The Defiance of a Monster
Chapter 41
SQIICKK-!!
The sharp, grinding cry of metal echoed through the darkness.
Eidolon's eyelids twitched.
Heavy.
Unbearable.
Light bled into his vision in broken flashes-faint, flickering, unstable.
"...gh..."
Air scraped through his throat as he struggled to breathe.
His body felt... wrong.
Numb.
Yet moving.
Moving?
His mind staggered.
I'm... not walking...
Blurred shapes loomed above him-shadows passing, shifting. The ceiling? No... it was changing.
He was being carried.
No-
Dragged.
A cold surface pressed against his back. Hard. Unforgiving. It rattled beneath him with every movement, as if he lay upon a rolling slab of iron.
SQIICKK-!!
The sound came again.
Wheels.
Old.
Rusting.
"...You... mm... die..."
A voice.
Distorted.
Broken.
Eidolon's eyes strained.
A figure leaned over him-but its face...
He couldn't see it.
Only a smear of darkness.
"...where... am I...?" he whispered weakly.
His arm tried to rise-
But it didn't move.
His breath hitched.
Again.
Nothing.
Slowly... painfully... he tilted his head.
Down.
His vision struggled to focus.
And then-
He saw it.
Straps.
Dark leather bindings dug tightly across his chest... his arms... his legs. Fastened to the moving slab beneath him.
His pupils shrank.
"...no..."
Understanding struck.
His body wasn't weak-
He was restrained.
A violent tremor ran through him.
His fingers twitched.
Then clenched.
Then-
He thrashed.
The metal beneath him rattled violently.
"W-what is this...?!"
His voice cracked-raw, unstable.
"WHO DID THIS TO ME-?!"
The restraints creaked under the strain as his body jerked against them.
"F-FUCK-!!"
His breathing spiraled.
Fast.
Wild.
Animalistic.
The world around him warped-
Then-
"Hey."
A voice cut through everything.
Clear.
Close.
Eidolon froze.
Slowly...
He looked up.
The figure above him leaned closer.
Drip.
Drip.
Something wet fell onto Eidolon's face.
Warm.
Thick.
Blood.
The man's face was... wrong.
Twisted.
Mangled beyond recognition-skin torn, features collapsed into something inhuman. And yet-
He was smiling.
A wide, unnatural grin stretched across what remained of his mouth.
Eidolon's eyes widened.
"...what... are-"
STAB.
Something plunged into his neck.
Sharp.
Precise.
Too fast to react.
His body jolted violently.
A burning cold spread instantly through his veins-
Like ice crawling inside his blood.
"...w...what...?"
His voice came out broken.
Weak.
His vision began to collapse.
Darkness crept in from the edges.
The man leaned closer.
His ruined face inches away now.
And then-
He whispered.
Soft.
Almost gentle.
"You shouldn't have woken up... monster."
Eidolon's pupils trembled.
His body went slack.
The last thing he saw-
Was that smile.
Then-
Nothing.
...