19 Prisoner

I opened my eyes, the dark room made of solid stone greeted my sore eyes. I licked my cracked lips, I was beyond thirsty and I haven't had a drop of water in nearly four days. No one visited me, no one fed me and no one gave me anything to drink.

The room was pitch black and not a single spec of light could be seen. The mana in my body felt sluggish and my cultivation was halted entirely. I couldn't feel any mana in the air and that more than anything scared me. My whole life I felt a connection to the world and I never knew it. But being in this dark void where only the sound of my breathing could keep me company, the lack of that connection filled me with dread.

'Clack'

I raised my head, thinking I heard a noise just then. Looking around and straining my ears I laid back down.

'Clack'

Again, just faintly I could hear a sound. Like foot steps but just out of earshot.

'Clack' 'Clack' 'Clack' 'Clack'

Soon the sound of footsteps could be heard echoing across the walls, the sudden increase of sensory input caused me to huddle down and cover my ears. Soon the sounds of voices could be heard.

"Why was she put in the solitary confinement cell. I told you to put her in the holding cell" The man from days ago said.

"I did master, she is currently trying to hold on to her sanity." the woman purred as she began to luagh.

'Crack'

The sound of skin on skin contact reverberated in the cell. "You are to do as I say when I say it do you understand me. If you try something like this again I'll rip out your heart and use it to summon a better contractor" the man yelled "Do I make myself clear"

"Crystal" said the woman her sultry pur long gone and replaced with the sound of stones grinding and birds screaming, yet still sounding like speech.

"Don't talk like that, you know how much I hate that." a long pause happened as he began coughing again. A faint song could be heard soon after and the coughing stopped. The woman's sultry voice calming my down and relaxing my body and soul. Soon I felt like I was in a daze, murmuring to quiet for me to make out followed suit. I heard the man make small growling sounds as the murmurs continued. Suddenly the sound stopped and the dizzy feeling left my mind.

"Now why don't you just stay right there and let me help you" a very dazed sounding uh-huh came from the man and then no sounds came at all. For a while I thought they left until I heard the sound of skin on skin clapping rhythmically entered my cell.

My face turned best red and I covered my ears. It wasn't the first time I had to listen to the actions of rambunctious teens and adults but it was one thing to accidentally walk in on Anthony and another to be forced to listen to it happen just on the other side of the wall.

For what felt like ages, the sounds continued. Suddenly they abruptly stopped and the sound of a blade being unsheathed could be heard followed by the moarnful sound of the demons screams.

"How dare you force your magic on me" the sound of the woman's scream vanished soon after. "Damned demons and their mind tricks, I missed her heart. Fuck, I'm going to have to review that damn contract again. I could have sworn it should have kept her from doing that." the sound of coughing echoed again. "Fuck she also has the key, Selena I summon you" the sound of fire and the sound of shattering glass soon followed.

"I'm sorry master I"

"Shut up, we aren't done with this but I have more important matters to attend too. So give me the damn key before I try to cut out your heart again." a few seconds passed and the sound of shattering glass was heard again. The sound of metal clinking on metal could be heard from one side of the cell before light poured in.

My eyes burned, the lack of water keeping me from producing tears. A hand grabbed my wrist and hauled me up and dragged me out of the room. My hands and feet were still bound as well as the gag around my mouth. The ropes were cut and the gag removed but I was still to weak and I was dragged further into the light. Unable to easily adjust it wasn't until I was pressed into a soft chair that I could begin to see.

A goblet was pressed into my hands and I immediately put it to my lips, not caring for its contents. Cool water flowed down my throat and I coughed most of it back up before downing the rest of the cup.

Looking across from me a saw the man from before, his eyes weren't glowing and he just sat there calmly, watching me. I sunk into the chair putting some distance between us, I tried to summon Setsuna but I couldn't feel her. I panicked but tried to look calm.

"I'm sorry you had to go through that, if I had known." he stopped "Actually that day, even if I had known I wouldn't have cared. That wasn't a good day." he coughed and pulled out a handkerchief, I noticed it had blood on it, tinted black.

"Ah I know that look. Yes I'm dying, or should I say I'm actually dead? I'm what you might call a lich, a soul inhabiting a dead body." Kana looked disgusted and shrank away further. "I wasn't this way by choice. Before my untimely death I was once a crown prince believe it or not. But after I killed my brother" Kana looked disgusted at that statement but remained silent "it was a political move to attain my rightful place. But that changed when my brothers favorite maid. Catherine, that damn b*tch, literally stabbed me in my back. She must have realized what I did so I guess I deserved it" he paused his eyes pulsing green before settling back on his ember eyes.

"Well I guess karma wasn't done with me because after I was reborn here I died. I know funny right" his tone tight and angry, the green glow in his eyes flashing for a moment before fading. "Turns out this body of mine tried to attain the level of a god, his alignment was to dark mana and as such he was extremely close to death. He believed that he could follow in his ancestors footsteps and become a God among men. Usually when you attain the level of God this realm will eject you into a higher realm, but if you tether your soul here you can remain, but at a cost clearly." he sighed.

"It's clear he failed, lost all his cultivation progress when he died, turns out humans and elves a subspecies I would assume, lose their cores at death. It shatters into a million pieces." he coughed up blood.

"but I'm rambling and I'm sure your starving" he clapped his hands and a servant came out with hot and steaming dishes. All of them were placed before me and my mouth watered. "Please dig in, I already ate" his eyes glowed brightly at that statement but it didn't remain.

I dove in shoving food in my mouth as fast as I could swallow. It was the best tasting meal I had ever had, the meat was tender and flaky. The spices complimented the dish perfectly and the side of veggies were crisp and delicious.

After eating I sat back and silently thanked the chef for his outstanding skill

"I hope you enjoyed that, it took us a while to find the perfect ingredients. The hardest one, if I may add was a mana beast found only around the North and South poles. You know the snow fox is one of the hardest mana beast to hunt down and their meat is very expensive. But I hope it was worth the effort"

Immediately my stomach churned, unable to hold it in I leaned over the chair spilled my lunch all over the floor. For the first time since being brought here I finally spoke "You are a sick son of a b*tch you know that" I spat at him.

He just smiled, his eyes crinkled into pure joy. "Oh do I love that look you have" he covered his mouth "You should look forward to more meeting in the near future, I can't wait to see what bones I can pick with you. The buttons I can push" he practically panted those words before he composed himself. "Selena take her to the special guest bedroom." I was led away and I was put in a room that was so overly decorated and lavish that I would bet even the king of Tormok would have been more modest. The door was slammed behind me and I sighed deeply, trying to cultivate failed again. I tried to use my mana and it felt sluggish just like I remembered. Scratching an itch on my neck revealed a choker that I failed to notice before. Walking over to the mirror I looked at it.

It was a black leather like band with a crystal embedded on its front, looking closely I could see myself but with wars, tail and claws banging effortlessly against the inside of the gem. 'Setsuna! Was this why I could feel here, why my magic is sluggish?' I thought to myself.

Seeing a pair of metal scissors on a fancy looking desk I grabbed them and tried to cut the leather band. Immediately the metal snapped and a pulse of electricity flooded my body causing me to drop to the floor and convulsed for a few moments. I stood up my fingers still twitching and I dragged myself to the bed. I laid down and silently cried, 'I need to leave this place and find Little White, he's in danger... I'm in danger. What can I possibly do'