Chapter 4: Trapped With the Evil God

Luke didn’t know how much time had passed since the evil god started torturing him. He couldn’t die of anything within this place, whether it was hunger, thirst, or something else. All he could do was endure the evil god’s attention.

After some time, the evil god abruptly stopped.

At first, Luke didn’t think anything of it. It wouldn’t be the first time the evil god would stop in between the torture sessions to give Luke the wrong impression that the evil god was going to finally let him go.

He remained unmoving, waiting for the evil god’s painful touch to return.

When what he perceived was a long time had passed, he found himself wondering how long the evil god was going to keep him waiting.

Was it waiting for him to let his guard down and strike to maximize his suffering?

Luke continued to wait until he couldn’t take it anymore and tentatively called out, “Evil god?”

There was no response.

Was it now giving him the silent treatment?

He should have felt happy that the evil god was leaving him alone, but it felt strange to be ignored by the evil god for so long. At least before the evil god would mock him or say horrible things to him.

Now it was eerily quiet.

His mind raced, trying to figure out why the evil god was so quiet when a crazy idea crossed his mind.

Could it be that the evil god somehow found a way to escape this place?

No, that couldn’t be. This sealing spell was supposed to make sure that he couldn’t escape and remain trapped in this place.

Even though he thought of this, he couldn’t shake the feeling that something wasn’t right.

“Evil god?” he called out again.

“Still full of vitality, I see,” the evil god said, sending chills down Luke’s back.

He was back.

How could Luke have thought the evil god escaped?

It seemed that he was slowly losing his mind under the evil god’s tender care.

“Why did you call me? Did you perhaps miss my presence?” the evil god asked.

“Of course not,” Luke spat out.

The evil god chuckled and said, “You are truly stronger than most. Most would have lost their minds by now, but you remain somewhat intact. However, how long can you truly last?”

Luke wasn’t sure himself.

Every waking moment with the evil god was hell. It was so painful that he wanted to die, but he couldn’t. All he could do was keep enduring. Every time he reached the end of his rope, he somehow clawed his way back and repeated the cycle over again.

“Tell me. What reason keeps you going? You’ve already been betrayed by those closest to you. They left you to suffer at my hands, so why bother continuing to suffer?” the evil god said.

At the mention of his ex-comrades, he gritted his teeth. His eyes bulged with hatred as he recalled how they calmly watched him be sealed with the evil god without a hint of guilt or remorse.

He muttered something incoherently, and the evil god asked, “What was that?”

“Revenge,” Luke murmured.

“Revenge?” the evil god repeated.

Luke didn’t seem to hear the evil god as he continued to mutter to himself, “That’s right. I can’t let it end like this. I have to get revenge on those traitors. I can’t rest easy until I make them pay for all this torment.”

“Oh? Revenge is the reason why you kept your insanity? How amusing,” the evil god said with a chuckle.

Paying no mind to the evil god, he thought of how he would hunt them down and make them suffer for their betrayal.

He absolutely couldn’t give up. He had to find a way to escape.

As if reading his mind, the evil god said, “In order to get revenge, you’ll first have to escape this place, but that’s a power beyond you. You’ll never be able to escape this place.”

Luke hated how right he was, but was he supposed to accept his fate?

No, he couldn’t accept it.

Where was the justice? How could Fidall abandon him?

“However, there might be a way,” the evil god said, drawing Luke’s attention.

What? There was a way?

“Make a deal with me. If you do, you’ll be able to leave this place and get your revenge on those that have made you suffer,” the evil god said.

Luke stared blankly at the shadowy figure of the evil god before blurting out, “As if I believe you. This place was meant to imprison you. How could you possibly have a way to escape?”

“You think too highly of this sealing spell. Do you really think it can trap me for eternity? If that were the case, I wouldn’t have escaped this place several times before,” the evil god said, causing Luke’s jaw to drop.

The evil god had escaped this place several times before?

That was impossible.

If that were the case, shouldn’t a stronger sealing spell have been developed to counteract that issue?

“You don’t seem to believe me. It’s true. I’ve done this circle and dance several times throughout the centuries, but it’s impossible to keep me down. Do you truly think a god like me could be imprisoned forever by human hands?” the evil god said, circling Luke.

If that was true, just how many times had heroes been gathered to seal the evil god away only for him to break free years later? Was it all pointless?

No, he refused to believe it. If it was really true, then everyone in the country should have known about it. The evil god had to be spinning lies to mess with his mind.

“You can’t fool me. I won’t believe any of your lies,” Luke said through gritted teeth.

The evil god fell silent.

“Whether or not you believe me, that’s up to you. It won’t change the facts. Since you won’t accept my offer, let’s return to where we left off,” the evil god said, reaching out to Luke.

A scream pierced through the space.