It was a strange silence, one that no reason into his body and gave birth to paranoia. It was deafening even, he thought he could hear but at the same time, he couldn’t.
Booms rang in his ears, but they were silent. It was as if the source of those booms were his own body, wriggling and struggling.
The restraints had gotten even tighter, and the spikes embedded within had already given rise to infections.
His bloodline energy was drained, and this these infections were allowed to wreak havoc, unimpeded.
His body felt…odd.
The restraints made sure he was numb to everything, and the environment around him, which weakened him immensely guaranteed that, but he felt odd.
The man he had met, David Umber had come here a while a earlier and planted strange tubes with metallic, spiky ends into various parts of his body, they sucked him dry of his blood, but most importantly…
They drained his Mana.
He could see the tubes slowly glow as they extracted his Mana and input it into a strange cistern.
Furthermore, there was another strange device on his chest, which was connected straight to his chest… To the dragon heart.
His eyes felt tired, and bloodied. They would twitch and lose their shine occasionally.
His skin would wither up and die. Only to be replaced.
His Mana was being drained at such a speed that he…was close to death.
But that fact merely made him resist his fate, he tried to keep his mind sane, to keep himself awake but as the seconds passed he could feel his grip on himself fading away.
His breaths were cumbersome, and numbered.
He didn’t know that his body was acting so strangely because… He was a dragon.
Mana was necessary, fundamental to their existence! Other species could do with no Mana and still live but dragons?
Each and every cell in their body depended on it, like a newborn child depended on its parents for survival, for food!
They were programmed to use Mana with every action they did, and to face sucj a prolonged period of no Mana was devastating to them.
It was instinct to his cells, to use Mana and they were being deprived of it!
Alan felt cold, and exhausted… And hurt.
He felt as if he was a lone man, his bare body exposed to the frigid coldness of a blizzard, his skin reacted to it and went numb, but not before delivering an intense amount of pain.
His skin was dried up! He looked like a corpse! His muscles had dissapeared and all that was left of his former mighty visage was but a husk…
Blood leaked out from the gaps or his restraints. Both from his mouth and his wounds… But this blood of his was different.
It was no longer a proud crimson, but a bleak, faded red. It was almost see through…
It boiled as soon as it reached the ground he was detained on, and left disgusting stains.
His eyes seemed like a piece of dried leather.
The guards that were responsible for him were laughing at his state, enjoying the young of a species that ended them suffering.
If Alan was given to grow up, and let his powers actually manifest… Then they wouldn’t dare even be in his presence.
But fate is cruel, and time waits for none.
They even started making bets on how long it would take for him to give in and accept the embrace of death!
He knew what they were doing, the pain in his body made it so that his consciousness was still there. It was helpful even, it was only because of it that he remained conscious. Otherwise, even his strong willpower would be useless and he would fade away.
He could still think, and he pondered…
How long has it been? Days? Months?.. Years… ? His perception of time was messed up to a shocking degree.
Now… So much time had elapsed in this pathetic state that he… He…couldn’t even hear what the guards were saying.
All he could hear was incoherent gibberish, mumbles he would never be able to understand.
But he knew.
They laughed at him. They were laughing at him!
He grit in frustration, the anger that boiled inside reached a point he couldn’t control.
And a shocking burst of strength, he pounced.
*Clink*
But all that moved were hia reatrainta and the spikes bore deeper into him.
A cornered beast is dangerous, but a chained beast is pitiable. He knew that if no help arrived he would die soon. .
He had tried multiple times to reach Lanesha and Suleras, and even tried to use the reserve Mana left in his cells to activate skills…
But nothing worked. He knew death was approaching. He had been brought into this state many times, but only now did the approach of death feel so… Vivid.
Like it was a man, walking towards him barefoot. Clothed in a strange but comfortable eastern garment. A robe with black dragons and red snakes enlivening it.
As he walked his ebony hair struck the darkness around him, like it was on a deeper, more profound level.
As he walked, the irritable sound that would often be produced when a metallic instrument was being dragged against the ground was produced.
‘Kill me already… ‘
He pleaded in his mind as his body gave up, no longer struggling for survival.
And it seemed his wish would he granted.
He felt a sharp sensation on his neck, one possessed by a blade of unparalleled sharpness that made his steel skin feel like butter against a hot knife.
“Pathetic.”
A voice rang in his ears, it was palpable, like his entire body could hear it!
Ah, it’s gotten so bad I am hearing things. He mused in his mind, laughing at himself, hating the state he was brought in.
But there was something about this voice that awakened him…
He remembered it…
“… You? “
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