no sounds make it out of my mouth. My lungs are breathless, and my jaw's clenched shut! All I can do is grunt, shake my hand, and grunt more. There's no more air left! I can't do it anymore! I feel lost. The collapse is imminent! Darkness fades in...

Then, slowly, the pain starts receding as I feel her grip on my red-hot arm!

"AAAAGGHHHH!!!!" Finally! I can shout my pain out again!

Whatever she's doing is working, but can't she hurry the fuck up? I feel like dying! It burns! It hurts! It melts! There's still too much to endure, way too much. Can't she just rip my fucking arm away already?!

"AGGGHHH!!!!....AAAHHHH!!!"

The pain lets go a bit more, enough for me to start gasping for air. A relief? Barely! It still burns like hell. Please, make this shit stop somehow! So much pain... fuck... just... fucking... take it off!

"AAAGGHH!!!!...."

It fades, eventually, letting me numb, sweating, exhausted.

The beast lets go, and I collapse on my knees, shaking the pain away as much as I can.

"Motherfucker...." I finally manage to curse, grabbing my arm with the other hand and squeezing as hard as I can, trying to regain some feeling in it.

"You're so weak," I hear her whisper, adding insult to injury.

You don't have to say that again! I fucking know it already! I grunt, staring angrily at her, ignoring any common sense, clearly risking my neck in more ways than one. And yet she doesn't seem bothered at all by my sudden rush of defiance. Why would she? I've already shown her my limits, and clearly, she is far from impressed.

The beast squats down beside me, her eyes studying my burned-out flesh.

Fuck! I just noticed it!

My hand is toasted and smells like roasted bacon! The pain is gone, but the damage is massive. Deep black burning scars run across the flesh from the bracelet up to my elbow, some reaching as high as my shoulder. The fingers are completely black, almost charred, and I can't move or feel them anymore! Some parts seem strangely alive, but most feel dead, hardened already. I fear the worst, frantically massaging them, trying to get my blood flowing again. But there's little chance of that.

"Why no ask?" she questions, shaking her head. Her voice sounds bitter, yet soft.

Ask? Yes.... I could have... asked her to stop the bracelet. Was that the correct answer? She was the one that overcharged the damn thing! I thought it was up to me to deal with the problem alone. I look at her. She's not mad. One way or another, I passed her test. The pain, the burned-out arm? Was that my doing? Why haven't I asked for her help?

I... I fear her....

"Enth'en," she whispers, touching the bracelet.

The damn thing spins again, rushing like crazy, red hot once more! I stare at it, jaw dropping, fear rushing back into my mind. She overcharges it again! Is she fucking trying to kill me?! No! No, I won't fucking die like this! Let me go!! Get this shit off me right now!

I try snatching my arm away from her but miserably fail. Her grip is too strong. All I can do is watch powerlessly, the core spinning red once more! Dread and fear come back to me. I twitch again, hoping to catch her by surprise, but there's no chance. She keeps me in place, and I can't fight back. There won't be a release; things will go her way again.

I grind my teeth. I fucking hate her!

"Enth'en," she whispers, pointing at the new red glowing symbol.

A different one? Far behind the first, almost on the back of the bracelet. Another power?

Touch it?! Fuck you!

I don't feel like it!

Push, pull, squash, burn? What the hell will this shit do to me now?!

She looks at me and nods. Smiling. I hope that's a smile! It better be! I don't trust her or this fucking bracelet, thing, whatever the fuck it is! I wish to tell her that, show her my revolt, maybe even spice it up with a few select curse words. But there's no power left in me. Fear? Not even that. All I got left is resentment and... fucking hate! I hate her, and I hate this piece of shit bracelet even more!

She's not impressed. My revolt is hidden, not that she cares anyway. She squeezes my arm, a signal to pay attention, maybe?

Wait, I can feel it! My arm! My flesh... it's still alive? There's still some hope for it!

Quick! One last try! I want my hand back!!

