Arden wasn't surprised when he woke up. He knew he would, because getting impaled by sword was no longer the detriment that it normally would be for him. Not since he became a husk. What was a surprise was the lack of damage on his body when he woke up. There was no blood or pain. Only memories of the latter. The only thing that made Arden aware that what had transpired was real and not a dream were the ripped patches of his outfit.

  That, and Nux standing over him.

  The only thing stopping Arden from reaching out to choke the life out of the prince was his own self-preservation instincts, and the restraints preventing him from raising his hands more than 30 centimeters above the bed.

  “I'm sure you're wondering why I've decided to spare your life, mongrel,” the prince opened with.

  “Actually,” Arden said with fire burning in his eyes. “I'm wondering if this world would be better off without you. I can think of plenty of people more suited to be the hero than you.”

  Nux struck the side of Arden’s head with his gloved hand. It hurt like hell, but Arden didn't care. In his mind, he had won the first bout with Nux’s anger.

  ‘Surviving is top priority for the trial, and staying calm is top priority in combat,’ Arden thought with a defiant grin.

  Nux scowled at the unbecoming expression of his victim. He expected to see fear and forfeit, not defiance. The outworlder planned to continue resisting. He would put a stop to that.

  He produced a small vial with red liquid inside. Arden had seen a healing potion before, back when Yaan first tested out his powers on Arden’s face. He wondered if Nux would follow the same playbook, and offer the potion in exchange for submission.

  “This potion can heal any wound, as you've already experienced.”

  “Is this the part where you hurt me a bit, then offer it to me if I tell you what you want to know? A guy who could self immolate at will tried the same thing, and it failed for him.”

  Wordlessly, Nux showed Arden a small purple cloth pouch with golden drawstrings around its neck. He shoved his hand into its opening and pulled out several more potions, lining them up on Arden’s nightstand. Then he did so again, and again, until close to 50 of them were fit onto the wooden surface.

  “I’m not a hack,” Nux said.

  Arden felt that it was a valid criticism of Yaan. He felt worry start to creep in seeing all of the healing potions. Nux continued.

  “I am going to break you. You, who has come into our world and has attempted to secure the Godstone for your own nefarious purpose. I can’t just kill you without raising questions, but I can’t keep you as you are. I will have you bend to my will.”

  “Timeout,” Arden said. “What are you talking about? When did I ever try to steal your Godstone?”

  Nux responded by smashing a bottle of Bellum’s liquor over Arden’s head. Arden grunted in pain from the glass cutting his scalp, and the alcohol certainly did nothing to help. Blood and alcohol ran down his face and Arden turned a hateful glare towards the prince. He lunged at the prince, but was again held back by his restraints.

  “I am referring to when I caught you inspecting the bookshelf an hour ago. You found the sigil. You were going to try to find the way in.”

  Arden’s resistance diminished, hearing the prince. Despite the seriousness of his situation, Arden couldn’t help but laugh, realizing what had actually happened.

  “Holy shit you’re pathetic. You’re doing all of this because you’re paranoid?”

  As Arden said the words, he put more pieces together, causing him to laugh even more.

  “Is that why you haven’t been sleeping recently? Because you’ve been paranoid that I would try to take your Godstone? I’ve met a lot of sad people in the past few weeks. A wannabe gangster, a suicidal doppelganger, a heretical paladin, and a bounty hunter trying to go after a mundane, but you take the cake. To think that the predestined hero thinks that a worthless schmuck like me can possibly be a threat. You are definitely unworthy of being the hero.”

  Arden had hoped that the taunt would cause Nux to get angry and to make mistakes. Unfortunately, the opposite happened. A calm overtook the prince, and he calmly replied.

  “You are correct, demon. A worthy hero would have seen through your ploy the moment you appeared. A worthy one would have killed you before you could sink your dreadful fangs into the people around them. I am not a worthy hero. But I will not succumb to your words. Demons inspire temptation and corruption, but I will not be tempted nor corrupted. I’m not a hero worthy of the world, but I will strive to become one. Starting with you.”

  There was a knock on the door right before a sober Bellum entered. With a bow and a quick glance between the prince and Arden, he spoke.

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  “Sir, the area has been cleared. We have more than enough space.”

  “Good job, Bellum,” Nux said. “I’m sorry to make you do the job when it should be the servant’s.”

  “You have no need for apologies, sir. You don’t have a servant anymore. Just me and the demon.”

  Arden’s face contorted in distaste. Bellum was on Nux’s side. He had hoped that the bodyguard and advisor would be able to make an informed decision. Unfortunately not.

  Arden was unable to resist as Nux brought his hands together and shackled them to one another with a set of silver handcuffs with another pattern engraved on them. Arden saw the pattern glow blue for a moment before the light faded.

  He looked between his shackled hands and Nux’s prideful expression.

  “How does it feel to have your magic sealed, demon?”

  ‘Like normal.’

  Knowing that he should hide his lack of change, Arden glared harder at the prince.

