Chapter 118 Master and slave part 2 – Arianna

  Faith lay in Bryce’s arms, conscious but surprisingly silent for the amount of pain she had to be in. Bryce carried her out of the gym, signaling Arianna to follow with a short nod. Arianna needed to know what was going on, so she did as asked.

  Soon they were walking through those damned corridors again, the silent guards not reacting to the scene before them, as if this was normal, as if anything about this situation was acceptable.

  Finally, they reached a room, presumably Faith’s. Bryce laid her down on the bed, then began examining her wounds. He was careful, but it still had to hurt.

  “You shouldn’t anger him,” he said quietly. “He’ll only take it out on you. I hate seeing you hurt.”

  Faith whispered, “But it doesn’t hurt.”

  How could it not hurt?

  She had so many injuries, broken bones, bruises, torn skin, and yet she didn’t even flinch when Bryce used a firm grip on her left arm to align a broken bone. Sure, her body would heal quickly as an E-rank, but Bryce was an E-rank too, and his attacks had carried real force.

  Still, no reaction.

  Strange.

  Those two seemed far too used to this.

  And the sadness in Bryce’s eyes almost made Arianna cry.

  That was when she remembered that she wasn’t in any position to pity them.

  It was their fault she was here. She had been forced to act sweet to that disgusting pervert because of them. And yet, seeing Faith like this, she couldn’t bear it.

  She was stupid, wasn’t she?

  Cassis would call her na?ve, still caring about the person who had betrayed her. But she wouldn’t become a monster just because other people hurt her. She would be the person she chose to be.

  And if that meant helping Faith now, despite the betrayal, despite the anger still simmering inside her, then she would do it.

  “Faith,” Arianna said, steadying her voice. “Let me access my mana. I can heal you.”

  Faith’s eyes snapped up to hers, startled. Bryce stopped what he was doing and looked sharply at Arianna. Then he nodded.

  “A good idea,” he said simply.

  “I don’t know,” Faith murmured. “It could be dangerous.”

  Bryce looked at her. “But then you wouldn’t have to endure these injuries.”

  Faith smiled sadly. “You know it doesn’t hurt.”

  A brief flicker of pain crossed Bryce’s face.

  “Please,” he whispered.

  Faith closed her eyes. Defeated, she said, “Alright. Arianna, you may use your mana to heal and meditate.”

  Just like that, Arianna felt the familiar flow of her mana returning. Strength flooded her, steeling her determination to escape… and maybe, eventually, to make someone pay.

  But first things first.

  She stepped closer to the bed and healed Faith.

  Then she spun and rushed at Bryce.

  He didn’t even defend himself.

  She grabbed his jacket and shirt, yanking them aside to expose his neck.

  A dark laugh escaped her.

  “I can’t believe it,” she spat.

  Dan Bryce wore the exact same collar as she did.

  He hastily fixed his clothes, casting a worried glance at Faith. Arianna took a few steps back.

  “Are you kidding me?”

  He still cared for Faith so deeply, and if Arianna was reading this correctly, Faith had put him into a slave collar just like hers.

  Faith, now healed but still seated on the bed, stared at the floor, frozen.

  Was she ashamed at least?

  Before Arianna could ask, Bryce stepped in front of Faith, shielding her.

  “It’s not her fault,” he said firmly.

  Then he glanced around nervously again.

  Were there bugs? Cameras? Even in Faith’s own room?

  Well. Arianna could fix that now. She had a way to stop the eavesdropping.

  Even though Faith had only allowed her to use mana for healing or meditation, her inventory didn’t require active mana, just passive access.

  She pulled out the privacy sphere and activated it.

  “It’s alright,” she said. “No one can listen to us while we’re inside this dome.” And from the outside, the dome wouldn’t even be visible.

  Bryce looked at her, curious. She explained, “It’s an item my patron gave me.”

  He nodded, then sighed.

  “Alright. Then we owe you an explanation.”

  “Yes,” Arianna said coldly. “You do.”

  Bryce began, “We’re not doing this because we want to. Keith is blackmailing us, keeping us here against our will. Making us take you here.”

  Arianna had already guessed that much. Faith and Bryce were clearly victims from everything she had seen.

  “But that doesn’t excuse putting a slave collar on me,” Arianna said, turning to Faith.

  Faith finally spoke. “No. It doesn’t. I’m sorry. But it is what it is. My father wants you, and what he wants, he gets. No matter the cost.”

  She sounded so sure, so final. Somehow Arianna understood. Keith was terrifying. Faith had grown up under him. For her, he had to be a giant who held all the power.

  Still—

  “Why did you betray me?” Arianna asked quietly. “If you had told me, I could have helped you.”

  Faith winced. She touched Bryce’s arm, making him step aside, then looked directly at Arianna.

