episode_0001

Knock. Knock. Knock.

In the still darkness, the sound of dripping water awakens my consciousness.

My mind suddenly snapped and I got up, as was my habit. But my body wouldn’t move as I wanted.

A clanging sound and a heavy feeling.

Oh, right···.

I was in custody.

There are no windows so I can’t tell for sure, but it’s probably been about three days since I started this hellish prison life. Maybe even longer.

The dungeon was cold and hungry. It was a harsh environment for my weak body. The bone-piercing cold and the occasional terrible hunger were pushing me to my limits, both physically and mentally.

“Ugh!”

He dragged the chains tied to his limbs and moved his body with difficulty toward the falling water drops.

He desperately licks the water that has pooled on the floor. It is dirty water mixed with dirt and filth. But he must drink this water to survive.

After finishing my first hydration in a while, I returned to my original position and sat down.

Gulp···.

I tried to ignore the hunger that was stabbing my stomach and thought about what would happen next.

How can I get out of this hell…?

The chains on his arms and legs and the iron gate that looks solid come into view. It doesn’t seem possible to break them. Besides, even if he were to break them and escape, would he be able to escape from this deep underground prison? He would probably be caught by the soldiers as soon as he got out.

No matter how much I think about it, a physical jailbreak seems impossible.

If that’s the case then…

‘I have to convince that kid…’

Brrrr

When I think of the child who locked me up here, my hands and feet start to tremble and I break out in a cold sweat. This is the change that has occurred over the past few days. The terrible torture that has been inflicted on me over the past few days was enough to make me like this.

How did it end up like this… The child I met again after 4 years had become a completely different person, and I couldn’t handle her anger. Her eyes rolled back and she grabbed my head…

‘ah···.’

It’s painful to even think about it. I barely calm my trembling body and think of words that could convince the child.

I’m sure I could convince her. She was a good girl. She would obey everything I said…

Crack, crack

“Ugh!!”

At that moment, the child’s footsteps were heard from afar. It was the child. The child was coming. My breathing became rapid and my mind became blank. The hopeful thoughts I had been having just a moment ago were erased from my mind as if they were ridiculous.

Ah, it’s getting closer. It’s almost at the door.

at last···

Bam!

“······.”

She came in.

***

“Ah···. Ah···.”

I tried to speak to the child with a trembling voice. But the words wouldn’t come out well. The fear inside me had already blocked my mouth.

“······.”

She looks down at me. Our eyes meet.

It’s cold. I can see the endless hatred and resentment directed at me in her eyes. Faced with that terrible and enormous malice, the vain idea of persuading her disappears like dust.

What kind of stupid thought was I having? No amount of persuasion would work on that woman. The child from the past is no more. The woman in front of me was someone else. A completely different person with a similar appearance. And someone who could torture me without any problem…

She began to unpack the things she had brought. She spread them out on the floor. There were a variety of them. Long awls, scissors, forceps, and a nail-pulling device… The torture devices filled the floor one by one.

My heart is pounding. I’m sweating. It’s dangerous. If I keep going like this, I’ll be tortured to the point of no return. I have to do something.

I crawled under her in a hurry, grabbed her feet, and begged her desperately.

“Please···. Don’t, don’t do this… Please···. Please···.”

She, who had been arranging the torture devices without hesitation, suddenly stops as if she had stopped. Silence flows. Is her anger perhaps subsiding? Maybe so. She was the type to get angry quickly and then calm down quickly. She would seem to be really upset, but after some time, she would act as if nothing had happened. This time too, it was definitely······

“Please? Ha, that’s funny.”

A cold voice. I looked up,

She was glaring at me with a cold face. Her expression was filled with cold anger.

“How did you act when I begged you not to abandon me?”

She speaks to me in a tone as cold as ice.

My head turns white. Is this how a mouse feels when it encounters a cat? My body becomes stiff and I can’t move.

I tried to make an excuse, but only babbling words came out of my mouth.

“I, I··· Ah··· I, I···”

She lowered her posture before I knew it, grabbed my hair, and lifted me up.

