Chapter 7: The Scar in the Dark

As Monowi woke up, he looked around, only to find himself in a dark space. He rubbed the back of his head and muttered, half in anger, half in disbelief, “I’m getting smacked in the back of my head for the third time straight.”

He looked here and there, but it was useless, nothing could be seen in the pitch-black space. “Arghhh… I think I am stuck in this place. I cannot see. Everything always comes back to be like this. And this pain in the back of my head, I am feeling it this time, it is not gone like before.”, he said it much louder this time.

Raising his voice, he shouted, “Hey! Can anyone hear me? I am here in the dark. A little bit of light would be much appreciated, as I feel like I am going to suffocate in this darkness.”, he shouted so he could be heard.

“Shut it, you crybaby. At least let me get a good sleep before my execution”, a heavy voice of a woman heard from somewhere around him.

Monowi froze for a second, “So, there is someone nearby. Can I know where you and I are or who you are?”, asked Monowi loudly.

“Hey, I am trying to get a good sleep here. You get that, now shut it and let me get some rest.”, the reply came louder than before.

“Just so you know, I am scared here in this darkness, I wish someone was with me so he can hold me in her care”, Monowi squirmed in a baby tone to tease her.

A brief silence followed.

“You… you really won’t let me sleep…”, replied the woman with irritation clear in her voice, “Fine.”

A soft rustling of cloth broke the silence, followed by a faint glow blooming across the cells. It came from the lady’s hand, while she was sitting on a stone bed, with a sheet swept aside, imprisoned in the cell opposite to Monowi’s.

As the glow spread, the surroundings slowly revealed themselves. Iron bars, damp stone, and narrow corridors emerged from the shadows, clear signs that this place was some kind of dungeon prison. With the light, the woman’s figure also became clearer.

The lady appeared to be in her mid-thirties. Her crimson short hair looked messy and unkempt, with a light scar above her lip on left side reaching the eye. She was wearing a light armor on her chest, and soft breathable pants covered her bottom to knees completely. Everything about her presence sent a single, unmistakable message to Monowi: Not to mess with her.

Her face was swollen, with eyebags visible under her eyes, maybe due to restlessness, crying, frustration or the story was different, as Monowi was judging her up to down.

Suddenly, the woman tilted her head, her smile impossibly wide, made grotesque by the scar that pulled the side of her mouth taut. "Oh, my baby," she cooed, her voice dropping into a sickeningly sweet lullaby. "Are you afraid of the darkness? Don't worry… Mama is here for you."

Monowi felt the woman’s chilly presence settle deep into his bones, a sudden, cold weight that was far worse than the fear itself. He instinctively recoiled, pushing his shoulders back against the cold stone of his cell wall.

Then, just as suddenly as the cooing began, she snapped back. She pulled her head upright and let out a loud, hearty laugh that echoed violently in the confined space.

"You are afraid of the darkness, and yet you still make jokes about the darkness!" she exclaimed, her eyes dancing with manic delight. "You are even crazier than me. Interesting!" She threw her head back, the laugh erupting again, filling the silence with her unsettling, chaotic amusement.

“Wait, what do you mean?”, Monowi blurted out.

“Aha ahaha haaa… you are going to give me a stomach attack, this is even funnier than before, please stop”, she was laughing uncontrollably while babbling.

“What is funny, I… I do not understand, what is so funny about that”, Monowi stuttered but still mustered up courage to speak.

She then stops laughing abruptly, and stares directly into Monowi’s eye, although hesitant, Monowi couldn’t break the eye contact. “I knew it, you are different”, she said, her voice light.

Her facial expressions slowly settled to something neutral, then she took a quick breath and said:

“I know you have many questions regarding our situation, but to give you a quick overview, let me say. We are in the prison of Fursan, the most dangerous prison known in today’s world. Its exact location is unknown on the map. So…”

“SO…”, Monowi echoed unwillingly.

She shrugged, the light armor shifting on her chest. "So, your chance of escaping from here are very slim."

Monowi’s furrowed his eyebrows and then as he was about to say something but seemed like struggling to find words, she interrupted:

“Don’t be startled yet, there is still more to come. I may not be wise enough to guess your thoughts, but escaping here is the first and foremost idea, every prisoner had it on their minds when they arrive here.”

“Oh…”, Monowi opened his mouth, but the words died on his tongue. He could only manage a ragged breath, the words locked up somewhere in his throat.

She continued, “These dungeons where we are confined were designed specifically for the null users, disconnecting their aura from magic, as they are deemed very dangerous. But before giving you other details, I was curious about what type of null magic you can use.”

She then stared at him intently waiting for his answer.

“I… I don’t know.”,Monowi admitted, “I was at the Imperial nation center when my magic was tested, there I was identified as null user by that woman, Zani… and the next thing I knew, I ended up here in this dungeon.”

“Oh….”, she squeezed her eyes but briefly, “if what you are saying is true, then that must be the lady with state reversal magic.”

Monowi raised his left eyebrow, “And what exactly are you implying?”

“She’s a null user as well,” the woman said. “Quite a famous one here. She brings in the highest number of ‘catches’ every year for scrutiny. First, she charms her victims, then she lures them right into this organization’s trap.”

Monowi cut in, "But I was not lured, if I think. I was kind of like set up. She was supposedly the one, who healed me after I was badly beaten. And later, at Kybaar’s request, she took me to the Imperial nation center".

She let out a big sigh, and then answered, "That is their modus operandi. Hunting prey need disguises, and as for the part she healed you, she didn't. She just reversed the state of your body to a previous state when you were healthy."

Monowi frowned in thought. “So… she can reverse time for certain things.”

She replied, "It is not that simple, but yes, it is something like that. And I must applaud you, because you are a quite a genius as compared to regular people." She then clapped her hands facing towards him, while giving a sarcastic smile.