  “Damn you…”

  “We're only just beginning, demon.”

  In a few seconds, Arden found himself on the ground of the main cabin with his captors overlooking him. His hands were still cuffed, and he would be lying if he said that the pouch full of potions hanging from Nux’s hip didn't worry him. The presence of the Bellum and his sword didn't reassure him either.

  “You won't die here,” Nux said. With his bloodshot eyes, he looked insane. “A worthy hero would kill you here. But I'm not one of those. You will be redeemed. It will take some time, but in the end, you will choose it yourself. You will choose to end your own life. You will live on in our history as the demon who willingly gave up so the world could live on.”

  “Uh huh,” Arden said, unconvinced. “That’s a nice little fanfiction you got there. Do you want writing tips?”

  Arden only saw a blur before feeling what was presumably a fist rocket into his cheek. He didn’t know what had him rattled more, the attack itself that held an incredible weight, or the speed that prevented Arden from seeing it.

  Arden pushed himself up to his knees feeling a bit dazed. Nux saw the defiant smirk covered in blood that leaked from Arden's head.

  He hated it.

  Both he and Bellum began attacking Arden simultaneously. Nux with his fists, and Bellum with his sword in its scabbard. As soon as Bellum's scabbard came down on Arden’s shoulder, he collapsed to the floor of the magicarriage. The force of the blow alone was enough to topple Arden. Once the pain started, Arden was stuck on the floor. He felt the prince's steel toed boots repeatedly crash down on him, all over his body.

  Arden clenched his teeth as the attacks kept coming. A strike on his chin from the scabbard. A stomp on his foot. All of the pain started to make the attacks blur together. Time became an anomaly to Arden in that moment. He didn't know how much time passed, only that every instant was filled with agony. At one point, the pain stopped and Arden laid on the ground, having zero strength left to curl up and defend himself that way. He watched through a film of blood as the pair continued to abuse him.

  Apparently his lack of energy and resistance annoyed Nux even further.

  “Stop for a second, Bellum. Put the scabbard in his mouth. He’ll need to bite down on something.”

  In his pained daze, Arden's vision couldn’t focus. Everything seemed to be slowly moving like they were on a boat. He felt someone pull his hair and force his head up. His confused eyes met Nux’s mirthful gaze.

  Arden tried struggling out from Bellum’s grip, but the trained soldier was stronger than the novice fighter. Bellum pulled his hair harder, forcing his mouth open when Arden made a pained noise. In a smooth motion, Bellum’s scabbard was forced into Arden’s mouth sideways, with his teeth resting on the scabbard. Even in his immense pain, Arden knew that they were doing this to muzzle him, to prevent his voice from leaking out.

  They hadn’t tried to mute him until now, which worried Arden, as he believed that they were about to turn up the intensity.

  Bellum had one hand on the hilt of the covered sword, and his other on the scabbard’s edge. Both hands pulled, making sure that the scabbard wouldn’t leave Arden’s mouth. Nux stood on the floor between Arden’s open legs. Arden tried to close them, fearing what would happen next.

  To Arden, Nux’s face looked like a leviathan ready to devour him whole Arden continued struggling against Bellum, but it was futile. Bellum was just too strong for him. But he didn’t stop. Talent had been the thing that kept Vera moving forward, but for Arden it was desperation. And Arden was desperate now.

  “You refuse to heed the word of the hero. That makes you the villain of the world. You and your bloodline must be eradicated from the world before it can be saved. I have to prevent you from spreading your vile seed.

  Nux hovered his steel-toed boot above Arden’s crotch. Arden struggled even harder. He looked at Nux with hate in his eyes.

  “This is the way to prevent your bloodline from spreading. I refuse to let you die, though, because that’s what heroes do. They show mercy.”

  The hero’s foot came crashing down on Arden’s crotch and his world erupted in pain. The boot came down again and again, each time eliciting an animalistic growl of torment from the person deemed to be the villain. Arden’s teeth bit down hard enough on the leather scabbard that blood leaked from his mouth. His eyes were closed so that he wouldn't have to behold the horror of what was happening to his body, but tears leaked out regardless.

  Any time Arden used the Legacy Ability, he would suffer from an immense pain that felt like his soul was being thrown into a forge to be remade. It was something that he couldn’t accurately describe, like a conceptual pain. The pain right now was all physical, and all real. He felt every stomp resonate so deep inside of him that it felt like it affected his soul, despite being purely physical.

  And with no Legacy anymore, there was no way for him to heal, save for the potions. He wasn’t foolish enough to think that begging for mercy would end the ordeal. The potions didn't represent salvation, but a threat. Arden knew that Nux would heal him just to break him again.

  To the point that Arden would wish for his death.

  Arden felt his consciousness mercifully slipping away as the torture continued. Through the veil of tears running down his face, he glared at Nux. The only thing on his mind that wasn’t pain was the thought of Nux suffering instead.

  With that happy thought, Arden passed out.