Chapter 89: C89 – Laid Bare

Upon waking from his deep sleep, Dirk immediately headed to his class that was starting soon after. 

By now, walking right out of the medical room and to his classes had become normal. Dirk would take all the time he could to sleep and recover, and classes took up half the day, so there wasn't a lot of room for free time. 

Now though, Dirk had a small smile. He sat down in class with a bit more energy than before, and he absorbed what was taught with a bit more enthusiasm. While the teachers were still rude and would be critical over every error, Dirk didn't mind. 

And then, when the classes were done, Dirk anxiously made his way to the cafeteria. He stepped in line, got his food, and savored the near tasteless bowl of slop. It tasted better today. Dirk was a bit happy, though he didn't show it on his face. 

But then, the time came to step out. Dirk walked out of the cafeteria with slow steps. His eyes scanned the surroundings. The only thing he saw was the curious gazes of those around him. By now, Dirk had become almost famous since he had been whipped every single day for over three months. There was nobody who didn't know his name and didn't know Deliha who was always waiting for another session of physical education.

But this time, when Dirk walked out of the cafeteria, there was no Deliha waiting for him. He stood around for a minute, almost unsure if it was okay for him to walk away. 

Then, after a few more seconds, he walked off. He was in a bit of a daze as he walked back to his alleyway. The dirt all around the alley was dyed with blood from all the fights Dirk had here, but it had become something of a home, as sad as that was.

When Dirk sat down on a patch of dirt, he couldn't help the small smile that came to his face. 

"It's over..."

He let out a small chuckle. He wasn't dragged off to receive 60 lashes. Dirk had diligently gone to his classes, no matter how tired or hurt he was, in order to prevent more lashes from being added to the massive pile he had to endure. Now, that work had paid off. 

"Now I can relax a bit..."

He sighed as he lay down. With a content face, he fell asleep. He was naturally a bit tired since fatigue had built up over such a long period of being exhausted every day. Now, he could go to sleep in a normal fashion, not while recovering on a stone bed. 

..........

The next morning, Dirk was up bright and early. Well, there was no sunlight in this place, so it wasn't bright, but it was early. 

After enjoying some quiet time, Dirk ate at the cafeteria before heading to classes with high energy levels. 

Now, he was actually a bit eager to learn. After all, they were giving out valuable knowledge despite being an assassin organization. Dirk was more inclined to absorb it when he wasn't beaten down from lashings.

The classes took most of his day, and afterward, he ate before walking out of the cafeteria. Like last time, he was a bit anxious as he left, but when he saw no Deliha again, he was happy. For him, that was a confirmation of the fact that he wouldn't suffer as he did for the past few months. Finally, he was relieved. 

Thus, he went about the rest of his day quietly. He sat in his alleyway and actually brought up his traced runes, doing a bit of studying. He did this until late at night, after which he went soundly to sleep once more. 

Then, the next morning came. Dirk went about this day as normal, eating before heading to classes. When classes were over, he took his time in the cafeteria. The slop he had been eating every day wasn't nice, but as he found out, it was actually packed with nutrients. At the very least, it would keep him alive and his energy high. 

Then, Dirk strolled out of the building. He had a small smile. When he walked out, he couldn't help but think about how great it was not worrying about being whipped every single day. 

Dirk immediately turned in the direction of his alleyway, intending to go back before doing some more runic study. 

"Harbinger 8!"

At that moment, there was a shout from behind. Dirk immediately froze, hesitant to turn around, fearful of who he might see.

During that hesitation, the one who shouted seemed to teleport behind him. Her hand grabbed his shoulder, and her sharp nails cut into his skin. 

"Did you miss me?"

Deliha spoke into his ear, like the whisper of a devil. Dirk trembled a bit, not immediately responding. 

Deliha smiled. 

"Say, I recently got bored. Our sessions of physical education had been an enjoyable pastime, a way to relieve the stress of my day. I will admit, the whipping also got repetitive, but now that I've had a couple days off, I realized how much I enjoyed it. So I went to Asura. I thought that perhaps it was a bit unfair to just drag you off and whip you for no reason."

