It is time to sleep, but there is a problem. I told those two brats they could stay in my room; they were tired and left a while ago, so they should be asleep by now. However, I don't know if I can trust them. Even if they seem a bit kinder now, they tried to kill me before because "The Master" didn't like my presence. What if the whole marriage thing is a lie? What if they are just pretending? I don't believe someone changes sides just like that. I'm going to enter cautiously, ready to fight.
I approached. The night was very dark, and there have always been few lights in the palace. I advanced bit by bit with my nerves on edge; for some reason, I was afraid. I reached the door and opened it slowly, my heart pounding like crazy, expecting the worst. I went in and... nothing happened. They were asleep in a bed next to mine. They even looked like a pair of little angels.
"Thank goodness," I thought as I wiped away my sweat. Suddenly, a wooden stake shattered the window and flew across the room; it was aimed straight for my head. Out of pure instinct, I dodged it. The crash woke the little ones with a start.
—What happened? —one of them asked, still drowsy.
—Nothing, don't worry —I replied, trying to calm them down.
—I think the perverted cockroach wanted to touch us while we slept —the other blurted out, regaining her usual venom in seconds.
—So you're the one who kidnapped my little ones?! —roared a female voice from outside. It was a deep and powerful voice; it definitely wasn't Janeth.
—Mother Karlota is here! —the twins shouted in unison.
Mother Karlota? How many characters are there in this world? First "The Master" and now this one.
—Who is Mother Karlota? —I asked, feeling the situation slipping out of my hands.
—She is our caretaker —they replied, and suddenly, both lunged at me and hugged me tightly—. She is mean to us... Don't let her take us!
How was it possible that these two girls, who recently behaved like psychopaths, were so terrified? What kind of person was this Karlota to inspire a terror that even Janeth couldn't provoke in them?
—Let go of my girls, you damn pervert! —Karlota roared from the outside.
Immediately, a rain of stakes began to fall. I grabbed the little ones by the shoulders and hid with them under the bed. I felt something wet running down my arm; it was blood. Apparently, one of those things had grazed me. Why does everything always happen to me? I'm just an ugly animal in a world of lunatics.
—Stay hidden here —I ordered the brats.
—No! —one of them grabbed my arm with desperate strength—. Promise you'll come back.
—I promise —I told her, trying to sound braver than I felt.
They let me go, and I crawled out from under the bed to face her. But before I could say a word, a rope coiled around my waist with the precision of a whip and pulled me violently toward the broken window. I remind you that my room is about one hundred and thirty-one feet high... and right now, I was suspended in the air, swinging into the void.
—Holy shit! What do I do? I'm not Spider-Man to be swinging around! —I complained as I fell into the void at full speed.
I looked down, and the ground was approaching terrifyingly fast. Perhaps in other kinds of worlds, someone would appear to save me at the last second, but here, no one came.
SPLAT!
I slammed against the earth. I felt my bones shatter under the impact.
CRACK!
An intense metallic taste flooded my mouth, and I began to spit blood. My nose was smashed to pieces upon impacting face-first; my arms had been bent backward at an impossible angle. My breath escaped me, and I began to gasp for air. Why didn't I die instantly? This pain is simply unbearable.
—Oh, hell... —I groaned, trying to crawl across the ground as my vision blurred.
—You aren't going anywhere! —Karlota's voice roared, approaching like a predator—. I will make you suffer for taking my girls.
Without warning, she used the rope to bind my arms and, with a sharp and merciless tug, she snapped them back into place.
—AAAAAAAAAAAH!! —The scream tore through my throat, but she didn't seem to care.
—That's how I like it! Suffer!
Ignoring my screams, she tied me to a giant rock, stretching my limbs with the ropes until I was under extreme tension.
—I am going to kill you slowly —she declared with chilling slowness.
I couldn't even scream anymore; my chest couldn't take any more. I felt my own blood starting to choke me from the inside. Amidst spasms, I could see that damn crazy woman: she had extremely long hair, fur on her arms, and her face was hidden behind a cloth. The only thing that stood out in her sinister figure was her red shoes.
She threw one of her stakes and drove it directly into my leg.
SHLUCK!
—MMMMMMMPH!! —The scream stayed muffled in my throat, trapped by the blood.
I couldn't see her eyes or her smile behind that cloth, but I knew she was enjoying it. My vision began to turn a thick red from the blood running down from my forehead, clouding everything.
