The author narrates.
Vikram's body continued to tremble, pleasuring itself without touching itself, without understanding.
But Bi did understand.
She knew exactly what was coursing through him.
She knew what was unraveling him.
It was then that Drelm returned.
He emerged from the shadows of the back hallway, his imposing silhouette, his pyramidal mask gleaming with a faint reflection of the bar's neon light.
Seeing Vikram, he wasn't surprised.
He simply glanced at him, observed him for a few seconds, and then brought a hand to the tip of his mask.
A gesture that, for him, was the closest thing to a sigh.
Drelm: Are you enjoying what you see now?
Bi didn't answer immediately.
She continued watching Vikram, who was now gently writhing on the counter, his cheeks flushed and his lips slightly parted.
He was moaning.
Not loudly.
But enough to fill the silence.
Then Bi turned his face toward Drelm, his smile unwavering.
Bi: Well, yes... -he nodded, with that playful, cruel smile of his.- I need this human to get a little more aroused.
Then he'll sleep.
And then... he'll dream what I have planned for him.
Drelm said nothing. He didn't need to.
He had known Bi for years.
He knew that his plans weren't explained: they were carried out.
He looked back at Vikram.
The boy was redder than before.
And suddenly, a sharper moan escaped him, like a thread of a voice he couldn't hold back.
Drelm frowned.
Drelm: Take him out of here -he said, his voice low but firm.- He might scare away my customers.
He leaned over the counter and cupped Vikram's face in his hands.
Her fingers, cold and firm, squeezed with a mixture of care and disdain.
Bi didn't move.
She just watched.
Amused.
Bi: It seems what you gave her is starting to work, she murmured, barely suppressing a laugh.
Drelm didn't reply.
But his discomfort was obvious.
And that, for Bi, was a spectacle in itself.
Vikram, in the midst of his delirium, smiled.
His eyes glazed, his voice trailing with pleasure.
Vikram: You look... pretty.
Drelm looked at him.
And squeezed his head a little harder.
But he stopped when Bi raised her voice, with a mixture of annoyance and disappointment.
Bi: Pretty?!
She stood up abruptly.
She pushed Drelm's hand away with a curt gesture and leaned over Vikram.
She took his head firmly in her hand, forcing him to look at her.
Her eyes scrutinized him.
Not tenderly.
Judgingly.
Vikram could barely hold her gaze.
Everything was blurry.
Everything sounded distant.
But the heat was still there, throbbing inside him, as if his body were being caressed from within by an invisible presence.
He didn't understand anything.
But he liked it.
And that scared him.
Bi let go with a frustrated sigh.
Bi: I shouldn't have said "pretty"... -she muttered, annoyed-. I should have said something like... "What a handsome man... I want to fuck this man"... or something like that.
Drelm crossed his arms, unmoved.
Drelm: Maybe he still thinks about girls.
He has his more... traditional preferences.
Bi clicked her tongue.
She didn't like to lose.
And although she had managed to arouse him, she hadn't managed to completely change his desire.
Not entirely.
And that... irritated her.
But she wouldn't give up. Not yet.
Bi turned around, crossing her arms thoughtfully.
Her eyes narrowed, her mind racing.
She didn't want Vikram to stop desiring women.
That didn't interest her.
What she wanted was more perverse, more specific: for him to ask to be pleased by a man.
Of his own free will.
Without pressure.
Without coercion.
Only desire.
Bi: That way he won't be able to sleep with the fourth Executioner... - she whispered, bringing two fingers to her lips, lost in thought.
But no matter how much she searched through her resources, her tricks, her traps... she couldn't find the next step.
She sighed in annoyance and looked back at Vikram.
Bi: Bring me some water... and a little avocado.
Drelm let out a long sigh, shaking his head.
But he obeyed.
He turned and disappeared into the shadows of the hallway.
Bi sat back down, her eyes never leaving Vikram.
He continued to move clumsily, as if his body were being caressed by invisible hands.
He moaned.
He gasped.
He touched his chest, his neck, his thighs.
And although Bi enjoyed seeing him like this, something irritated her: he kept thinking about girls.
•⊰[🍻]⊱•
A couple of minutes later, Drelm returned.
He carried a glass of water and a plate of sliced avocado.
He placed them on the counter with a gesture of annoyance.
He didn't like what he saw.
Vikram's behavior provoked a mixture of disgust and pity in him.
Bi, without wasting any time, began to pour the avocado slices into the glass.
The water clouded.
The avocado dissolved slowly, as it should.
A smooth, natural mixture, but with a clear purpose: to wake Vikram.
When he finished, he placed the glass in front of him.
Vikram's head was resting on the counter.
He was smiling.
He was moaning.
He was caressing his body as if he were dreaming of someone else.
As if he weren't there.
Bi frowned.
It wasn't funny anymore.
Without hesitation, he took Vikram's head in his hand.