Deliha spoke as she circled him. Her finger traced from one shoulder to another, leaving a red line of blood across his back. Dirk entirely disregarded it. This amount of pain was pitiful compared to the whipping. It almost didn't register as pain. 

She stopped as she spoke into his other ear. 

"Guess what Asura told me? He said that you still hadn't pledged yourself to him. He said that he had offered you a deal that you hadn't yet accepted. So he gave me an order. He said that until you accept his deal and give your loyalty, I'm free to hand out 50 lashes a day."

"N-no..."

"Haha! Yes! Isn't that exciting?! Really, I didn't appreciate the time we spent together before. But now, I'm going to savor every moment!"

With her cackle, Deliha stabbed Dirk's arm with her chain spike. His body was pulled forward as she suddenly ran toward the town square. 

Dirk's mind was almost blank as he was chained up. The men who chained him were fluid with their actions. It had become reflex for them who had done this every day for the past three months. 

Then, Deliha grabbed the level 6 whip. 

"You've had a couple days of rest, so why don't we continue where we left off? And by the way, the level 6 whip and beyond have magic that I can activate. That pain you felt before was only the barest capacity of this thing. If you survive long enough, maybe we can try it out!"

Deliha laughed as she raised her hand. The whip cracked as she got the feel for it. Then, she swung towards Dirk. 

Before the whip reached him though, something had changed in Dirk's mind. It was like something broke inside of him. 

It wasn't he who had finally been broken. Instead, as the whip came down and tore away the skin on his back, it was like a layer of himself was being peeled back. 

With the wave of pain, Dirk's mind seemed to experience a moment of unprecedented clarity. For the first time, he was faced with his innermost emotions that had been sealed up and shoved down below his veil of depression and despair. He could no longer hide from it.

The rage and hatred he felt, the bubbling chaos that had been brewing inside of him. 

It exploded.

"AHHHH!!!!"

Dirk's eyes were bloodshot as he let out a guttural roar. This roar, backed by all the power in his trembling body, seemed to shake the entire town. It wasn't a roar of pain. Even Deliha realized what was happening. 

'His mind has finally been cornered.'

Suddenly, Asura appeared in a corner of the town square, his gaze directed at Dirk who continued to roar despite the lashings. It was as if he didn't feel the pain as he drowned everything out with his hate. He had gone completely mad.

Asura knew. This was what he had been waiting for. Deliha had tortured Dirk every single day for 100 days. Dirk was mutilated every single time, put through unbearable hell. Asura had never actually had so much trouble with any other child before. He was shocked that Dirk had withheld himself and didn't completely break down. 

But he had been patient. It was a process, breaking someone. So he gave Deliha her orders, and Dirk was beat down bit by bit. 

Then, when the 100 days was over, he was given a moment of rest. For two days, Asura held Deliha back. Dirk had been anxious, but relieved when he thought it was all over. He thought that there wouldn't be any more suffering. He even confirmed it when the second day came around and nothing happened. 

But then, when the third day dawned, she went. Then, he watched. He watched as Dirk's glimmer of hope was destroyed. He watched as all the relief was burned away. As soon as Dirk began to climb out of the abyss, as soon as he saw that tiny ray of light, he was yanked back down. 

That was the last straw. Dirk had barely held out through the three months. He had been holding on to that hope deep down inside that the pain would eventually end. That through following directions, he could slip by and dodge the inevitable future before him. And now that he knew he couldn't, now that his hope was shattered, he snapped. 

When Asura heard Dirk's roar, he knew that a critical moment had presented itself. Dirk was now faced with his most carnal form out of sheer desperation, and he had to make a decision. 

Dirk's inner turmoil was so immense that it caused him even physical pain. The pain of his mind was so great that it seemed to tear him apart alongside the whip. 

His roars died down as more lashings tore at his body. He began to weaken. As he fell to his knees, unable to hold himself up, Asura spoke a message through magic to Deliha. Heeding her master's command, she dropped the level of the whip and continued. 

Over time, as Dirk struggled and collapsed in on himself, Deliha eased up. She didn't make him pass out from the pain. She let him think, as per her master's orders. 

And Dirk really did think. He couldn't seem to escape the darkness that crawled through his soul and broke him from within. 

It will never end.

Dirk heard a whisper as he hugged his head. 

They will whip you.

