A heavy, suffocating silence hung over the depths of the royal prison.
The only sound that pierced the darkness was the clinking of a taut chain, followed by the sharp, brutal crack of a whip.
Samuel was chained by the arms, his wrists shackled to iron rings embedded in the damp wall. His bare back was covered in long red welts—some already darkened by dried blood, others still fresh, open, and bleeding.
With each strike, his skin split a little more. His body tensed from the pain, but he did not scream. He never screamed.
A former soldier, Samuel had known torture. He had even endured it during past wars, before his reincarnation.
But this… this was different.
It wasn't the pain that ate away at him—it was the injustice.
Being beaten for a truth he didn't even have.
The floor beneath him was stained red. Drops of sweat. Of blood. Of suffering.
"Where is the Heart of Aethril?!"
The interrogator screamed once more, lashing down with all his strength.
Samuel clenched his teeth. His breathing was short, ragged, but he held on.
He didn't know the answer.
He had never known the answer.
Yet the whip continued to dance through the air, striking again and again.
The torches fixed to the walls flickered with each gust of movement, casting monstrous shadows across the stone.
The room stank of hot metal, sweat, and burnt flesh.
Then finally… silence.
The man in white and blue calmly put away his whip, as if finishing some routine paperwork.
He stepped toward a small cracked mirror on the wall, smoothed his hair with practiced care, then turned to leave.
The guard accompanying him opened the heavy iron door. The man walked through without haste.
But before he left entirely, he paused, picked up the clipboard he had left on the wooden chair, and declared in a neutral tone:
"Samuel Butler. Your hearing is scheduled for tomorrow at 3 pm. It will be presided over by His Majesty, King Elyndar Silmaris, the High Priest… and the Four Pillars themselves."
He paused briefly, glancing back at Samuel, who remained shackled—head down, panting.
"You are charged with crimes against humanity. With attempted overthrow of the throne. With theft of national relics… and are also suspected of being the new Black Calamity."
Then, without another word, he stepped out.
The heavy door slammed shut behind him with a dull thud.
And Samuel was left alone in the dark, his back on fire.