Chapter Twenty-One: The Black Chamber
Rain's body jerked violently as he woke at dawn, his breath ragged, cold sweat soaking his skin. The nightmare had been far too vivid—too real.
A small child… sitting on a cold floor… his eyes red and cracked from crying, while his father stood above him, expressionless, holding a cup filled with poison.
He stepped closer, handed him the cup, and whispered:
"Drink."
No mercy. No hesitation.
The child, Rain, reached out with trembling hands and drank… then collapsed, screaming. No one came to help.
Rain opened his eyes in the present, gasping. He got up heavily, drank some water, and walked to the window.
The atmosphere outside was as gloomy as always in the Aldritch estate. Fog choked the skies, and Death Mana pulsed through every wall.
He entered the bathroom and let the cold water crash over him.
The transformation had begun… and the adaptation couldn't wait.
He sat at the center of the room and began to meditate. The Eye Technique felt like a mental blade—each use carved away a piece of him. Still, he continued. Slowly. Steadily.
A knock on the door.
Alfred entered and bowed slightly.
"Master, breakfast is ready."
Rain ate in silence, then rose and made his way to the prison.
The sounds of screaming were familiar now—wailing, moaning, despair.
He opened the torture chamber. A bald man was shackled to the wall, with another man beside him—wide-eyed and trembling.
Rain didn't speak. He simply began.
He cut off the bald man's fingers one by one, forcing the other to watch. The blood and pain were nothing compared to the growing terror in his eyes.
When he was done, he killed them both.
Then he focused… and drew the Death Mana into his body. It was cold as iron, sticky like hatred—but it began to flow through his veins.
Rain closed his eyes—and for a moment, collapsed.
Then slowly rose, his breath thick and shallow, as though crawling out of a grave.
He smiled.
"The next phase… begins now."
In the lab, Rain stood before his grim masterpiece:
A massive glass tube, large enough to hold a grown man, filled with Death Water—a thick green liquid pulsing with vile energy. From above, it was connected to a metal press, a piston-like device that fed Death Mana into the tube via an enchanted hose—directly extracted from the crushed bodies of humans and demons.
Inside, a breathing mask was connected to a hose, allowing the subject to inhale while fully submerged.
Rain turned to Alfred and said:
"Bring me a fugu fish."
Alfred blinked in surprise but nodded and left.
Hours later, he returned with the poisonous fish.
Carefully, Rain extracted the neurotoxin—Tetrodotoxin, a powerful poison that induces full-body paralysis without causing death. A state resembling death… yet the mind remains painfully awake.
"I'll take this… then enter the chamber."
"After that, Alfred… you'll operate the press daily. Two victims per day—human or demon. Crush them. Feed their Death Mana through the upper hose and into the chamber."
"We'll do this… for five years."
He added coldly:
"When Javier arrives… raise him to be loyal to House Aldritch. Not just a tool… a rabid dog who knows exactly who his master is."
Rain removed his shirt, strapped on the breathing mask, and stepped into the tube.
He drank the poison.
And in moments… went still.
His body was motionless. His heart beat faintly.
But his eyes—shut tightly—were battling through illusory death, as Death Mana swirled around him like a vortex of hell.
And thus began… five years of torment.
Author's note
The childhood stage is over now and a time jump will happen after five years. If you have any notes, write them in the comments, and if you like it, support me.