BLOODLINE EIGHT

"Arrrrgh! Ahhhhh!" I screamed in agony. It felt like I was being squeezed tightly by these darn tentacles. They were so sharp and wrapped around me with immense force.

"Arghhhh! Ahhhhh! Gghhaaaa!" I groaned again.

"Shione! Remember! You need to control your emotions. I don't know why this was set for you right away. It should have been programmed for beginners, not this difficult to get used to," he shouted at me.

"Arghhhh!" I screamed.

It really hurts so much. It feels like my bones are being crushed by their tight grip. But I need to control my emotions.

I tried closing my eyes and forcing myself not to focus on the pain.

"Focus, Shione. You need to overcome this trial. This is the only way for you to fully use your power," I kept telling myself. I tried not to mind the pain and calm myself down, but the grip around my body tightened, making it harder for me to breathe.

I was slowly losing consciousness, but I had to try to stay awake and get through this trial.

I calmed myself and closed my eyes. Suddenly, everything became quiet, and the intense pain I felt earlier started to fade away. It felt so relieving.

When I opened my eyes, I saw Ace smiling at me.

"Congrats, you've passed the first trial," he praised me.

"There's still one more trial, Shione, but it's more dangerous than the first," he warned me.

I suddenly thought.

"What is it? Will I get hurt?" I asked.

"No," he replied.

"If that's all, let's go," I ordered impatiently.

"But—"

"Don't argue with me," I said firmly to him.

He sighed. "Alright, I'll do it. Just get yourself ready. And remember, with this trial, there's no turning back," he warned.

"I'm ready," I said.

"Just to be sure, let's teleport to my condo," he said, then threw the teleportation ball.

In an instant, we were teleported to a wide space.

"Is this really your condo?" I asked.

"Yeah, don't ask too many questions. Just get ready, okay?" he said.

"Okay..."

"I warned you, Shione," he said.

"I know. I know," I answered.

He pressed a button, and as usual, tentacles appeared around me, slowly wrapping around my body.

"What the heck!" I shouted when the tentacles started oozing slimy substance.

"I already warned you, Shione, and you didn't listen. Now, if you want to get out of there, you must control the emotion of PLEASURE," Ace said, emphasizing the last word.

Warning: The following scenes may contain sexual content.

My eyes widened. "No! Please sto—ahhhh!" I didn't finish my sentence because the tentacles were inside my sleeves.

They were rubbing against my body, and I couldn't help but moan.

They continued moving across my body, leaving a trail of slimy substance.

"P-please, st-stop it. Oh..." I begged, but Ace didn't move an inch.

"Shione, there's nothing I can do. Everything that's outside can't touch those tentacles," he said.

The tentacles started to unzip my pants.

"No, please, I don't want this. I don't want it anymore!"

"No!" I shouted.

Suddenly, a raging fire appeared out of nowhere, causing the tentacles to burn to ashes.

I was catching my breath. I couldn't continue.

"I can't—" I didn't finish my sentence when everything went dark.

_______________________

"Shione, wake up."

"Shione, hey."

I slowly opened my eyes, recovering from the blinding brightness of the sunset.

"What happened?" I asked Ace.

"You passed out during the trial," he said.

Then I remembered what happened before. I quickly covered my face out of embarrassment.

"No need to be embarrassed, Shione. You did well. I've been through worse," he reassured me.

"What happened to the tentacles?" I asked.

"Don't you remember?" he said.

I just nodded in response.

"They were burned. You burned them," he said.

"What?"

"Your fire was too strong for the gadget to handle. Maybe it was because of your emotions," he said.

I fell silent. I didn't know whether to be glad I had escaped those tentacles or to be annoyed because I couldn't control my power.

"That's it for today, Shione. Go home now. Here, take this teleportation ball," he said, handing me the device.

"Thanks," I said gratefully.

"No worries. Bye."

"Bye."

I immediately used the teleportation ball and in just a couple of seconds, I was back in my room.

I saw my bed and quickly jumped onto it. I was so exhausted. My body was in so much pain.

I just wanted to rest until the day ended...