Firmly. With her other hand, she raised the glass and brought it to her mouth.
Vikram squirmed.
He gasped heavily.
He tried to pull away, but his body wouldn't fully respond.
Even so, something inside him began to swallow.
As if his body understood what his mind still didn't.
Drelm watched in silence.
He didn't want to be there anymore.
He just wanted it all to end.
Vikram spat out some of the liquid, trying to resist.
But Bi held him tighter.
Bi: Drink it all. Don't waste it.
He didn't understand.
He didn't hear.
But his body obeyed.
And after a few seconds, his resistance crumbled.
He closed his eyes.
He let out one last moan, softer, almost sweet.
And then, his body leaned forward, resting on the counter.
His arms crossed like a pillow. His breathing was slow. Deep. Asleep.
Bi released him with a sigh.
Bi: There. That'll wear off the effect... and he'll regain consciousness.
But her voice sounded annoyed.
Not because of the effort.
But because of the result.
It hadn't been enough.
Not yet.
She leaned over Vikram's sleeping body.
She gently tapped his cheek.
Bi: Vikram...
Nothing.
She moved him slightly, trying to sit him up.
Bi: Vikram, wake up.
But he didn't react.
His breathing was slow and deep.
Lost in a sleep that seemed endless.
Bi watched him for a few more seconds.
Then she straightened up, crossed her arms, and remained silent, thinking.
Vikram's body was a blank canvas.
And she still hadn't decided what to paint on it.
•⊰[🍻]⊱•
Across the bar, Drelm prepared a drink with sharp, almost violent movements.
The ice clattered against the glass with an annoying rhythm.
Not because of the drink itself.
But because of the voice that accompanied it.
A soul: You look so sexy with that body... -said the soul, a slender figure with painted lips and eyes full of desire-. So strong. So beautiful to behold.
Drelm didn't answer.
He didn't look up.
He just kept pouring the liquor with mechanical precision.
A soul: Want to sleep with me, big guy? -continued the soul, leaning brazenly against the bar-. I can pay you... and please you in the best way.
The atmosphere around them grew tense.
As if the air itself had sensed that something was out of place.
Drelm finished the drink.
He placed it in front of the customer with a sharp thud.
And then, he leaned forward.
The dim, reddish light of the bar reflected off the edges of his pyramidal mask.
The customer swallowed.
His smile crumbled.
The game was over.
Only a crushing presence.
Drelm: When you finish your drink, -Drelm said, his voice low, deep, emotionless-, I want you to leave the bar.
It wasn't a threat.
It was a sentence.
The customer nodded immediately.
Several times.
He took the drink with trembling hands and walked away quickly, without looking back.
Drelm remained silent for a moment.
As if he needed to expel the disgust from his body.
As if every word spoken had left a bitter taste.
He sighed.
And returned to Bi.
Drelm: Everything alright?
He turned his head toward Vikram.
The boy was still asleep.
Calm.
Too calm.
Bi didn't respond immediately.
She continued staring at the ceiling, leaning back in her chair, as if searching for answers in the shadows.
Bi: He can't wake up yet, she said finally, without looking at him. He fell into a deep sleep.
Third-degree effects... when you try to undo what's already happened.
Drelm didn't ask any more questions.
He didn't want to know.
And Bi...
kept thinking.
Vikram's body was fertile ground.
And the night wasn't over yet.
- ⊰[🍻]⊱ -
A while passed.
Bi kept waiting for Vikram to wake up.
But he didn't.
His breathing was slow, deep.
Sleep had completely engulfed him.
It wasn't rest.
It was confinement.
Drelm approached with long tweezers, the kind he used to manipulate cursed objects without touching them.
He raised them listlessly and used them to gently push Vikram's head to one side.
The body didn't react.
Drelm: This human doesn't seem like the type of person who would sleep with others, he said, in a neutral tone. He looks very masculine. A rough type. His exterior is the same on the inside.
Bi smiled.
A slow, satisfied smile.
Bi: You see, you do understand.
And yes... Vikram doesn't seem like a man who would sleep with another man.
And that makes him all the more interesting.
He leaned forward slightly, observing Vikram's sleeping face.
Bi: His bad-boy image will suit his changing desires.
I want him to experience things he's not attracted to.
I want him to let himself be pleased... by others.
Drelm grimaced beneath his mask.
He let out a short sigh.
Drelm: Okay. I understand your point. I don't need details.
He set the tweezers aside with a soft metallic click and crossed his arms.
Bi looked away.
His eyes scanned the bar.
Table by table.
Soul by soul.
Searching for a spark.
An idea.
And then he stopped.
A table at the far end.
A solitary figure played with shards of glass on the surface.
He slid them, arranged them, broke them.
One of them, cube-shaped, was crushed hard. The soul's hands opened in blood.
But it didn't scream.
A witch approached.