My arm jerks away, but she keeps it locked tight. Fuck! There's no escape...

Another squeeze, "Enth'en," she grunts impatiently.

I give up. That's as far as I can push it without risking my neck. I'll either obey her or... either way, I'm fucked. I take a deep breath, pushing as much air inside me as I can, clenching my teeth and praying for dear life as I touch the blasted thing once more, expecting the worse.

"Enth'en," you piece of shit!

Nothing.

I wait, holding tight, pushing myself away, almost hoping for the arm to break once the pain hits.

Nothing still.

My heart beats like crazy. I can feel it inside my brain. I shake in anticipation, jaw clenching, hoping not to bite on my tongue. Cold sweat runs down my spine. The beast lets go of my hand. Here it goes! I brace myself, unsure if yelling or crying will save me this time. Oh fuck! Oh fuck!!

And yet, there's still no pain!

A glow shimmer rushes out from the bracelet through my burns. Deep inside my flesh, I can see it flowing green like some kind of radiated poison, spreading through it. I shake my arm, but the glow doesn't seem to care. It just gets brighter as it spreads, infusing itself deep inside my flesh. I can see my veins through my skin—red thin streams of blood pumping in and out with each of my heartbeats. I can see the muscles, too, tendons pulling and stretching. Moving, twitching, jolting. There! That one contracts! This one elongates!

I watch, amazed at the gruesome show. The skin, the veins, the muscles, even the bones are visible, glowing from behind layers of green light. The spectacle is fantastic! Blood flowing, heartbeats pushing and pulling, muscles contracting. A single command starts a symphony movement; another one stops it! My fingers! They come alive! I can see their tendons running through the back of my hand, underneath the bracelet, anchoring themselves deep inside my arm, muscles pulling them with each finger twitch.

The glowing poison spreads more. Soon, half my torso glows green. I can see my ribs! Are those... my lungs!? The image is shocking, panic-inducing, but there's no pain, and looking deep inside me, everything seems fine! Damn, I can't stop staring at my beating heart! I can even see my spine through my ribcage! Chilling, fucking chilling!

The light slowly starts fading away, just in time for me to see part of my intestines moving about. What the hell is inside there?! Is that food? Ugh, this sight will haunt me for days, I'm sure...

"Enth'en," the beast repeats, pointing at the now spent symbol, slowly touching my perfectly recovered arm!

I stare at it muted, running my fingers across my skin, pushing and probing the tender flesh. It feels.... normal! No longer charred, no longer burned stiff! There's no more pain, no damage, nothing out of the ordinary except the smell of burning flesh. The bracelet, that symbol, it healed me!

"Heal?" I ask the beast as she helps me back on my feet.

She shakes her head, stops, and then waves her hand, trying to find the right words.

"Th'al-nik never heals." She sighs deeply and looks back at me. Smiling, grinning mostly.

Is that danger in her eyes?

I look at the symbol, confused. What is she talking about? The arm is completely healed! I can move it, I can feel with it, it looks normal, just as before. That is a real heal function! A built-in heal that can recover a fully burned-out arm! This is amazing! Now that's a power I'm totally on board with! The possibilities...

Show me more!

My enthusiasm is back. This bracelet is amazing! Dangerous, yes, deadly even! Still, extremely useful and so fucking powerful! My mind goes wild thinking ahead. Suddenly, this brutal and savage world doesn't seem as dangerous anymore. One touch of a button and the evil is blasted out of my way, another push and a deep cut is healed, or I can even fix a broken limb!

Damn! Despite my earlier feelings, I completely changed my mind now! I want to keep this thing! My face lights up as I try counting the remaining symbols. So many! What other extraordinary powers could each of them hold? I want to know! I want to have them all! For a moment, I feel happy, confident even.

But I should have known better.

I look back at Rai'Ze just in time to see her eyes burn.

This is bad!

