Espionage? Are they thinking that I am a spy?

  "Your Majesty, no, I am not an espionage agent. I don't even know what UEF is."

  "You don't even know UEF? Any sound-minded adult who lives in this world will know what UEF is. Don't test my patience. Tell me, are you from Evergale or the UEF?"

  "I swear I am not a spy or anything like that. Please believe me; I was just reading newspapers, and you took me in."

  Whack!

  the punch knocked another tooth out

  "Don't mistake His Majesty for a daft. Do you think we arrest anyone who stumbles upon that date? We seized you because you knew about that incident, so tell us, what do you know, and how you know it?"

  "Stop it, Harris, he won't budge."

  "Aldon, this is your last chance. Just tell us how you knew about it, and we will let you die peacefully."

  "I swear, your Majesty, I am not a spy. Please listen to me, I swear."

  "Well, that's settled then. Guess you are the stubborn type."

  The king gave a peculiar look to the knight Harris, and he dropped me to the floor and left the chamber.

  He left? Am I okay now? I should try to escape. I should do something now. I can float, I should do something.

  I focused for a moment trying to float, but it was futile.

  "Oh, trying to escape?" the king said, stroking his beard.

  "That's a fetter; it nullifies any person's ability regardless of how many swirls they have."

  "No...this isn't happening. Please let me go. I told you the truth."

  "Harris sure is taking his time, isn't he?"

  Just as the king's word ended, Harris entered the room with a red box.

  "Your Majesty, can I begin?"

  The king nodded, and Harris stepped into the cell and yanked my leg to his side, pinning it to the floor.

  "I am a merciful knight, so tell His Majesty the truth, and we can end it fast."

  "I swear I told you the truth."

  Bang!

  "AARRGGGGGGG"

  "YOU...YOU SMASHED MY TOE!"

  "AARRGGHH"

  Harris stood there, the hammer dripping with my blood.

  I let out a scream so loud, rolling around in pain, curling up, tears drenched the floor, and my eyes turned red as the blood oozed out of my smashed pinky toe. I took a glance at the king, he sat there emotionless, stroking his beard.

  "Answers alone don't tell us the truth."

  "Why...did...you...break my toe, you assh*les?" I yelled at the top of my lungs.

  Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

  Bang!

  Harris smashed another toe, the pain convulsing through my entire body, making me dizzy.

  "Give His Majesty your respects, you worthless hearth."

  "Aldon, this is just the beginning. Tell us the truth, or it will get worse."

  I continued to cry, taking fast breaths, the pain overwhelming me.

  "You...expect...me to answer...when...I am...in pain?"

  "Take your time, it's not like we are in a hurry. Meanwhile, Harris will smash the third toe."

  "Noooo...please...don't, please...I will say it...argghhhhh...just one...mo-m...ent...please."

  Bang!

  "ARGHHHH GOD ARGGGG" I yelled at the top of my lungs as Harris smashed another one of my toes.

  My vision blurred, and everything around me darkened.

  Thump!

  The last thing I heard was my body slumping on the cool floor, my mind losing its senses as the unimaginable pain throbbed. I murmured to myself.

  "Mom, Dad, why...why am i suffering?what.…did I do to suffer?" Why are they hurting me? Why do I have to go through it? Why do I always have to ...d-ie and suffer? Why? Didn't I suffer enough? Why did you leave me alone? Why didn't you... come to save? Why didn't you take me with you and leave me alone? You promised you won't leave me alone, right? Why then? Why did you die, leaving me alone and letting me suffer? I want to die too...wh-y didn't I die that night? If I had died properly that night, I wouldn't have had to suffer. If someone had killed me properly, I wouldn't have suffered. If my damn ability had come just a day before, I wouldn't have suffered. But why, Mom? Why, Dad? Why did you leave me alone to suffer? You broke your promise, Mom. Yes mom you broke it, Dad. Why? Did you hate me? You said you will still love me even if I get only... one swirl, but you locked me in that basement. Why? What did I do to make you hate me? Why did you lie to me that I will get a swirl? Why? You hated me, right? You preferred Leo over me since... he was swirled, unlike me. Why, Mom? Why, Dad? Why?"

  "Speak louder, His Majesty can't hear you," Harris yelled as he kicked my gut.

  "Stop it; let him speak," the king ordered as Harris pulled back.

  I saw Harris take a screwdriver before I fully fainted.

  SPLASH

  I woke as Harris poured a bucket of cold water on my face.

  "Wake up, you basta*d, you are still talking to the king."

  Talking to the king?, you have been torturing me.

  I shivered as the cold water drenched my skin, and Harris pulled me up, lifting me to face the king again.

  "Answer, or I will cut your finger next."

  I looked at my smashed toe, gulping for a moment as I braced myself to tell the truth.

  "Your Majesty...the truth is…the reason I know about Alyss is because...urgh...it is because...I am Alyss..."

  "You say that you are the swirless child?"

  "Yes, I am Alyss...that day, bleurgh,~ that day...after Mom and Dad's execution...I tried...to es-ca-pe...but I was sto...mped...to death by t-hose drunkard-s…"

  "Well, what you say is indeed half true. Alyss was stomped to death by those idiots."

  "..."

  "Well, if Alyss was killed, then how are you, Alyss? Aldon"

  "It's my ability, when I died, I transmigrated."

  "Ability, you say? Well, that's a shame."

  Harris forced my face downwards, smashing my head against the floor, and he lifted me up again as the blood flowed from my cracked face; the taste of it was similar to the taste of copper.

  "Arggghhh, sto-ppp it...pleaseee stop it...I told the truth. Stop it...please," I whimpered out.

  "Aldon, nobody can awaken a swirl or an ability after nine, and Alyss crossed nine when he was killed."

  "What if…it's wrong? What if people can awaken late?"

  "You are saying two thousand years of research are wrong?"

  "It might be in my case...I awakened it later after all."

  "The research isn't wrong, it's not trial and error or record-through-history research. It was thoroughly studied and experimented upon research to get the fact that people awaken before nine."

  "Trust me, then I...mi-ght...be...the messia-h, the one we pray for..."

  "Getting full of yourself, aren't you?"

  "..."

  "Well, if I have to be frank, you being a messiah is none of my concern. After all, we've got other stuff to do instead of waiting for the messiah like stupid people who may never come."

  "The thing is, Aldon, we didn't care if Alyss was a messiah or not; it was the least of our concerns, but I am disappointed if what you tell is the truth."

  "Since you know Alyss was supposed to be this nation's vessel to serve this kingdom but almost dragged it down."