A dull ache throbbed in Rey's skull as he stirred. The cold bite of iron clamped tightly around his wrists and ankles, and the faint clinking of chains echoed through the stone chamber. He lay on a narrow bed carved from dark stone, rough and cold beneath his back.
His vision cleared slowly.
Stone walls stretched around him, lit only by the flicker of green flames burning in metal sconces. Symbols were etched across every surface — twisted, ancient glyphs that pulsed faintly with energy. He tugged at the chains instinctively, but they didn't budge. His breath grew short.
"What... is this place?"
Then, the heavy iron door creaked open.
Footsteps echoed. From the shadows emerged Vladis Mortis, his crimson eyes glowing like dying embers. A thin, cold smile curled on his pale lips.
"Ah, you're awake, my precious guest," he said, voice silk-soft but soaked in menace. "I was starting to wonder if your fragile human body had given up."
"Where… where is Fianna?" Rey asked, panic rising. "What is this?! What are you doing to me?!"
Vladis chuckled, walking closer until Rey could see his reflection in those soulless eyes. "So many questions. You humans are so curious when you're afraid."
He leaned closer. "That girl you call Fianna? She played her role perfectly."
Rey's blood ran cold. "What... role?"
"She brought you here, as ordered. Just a tool to lure the bait. You. My treasure. My key."
"No... you're lying!" Rey shouted, struggling against the chains. "She's not like that!"
Vladis straightened, expression unreadable. Then, the door opened again — and Fianna stepped inside.
She stood silently.
Rey stared at her, desperate. "Fianna… tell me he's lying. Tell me this isn't real."
She looked away.
Then, quietly, she said, "There was no love. Only duty to Lord Vladis. You were a means to an end."
Those words pierced Rey deeper than any blade. He collapsed back against the bed, numb.
Vladis laughed, deep and thunderous. "See? She was never yours. And now, you are mine."
Rey closed his eyes. His mind screamed for it to be a nightmare, a hallucination born from stress or poison. But the cold chains, the flickering firelight, and the crushing weight of betrayal told him it was real.
"You were brought here for a reason," Vladis said. "You carry a bloodline I have waited centuries for. Your body… your very existence… is a treasure."
He paused, walking toward the wall where an ancient symbol glowed.
"I don't want to kill you, Rey. No. That would be a waste. You will be... repurposed. Reforged. Remade in the fire of despair."
With a flick of his wrist, the chains tightened.
As the door shut and Fianna left silently behind him, Rey lay alone in the flickering dark. His chest rose and fell with shallow breaths. Not just from pain… but something deeper.
Hate.
And with it… resolve.
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