There's no time to react! Despite her massive size and strength, she's faster than a cheetah! A jumping cobra would be slow compared to her! I've never seen such an insane burst of speed and force in my life! Before I can even think to get ready, she already has me knocked down and pinned me under her heavy body!

I can't move. I can only lie down, defeated, staring up at her, trying to make sense of her actions and what's right in front of my eyes.

My face starts to burn. Pain again? Far from it!

I am pinned down... exactly... under... her! And there is nothing underneath! I'm staring right between her tights and into her bare savage wetness! And there's no way for me to turn my head and look away! I'm completely stuck under, my face up, breathing right on her....

I wish to complain, I wish to speak, but I can't seem to find my words. Complain about what? Her brutal charge? I don't care that much about it right now. She may have broken a rib or two, but the sight almost makes it all worth it. And yet, I feel myself asking. What is this all about? Why is she attacking me?

"U smart but weak. U won't make it far; wizards never do," she growls, rising on her feet and looking down at me.

Weak? I haven't even seen her charge in, let alone try to dodge it! Is this her way of telling me I'm pathetic or something? I thought that was already a well-known fact. If that was another test, then yeah, I failed it.

Or did I?

I find myself smiling, grinning, trying hard not to, failing once more.

From down here, I can still see everything there is to be seen! Her loincloth may hide her private parts from front and back, but nothing blocks my view from below! And the view... is... amazing! If that's a fail, then I accept it but won't apologize for it! How can I even dream of resisting her charge? Did she really believe I could?

"We go hunt, u come with me," she speaks, no, orders, unbothered by my dumb smiling face and my wide-open eyes staring right at her deepest secrets.

"You need to get strong, or Th'al-nik will kill you!" she continues, unfazed, almost amused at the thought. What the hell is she talking about? I wonder as I keep marveling at the view, unable to reason properly. The bracelet is strong, and it can kill me. Yeah, I've already noticed that, barely survived the last test. Will I be safer if I get stronger? I wonder how that works.

"We hunt wahnz, maybe satrik if the wind is right," she proclaims, turning her eyes toward the sands.

Wahnz, satrik, whatever these creatures may be, it could not matter to me right now. I am honest right now. Right here, from underneath her, it feels like heaven, or at least a smaller, far more real version of it. I doubt this shitty savage world could ever offer me a better view than this. Nah, I'm fine here, you can go hunt, don't wait for me, I will only slow you down, I think, still smiling stupidly at the sight.

"Hunt, get stronger! Body gets tougher, blood burns, charges Ae'l," she growls, glaring down at me.

Strength? Body? Blood? What's the Ae'l? What charges? What is she talking about? The hunt makes me stronger and gets me charges? The questions make me take my eyes away from between her legs, just enough to notice her grinning face. Her eyes glow again, yet I don't feel danger. Charges?!

Oh! She talks about the bracelet! She wants me to come to hunt with her and charge the bracelet?! I get it now! So this is how it works? Go out there, kill some critters, get strong, and the bracelet gets charges!

And with enough charges... boom!

My eyes start to sparkle with interest. A completely different type of interest! This bracelet, this Th'al-nik, is a weapon! A weapon powered by my own blood! And once charged, it's fucking unstoppable!

This thing... this is the edge I need to survive here! I raise my arm and look at the intricate symbols. What other powers lie hidden inside? This thought alone fills me with eagerness and excitement. I want! No! I fucking need this bracelet!

Yes! Yes, let's go hunt those... things!

"Seen enough?" She smiles, spreading her strong legs apart for one more good look.

I stare up, eyes almost popping out of the sockets! She laughs at me.

Damn! And I thought she wasn't aware of it! Wait.... that means she did all this on purpose? The pose too?! She gives me no time to reflect upon this question, and steps away grabbing her axe, looking back at me, and pointing toward the sands.

"Eat, drink, get ready! When the winds stop, we ride!"

I lie there on my back, staring excitedly at my arm like a kid to a new toy.

The Th'al-nik feels heavy, and my arm still smells like burned flesh...