“Pain fades. Scars fade. Even hatred fades. But betrayal has a way of surviving.”

Darkness.

Not the darkness of night.

Not the darkness beneath storm clouds.

The darkness of being buried.

Cold stone surrounded the chamber. The kind of cold that sank into bone and refused to leave. No sunlight reached this place. No wind. No warmth.

Only damp rock.

Only silence.

Only time.

Click.

Click.

Click.

Footsteps echoed through the cellar.

Each step bounced against the stone walls before returning, distorted and hollow.

Someone was coming.

A faint orange glow appeared at the end of the passage.

Then came the smell.

Burning fibers.

Oil.

Smoke.

The pungent aroma of a makeshift torch.

The flame crackled softly as its light crawled across the walls like living fingers.

“Hello, Licht.”

Chains rattled.

The sound was sharp in the darkness.

Licht slowly raised his head.

Pearlescent strands of unkempt hair hung across his face. The torchlight reflected in shifting colors across the silver-white locks.

His body had changed since arriving here.

His ribs pressed against pale skin.

His wrists were raw where iron restraints bit into flesh.

Bruises painted his body in shades of purple and black.

Yet his eyes remained unchanged.

Cold.

Unyielding.

Waiting.

“I’ll kill you.”

The words came out rough.

Hatred sharpened every syllable.

The man sighed.

“I’m starting to get bored of this.”

The torchlight illuminated a smile.

Not an angry smile.

Not a cruel smile.

A bored one.

“That’s all you ever say.”

He crouched in front of Licht.

“‘I hate you.’”

A chuckle.

“‘I’ll kill you.’”

Another chuckle.

“‘Where is she?’”

The smile widened.

“I’m getting tired of it.”

He rested his chin against his palm.

“It’s no fun anymore.”

The casualness made the room feel colder.

As though this conversation was routine.

As though torture was no different than discussing the weather.

“Licht.”

The man leaned back.

“You know what I love most in this world?”

The torch crackled.

A drop of melted pitch slid down the wood.

“I love freedom.”

His eyes gleamed.

“The freedom to kill whoever I want.”

A grin spread across his face.

“The freedom to torture whoever I want.”

Wider.

“To do whatever I please.”

His voice dropped to a whisper.

“Isn’t it beautiful?”

He stepped forward.

Closer.

Closer.

Until they were face to face.

The torchlight danced across his features.

His smile looked almost euphoric.

Like a man standing before a divine revelation.

Pat.

Something wet struck his cheek.

The smile froze.

Licht stared directly into his eyes.

A strand of saliva slowly slid down the man’s face.

“Die.”

Silence.

Then laughter.

Quiet at first.

Then louder.

The man wiped his face.

“Just amazing.”

His voice trembled with delight.

“You still insist on fighting.”

The torch crackled between them.

“This is why I truly love you, Licht.”

The flame vanished.

Darkness swallowed the room.

For a brief moment there was nothing.

Then came movement.

Fast.

Violent.

A burst of sparks.

The torch slammed into Licht’s side.

The impact tore through skin.

The burning tip punched against exposed flesh.

The smell hit first.

Burning meat.

Scorched blood.

Charred skin.

The chamber filled with it.

The torch hissed as it buried itself against his ribs.

Heat surged inward.

Deeper.

Past skin.

Past muscle.

The pain became something beyond pain.

Something white.

Something blinding.

The man’s laughter echoed through the darkness.

Yet no scream followed.

No pleading.

No begging.

No mercy.

Only chains rattling.

Licht’s fingers tightened around iron restraints until blood ran between them.

The torch remained lodged against his side.

Flesh blackened around the wound.

Smoke curled upward.

The room smelled like a butcher’s furnace.

Still—

Nothing.

No scream.

No cry.

No satisfaction.

The man’s laughter slowly faded.

Because even in the darkness—

Even with melting flesh.

Even with blood dripping onto the stone floor.

Licht’s gaze never left him.

Waiting.

Promising.

One day.

One chance.

One mistake.

That was all it would take.

“Iris.”

The name echoed through the cellar.

