Chapter 146: The Threat And Skarr’s Dark Magic!
"Neve?" Zyreth’s cold voice snapped Neve back to reality.
The red panda lifted his head and looked at the snake king where he stood. Zyreth’s eyes were pinned directly on Neve, boring into him with the weight of absolute authority and danger.
"I’m still waiting for your response," Zyreth said, his voice carrying the weight of a threat. "And surely you know that your response will determine how you’re treated here in this territory. Your answer will determine whether you receive comfort or pain. Whether you receive food or starvation. Whether you receive kindness or cruelty."
The implication was clear.
Refuse and suffer.
Agree and maybe, just maybe, survive.
But before Neve could speak, Maren turned around to face them.
"Do not force him if he doesn’t want to," Maren said, his voice cold and calculated. "Maybe he can’t. Maybe he’s not capable of treating my mother. I’d rather not let someone with no interest in treating my mother lay a finger on her. I would rather let her suffer than have her harmed by someone who doesn’t care."
Somehow, the favorability meter changed above Maren’s head.
[Maren: -15%]
The number had gotten worse. Maren hated Neve more now. It was increasing. The negative points were climbing higher.
Neve had never seen someone who hated him. Well, except for Bella. But this was different. This was a mate. Someone who was supposed to bond with him eventually. Someone who was supposed to help him complete his missions.
And he already hated Neve intensely.
"Wait!" Neve said quickly, panic rising in his voice.
Maren stopped and turned back, his silver eyes focusing on Neve.
Neve frowned at the negative number that kept climbing. Maren hated him more. It was his first time seeing someone who hated him this much, apart from Bella when she was trying to kill him.
He needed to fix this. He needed to agree before things got worse.
"I’ll treat your mother," Neve said, his voice steady despite the fear coursing through his body. "I can do it. I will do it. Just give me what I need and I’ll save her."
"Good," Zyreth said as he burst into laughter. The sound echoed through the cave like the laughter of a predator who had just caught its prey.
He turned to look at Maren with satisfaction.
"Tell your men to start building a small place on land for your mother," Zyreth commanded. "Once Neve finishes her treatment, you’ll have to help me with my revenge plan. That was our deal."
Maren stared at Zyreth with an expression of complete skepticism.
"You speak like it’s easy," Maren said coldly. "Like treating a chronic illness is simple. My mother has been sick for almost a decade. Almost ten years. No one has been able to treat her. No healer has worked. No medicine has helped. Do you really think it’ll be easy for him to do so?"
He gestured toward Neve dismissively.
"I can’t believe you’re speaking so highly of a beastman you barely even know," Maren continued. "You kidnapped him today. You don’t know his capabilities. You don’t know if he’s actually any good at treating illnesses. You’re taking an enormous risk."
Neve felt the intensity of Maren’s words. The shark chief was obviously not talking directly to Neve, but Neve could feel the weight of the skepticism. He could feel the doubt. He could feel the complete lack of faith in him.
Neve froze where he sat.
His heart jumped into his throat like it was trying to escape his body.
"Do not worry about that," Zyreth said, waving his hand dismissively. "Let’s just put our trust in him. Let’s believe that he can do it. That’s all we can do right now."
Maren stared at Zyreth for a long moment.
"Sure, I would trust him," Maren said slowly. "The moment he ruins everything and my mother’s health gets worse. The moment I see that your so-called miracle healer has made things worse instead of better."
Maren’s eyes dropped from Neve’s face down to his stomach. Down to the visible bump where Neve’s cubs were growing.
His silver eyes lingered on the pregnancy.
Neve’s hand clutched his stomach protectively as he started panting. Fear flooded through his entire body. He understood the threat. He understood what Maren was implying.
"I’ll kill him and..." Maren said, but he did not finish his sentence.
The threat hung in the air, unfinished but absolutely clear.
Like that, Maren walked out of the cave without completing his words. His footsteps echoed down the stone corridors as he disappeared into the darkness.
The guards never returned. No one came to take them away or move them to a different location. It was just Neve and Popi left alone in the cold stone prison.
"What do I do, Popi?" Neve asked, panting hard as his other hand clutched his chest. His breathing was coming in short, panicked gasps. "If I fail, they’ll kill me. If I can’t cure her, he’s going to kill me. He’s going to hurt my cubs. He’s going to destroy everything."
Popi moved closer to Neve and sat right beside him, her body warm against his.
"Breathe, Neve," Popi said, speaking in a calm, soothing voice. "Just breathe. You need to calm down. Getting yourself worked up won’t help anyone."
She waited for Neve to take a few deep breaths before continuing.
"It’s very easy," Popi said. "All you have to do is slowly treat the shark king’s mother. That’s all. Just do what you do best. Heal her."
She paused, thinking about her words carefully.
"It’s obvious he looks like the good one," Popi continued. "Even though he sounds cold and looks scary and acts dangerous. If anyone is going to protect you and me, it’ll be him. If anyone is going to keep us safe while we’re trapped in this place, it’s the shark king. Just focus on that."
Neve wished he could agree with Popi. He really did. But the meter above Maren’s head said otherwise. It showed a negative number that kept climbing higher.
It showed that Maren actively disliked him.
It showed that building a relationship with this shark beastman would be nearly impossible.
But he could not tell Popi about the system. He could not explain the favorability meter to her. It just felt wrong to reveal that information.
He just turned to Popi and smiled, trying to look more confident than he felt.
"Sure, let’s do that," Neve said. "That way, both of us and my cubs will be able to survive. That way, we all get to see Cael and the others again."
Popi nodded, accepting his answer.
"Do you have another fruit?" Popi asked.
"Are you hungry?" Neve asked, checking to see if she needed food.
"No," she said, shaking her head. "I’d like to practice my ability. I’d like to get stronger with my telekinesis. If we get a chance to escape, I want to be strong enough to help you fight."
Right. Neve had almost forgotten about that ability. Especially with the fact that he did not have anything useful to work with in this prison. He took out a fruit from his inventory and handed it over to her.
Popi immediately began to concentrate, her eyes narrowing as she focused all her mental energy on the fruit.
As Neve watched Popi practice, his mind wandered to his own situation.
’Do I have to take more powder to get an ability?’ Neve wondered to himself. ’Would I be able to develop some kind of power or skill that would help me escape this place?’
But then, a familiar voice replied from deep inside his mind. The system started glitching again, the text becoming distorted and strange.
’There is no way you’ll be able to get an ability when I’m here,’ Skarr’s voice said coldly. ’After all, my dark magic will always absorb every magic powder you take. Every bit of magical energy that enters your body will be consumed by my dark magic. You will never be able to develop any abilities or powers as long as I exist within you.’
The words hit Neve like a physical blow.
Skarr. The original owner of the body. The angry voice from inside his mind. He was still there. He was still conscious. He was still present within Neve’s consciousness.
And he was actively sabotaging Neve’s chances of gaining power.
"What?!" Neve chorused aloud, his voice filled with shock.