31 days, 3 hours, 45 minutes, and 21 seconds.
That's how long I'd been here.
My enhanced cognition kept perfect time. Even when everything else failed, even when I couldn't remember if it was day or night, my mind counted every single second.
1,903,225 seconds and counting.
I thought it would be limited to me being trapped. Left to starve and freeze to death in isolation.
I was wrong.
A week after my imprisonment, Loki started visiting.
At first, it was just verbal. Taunts. Mockery. Reminders that I was powerless. That the women I loved were safe while I rotted in this cell.
Then he got bored with words.
The first time he hurt me, I screamed.
I'm not proud of that. But I was human. Completely, utterly human. And pain without power to dull it, without cultivation to help endure it, was... overwhelming.
He'd laughed. That same mocking laugh that echoed off the black ice walls.
"The mighty Leon Mishima," he'd said. "Reduced to screaming like a child."
Then he'd done it again.
And again.
And again.
I learned quickly that screaming only encouraged him. That begging made it worse. That showing any reaction at all extended the sessions.
So I stopped reacting.
That's when I discovered what my enhanced cognition could really do.
I could detach. Separate my sense of self from my physical body. Not completely—I still felt everything. But I could observe it from a distance. Like watching someone else suffer.
Clinical. Analytical. Removed.
Pain became data. Torture became information to process and catalog.
It was the only way to stay sane.
I'd thought I was brave. That I'd become confident and strong since arriving in this world.
I'd thought I'd left that scared, ordinary human from Earth behind.
But sitting here in this cell, powerless and broken, I realized the truth.
I didn't know if I was brave at all.
Was I ever brave? Or was I just powerful?
Maybe I'd just been hiding behind my power. Using my strength as a shield against fear.
All those times I faced danger head-on... was it courage or just arrogance? Knowing I had the power to overcome anything?
Now, stripped of everything, I felt weak. Small. Terrified.
Just like I'd been when I first arrived in this world.
That scared kid who didn't know anything. Who stumbled through every interaction. Who was terrified of dying.
I'm still him.
The realization was almost worse than the torture.
Loki visited every few days. Sometimes more frequently. Sometimes he'd skip a week just to let me hope he was done.
He wasn't.
Hope is just another tool for him. Another way to hurt me.
The only constant was Hel.
She brought water. Sometimes food. A blanket when I was on the verge of hypothermia.
Never enough to be comfortable. Just enough to keep me alive.
"Still sane huh?" she'd asked during her last visit.
I didn't answer. Couldn't. My throat was too dry, and I'd learned that conserving energy was crucial.
She'd tilted her head. Half her face curious, half decayed and expressionless.
"My father thinks you'll break soon," she'd said. "Start begging. Pleading for mercy."
I'd just stared at her.
Never. I'll die first.
"But I don't think so." She'd set down a cup of water. "You've detached, haven't you? Separated yourself from your body. Clever."
She'd crouched down in front of me. "But even that has limits. Eventually, your mind will fracture. The detachment will become permanent. You'll lose yourself."
Maybe that would be better. To just... drift away. Become nothing.
No. Can't think like that.
Too many people were waiting for me.
Then she snapped her fingers.
I forced my head up. It took more effort than it should have.
There in front of me was a mirror. No, not a mirror. It was some kind of scrying device.
"I thought you might want to see them," she said softly.
My throat was too dry to speak. I just stared at her.
She waved her hand. The device activated.
An image appeared in the air. Clear as day.
Koneko. My heart clenched as I saw her training with Kuroka in my backyard.
They looked... happy.
Finally, they were on speaking terms. Though it was because of me being kidnapped, I was still glad.
Then I saw what they were training for.
Senjutsu.
She was using Senjutsu.
My chest tightened. Not from despair but from pride.
She was facing her fears. The power she'd been terrified of for years.
For me.
The image shifted.
It was Rossweisse. But there was something different about her.
The Virgo Hektos.
A golden light pulsed beneath her skin, barely visible but unmistakably there. The zodiac piece had bonded with her.