They will break you.

You will be nothing more than a dog!

"Shut up!!"

Dirk screamed at the voices that appeared in his head.

'I won't be broken! I can't be broken!'

They have already broken you.

'No! I just...'

It will never end. You will always suffer. 

'I... I don't want to suffer. It hurts...'

Dirk remembered the pain of the whip, how it tore into him until even his bones were exposed. He didn't want to feel that every day.

The pain will find you. It will always be there to bring you to your knees.

Feel the whip. Feel the blades tear you apart.

Look to the future, and gaze upon the endless torture that awaits you.

Despair.

Dirk's mind was shaken by that voice of chaos. He curled in on himself, and even though the whip got weaker, he still felt that tearing pain, as if his pain tolerance had vanished. 

"Despair..."

As if that voice were speaking through him, Dirk mumbled that word. The cracks of the whip echoed in his ears, bringing along with it searing pain. 

On Earth, he suffered even as a child. Forced to kill for people who thought nothing of him, he was forged into a cold killer. 

In this new world, he enjoyed his 13 years of life before being dragged down into this hell. Dirk, who had a taste of what love and fulfillment were like, had been crushed when it was taken away. He desperately wanted what was taken from him. 

Suffering. It seemed to follow him across lives. He was dragged into the worst of it, especially here. It seemed like he never had the power to control his own life. On Earth, he had been so brainwashed into thinking that what he did was all he could do, and he was bound by chains of his own making. Here, it was actual power that kept him from holding on to what he desired, chains that he struggled against yet couldn't break free from. 

He never had control. And when he didn't have control, he suffered. 

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Could he ever gain control? Would he ever have that power?

These were the questions that rang out in his mind. And for a while, even as the whip cracked, even as that voice of chaos spoke to him, he faced his inner turmoil. 

If the suffering would never end, then what was the point in fighting? Should he just lay down? 

But if he gave himself up to Asura, then would the suffering stop?

It wouldn't. Like on Earth, he would do the bidding of another man until he was no longer needed. His life would no longer be his. And by the time he wanted out, it would be too late.

But he couldn't escape Asura. There was no way out of this hell. So what was the other alternative? 

All this suffering, what was it for?

What's the point of continuing on?

At that moment, Dirk remembered the one person who got him through hell before. 

As if he had come to him from beyond the world of the living. 

"Dammit. If you're going to suffer every day, then you may as well do it better than everyone else!"

That rough voice echoed in his ears. 

"What do I always tell you? Suffer now so you can suffer better tomorrow. Now get your sorry ass up and keep running!"

The memories flashed through his mind. 

"Life is pain! You think you can avoid it? Only pussies try to avoid it, and they're the ones who take a bullet to the dick and die miserably on the battlefield."

The only light in the darkness. 

"Look, if you're going to go through all this pain, you may as well get something out of it! If you keep thinking that this is for nothing, then you'll get nothing out of it! Or, you can just get fucking better!"

"So get that head of yours screwed on right and stack some fucking bodies!"

"Take it as one last order from your damn superior! Have I earned enough of your respect for you to obey me this once?!"

"Haah..."

Dirk let out a hollow breath. It was like he could see that lumberjack yelling at him with a cigar in his mouth. Did he reach out from the afterlife just to yell at him again?

At some point, tears began to drip down his chin, landing and mixing into the pool of blood below him. 

An indiscernible smile appeared on his face. 

"Yes... sir..."

Dirk choked out those words. Deliha tilted her head at the language she couldn't understand. He hadn't spoken in this world's native language. 

Then, Dirk shifted his body, climbing to his hands and knees from the floor. His body was completely drenched in red, lacerations lining every part of his back and exposing even his ribcage. 

Deliha was about to lay down another whip, but Asura stopped her. 

He appeared in front of Dirk whose blood had dyed the stone platform a hundred times before. He saw the tears in Dirk's eyes, and Asura felt himself smile. 

At the same time, Dirk could sense another being near him. Black tendrils surrounded his soul, not striking, just waiting patiently. 

I will save you.

The wrote itself into his mind. It was just as grating as always. 

I will give you the power to live a life without pain and suffering. 

You will become undefeatable, a vessel that even your enemies could never touch.