For the first time since Isaac entered the room, Licht reacted.

His jaw tightened.

The chains creaked.

The hatred burning behind his eyes shifted.

Changed.

The look he reserved for Isaac was simple.

Murder.

The look that appeared when he heard her name was something else entirely.

Something colder.

Something that refused to die.

Footsteps approached.

A second torch illuminated the darkness.

Orange light flickered across damp stone.

Across bloodstained chains.

Across the burn buried into Licht’s side.

Iris stepped into view.

Her head lowered.

Her hands folded neatly behind her back.

“Bring me another torch.”

“Yes, Sir Isaac.”

The words were immediate.

Practiced.

Isaac’s grin widened.

Then vanished.

“BITCH.”

Without warning, he ripped the embedded torch from Licht’s ribs.

The wet tearing sound echoed through the cellar.

Blood splattered across the floor.

Licht’s body jerked against the chains.

The torch spun through the air.

Straight toward Iris.

She didn’t move.

Didn’t flinch.

Didn’t raise her hands.

The burning wood struck her shoulder and fell to the floor.

A black scorch mark spread across her sleeve.

She remained perfectly still.

Isaac snorted.

“Call me Master.”

A pause.

“Actually, never mind.”

He waved dismissively.

“Just stand there and watch.”

For a moment, nobody spoke.

Then—

“Hey, Isaac.”

Isaac turned.

Slowly.

Then burst into laughter.

The sound bounced off the cellar walls.

“You little shit.”

He stepped forward.

“I was being nice.”

His fist slammed into Licht’s side.

Directly into the open burn.

CRACK.

The chains rattled violently.

Isaac laughed harder.

“You really think you’re worth a damn?”

Another punch.

Blood splattered across the stone.

“You’re my prisoner.”

Another.

And another.

And another.

Each strike louder than the last.

Each strike harder.

More desperate.

More violent.

The cellar filled with the sounds of flesh being battered.

The sounds of chains shaking.

The sounds of a man laughing.

Then eventually—

The laughter changed.

The rhythm broke.

Isaac’s smile twitched.

His punches became frantic.

Wild.

Almost childish.

“Why are you still smiling?”

Another punch.

“Why?”

Another.

“WHY?”

His fist crashed into Licht’s face.

Again.

Again.

Again.

Blood ran down pearlescent strands of hair.

Yet that smile remained.

Small.

Broken.

Bloodied.

But there.

As though every punch only hammered it deeper into place.

Isaac finally stopped.

His chest rose and fell heavily.

Sweat dripped from his forehead.

The room fell silent.

Licht hung limply from his chains.

Unconscious.

Blood dripped steadily onto the floor below.

Pearlescent hair concealed his eyes.

Yet somehow—

The smile remained.

Isaac stared.

Then clicked his tongue.

“Bastard.”

He turned away.

“Iris.”

She straightened immediately.

“I’m done with him.”

Isaac wiped blood from his knuckles.

“I’ve got new toys arriving soon.”

His voice carried the same tone someone might use discussing dinner plans.

“So get rid of him.”

He shrugged.

“Throw him in the pit.”

Another shrug.

“Or something.”

He headed toward the stairs.

“Man, I need a bath.”

His footsteps faded into the darkness.

The cellar became quiet once more.

Only the dimmed torch remained.

Iris stood motionless.

Waiting.

Listening.

Until the final echo disappeared.

Then she moved.

Slowly.

Carefully.

As though approaching a wounded animal.

She stopped in front of him.

Blood dripped from his fingertips.

His head hung forward.

The smile was still there.

Somehow.

Still there.

Her hands trembled.

Just once.

“I’m sorry.”

The words barely escaped her throat.

No response.

Only silence.

A tear struck the stone floor.

Then another.

“I’m sorry…”

Her voice broke.

She lowered her head.

The apology came again.

Quieter this time.

Smaller.

Almost swallowed by the darkness.

“I’m sorry, Licht.”

The cellar offered no answer.

Only silence.

And the soft sound of someone crying where nobody could see.

TYSM FOR READING