Bi recognized her immediately.
She was in charge of that soul.
Its judgment, its punishment, its redemption.
The witch gestured with her hands, annoyed.
The soul watched her intently, like a confused child.
It nodded.
And then the witch bent down, took out some bandages, and began to cover its bloodied hands.
Now she seemed concerned.
Almost... maternal.
Bi let out a short laugh.
It didn't understand this concern.
It didn't understand why anyone would worry about a soul that didn't understand its own judgment.
And that, deep down, seemed amusing.
Tenderly absurd.
But it didn't find what it was looking for.
Not yet.
She kept staring at the ceiling.
Vikram wasn't waking up.
And her mind, for the first time in a long time, couldn't find the next step.
She sighed.
She sat up slowly and snapped her fingers.
Bi: Drelm... get me something strong.
He didn't answer. He just nodded slightly and went to the bar.
His steps were heavy, but precise. As if each one measured the exact distance between duty and annoyance.
Bi sat cross-legged, her fingers drumming on the arm of the chair.
Her eyes continued to scan the bar, but they weren't looking for anything in particular anymore.
They were just letting themselves be carried away.
Drelm returned with a dark glass. He placed it in front of her without ceremony.
Drelm: It's not the strongest I have, he said, but it's the least bothersome thing to serve.
Bi smiled. She took the glass and swirled it between her fingers, watching the liquid catch the light.
Bi: Always so kind?
Drelm: Only when I'm asked politely.
She took a sip.
The drink was bitter, with a hint of ash.
Perfect.
Bi: Do you know what bothers me most about this place? - she said, without looking at him.
Drelm didn't answer.
But he stood there, listening.
Bi: That everyone thinks they're here to find something.
Redemption, punishment, pleasure, meaning...
And they don't understand that this place gives nothing. It only reflects.
Drelm leaned against the wall, crossing his arms.
Drelm: And what do you think you're doing here?
Bi looked at him.
Her eyes shone with a spark that wasn't quite human.
Bi: I am the laughing mirror.
Drelm let out a dry laugh.
Almost a snort.
Drelm: Always so poetic.
Bi: And you're always so boring.
Drelm: And you're always so obsessed with those who don't want you.
Bi raised an eyebrow.
But didn't reply.
Just took another sip.
The silence returned.
Comfortable.
Tense.
Familiar.
Vikram was still asleep.
The bar was still breathing.
And Bi...
was still thinking.
๑⊰[🍻]⊱๑;
Another stretch of the night passed.
Bi had ordered more drinks.
The alcohol didn't completely intoxicate her, but it did loosen her thoughts, as if each sip cleared another corner of the mental labyrinth she was trapped in.
Her cheeks were flushed.
Not from embarrassment.
But from warmth.
That warmth that rises when the mind begins to boil.
Drelm noticed it from the other side of the counter.
He approached, still holding the rag.
Drelm: You should stop drinking, he said bluntly. You're going to get drunk.
Bi shook her head, not looking at him.
Bi: Drinking helps me think.
Drelm already knew that.
But that didn't mean he liked it. He detested drunks at the table. Even if they were gods.
Bi nodded to herself, as if she had just won an argument no one else was having.
She raised the glass to her lips and downed it in one gulp.
The liquid went down like fire.
And she let out a long sigh, slumping against the counter.
Her eyes locked on Vikram.
Asleep.
Move.
Perfect.
The background music was slow, almost fluid.
The bar was nearly empty.
The souls had dispersed, as if the night had nothing more to offer them.
And then... it happened.
An idea.
Not just any idea.
A bullet.
A spark.
A mental shot that pierced the battlefield of her mind and hit its mark.
Bi sat bolt upright.
She didn't take her eyes off Vikram.
And she smiled.
Too much.
Drelm, who at that moment was wiping the counter with automatic movements, stopped.
He raised an eyebrow from under his mask.
Not out of concern.
But out of suspicion.
Drelm: Is something wrong?
Not that he cared.
But he asked anyway.
Bi whispered, like someone keeping a secret between their teeth:
Bi: I've got it...
Drelm: What?
She turned to him.
Her eyes were shining.
The smile was still on her lips.
Bi: Do you still have those body arousal pills?
Drelm blinked.
He didn't quite understand.
But he knew that tone.
And he knew it wasn't worth arguing.
He nodded.
Bi: Bring me a few, Bi said. I need them for Vikram.
Drelm left the rag on the counter.
Speechless.
And walked to the back.
Bi approached the sleeping body.
She crouched down to his level.
And she stroked his hair with a tenderness that wasn't hers.
Bi: Relax, Vikram... What's coming for you... will please you greatly.
And she smiled.
Not like a lover.
But like an architect.
One who had finally found the perfect blueprint to construct her perversion.
___________________________________
.░▒▓█Episode completed█▓▒░.
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💤[-☘️-];