You will have everything you ever wanted!

Give yourself to the darkness. Become one with abyssal chaos!

Dirk's soul was shaken. Through his soul, he could see that dark being, the dark element incarnate. Its void black eyes bore into him, carrying with it sincerity and greed. 

Then, Asura spoke. 

"This can all stop. Give yourself to me. I will give you strength, and you will become my harbinger of chaos."

They both extended their hands to him, promising him a sweet future full of power. They would get rid of the pain. 

And the price was his being. Give himself up, and be guided by another. He would no longer have to worry about his next steps. His path would be carved for him, and all he had to do was obey orders, to just do what he was best at.

It was easy. He wouldn't have to think. He wouldn't have to struggle so much. He could just go with the flow. 

'But I already did that once.'

Dirk chuckled. He had already lived a short life of obedience. And that life ended when he finally raised his head and fought back. 

He had died, perhaps even given his life for freedom. The freedom to explore things he'd never had. Things he believed he deserved. 

The love, the passion, the happiness of this life. 

What would be the point then if he just bowed back down?

Those abyssal tendrils crept closer, wrapping around the limbs of his soul. Asura also extended his hand, raising Dirk's body.

Asura's eyes were expectant. He saw Dirk's struggle and knew that there was nowhere for him to go but toward him. He would give in. Asura had been waiting a while for this moment.

The dark element incarnate also shivered in excitement. Dirk's Pure Soul was ripe for the taking. He just had to give in, just a little bit, and that chaotic being would have the ultimate vessel.

But then, Dirk's raised his head. He faced Asura with tear streaks down his face, and his soul began to light up the dark tendrils around it. 

Asura looked into those eyes of Dirk's. Through them, he saw... Antagony. He saw defiance, an unyielding will that had now been forged through the fire of his hell. 

When the black tendrils around Dirk's soul were burned and consumed, that dark being also knew the choice Dirk made.

In this critical moment when all had been laid bare, Dirk chose resistance. He raised his head, and he devoted his life to the hope and light of what existed beyond the darkness. 

Rooaarr!!

The dark being cried out as it was burned away. The tendrils all retracted, and Dirk gained control over another large amount of dark mana. 

That dark being left with one final attack, shaking and weakening Dirk's soul with a slap of dark mana. 

You will regret this decision! You will regret ever choosing to fight!

It bellowed as it pulled back.

At the same time, Asura clenched his teeth. Dirk smiled at him while blood dripped from his nose.

*Puh!*

Then, he spat in Asura's face. With his spit came blood. Of course, none of it hit Asura who used magic, but that didn't matter. 

"Damn you!"

*Bang!*

With a furious roar, Asura tightened his grip on Dirk and sent out a fist. Dirk's ribs were shattered as it dug into his side. Still, he looked into Asura's gaze with a derisive gaze, as if looking down on him, telling him how pathetic he was. 

"Don't look at me with those eyes! I will break you! I will give you hell for the rest of your damned life! You learn under me, and you fight for me! I will have your subordination!! I will have your life!! Give yourself to me!!"

"Go- Cough..! fuck yourself."

Dirk sneered at Asura's rage while blood poured from his mouth.

The two gazed into each other. Dirk felt like he could see Asura's enraged eyes from under that cloth. And Asura could see Dirk's defiance through his sharp eyes. 

Behind that rage though, Asura couldn't help the shock.

How could a child have such a strong will? He was unwilling to believe that Dirk couldn't be broken. He began to think that this critical moment wasn't actually the turning point he thought it was. But he also wasn't naive. At this moment, Dirk's will was firm. It would take more pain and time. 

Stepping up to the platform, Asura snatched a whip and began doing things himself. His rage was taken out with each loud crack and gouging of flesh, as if only blood could satiate his hunger for submission.

Under those powerful swings, Dirk quickly passed out, and it was only then that Asura stopped out of fear of killing him. 

He let out a few rough breaths before dropping the whip, thinking for a moment before turning to Deliha. 

"...Every day. 50 lashes. I don't care if it takes 10 years. He will fall."

"Understood..."

Deliha was meek under Asura's rage. When he walked away, Dirk was dragged away to heal. 

"He will fall..."

Asura mumbled as he disappeared.

 

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