*Spoiler*

"And how can we set up the pact?"

"Oh, that will be pretty unconvencient in your case because you have to firstly understand the power of your mind."

"The power of my mind?"

"Yes, the Shan!"

"Again this and that Shan, Shan and Shan... But what is this Shan you just told me it is power of my mind but how can i use this power?"

"Well you just used it to defend against my forcefull tame."

"You mean my cube? Well i thinked it was weird to imagine something so weird and it comes true but it worked so even if i did not understand it i know how to use it."

"And this is where the problem lies. You have to know that Shan is not just some cube or something like that nor even the material. You can say it is mystical material to build another material but that is all and even that is not true because you can use shar to "build" things that are formless so they of course are without material!

Shan is limitless and is only limited by your fantasy."

"Fantasy?" Quaren was asking full of doubts.

"Yes, do not think that i did not saw you trying to copy my skill that i tryed to tame you with."

"Eheheheh...." Quaren tryed to laught but figured that it did not go well so he rather stopped to do so.

"But it is good thing that you are accepted by Shan since your birth."

"How am i accepted?"

"That is for longer to explain to you and i do not think that you will be able to get something from my explanation."

"Just try."

The man breathed out cold air in depression what to do but after a while he stabilized and decided to explain it to him.

"The Shan is power that comes from sky and when i said that you are blessed by the Shan it means that you are not blessed by Shin."

"Shan and Shin... What are these?"

"Don´t you have too much questions?"

"I was just born so of course i have many questions!"

"..."

Saying this despicable answer Quaren started to thing about that Shan and Shin.

His chain of thought was lost shen that man started to talk again.

"The Shin is another power that is oposite to Shan and when the Shan is about "imagination and fantasy" then you can just speculate what is Shin and even if you ask me more then i have nothing to say because even i do not understand even a slight of it."

"So you detest Shin?"

"You can say it that way, because what i practise is power of Shan and your race usually have to use and master their use of Shin and in very special case like yours can be born one that is able to practice Shan and Shin so you have ore options."

"Oh! So this is how it ist? I will have to think more about my options then."

"You should so firstly you have to start practice the Shar."

"And how can i practice it?"

"You need clear mind for that and then concentrate."

"Concentrate? To what?"

"To your mind of course or in another words you have to concentrate to feel your brain that is the vasel of your mind, will and everything."

"For now i will unseal you and let you freely practise your mind."

As he said this Quaren started to feel his body. Trying to move he noticed that his body is still somehow stiff but there is no power that opress him anymore.

Quaren straightened and started "buzzing" his wings and slowly flew mid-air and started to feel his Shar or something like this.

If Shar is like or is imagination then is it not best to focuse to create something better in my mind than the cube of iron?

Firstly let´s disemble that cube that is still somehow affecting my mind. Saying this Quaren closed his eyes and started to feel the cube in his mind that is around himself and started to imagine that cube´s walls crushing.

But as he crushed the first set of walls he felt a piercing pain throught his brain as if something shot him throught it.

"Hahahahahah, you dumbass!" A voice laughted and cursed him.

"Eh?"

Quaren opened his eyes but when he did so something that he did not expected happened again...

As Quaren opened his eyes he saw that "whip" lash at him following that he felt even stronger pain and fell on the place where the circle still was.

Noticing this sudden change in that man Quaren tryed to build again his walls but for some unknown reason he could not.

"You thinked that you are stronger than me when i said so? You are so ignorantly naive but it is still in norm because you are of course still newborn as you said and you did not even get something to eat as i noticed. What a pure luck!"

"And now you are mine!"

"Nooo!" Quaren screamed but that was the last thing before the third whip landed on him and made him stop.

Quaren shaken from this sudden "betrayal" chanched his mind and said: "I hate you! If you gave me even slight chance i will end your life and you will experience how it is to be food for me!"

"Hahaha!" Hearing this that man laughted and striked again with his whip.

