Fair warning, if you can’t tell by the title, this will have some aspects of torture since we will venture in what happened to Minyoung. And due to how I wrote the chapter, it’s not graphic and its at Hunger Games violence level.

I didn’t find a reason to make it M/R but if you think it should be rated M/R, do tell me.

Sorry for the lack of updates, I stared 2^nd semester of college and it came swinging with a baseball bat right at my face. I have 4 exams this week alone, so I apologize I haven’t updated in a month, I will try to put up another chapter this weekend.

Hope you enjoy…or rather, find it a good chapter regardless of the dark theme.

Chapter XXII "House of Torture"   

"I scream out of frustration, but the empty air echoes." ~ Bangtan Boys "Tomorow"

The room was dark and damp, there was a sticky moisture in the air that made her skin crawl uncomfortably. She saw nothing, there was a rough and weirdly scented cloth covering her eyes. It smelled like old and withering pages of an ancient book.

Her feet ached, they had purposely hurt her arms and legs to prevent her from running away. A being’s body heals fast, that’s why they would continuously hurt her limbs. They would stab them, break them, or simply cut them. At one point, they even had her walk with two knives in each of her calves.

Her heart ached, her pet snake was left all alone in the shop where she was taken. She put up a fight, she couldn’t just give in so easily. She made sure to try and break Hanbin, she made sure to lower his speed and strength but Hanbin’s wolf pack was too dam close for her to make some serious damage. And when she was tackled and tied up, she threw her snake to the side, and made sure they didn’t notice and would not find it.

Scythe was too powerful and too precious to her, she couldn’t bring him along.

The room felt oddly hollow. They tied her to a metal pole, a thick and cold pole that was so wide her hands barely meet when they wrapped them around it. The metal felt sticky and bumpy, it was rusting and oxidizing. The hands that tied her up were slightly clumsy and would bump into the pole, creating a sound that bounced too greatly in the room.

Footsteps painfully echoed in the four walls that smelled of old coins. Which only made her feel like she was in some sort of dungeon, or an old room that was only used in old times. Whatever it was, it made her feel slightly cold and a sinister embrace wrapped around her body. The thought of where she was kept her mind occupied long enough to not realize that the hands that had tied her up, were now too excited.

She gasped, feeling a cold and rough hand land right under her bust line. Her shirt was ripped, exposing her torso and from the side, she could hear a heavy hot breath against her shoulder. The more seconds passed, the more she felt the hand pressed against her and move upward slower. And then suddenly, two hands with long nail begun to dig into her hips.

She felt anger and disgust build up inside of her, she wanted to fight whoever thought it was okay to put their hands on her like that. She felt their bodies hovering right next to her and their cold and evil aura only made her tense up. But the more the hand cupped her chest, the more the fear diminished.

“What do you think you are doing?” Hanbin spoke, his voice echoing in the room and making her anger burn ablaze.

“Having some fun?”

She felt the hand on her chest lift as the speaker was almost mocking Hanbin for even asking. That only disgust her even more, as if something like that was fun and normal. But she had to tell herself this was the Darkness’ Lands the territory ruled by darkness and everything bad in the world lived here.

“Let me warn you now, no one touches her. No one speaks to her. No one looks at her. No one is allowed to even think about her. Do I make myself clear?” Hanbin spoke, his voice raging and fiercely roaring in the room.

At his command, the hands at her hips lifted and she swore she could feel slight bits of blood pooling out of where the owner’s nails were dug.

“No one but you, I presume, Lord Han,” someone spoke, their voice roaring close to her ear.

She felt knot at Hanbin’s title. Lord wasn’t a common title at all. The people that lived in this world, the ones who simply lived normally, didn’t even use that title. Lord was a ruler, a member of the throne chest board in a game of thrones, not a title given to someone who commanded the ranks in the army.

“Lord Han, so uncommon for the commander of the dark army,” she mumbled, finding her strength to begin to speak once she felt her body left alone and anger stained her skin.

“Says the Lieutenant, you are lower ranked than the Captains of the wolf packs,” a girl spoke, her voice came from behind her and her tone was pure mockery and sarcasm.

“Her official title is Lieutenant General. Stop acting like you know everything, why are you here?” Hanbin spoke in annoyance, saying what Minyoung was thinking but refused to say.

In the academy, the titles are simply titles and not true positions of power. It’s for simple show and uniformity. It was never truly a strict military system where the masters are the Generals and the council the Lieutenant Generals. Titles didn’t really matter.  

“I came to see our vessel. I’m in charge of making sure she stays weak,” the girl spoke, her voice sounding all too familiar for Minyoung’s liking.

“No one is in charge of anything. Tell the Master that if anything needs to be done, I will do it,” Hanbin spoke, his voice rough and agitated and his clear distaste for the girl’s comment was shown distinctively.

Minyoung wondered why he was so on the edge. Everyone was there to torture her, to make sure she feels the power of the Dark Klan. But Hanbin was more annoyed about the fact that someone, other than him, was bringing her pain. It was weirdly protective in the most sickening way.