“Aaak!”

“I want to rip that shameless face to shreds right now··· but I’ll hold back. That would be too easy a death for you.”

She reaches for the torture device.

My blood runs cold. I have to scream at them to stop.

“Ah···. Ah···.”

But my trembling jaw doesn’t allow me to complete the sentence. My body won’t listen to me.

“You deserve to be punished.”

She picks up a tooth extraction device.

······

***

Time passed.

***

[15th day of confinement]

As time passed, her anger did not subside at all.

“···Why did you abandon me···?”

“That, that···. It was all for you···. I hope everything goes well for Your Majesty···.”

“Shut upShut upShut up!!! Don’t act like you were doing it for me!! You were doing it for me?! Who are you to judge me like that!”

“Kkaaah!!”

“I just want you···!!”

Torture. Endless torture. When you feel like you’re going to die, they heal you with recovery magic and torture you again.

My mind gradually wore out.

***

[Day 32 of confinement]

At some point, I gave up on trying to solve something through conversation with her. Who would communicate with a monster in human language? No human language worked with the monster in front of me. Likewise, appealing to her for sympathy was foolish.

***

[Day 47 of confinement]

I lost the will to resist and died with listless eyes. I no longer ate the bread crumbs she occasionally threw at me. I had no appetite at all. All I wanted was for this hell to end quickly.

***

[Day 63 of confinement]

She didn’t even allow me to die. When I stopped eating or drinking, she started forcing food and water down my throat. Now she lives in the dungeon, watching me 24 hours a day.

***

[84th day of confinement]

Did her resentment become dull after seeing her face every day? At some point, her violence noticeably decreased. All she did was look at me with complicated and hazy eyes all day long. I was afraid that those eyes would change at any moment, so I tried my best to avoid eye contact with her.

***

[100th day of confinement]

One day, she came to me crying and apologizing. She said she had done something terrible and begged me to forgive her, holding onto her trouser leg. Her attitude was 180 degrees different from before. Was she acting? Or was she sincere?

It was a good thing. This was a chance. A chance to escape this hell. I swallowed hard and cautiously asked if they could let me out.

It was a mistake.

Her face distorted viciously as soon as she heard my request. The last time I saw her face, indescribable anger, disappointment, and sadness flowed out.

***

[Day 101 of confinement]

When I opened my eyes, my limbs were cut off.

***

[119th day of confinement]

From that day on, there was no exchange of words between her and me. She just came to me without saying a word when it was time and fed me food and water. She changed my diapers, gave me a bath every day, and rubbed my back to make sure I didn’t get bedsores. It was as if she was taking care of someone precious to her. It was creepy. She was broken somewhere.

***

[142nd day of confinement]

She started talking to me. She called me Master. It was a tone of voice that seemed to have returned to the past. “How are you, Master?”, “Is there anything you want to eat?”, “Would you like me to rub your back?” and so on. She also talked to herself about memories from the past. About the time when we were still masters and slaves. She seemed very happy when she talked about that. This place was hell.

***

[200th day of confinement]

It was mealtime. As usual, she thrust her spoon at me. Suddenly, I looked at her face, and there was a strange sense of satisfaction. She seemed to have adapted to this situation. Maybe she had compromised. Even if I had no arms or legs, and even if I always looked at her with terrified eyes, it was better than not having anything at all. Her own sense of happiness and satisfaction. Behind those thoughts, I could see the will to continue this situation for as long as possible.

I got goosebumps. Am I supposed to live like this for the rest of my life? I was terrified and writhed violently. I had to act while I still had fear and anger left. I shouted at her, who was panicking.

Just kill me, you crazy bitch.

What did I do wrong to you that you are acting like this?

Picking you up was the biggest mistake of my life.

I should have left him to die in the slave market that day.

If you go back, a monster like you…

And then my neck was blown off.

······That was my first regression.

***

When I came to my senses, I saw a slightly younger looking woman standing in front of me, crying and pleading.

“Master··· Please don’t abandon me···”