Chapter 64: QUESTIONING
In the suffocating dark, the only sound William could hear was his own shallow, ragged breaths. His body was drenched in cold sweat, bruises and cuts marking his once-proud physique.
He was completely naked, tied tightly to a heavy wooden chair. The ropes weren’t ordinary — they glowed faintly with a blue hue.
Mana ropes. He could feel it — his own magic was sealed, suffocated inside him, unable to answer his will.
A single dim lamp hung near a heavy wooden door, barely illuminating the space.
The walls around him were too dark to see clearly, like shadows devouring the room.
But directly in front of him stood an old, cracked mirror leaning against the wall. Its glass was smudged and broken in some places, yet the reflection it gave was clear enough.
William stared. He blinked, thinking his eyes were playing tricks on him. But the horror did not fade.
On the left side of his face, there was nothing but burned, raw flesh — skin completely melted away. His cheekbone exposed, the tissue blackened and red, as if the fire still lingered inside the wound. He could barely recognize himself. His once sharp, commanding features were now twisted and monstrous.
His mouth quivered, a mix of fear and fury rising, but his throat was too dry to even scream.
The reflection stared back, mocking him. Somewhere in the dark, footsteps echoed faintly, approaching — slow and deliberate.
When the door creaked open, William raised his head weakly. A figure stepped in — the shape of a young man, that much he could tell, but the darkness made it hard to see his face. William tried to speak, but all that came out were broken, muffled sounds from his torn throat.