Will coughed violently as his lungs struggled to pull in air. His body jerked forward as he retched, and thick, painful coughs tore out of his chest one after another.
His throat burned, his ribs ached, and his head felt heavy as if it had been struck repeatedly. Every breath felt shallow, and his vision swam as pressure pounded behind his eyes.
"Hrr-ack… cough… cough!"
His hands pressed against the cold stone floor as he tried to steady himself. Just before losing consciousness earlier, he had felt as if his entire body had been dragged under a raging ocean.
There had been no direction to the pain, only overwhelming pressure that crushed everything at once.
After that, his memories became fragmented. He remembered screaming, remembered his body tearing apart and reforming, and remembered a sensation that was far worse than dying.
He forced himself to sit up, groggy and disoriented, and looked around the chamber.
Nothing had changed.
The massive black chains were still embedded into the floor and walls, emitting nether energy. The chamber remained silent. At the center, Tamasya was still kneeling in the same position, restrained exactly as before.
Except now, she was looking directly at him.
Her pitch-black pupils were focused on his face without blinking. There was no hostility in her expression like before. It was an intense, curious gaze, as if she were examining a strange object rather than a living person.
A bead of sweat formed on Will's forehead.
"She is a crazy bitch, isn't she?" he muttered under his breath.
[For once, I agree, host. You can never be more right. She is a Bitch! One hell of a Bitch!!]
Will swallowed and slowly pushed himself fully upright. His body felt sore, but it was functional. He flexed his fingers, then his legs, confirming that nothing was broken.
"What happened to me?" he asked, keeping his voice steady as he looked at her. "You attacked me."
Tamasya tilted her head slightly and showed an oddly innocent expression
"I crushed you," she said plainly. "But then you came back to life."
His eyes twitched.
"You almost killed me," he replied flatly. "And before you say anything, you are supposed to be sealed here right? how did you even crush me?"
"I did not crush you with my own power," she said without hesitation. "I told the darkness in this chamber to do it."
Will frowned deeply. "What does that even mean?" he asked. "You just told the darkness to do something? Are you messing with me because I am weaker than you?"
"I am not lying," Tamasya replied. "These are laws that exist beyond your current comprehension."
She paused briefly, then continued, "I will teach you about laws when you are ready."
Will stared at her for a moment.
[She said she will teach you. This bitch nearly turned you into toothpaste, and now she wants to be your teacher.]
Will ignored the system and focused on her.
"You almost murdered me!!" he said slowly. "And now you are saying you will be teaching me stuff?"
She looked at him calmly, her lips curving slightly.
"You are breathing here because I allow it," she replied. "And I allowed it for only one reason. I have accepted your offer."
"Offer?" Will repeated. "What if I refuse to free you now? What if I decide to leave instead?"
[Host, do not provoke this bitch. If you die, I die too. At least value my life if not your own.]
Tamasya's expression did not change. Her tone remained even.
"It does not matter," she said. "You will still become my disciple."
Will clenched his jaw. "And if I say no?"
"If you step outside this place," she replied, "you will find your self inside again, the darkness here obeys me"
Will stared at her in disbelief.
"So this is blackmail" he said.
"never heard that word"
Will exhaled slowly and leaned back, sitting down on the cold floor beside her. His shoulders slumped slightly as the weight of the situation settled in.
He felt trapped in a way he had not felt in a long time.
She was stubborn, powerful, and completely unapologetic. Yet despite everything, he could sense that her gaze toward him had changed. It was no longer purely cold or hostile. There was something else beneath it.
"Maybe she feels guilty for turning me into paste," Will thought.
He sat there in silence for several minutes, thinking carefully.
His thoughts drifted from Tamasya to the situation he was in, and then to the simple fact that he had no one to consult on this matter. No ally. No mentor. No one he trusted enough to ask for guidance.
As soon as that thought surfaced, the system spoke up enthusiastically.
[If you need advice, you can always rely on me]
[Call me Senpai!!! (⌐■_■)]
"eat shit" Will muttered.
His thoughts continued drifting, and without warning, memories from his previous life surfaced.
The image of his father appeared in his mind. His father had been a hardworking man, always busy, always exhausted.
They had clashed often, mostly due to their stubborn personalities. There had been very few moments where they spoke as father and son rather than two male egos clashing.
One of those rare moments came back to him clearly.
"If it aligns with what you strive for," his father had said, "make it yours."
Will's breathing slowed as the rare memory settled in, he wished for more of such candid moments, but unfortunately they were cursed.
they suffered from the curse of being weak.
His father had been torn apart by a monster. His family had suffered. Everything had been taken from him. Those moments, small and ordinary, had been stolen forever.
The pain he had buried resurfaced. He realized that as he had grown in this world, he had been slowly eroding his original self. The self that strived for revenge.
The self that had watched his brother's heart be ripped out and placed in his hands for the entertainment of a demon.
[Host, calm down.]
A sudden surge of heat flared beside him.
Will snapped back to reality as he noticed a dark tree root near him had ignited, Stellar fire spread across its surface. The flames burned intensely for a brief moment before he forcefully suppressed them.
His control over the flames was bad, his emotional state had triggered it.
"Th..that!! fire!!"
He turned his head sharply.
Tamasya had said, her voice was not calm. There was shock in her eyes.
Will followed her gaze and looked at his own hand. Residual golden heat still shimmered faintly around his fingers.
Her eyes narrowed slightly as she examined him again, this time with far more intensity than before.
"That fire does not belong here" she said slowly.
Will frowned. "You mean the stellar fire?"
"Yes," she replied. "That is not ordinary fire. It contains certain authorities and laws and maybe even something deeper beyond my understanding"
She fell silent for a moment, then spoke again, her voice was slightly lower.
"A mortal body should not survive holding that kind of flame, you must have a special physique"
Will looked down at his hands, then back at her.
"I survived you too," he said quietly clearly conveying that he had his share of secrets.
The chamber fell into silence once more.
"I intend to use this fire to break these chains"