The Absolute Chair
Omnipotence Is Not Freedom
Chapter 4 — The Voice That Stayed
Pain had no shape anymore.
Karl-Jay drifted in and out of awareness, his mind trapped in a place where time did not exist.
Every breath burned. Every thought felt like it was being torn apart and stitched back together with something wrong.
Blood surrounded him.
Endless. Thick. Warm.
From the crimson sea, it emerged.
The demon he had killed.
Its body was whole again, its single ruined eye restored.
It stood calmly in front of him, sword resting on its shoulder, that same unnatural smile carved into its face.
"You survived," it said softly.
Karl-Jay tried to move. His body did not respond.
"Don't look so surprised," the demon continued, circling him. "You drank my blood. Of course I stayed."
Karl-Jay screamed—but no sound came out.
The demon leaned close, its breath hot and foul.
"You will suffer," it whispered.
"Your friends will be gone. One by one."
Images flashed in Karl-Jay's mind—faces screaming, hands reaching out, bodies falling.
"When that day comes," the demon went on, "your heart will rot. Your eyes will empty. Kindness will burn away."
The demon smiled wider.
"What people will see… is not a man."
It pointed at Karl-Jay's chest.
"Only a void.
A thing that kills without mercy… just to reach the top."
Karl-Jay shook his head violently.
"No," he tried to say.
"I'm not like you."
The demon laughed.
"We'll see."
The blood rose.
And swallowed him whole.
Karl-Jay shot upright with a scream.
Black-red bile poured from his mouth as he collapsed onto the ground, retching violently. His vision spun, head splitting in agony.
Hands grabbed his shoulders.
"Easy!"
"Don't move!"
"He's awake!"
He looked up.
Six unfamiliar faces stared down at him—tired, wary, alive.
For a moment, Karl-Jay couldn't tell if they were real.
"I—" he coughed, wiping his mouth. "Where am I?"
"You're safe," said the man in front—the leader. "For now."
They introduced themselves quickly, efficiently.
Li Fang, the leader.
La Dang, the fighter.
Junior, the hard worker.
Siel, the lazy one.
Zuko, the funny one.
Sheila, the shy girl.
"We found you covered in blood," Li Fang explained. "Didn't know if you'd wake up."
Karl-Jay bowed his head despite the pain.
"…Thank you," he said quietly. "For not leaving me."
No one answered right away.
Eventually, Li Fang nodded.
"You can stay. But you pull your weight."
"I will," Karl-Jay said without hesitation.
He kept his word.
That day, Karl-Jay helped them set up their temporary hideout inside the remains of a half-collapsed building. He gathered wood in silence, ignoring the ache in his body. He helped raise tents, set traps along broken corridors, reinforced entrances.
No one asked about the scar on his chest.
No one asked about the dried black blood.
They didn't want to know.
That night, a small fire burned weakly.
Karl-Jay sat apart from the group, staring into the flames. Shadows danced across the walls like dying things.
There's no escape, he thought.
This nightmare wasn't ending. There was no waking up.
If he wanted to live—
if he wanted to climb—
Someone would have to die.
He clenched his fists.
His eyes glowed faintly red.
"…No matter what," he whispered.
Sleep took him.
He was sitting.
On a throne of blood.
His hands were stained. His clothes were soaked. His hair dripped crimson down his face.
Around him lay bodies—monsters, humans, things that were neither. Piled high, broken beyond recognition.
Behind him stood the demon.
But now, it was huge—towering, its form stretching into the crimson sky, its smile wide enough to swallow worlds.
It leaned down and whispered into Karl-Jay's ear:
"Suffering will always happen in life…
to achieve your goal."
Karl-Jay said nothing.
He stared forward, eyes empty.
End of Chapter 4