Madness and Torment: Brunaulf and Beatrix's Past (2/4)

Brunaulf POV:

Ash fell from the muddy sky like raindrops, coating the ground with black dew. Crows circled high above the clouds; a series of loud caws signalled the harbinger of death had cast his cloak this way.

Once beautiful, now ugly. Once alive, now dead. The work of man turned back to its original form: dust. Debris surrounded the edge of the catastrophe, barely managing to retain proof that it once was.

Screams of anguish, of agony, of despair, ran rampant among those who had been blessed with the opportunity to live another day. They clung to their loved ones who relished the life that had been spared, or clung to the parts of their body that would never grow back, or clung to those who remained motionless.

Out of it all, the crater of such magnitude had one final offering. To a young girl who sat alone in the epicenter, crying as the light faded from her eyes.

This was her beginning.

'Beatrix?...'

The projection suddenly zoomed in on her crying face and then vanished. She appeared again, stumbling out of the crater as she walked around aimlessly.

"Mum... Dad..."

Those were the only words she would say. I watched her trip over her own feet, slicing parts of her skin against the debris that jutted out at awkward angles. She would get back up and call out to her parents again and again.

'Her memories...'

The scene flickered and Beatrix was suddenly being held up by the neck. An overweight man took a long swig from a bottle before smashing it against the wall. His cheeks were rosy red as he burped in her face.

My hand instinctively shot forward as I tried to knock him away, but my fist simply phased through him. I was pushed out of the scene, placed back in the spectator seat. The man ripped the clothes off the young Beatrix and slammed her head into the wall.

"Keuk..."

He threw her on the wooden floor and pulled out a large knife. My blood boiled as I felt chains tie me down to the chair.

"This... hic... is a mark! You will never forget who you belong to for the rest of your life! You hear me?!"

He beat her repeatedly with his free hand as she struggled to defend herself. The large knife dropped down, lacerating the top of her eye all the way down to the end of her eyelid.

Beatrix let out a bloodcurdling scream that caused me to wince slightly. The man grabbed the broken bottle and dug it into that area, ripping out a large portion of flesh as her body quaked violently.

I felt her pain be directly transmitted towards me through the chains. I felt her anger, her despair—I felt it all.

She grabbed hold of the man's finger and crunched down on it with such force she snapped the bone in half. The overweight man recoiled backwards, dropping the knife in the process.

Beatrix grabbed hold of it and jumped up. In one single motion, she slit the man's throat wide open. She stabbed him again and again and again while she roared. His blood splattered all over her, but she didn't stop.

Time passed by, and the man was disfigured beyond recognition as Beatrix sat curled up in the corner of the room. She stared at the corpse, her face ghastly white, as she mumbled unintelligible words to herself.

She didn't move for weeks. I watched her eyes dart around the room while she chewed her lip. The body had already started to decompose, but she was still mortified by her actions.

Beatrix had killed for the first time in her life.

The scene switched again.

A young Beatrix had just stolen some food and was currently in hot pursuit by the food shop owners. She had wrapped a black sash over her wounded eye but struggled to adjust to the change in her vision.

She bumped into a random man and crashed against the ground, spilling the contents of the small, brown bag in her hand. The men chasing her quickly caught up and dragged her into a nearby alley, where they beat her black and blue for 20 minutes.

By the time they were done with her, Beatrix laid in a small pool of her own blood as she stared up at the sky. Her thin lips abruptly spread into a smile. That smile turned into a giggle as tears streamed down her cheek.

Various scenes flashed one after another as Beatrix continued to suffer. The me from before would revel in this as a form of amusement, but I was different now. Her pain... It hurt.

I clenched my teeth as I watched everything. I watched it all.

***

Beatrix POV:

Two lifeless bodies laid on a bed as a child cried her heart out. A young boy watched from a distance, his fists shaking while tears streamed down his face.

"Don't be so sad. If you want to blame anyone, blame those dead bodies over there. They shouldn't have taken it, but your sister will make a pretty penny, you know~"

A man hidden by a shadow rested his hand on the boy's shoulder. He gripped it tightly, causing the boy to wince in pain.

"Give her to me or do as I say. You have no power, no connections, nothing. You are but a pebble abandoned by the shore, a pebble to be tossed by others. So..., show me how far you can skip."

He kicked the boy's back as he crashed into the room. His sister tore her eyes away from their dead parents and stood in front of him. She opened her arms wide while she shook like a leaf.

"D-Don't...Touch my brother! Please..."

She instantly dropped to her knees, prostrating herself before the man while begging for mercy. The boy's eyes glared with anger as he got to his feet.

"Beat him. The moment he apologizes, take the girl."

He glanced down at the girl and smirked.

"Watch your brother break."

The door closed, and men wearing suits beat the boy in front of his sister—in front of his dead parents. His blood splattered across the floor, but he never let his sister out of his sight.

'Brunaulf...'

My heart ached as I watched the scene unfold before me. They beat him without rest, slapping him awake whenever he lost consciousness. His sister curled up in a corner, unable to look away from her brother being tormented.

Brunaulf collapsed to his knees as the men ran out of breath. He used what little strength he had left to give his mortified sister a thumbs up.

"Tch."