—If I leave you like this, hanging, you are going to die in a slow agony. It's exactly what you deserve for trying to take my little ones —she declared coldly.
She threw another stake into my other leg.
SHLUCK!
—MMMMMMMPH!!
Then one into my arm...
SHLUCK!
—MMMMMMMPH!!
And finally, another into the remaining arm...
SHLUCK!
—MMMMMMMPH!!
She had pinned me to the rock as if I were an insect in a display case. Once she finished her "work," the crazy woman simply turned around and walked away, her red shoes disappearing into the darkness. As my consciousness faded, I managed to hear the echo of absolute chaos coming from my room, up there. I just hope Janeth or the King can control the situation... because I can't take any more.
Everything faded into a deep and silent black.
—That lady left you pretty fucked up! —a childish voice spoke to me from nothingness—. Those bastards have wanted your head ever since you declined their offer.
I caught my breath suddenly and opened my eyes. I found myself in a completely different place, something like a kind of infinite garden. When I looked at my hands, my heart skipped a beat: they were human. In this place, I was no longer Samuel the Liva; I was Frido the human again.
—What is this? —I asked as I put my hands to my head. Everything hurt; an unbearable headache hammered at my temples—. Where am I?
—You are in my quarters! —the childish voice replied with a rather cheerful tone—. I am DyTPo, a pleasure.
In front of me, sitting with total nonchalance, was a boy. We were in the middle of what looked like a picnic, surrounded by a peace that felt almost insulting compared to the pain I felt just seconds ago.
—I was just... —Suddenly, the physical memory of the torture ran through my body like an electric shock—. AAAAAAAAAH!!
I screamed with all my might. For some reason, the pain had returned with the same intensity as back at the trees. Was it some kind of post-traumatic stress, or was my soul still tied to that mangled body? DyTPo reacted quickly; he grabbed my hand and, upon contact, the torment vanished completely. I felt like new, with a mental clarity I didn't remember ever having.
Finally, I could observe him better. He wasn't an ordinary boy; his body was entirely dark, a silhouette that looked like a living black hole. He had no features, except for a smile that shone with an intense and constant white.
—Better, right? —he said, without his smile faltering—. You can't die yet, Frido. It would be a waste after everything we have planned for you.
—"We"? —I asked, backing away—. Who are you and what do you want from me?
—I am what humans call God —he replied matter-of-factly. He snapped his dark fingers and, instantly, the infinite garden vanished to make way for an absolute white void—. Bet you didn't expect it to be like this?
He stood up with the agility of a child and sat at an elegant tea table that appeared out of nowhere, floating in the middle of that blinding whiteness.
—Take a seat, please —he asked with that innocent voice that didn't quite fit his appearance.
I stood up, still a bit dazed by the transition, and took a seat across from him. My human hands trembled slightly on the table.
—What do you mean, you're God? —I asked, unable to process the information.
—Let's see... how to explain it? I don't like the name "God," but in concept, I am. Some even say I am the most powerful of all —his smile widened in a ghoulish way, revealing that behind that courtesy was something much more ancient and dangerous.
—Does that mean you created everything? Like the Ancient Scriptures say? —I asked, still trying to assimilate that I was in front of the supposed most powerful entity in existence.
—That ancient scriptures stuff is bullshit. The High Command invented it so you would live in fear and not seek true power —he blurted out with a tranquility that chilled my blood—. But that doesn't matter now. We aren't here for a theology class. I brought you here because those guys are really out for you.
DyTPo took a teacup that seemed to contain nothing but pure darkness and looked at me intently. His white smile was the only thing cutting through the void of his face.
—Now then, to the point —he continued, placing the cup on the table with a subtle clink—. Apparently, a few years ago you twice declined the offer of a deity, and that didn't sit well with them at all.
He took another sip, enjoying my confusion.
—As you could appreciate firsthand, they have you in their sights. I only brought you here to warn you; I don't want my precious subject to break before his time.
—I remember that... it was when the Shockpinfinder was chasing me. I didn't think saying no was going to be so disastrous, but I just couldn't trust them —I said, feeling the weight of my error fall on my human shoulders. (Chapter 12)
—Well, time's up. The High Command will be upset if you stay here —DyTPo gave a sharp clap that echoed throughout the white void—. Goodbye, Frido. And watch out for Diva.
さようなら
The peace of that white place vanished, leaving me with a vortex of more questions than answers. When I opened my eyes, I was still pinned to that rock; the sun's glare beat down on my face. The infernal pain returned and, for some reason, I was still alive.