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  “I couldn’t risk it. Not back then.”

  Arianna closed her eyes.

  Then she opened them again, determined.

  “Then risk it now. We can still escape. If we get Cassis and our team, we can fight him.” Arianna knew that Cassis would burn everything down to fight Keith. And she had seen what kind of devastation he could unleash in the other timeline.

  Back then, only his own life had been in danger. Now, it would be even worse. Because, even though it felt presumptuous and wrong, Arianna knew he valued her even more than his own life. He’d do anything for her, and secretly she loved that about him.

  She had been afraid she would become a bad person if he really did something drastic because of her. But now, now she wanted him to destroy this villa, this prison, built by a monster in human skin.

  Faith froze. She bit down on her lower lip until blood welled.

  Arianna looked at Bryce. He shook his head slowly.

  “We can’t.”

  “Why?” Arianna asked desperately.

  Faith whispered a single word.

  “Shari.”

  Arianna understood immediately.

  Keith was using Shari to control Faith. She was leverage. Arianna realized she’d never seen Shari alone with Faith. She was either with her father or with a guard. The young girl was guarded, watched, kept close. Through Shari, he controlled Faith. Through Faith, he controlled Bryce, and now her.

  Arianna sat meditating in her own room. She hadn’t been able to convince Faith to run away, but she was fairly certain Bryce was considering it. She would give them a little more time. Until then, she would become as strong as possible, and that meant raising her mana saturation.

  After some time, she took a break, feeling steadier now. Finally, it was time to contact Cassis.

  Her phone was full of messages from him, but before she’d left, Faith had ordered her not to text or call him. Fine. She would follow that order to the letter. Instead, she would use the system to speak mind to mind with him.

  She accessed the patron interface and paid 1000 CP to initiate contact. A window opened, informing her that the channel would remain open for five minutes. If she needed more time, she would have to pay another 1000 CP.

  Was this why patrons usually didn’t contact their avatars? If she remembered the guide from the patron chat forum correctly, it didn’t cost points to contact an avatar during battle, a dungeon, or a wave. That meant Cassis was safe right now.

  She didn’t know how to start the conversation, so she simply blurted out mentally, “Cassis!”

  Immediately, she felt his presence, even though they couldn’t see each other.

  “Arianna!” Okay, that was a bit loud. “I’m here. I’m alright,” she said. He frantically asked. “Are you really okay? What’s going on? Where are you?”

  Arianna couldn’t answer much. Faith’s orders prevented her from telling him anything.

  “I can’t tell you,” she said honestly. That would only make him more suspicious that something was wrong.

  “I love you.”

  “I know. I love you too,” Cassis replied. Then, more calmly, he added, “I know something bad must have happened. Is it what I feared before?”

  Arianna choked on the pain and couldn’t answer. Cassis, probably alarmed by her silence, spoke again. “Don’t say anything. I understand.”

  The pain stopped the moment Arianna gave up the desire to tell him the truth. Even though she tried to hide it, her voice trembled. “I’m still alright. I’m not hurt or anything.”

  Cassis vehemently disagreed. “You don’t sound alright. But I’ll get to you soon. Do you know where you are?”

  Arianna tested the waters, and sure enough, blinding pain kept her from speaking. It was probably because this counted as an escape attempt.

  “Don’t try to do anything reckless,” Cassis said. “We’ve already tracked you down to a suburb with a lot of villas. Now we just need the specific place, but something is blocking Joseph’s hunting skill.” Then, more reassuringly, he added, “We’ll figure it out.”

  His voice turned worried again. “Can you wait a few more days? The security on some of these villas is extreme, but we’re doing our best.”

  Arianna tried to keep the sniffles inside, but they bubbled up anyway. “Thank you.”

  He believed in her. He was looking for her.

  Then she realised her time was almost up. “I’ll be waiting,” she said, just before the channel closed.

  She almost paid the CP just to hear his voice again. The loss of his presence was devastating. But she needed to keep what little CP she had for emergencies. She couldn’t afford to be stupid right now, no matter how much it hurt not to have him by her side.

  Instead, she let herself fall back into her mana flow, allowing the waves, the tide, the spirals and whirlpools to soothe her. When she became aware of her surroundings again, she felt steadier.

  Cassis had said they were already looking for her. He was even in the right neighbourhood, at least, she thought so. How many villa-filled neighbourhoods were there around Vallendale?

  A knock pulled her from her thoughts.

  She went to answer the door and almost froze. Keith stood there, his charming smile firmly back in place.

  “Good afternoon, Arianna,” he said. “I’ve come to take you to the lab.”

  Arianna steeled herself inwardly. She didn’t want to go with Keith, but she knew she had no choice. At least this way, she could preserve a fragment of her own agency. And maybe, if she went voluntarily, he would reveal more.