“Fine, but you know how he feels. I’ll see you later tonight,” she spoke, giving up but suddenly changing her voice into a more seductive one.

“You two, leave. Tell the Master I’ll start the interrogation shortly,” his voice was sharp and commanding, ordering in a very ruthless tone.

She heard a mush of steps echo in the room, she still coulf not see anything, she could only smell iron and rust so much that she could taste it in her tongue.

“Interrogation, it will be a lifetime before I spill something,” she mumbled, feeling fear evaporate from her skin and suddenly, she felt a surge of energy.

“We are all aware you will put up a fight, but I am The Confessor,” he spoke, his lips curving on the title.

Minyoung felt her entire body stiffen as he spoke of the name so casually, as if it still belonged to him. As if he was still entitled to that name. And it only made anger consume her whole and drag her down by her legs.

“Shut up, you are not a light warrior. You are not a Death Sider, you are not The Confessor,” she spoke, tightening and her teeth clinching onto pure hatred.

“But why, I’m still so good at getting information,” he spoke, his voice full of confidence and amusement.

He was always known as Hanbin of the Winter Night, because that was the name his parent gave him, born at twilight during an unexpected winter storm. But the moment his talent for chemistry, and overall, being able to play with the mind of someone else to get information, was the moment he got a new name.

He was placed in the Death Siders and begun to be known as The Confessor, the guy who can get confessions and information, even if it involved torture tactics. And he made a name for himself as a master of chemicals and torture.

“Why are you so protective of me?” Minyoung spoke, trying to throw him off his feet to get him to start talking.

There were many things she was curious about, and she desperately needed to get many answers to them. And having known Hanbin for lifetimes, he was easily tripped by unexpected and unusual questions.

Right at that moment of darkness, her priority number one was figuring out how powerful Hanbin had become. There was no doubt that the poison meant to attack Sehun’s seal was his own creation, but Hanbin carries a punishment, a punishment he said was lifted through the Darkness’ power.

But she doubted it. And if the punishment was still there, she could use it to her advantage, she could probably use it to get out. And the mark on his temple, that has now grown and now dipped down to curve under his cheek bones, was something she couldn’t ignore. His ability to reach the human world, a privilege taken from all dark beings, was also very lethal.

Could the darkness gather enough power to erase Hanbin’s punishment and override the Light’s law of the human world? Or has Hanbin simply reached a level of power far beyond that the Light could not contain in this world anymore.

She needed to figure out how powerful he was and what the academy and the rest of the light warriors were going to be facing soon.

“Protective isn’t the word love.” His voice was softer and it begun to move towards her.

She held her breath, feeling his body heat radiate right in front of her. She bit her lip, and felt chills run her spine, making her skin hard. His cold finger ran up her torso, where her shirt was ripped. And it passed right over her chest and found the hole right above her collarbones and bellow .

“If there is anyone who is going to make you miserable, it will be me,” he whispered, pushing his finger deeper into that hole and causing her breath to be caught in .

She begun to cough, feeling throb slightly and suddenly, Hanbin had his hand wrapped around her neck. His thumb moved up and down against . She felt the need to push him away, to hit him, to fight him, but the metal pole would not budge.

“It won’t hurt a bit,” he whispered, his hot breath clashing against her skin and it made her feel a rush of anger and fear consuming her all at once.

She gasped, feeling his lips softly kissing her neck and before she could even react, a sharp metal was impelled into her stomach. She felt no pain, but felt it right against her skin and suddenly, her entire body begun to feel weak and all of her energy was right out.

He was out all of her chakra.

“If you want to kill me, know you already did, when you left me,” she whispered, feeling her entire body become drowsy and weak.

If a being’s chakra is out of them, taken either at will or by force, they will truly die. Hanbin’s hands stiffen and she could feel herself get drowsier by the second, but feeling his body tense up and get caught in her words, she realized that the punishment was very much there.

The stars in the sky are what assign two beings to be lovers, to be soul mates for one lifetime. And this life, the one that is being taken out of her, was the life she was meant to love Hanbin uncontrollably.

But the moment Hanbin betrayed the academy, the Light and everything they stood for, the unbreakable love she was suppose to have for him was washed away. The Light and the stars had mercy, and allowed the attachment of her soul to his to be broken.

She does not love him.

But his punishment for the betrayal, was that the threads of his soul that were also equally attached to her, were never broken. That was his punishment, that he was still in love with her no matter what he did. He states the Darkness relieved him of the punishment.

But the way his forehead pressed against her, and how his shaking hands removed the metal needle from her stomach, she knew it was a lie. The punishment was still there, and the fact that it was there, meant that she could use this to her advantage.

It was now survival, and she needed to get out before they kill her. She didn’t care if she’d had to use Hanbin to get out, that she plan to use him as a pawn. She was in dark territory, and it was time to use dark tactics.  

“You’re the one who betrayed me, love.” His voice faded out, as she felt her eyes finally closing.

