Quest for the Eighty-Eight Keys

Chapter Forty: This is Your Last Chance!

WARNING: TORTURE AND DEATH THREATS!

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Nyx yelped when Terra's hand met with his cheek in a hard slap. His own hand would have flown up to this stinging cheek if both of his hands weren't tied up in a chair. Tears pricked the corners of her eyes as he kept his head down, practically cowering as Terra chastised him, "you let our captive go? You let our captive go! We complete failure! You absolute failure! You had one job! One job! You were supposed to keep him in the basement and ensure that he isn't able to fight back and capture the others! And what do you do? You let him go, gave him the book that we needed, and let the others go too!"

Nyx screwed his eyes shut, his body trembling. His heart was beating rapidly, knowing what was going to happen. His face was jerked up by a hand that gripped his chin so tightly that it was painful, causing him to look into Terra's frightening, blue eyes.

Terra snarled, "you are a disappointment. I took you in, saved your life, gave you a place to belong when you had nothing, and this is how you repay my kindness? Betraying me? Going against my plans?"

Nyx felt tears slowly roll down his cheeks as he stared into her eyes, unable to talk back, both due to the woman's grip on his chin, and due to the fear that was coursing through his body. He was only able to let out a weak whimper. Terra scowled at him and roughly pushed his face away. Nyx kept his head down, eyes locked on the floor of the basement of the house they had recently returned to.

Lust chuckled from where he stood at the table filled with torture devices. Nyx listened as Terra walked a circle around him, tears continued to fall down his cheeks and his breathing became shallow as his body trembled. The woman then stood behind him, taunting with a low tone, "maybe I should teach you a lesson." Nyx tensed at that, his stomach dropping. Terra then continued, "Lust, bring over your lighter and one of your cigarettes."

Nyx held his breath as he listened to Lust slowly approach. After about a minute, Terra gave another command, "open his coat." With that, Lust stepped in front of Nyx and leaned toward him. As his hands worked his buttoned coat open, he whispered into the younger man's ear, mockingly, "your days are numbered, William."

Nyx jerked away, causing Lust to tighten his hold on the coat. The younger man shot Lust a glare, but lacked the usual ferocity due to the tears in his eyes and the tear streaks down his cheeks. When Lust finished the task, he walked away, back to the table he had previously been standing beside.

When Terra stepped in front of him, Nyx tensed once again, his eyes, wide with fear, fell to the lit cigarette that was in her hand. She leaned down, a smirk on her face and a sadistic gleam in her blue eyes. Nyx's body continued its trembling, his eyes following her hand's movement of pressing the lit cigarette to his bare chest. Nyx gritted his teeth as he grunted in pain, not wanting a yell to escape from his lips.

Terra hissed, "you're a failure. A damn failure." She pulled the cigarette away and pressed it to a different spot on Nyx's chest, resulting in him groaning again as he struggled to keep the scream that rose from within his throat down. Terra continued to taunt, "I should kill you. I saved you and betrayal is my payment." She pressed the lit cigarette to another part of Nyx's chest. "You're lucky I haven't killed you yet. You're lucky I've decided to have mercy and let you live for now. You deserve to die."

Terra continued to press the lit cigarette to different parts of Nyx's chest, causing him to bite down on his lip until it bled, the blood dripping down his chin and onto his burn-littered chest. By the time Terra pulled away, Nyx was gasping for air, trying to focus on anything other than the pain that seemed to envelop his entire body. The pain from the dozens of cigarette burns went beyond just his chest, going done to the bone and spreading throughout his upper body. His body trembled and tears streamed down his face.