  Because even if she were saved, if Keith escaped, or if the knowledge behind the slave collars spread, this kind of disaster would simply happen again. She couldn’t allow that.

  Just a few more days, Cassis had said.

  Until then, she would gather as much information as possible, keeping Keith satisfied with the illusion of slow progress in whatever twisted relationship he thought they were building. She shuddered at the thought. But he wanted her willing, or at least the appearance of it. He was taking his time, using violence only to frighten her into compliance.

  So she would play along.

  She nodded and stepped out of her room. Keith’s grin widened in satisfaction. Arianna had the sudden, visceral urge to wipe that smile off his face, but she swallowed it down.

  Then he turned and began walking.

  They headed deeper into the villa, descending toward the basement. The further they went, the more guards appeared, standing rigidly at attention. Finally, they stopped before a reinforced door guarded by four armed men. A biometric scanner glowed faintly beside it. Keith pressed his hand against the panel.

  The door slid open.

  Arianna stepped into a vast underground laboratory.

  It was sleek and unnervingly modern with rows of humming computers, floating holodeck displays, glass tubes filled with softly glowing liquids, and delicate instruments she didn’t even recognise. The ceiling was high, the open floor plan broken only by workstations and suspended light panels. Everything smelled faintly sterile, metallic, wrong.

  At the very centre of the lab stood a raised pedestal.

  On it lay a black slave collar.

  Keith walked toward it as if approaching an altar. His voice dropped, reverent. “This is the original. A true marvel. It’s really a wonder how someone managed to invent such a treasure.”

  Cold shivers ran down Arianna’s spine.

  For her, that collar was an abomination, something that should never have existed. For him, it was a treasure.

  The scientists in lab coats barely glanced up from their tablets and monitors, except for one man who stepped closer. He looked around Arianna’s age, wore glasses, and had an unassuming face that might have seemed harmless under different circumstances.

  “Mr. Morgan,” he said eagerly, “thank you for gracing us with your presence.”

  Arianna rolled her eyes inwardly. Could they be any more sycophantic?

  Keith smiled, clearly pleased, then gestured toward her. “This is Ms. Sloane. She will be joining you in analysing this artifact and in mass-producing it.”

  Like hell I will.

  Arianna kept her smile firmly in place. If she had to study this thing, she would do so to learn how to destroy it.

  The researcher’s face lit up. “Ms. Sloane! I’ve followed your online lessons extensively. My mana techniques improved dramatically thanks to your teachings. We’re truly honoured to have you with us.”

  Her stomach dropped.

  Her and Cassis’s lessons, meant to help people, had helped this. Cassis had warned her. He’d said they didn’t know who they were teaching. She had believed the good outweighed the risk.

  And she still did. Innocent people had benefited too. She couldn’t rewrite that belief now.

  She forced a polite nod.

  “My name is Luis Tanner,” the man continued. “I’m the head researcher here.” Then he glanced nervously at Keith. “Mr. Morgan, do you think Ms. Sloane could begin by analysing the artifact directly? I’d prefer to hear her impressions before she reads our notes, without our conclusions influencing her judgment.”

  Keith nodded indulgently. “An excellent idea. Arianna, dear, do as he asks.”

  She nearly gagged.

  The way they spoke about her, as if she were a trained animal performing on command, made her skin crawl. Even if Luis didn’t intend it, Keith certainly did. This was about control.

  She really needed to beat the hell out of that sick excuse of a person. But since she couldn’t violate the direct order of not hurting anyone, she complied.

  Arianna stepped closer to the pedestal and reached out.

  The moment her fingers touched the collar, revulsion surged through her. This thing was truly evil. Objects rarely carried moral weight so clearly, but the mana dwelling inside it was wrong in a way that made her chest tighten. Sweet, cloying, invasive, like rot disguised as perfume.

  She recoiled instantly.

  Luis stared at her, startled. “What’s wrong?”

  What’s wrong?

  Hadn’t he felt it? The nausea, the creeping dread, the instinctive urge to flee?

  She swallowed her anger. Closing her eyes, she reached out again, this time prepared. An invisible mana barrier formed around her insides, sealing her own mana stream off from the outside world.

  Nothing would get in.

  Carefully, she pushed a thread of neutral, non-elemental mana into the collar.

  The response was immediate.

  The foreign mana snapped at hers like fangs, sending sharp pain through her senses. She bit down hard on a cry and forced herself to continue. She needed to understand its structure, its logic, its anchors.

  Her own collar was sealed to her, inaccessible, blocked by layered safeguards. But this one was still open, exposed.

  Inside, it felt like wading through a sewer.

  The mana was dense, layered, twisted in ways that made her skin crawl. She mapped it slowly, deliberately, committing every sensation to memory, even as the corruption pressed against her defences.

  She would learn this thing.

  And one day, she would end it.