Monowi then snapped back to reality from his deep thoughts, straightened his face expressions, “So, her claim that she was a light magic user was a lie. Hmmm… and well how is she any different from us? Both you and I are null users too, right!”

Her lips titled up on the side of scar along with her head, giving an eerie look, “There once was a man who categorized all these unknown things happening in this world into magic, then divided them based on their properties and different from of manifestations.”

She glanced at Monowi, only to find him intently looking at her. He was listening to her with full focus.

She continued: “There is light, dark, elemental, and nature magic. These classifications are then turned into their branches with huge potentials in every form it was used. Even with all this happening, there were still some strange things which were very different at how they manifested and in their working. Abilities that didn’t behave like the others, didn’t manifest like them, didn’t obey the same rules.”
She shrugged. “It would have been tough and tedious, for them to get sorted.”

Monowi interrupted, “It means, we are the ones with the stranger things. But if what you are saying is true, then how did that crystal thing in the imperial nation center identified me as a null user.”

Her smile vanished from her face completely, “For a starter, you are asking a lot of questions.”

Monowi replied with a smirk, “Well, what can I say? I am a starter, and curious about all of things.”

Suddenly, a jolt of realization hit him, and his smirk faded into a dull, uncertain expression. “How do you… know I’m a starter? I mean, a beginner at all this?”

This time she smirked, “That confirmed my doubts. And as I thought, you would be quick to catch, it seemed I was right about you from the beginning, and I am glad I hadn’t wasted my sleep on something trivial.”

Monowi’s expression darkened further, unknown whether it was fear uprising in him or anger stirring in him, urging him to make her shut up.

She then continued, “You look different, even for a null user. I don’t know how, but you felt very similar to someone, who I knew a long time ago, that’s why I guessed, and Kybaar must have taught you the language, and if I am not mitaken, you must have felt a striking pain during the language transfer process.”

She stared at him, unflinching, as Monowi’s expression shifted under the weight of her gaze. For a moment, Monowi heard his heart beats. He waited for the silence to swallow the space between them and end itself, so he wouldn’t have to face her. Although that never happened, and he somehow mustered up the courage, and blurted out at her:

“You… you cannot manipulate me like this. I am not going to tell you anything.”, then Monowi realized, he yelled at her giving away everything she wanted. Monowi couldn’t do anything, but internally cursed his own helplessness.

The woman’s mouth stretched into a mocking, grotesque smile. “Ooh, my little dimwit baby is scared now. Come here mama will give you cuddles. Don’t fear me; I am just a harmless mama.” She waved one hand toward herself like she was beckoning a child closer; while her other hand remained the source of light.

Monowi felt an invisible weight pressing down on him under her overwhelming presence.

She then pouted and said: “Since you were not cracking up on your own, I had to change three perspectives to get a little information out of you. And don’t be scared of me, I can do you no harm here, since our magic is cut off and I am chained here.”

Her glowing hand pointed to her feet. Thick chains bound her to the stone bed, allowing her only minimal movement. Even if she strained toward the door, she couldn’t reach it.

Seeing this, Monowi let out a slow breath of relief. He sank back against the hard cold stone wall, exhausted. He had had enough of her theatrics, so he decided to avoid her, and closed his eyes to get his mind off her.

She then spoke again, “Your thoughts are too incoherent, and does not follow regular patterns, like all the people’s thoughts in this world.”, her voice softened oddly, “You act like him… but you are not him. I was thought by him this way, that’s why I act like a crazy genius.”

She then paused a little, “But… you don’t seem to be a person he could have imagined. I wonder what is wrong with you, is it the evolution starting to happen, or the pattern is really broken. It is a long time since I got a chance to interact with someone in these lands.”

Monowi ignored her, pressing both his fingers in his ears. He didn't even want to hear her single word anymore. Because now he knew, that she isn't a danger, well not for the time being.

"Maybe, you are really stupid. I know I am contradicting myself, but you are way too much unpredictable for me. Well, don't worry about that, we will get to know each other later", she said in indifference.

She kept rambling, theorizing about different patterns and possibilities, but Monowi didn't listen to her single word. Some time passed, while she was still on her charade, footsteps sound echoed in the dungeon corridor.

A large, bulky man appeared, holding a wooden torch with a flickering flame. His posture and attire marked him clearly as a guard on patrol.

"Well, look what we have here. It seems we underestimated you", the guard said with a lecherous voice while her gaze lingering at her. "You managed to produce a flame… even though you are locked inside this aura killing dungeon."

Guard's presence caught Monowi's attention. The guard was still facing her.

"Anyway, your time is up now.", said the guard. "Move, you piece of trash", he thrashed at the wall while opening the cell's door.

"Kids these days are so impatient. Maybe that monotonicity is really starting to wear off, from people’s behavior. But still they have a long way to go, before completely evolving into proper humans.", she remarked while getting up.

Her feet were shackled together with heavy chains. The chains also detached from her bed with a sharp clank, as soon as the cell door opened.

She tilted her head while creepily looking at Monowi. Monowi gazed back at her, when their eyes met, she murmured "You are different, like if you have already turned into a proper human."

She then whispered, while walking towards the cell door, her gaze was fixed at Monowi, "Don’t worry I will be back with you in no time", she said it smiling mysteriously, signaling that she still had something in store for him.

"I would have killed you right there and then, back when you slaughtered our 30 guards. You should be grateful to high mistress for saving you that time. Witches like you don't deserve to live. I cannot tell how soothing will it be for my eyes to see you getting ripped apart by those monsters.", the guard snarled at her with disgust clearly dripping from his voice.

She said nothing, and left with the guard, with the heavy voice of chains scraping against the floor still echoing in the corridors; and then there was darkness again.