I felt relief wash over me. She'd actually done it. Bonded with the zodiac piece I'd created for her.
Thank god EVE delivered it.
I hadn't been able to give it to her personally. Too much had happened in the past few weeks.... there just hadn't been time.
But EVE had come through. Just like I'd asked her to.
Not even gods like Loki can touch her now.
The Virgo Hektos wasn't just any zodiac piece. It was specifically crafted for Rossweisse, attuned to her Valkyrie nature and magical affinities. With it bonded to her, she had protections that even divine beings would struggle to overcome.
Knowing she could protect herself now was enough for me. Even if I died here, even if I never made it back, she would be safe.
That's all that matters.
The image shifted again.
My heart stopped.
Sona.
She was in the student council room at Kuoh Academy, alone. Sitting at her desk, staring at nothing. While piles of paperwork are on her table.
No... Sona...
Guilt twisted in my chest, but I pushed it down. I hadn't had time for Sona these past few weeks. Hell, we hadn't even gone on that trip I'd promised her. But this was the price of my choices. I'd known that from the start. Every decision I'd made, every sacrifice, every calculated risk—they all led here. And I'd do it again if I had to.
Does she know? About my situation?
"Yes."
She was in the student council room at Kuoh Academy, alone. Sitting at her desk, staring at nothing while piles of paperwork littered her table.
No... Sona...
Guilt twisted in my chest, but I pushed it down. I hadn't had time for Sona these past few weeks. Hell, we hadn't even gone on that trip I'd promised her. But this was the price of my choices. I'd known that from the start. Every decision I'd made, every sacrifice, every calculated risk—they all led here. And I'd do it again if I had to.
Does she know? About my situation?
"Yes."
The word cut through my thoughts like a blade.
I turned my attention back to Hel, meeting her gaze without flinching. Of course she can read my mind.
"Yes, she knows," Hel confirmed.
The image of Sona remained frozen before me. Just sitting there. Staring.
I felt the weight of it, the gravity of what I'd set in motion. But I didn't regret it. Regret was a luxury I couldn't afford. I'd made my choice with full awareness of the consequences. That was what it meant to commit.
"She knows you're here," Hel continued, her tone measured. "She knows what happened to you. And she blames herself."
"That's not—" My voice cracked, betraying the exhaustion I'd been fighting to suppress. I swallowed hard and forced steel back into my words. "That's not her fault."
It's mine. Every bit of it. I walked into this with my eyes open. I bound myself with oaths I knew I couldn't break. I put myself here because it was the only way to keep them safe. That was the calculation. That was the trade.
"If you're trying to make me regret saving them," I said, my voice steady despite the exhaustion pulling at every word, "you're wasting your time."
Hel's expression didn't change, but something flickered in her eyes. Interest, maybe. Or approval.
"You don't regret it," she said. It wasn't a question.
"No." I met her gaze directly, unflinching. "I'd do it again."
Hel remained silent for a long moment, her pale eyes fixed on me with an intensity that made my skin crawl.
I held her gaze, refusing to look away despite every instinct screaming at me to break eye contact. Whatever she was looking for, whatever reaction she wanted, I wouldn't give it to her.
The silence stretched between us, heavy and suffocating.
Finally, Hel moved.
She stood slowly and simply turned and walked toward the edge of the cell.
The image of Sona dissolved into nothing as Hel reached the doorway. The oppressive weight in the air lifted slightly, though the cold remained. I watched her silhouette disappear into the darkness beyond.
Then I was alone again.
Just me, the chains, and the endless cold of Helheim.
I let out a slow breath, my body sagging against the restraints. My mind was already working, analyzing what had just happened. What had Hel wanted? Why show me those images? Why ask those questions?
I didn't have an answer. Not yet.
But I would figure it out. I always did.
For now, all I could do was endure. Keep breathing. Keep thinking. Keep waiting for the moment when I could finally manifest Rule Breaker and break these chains.
Sona's face flashed through my mind again.
I'm sorry, Sona.
The cold pressed in closer, and I closed my eyes.
Just a little longer.
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