She dreamt of it all. As her body fell heavily forwards and her forehead was pressed against Hanbin’s, her mind was drowning in nostalgia. She was remembering how her life was before Hanbin turned his back on her, of the time her life was as perfect as it could be.

She dreamt of their engagement.

Hanbin had asked the Nymphs that lived in the Fire Flame Woods for help. He had been designing a new type of flame, a beautiful blue flame that did not burn but simply danced. His chemistry talent and the Nymphs magic allowed for a flame show to happen.

Sehun took her to the forest at twilight, saying that he needed to take a stroll and talk about the ghoul raid that was happening over at Hunter Hill. And she fell for it, the beautiful neon grass was at its peak as the pathway into the Flame Woods was glowing with drops of blue flames.

She found it all beautiful, the drops of flames looked like rain drops dancing on the grass. Their stem wiggled to the beat of a soft flute but never did it burn the grass it was dancing on. The flames illuminated the woods like little stars and the danced like children playing.  

By the time the flute stopped, the flames suddenly turned to ice, and a chamber of glimmering blue ice had formed an arc right above her. And that’s when she saw Hanbin. His smile radiant, his eyes glimmering under the rest of the blue flames that formed a large and wide circle around the trees.

She saw her father standing with a smile on his face, she saw the entire council up on the trees, their legs dangling down as their faces pushed against the bark, waiting for it all to unravel. But with it all, she only saw him and she only felt her thoughts go to him.

“Mikey of the Blue Moon, Reaper of the Death Siders and Council Head of the House of Fire, it is an honor being the soul chosen to be your love,” he spoke, his voice soft and sincere, his eyes twinkling with happiness as his lips spread wide with care.

His face was a little tough but his smile was as gentle as a flower petal. His eyes glimmered blue and silver as his velvet voice cradled all of her emotions. He held her hands and that moment was beyond perfect for her because she was surrounded by blue flames and the love of her life was simply right in front of her.

“Wake up!” The words were spoken through a grunt.

Minyoung screamed, her eyes tightening and burned as she awoke from the vivid dream in extreme pain. She felt her leg burn as the little chakra she had left was too busy trying to keep her alive to worry about the burning pain she felt.

She still saw nothing, and that warm and caring voice that was so vivid in her dreams was taken over by the reality before her.

She was a prisoner, held captive by the Dark Klan and was hanging on the verge of death. She had small amounts of chakra left that was trying to regenerate but the little that would regenerate would be taken from her.

She was likely in a dungeon, and she felt a shock of pain from her leg that would not stop throbbing. And the cause of her torment, the cause of her pain and the person who will try any type of torture tactic to get a confession, was the same person she considered the love of her life.

“What do you want?” She yelled, her voice raw and painfully pushed out of throat as it echoed loudly in the room.

He simply placed a throwing dart right into a bucket of water, his rough and black stained hand pushed against the tip of the dart and as he begun to pull back his finger, the water would harden into rock-hard ice with a sharper and more extended tip.

“First question love, where is the icicle?” He mumbled, getting the dart ready since he knows that she will not break.

She was a council member, one of the ten elite members of the academy who had unlocked all their power on their own. She was one of the strongest and had one main task, to protect the icicle with her life.

“I will never tell you where to find it,” she yelled, burning as she felt tears whelm in her eyes.

She will not give in, she would much rather die here, knowing she did everything to keep Yugyeom safe, to keep Jungkook safe and to help Sehun return to normal. She was fine dying and finally being reincarnated into the human world if it meant the Dark Klan never finding the icicle.

But death nor life was worth giving them the key to starting a war that could destroy their world.

“Death could be arranged love,” he spoke, agitation building up inside of him as he grunted and threw the dart.

She screamed again, the ice digging into her leg as if it was acid eating her away. She felt her muscles tighten and throb as she could not stop the tears from falling out of her eyes.

She was Mikey of the Blue Moon, born in the rare Blue Lunar eclipse in the Phoenix land. Daughter of the Master of Fire and the first twin that was ever born from a phoenix tear. She was the reason the Death Siders had the highest kill count of monsters, because she was fierce and strong and she does not give in when times were tough.

She will not give in. She will never give in.

“Tell me,” Hanbin demanded, his voice even darker, wicked and far more determined.

He huffed angrily and felt mocked by the silent response. He prepared another dart in the matter of seconds and then released it, meeting a raw scream.

Her chakra could not keep up, it was trying so hard to keep her alive and the little her body could spare to heal her wounds and stop the pain was not enough. And so, as the third dart landed on her waist, it felt even more painful.

It felt like a dagger was implanted into her skin and the wide blade was twisted and turned and carving a hole into her.

“Tell me, or death will meet you,” Hanbin repeated, anger boiling inside of him as he was preparing another set of darts already knowing that he will be meet by silence.

“Kill me then, you’re wasting your time,” she spoke, mustering the little energy she had left and the small voice that she could create.

She was Mikey Reaper, one of the original members of the Death Siders. She was one of the most feared Light Warriors and she will not give in.

She had the blood of flames, raging and powerful. She was the blood of a Phoenix and protector of peace and good.

She will stand down until the end.