The fourth slash totally beat Quaren so he was now hust lying in the circle not doing a thing.

"No, no, no, no and no! I feel that i am losing my sences again but this time i have a very numb feeling inside my head not like in the previus cases when i could not just control my body."

Screamed Quaren in his mind as he was unwilling to be some slave.

"I have to do something but that man..."

As he was still thinking about this Quaren felt another wave of intense pain engulfe him and this time it was even more powerfull than last time maybe because all these attacks stacked together and let his mind crumble.

"You sure are worthy of the name Variant so after i am done with crushing your mind i will give you new name that is worth you."

Said that man sounded somehow like as if he was talking with someone that he just freed except for that part with crushing his mind.

Quaren tryed to answer him but what was waiting was just another wave of pain.

"Slash"

"Slash"

"Slash"

"Slash"

That man was like a maniac and played with him like he was already his and he could do what he wanted to him as he was whipping him.

Quaren felt that he was on verge on something he did not know how he felt like that but he did.

Because of that he focused and tryed to build that wall between him and that man but unfortunatelly for him when he tryed it that extreme pain acted again and made him lose his focus and because of that he was unable to even think now.

"No..." As if his soul slowly and softly said he felt something unbelievable happen.

He saw as if his mind or maybe the Shar gathered and waspushed out from his body following that his eyes dimmed so his vision was now full of darkness but while later his "eyes" opened again but what he was seeing right now made him feel extremely despaired.

Quaren was now floating, yes floating above his body with some chain or rope like chain connected to him via the head to his body´s head.

"What is this? How is this possible?" Quaren started to ask but he noticed that he was muted or something like that so he could not speak.

"Oh, it is finally over?" The man said and started to chaint something when holding the whip in both of his hand aimed at the body of Quaren.

Quaren tryed to fly away with his new form but that chain was restricting him in doing so. Seeing this Quaren felt like his world crumbled and he could not do a thing, he tried several times but still without use.

Quaren tryed to control his body as he was used to but without response so he tried to connect to his body via that rope and he suceeded!

"Oh, im finally back!"

But just as he was thinking this that man furrowed his brows and shouted something that made his body totally paralysed again and even his mind.

"Whish"

The man still pointing that whip at him did just as if he wanted to drop that whip but to Quaren´s suprise that whip still floated there while later that whip started to vibrate and some waves of energy were transmitted all over the place.

"This is?" Quaren was thinking this when the wave was just about to hit him.

The wave hit him and he notived that he was being outside of his body again.

"No, you do not have the power to do this again!"

Quaren with extreme difficulty muttered. Hearing this that man showed somehow shocked expresion but still frowned and pointed both his fingers at him.

"Eh?"

As that man did that the whip that was radiating second wave stopped and started to circulate instead until from that whip was round ball.

"En!" That man shouted and the ball exploded with shocking speed against Quaren.

"Oh Fuc!!" Quaren saw that ball nearing him and stared unblinkly at that mysterious ball trying to figure out something to counter that ball from hitting him.

But as it was even difficult to think he could not even do anthing else than stare at that ball.

"Gush"

That ball hitted him and entered his body. As that ball entered his body extremely strong force pushed Quaren´s mind again out from his body.

But there that ball did not ended and as it forced Quaren out from his body with chain attached to him that ball started to leak out from his body throught that chain and was like a water that was sliding from something homewer in this case it was "sliding" from bottom to top.

Quaren seeing that ball still chasing him even when he was out from his body was so scared that he just surrendered his fate and was just lifelessly floating above his body.

The ball stained whole chain from transparent to red and then disappeared.

"Hahahahaha!" That man laughted loudly and then said.

"I suceeded! I have to write a book about this and the riches from that book may be even bigger than his price several tens of times! Hahahaha!"

"Can you hear me, little one? Heloooo?!"

"Maybe i should left him for some time alone, heehehe!"

┃Title of the chapter: The innocence that proves to be worth less than freedom.┃