One of the men smashed his foot into Brunaulf's face, causing his body to flop forward as blood spewed out of his mouth over the floor.

"Hmm, alright then. The girl stays. Bring him and dispose of those bodies. They stink~"

The boss clapped his hands as Brunaulf was dragged across the floor by his hair. His half-swollen eye opened, and he reached out to his sister.

She extended her hand, sobbing silently. However, their hands would never reach each other. The boss stepped forward and booted Brunaulf's hand away, breaking his wrist as he bit his lip to ignore the pain.

He crouched down and grabbed the girl by the hair as his eyes curved into half-crescent moons.

"Congratulations! You are now free of debt~ Please enjoy your life and live with the fact that your brother will suffer endlessly day after day after day. I will break him down bit by bit, and when he is nothing more than a useless toy, I will carve his body up into pieces and deliver it to you personally."

Her whole body shook as the light in her eyes faded.

"Don't... Listen to... Him! Stay safe and wait for me! I'll come back for you!!"

She nodded her head sadly while slumping her back against the wall as she watched her brother disappear into the darkness.

'I see. So this was where it all began...'

The scene faded to black as a new one took its place.

Brunaulf sat on a chair with a dark hood covering most of his forehead. His eyes were sunken in, coupled with large bags underneath them. His hands were bound tightly, and he sat across from the boss in a large empty room similar to a warehouse.

"Say Brunaulf, have you ever killed someone before?"

I watched the corners of Brunaulf's mouth rise. A deep madness lurked inside his dilated pupils as his eyes bulged.

"Heh... Haha... I'm looking at them right now."

The man cracked a smirk as a whip struck Brunaulf's cheek. He coughed up blood but seemed unfazed by the treatment he had undergone here.

"Fascinating. You've skipped longer than I thought you would. I'm a man of my word, so your sister has been growing up well these past few months."

"..."

I belatedly noticed the dry blood scattered across the warehouse, and my heart sank. They had taken turns beating him around every corner of this place every day.

"It was difficult having to lay low due to... Hmm... Power above my control, power that demanded respect. Butttt that time has passed now. Woohoo!~"

The suited men who had just joined the room clapped their hands in unison. The boss leaned forward in his seat and pulled out a piece of paper.

"Like any other District, sometimes people come to people like us to kill certain people. A marriage didn't work out, an affair, late payments—the list goes on. In other words, we get paid to kill."

He threw the paper that landed gently in front of Brunaulf. I couldn't see it clearly, but it contained information about a target along with a blurred-out picture.

"Today will be your first job. You have 48 hours to bring this man before me. Use any method you want. Once he's here, you will torture him to get the information the client wants. Finally..."

He threw down a broadsword and rose from his seat.

"You will behead him. I could have given you an easier tool, but that's no fun. You need to relish the moment one's life leaves this plane of existence. You need to grasp what it's truly like to be alive!~"

He spread his hands out wide as he cackled like a madman.

"This is the gift of life. Perform well, and no harm shall come to your sister. I will arrange regular meetings between the two of you once you meet my expectations. Go now and hunt down the target."

The boss spun around as the door closed behind him. Brunaulf sat alone in the warehouse. He cut his bindings loose using the sword and picked up the piece of paper.

"Heh..."

He chuckled to himself while pulling the hood deeper over his face.

The scene faded briefly before returning again.

Brunaulf stood in front of the target tied tightly to the chair as suited men watched from the outskirts.

I watched him pick up the sword and start hacking away at the man while he screamed. Blood splattered over Brunaulf's emotionless face as I felt him try to separate his consciousness from his body.

It didn't take long for him to start spilling everything, and once the client was satisfied, they were escorted out of the premise.

"Y-you'll spare... me right?... You're just... A child... Don't do this..."

"Oh, shut up."

The boss backhanded the man's face as Brunaulf remained motionless. He gripped Brunaulf's shoulder tightly while shoving the sword back into his hand.

"Do it."

Brunaulf raised the blade and swung it down. Repeatedly hacking away at the man's neck while he screamed. His limbs contorted while blood poured out of his throat endlessly. The man's head rolled off his shoulders and landed on his lap. His face was crumpled up, exemplifying the unnecessary agony he had suffered.

Brunaulf dropped the sword and wiped the target's blood off his cheek. I noticed his hands shaking while he bit his lip and clenched his fists tightly.

"No, no, no! This is not how we celebrate. Pick up the head, Brunaulf."

His body froze while the boss took a step forward.

"I said, pick up the head."

The atmosphere grew heavy as Brunaulf refused to move.

"Pick. It. Up."

A light trace of hostility laced his words as Brunaulf peered down at the man's contorted face. He picked it up by the hair as blood gushed out from where his neck used to be.

"Now turn around and smile."

Brunaulf's body creaked while reluctantly turning around. His lips trembled as the muscles in his face squirmed in disagreeance.

"Smile, Brunaulf."

The boss took another step forward, his tone drastically changing. Brunaulf's eyes curved upwards as his lips spread into a wide smile.

"A round of applause for Brunaulf! All of you clap properly! You have just witnessed art—beauty at its finest! You all are alive!!"

The suited men roared as they clapped and cheered for Brunaulf. A few minutes later, he was left alone in the room again. He stood in the same position, still smiling as tears rolled down his cheeks.