Chrysalis To A Butterfly [Kiana Kaslana X Male OC]

Interlude: The Tormentor & The Victim

The tormentor and his victim had both adhered themselves to the script. One would not accept his crimes, while the other would administer pain. Death would have been better, the Monarch prayed, but there was no God to listen to his cries. Or, simply put, Sal was his God.

In his sea-green eyes, Monarch could see himself, scared, curled up into a corner as the glistening blade slowly ground his bones. His mouth parted slightly as the red shade from the lamp above fell on him.

"Why?" He weakly asked, his vision darkening as he gazed at Sal. The Monarch couldn't believe that a fourteen-year-old boy was causing all this pain.

"You tell me," Sal whispered. The screams had stopped five minutes ago. No matter what Sal tried, the Monarch wouldn't react. He wasn't dying, but at the same time, he was not brimming with life. "Or maybe I should ask the children?"-He stopped, his lips curled up in a menacing smile-"Oh, but wait, how can I ask them? Right Monarch? Because you killed them."

"I did not-" His words were cut off as Sal chipped off one of his fingernails. The stab wound was no longer helping.

"Choose your words wisely," Sal warned and chipped off another nail; this time, it was his right pinky finger. "The dead are watching. Each and every one of them is right here, Monarch."

About a year and a half ago, in the Republic Of Muscovy, eastern Europe, a genocide was conducted. It was the worst war crime the world had experienced since the Second Honkai War and the second eruption.

The number of deceased was in the millions, with most of them being children under the age of fourteen and, in the worst cases, even infants. And the worst part was that this was a man-made event. No honkai beasts were involved.

The reason was unknown. When Schiksal forces had stormed into the Republic-held territories last winter, all they saw were mountains of corpses all rotting on the outskirts of the border towns. One common feature among them was a scar on their back, which had a purple-blue hue (A trait one would see in a person corrupted with Honkai).

Sal was one of the first Schiksal members who had landed on the Republic soil. He had seen the bodies with his own eyes, and when he had walked beyond them, he saw wooden sheds with even more children. There was no bed or blanket; all they had was a white coat and hay to sleep in.

Sal had vomited on the sight. He couldn't meet the eyes of anyone present in that room. It was too close to home for him. He knew how it felt to be like them. To be helpless, to be powerless and let the tormentor torment you. He has seen all of that and even worse. Even now, he could feel that his body was not his own.

He could feel his breath and touch as he was defiled.

"Monster..." Back in the present, the Monarch weakly whispered.

"Huh?"

"Schiksal's Monster." The Monarch said again, this time more accusingly.

Sal gave a dry, self-deprecating laugh as he gazed at the older man. This was going to take longer than he expected.

An hour later, Sal stepped out of the room; his uniform had blood stains all over its sleeves. His menacing expression was gone, replaced with a sad one. His breath was erratic as he gripped his right elbow.

"I am fine; everything is okay, Sal. They can no longer get you. You are no longer in that place. It is all over." He recited the lines like a broken record as he crouched down. His eyes were closed as he tried to stop the images of his past from reappearing.