Warning! Yandere-Bound

Chapter 10: Threads of Deception

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The White Room

The white room's oppressive silence felt like it was closing in on you, smothering any sense of hope or escape. The punishments came swiftly, with no time to prepare.

First, the familiar weight pressed down on you, like an invisible force crushing your body from every angle. Breathing became difficult, your chest tight, limbs immobilized as if bound by a heavy chain. Each second stretched painfully long.

System Notification:
Punishment Commenced
Duration: 2 hours.
Mental State: Deteriorating.

The crushing pressure was soon replaced by searing heat, your skin burning without flame. It felt as though your insides were being roasted alive, your mind unable to focus on anything but the unbearable intensity. Sweat poured from you, and all you could do was endure.

Then came the freezing cold, icy tendrils creeping into your bones, leaving you shivering uncontrollably. It felt as though every cell in your body was being numbed, frozen solid, and you could do nothing but silently beg for it to end.

System Notification:
Punishment Update
Duration: 1 hour, 37 minutes remaining.
Mental State: Critical.

You grit your teeth, trying to push through the torment. Two hours of this felt like an eternity. But you'd survived it before-barely. You could survive it again. Time was your enemy, but it also became your anchor. Just hold out a little longer.

When the punishment finally ceased, you collapsed onto the cold floor, heart pounding, body trembling from the aftershocks. The silence returned, but the relief was momentary.

Then, something different-a new notification.

System Notification:
Rest period: 7 hours.
Mental State: Exhausted.

Seven hours?. You blinked, unable to process it at first. The usual rest period had always been two hours, maybe less. But now? Seven?

You forced yourself to sit up, mind whirling. Why had the rest period suddenly increased? Your thoughts drifted back to the progress bar. Earlier, it had reached 70%. Could this be connected?

"The progress..." you mutter, your voice weak. "Is this...a reward?" The thought unsettled you, but it made sense. The system seemed to offer more rest the higher the progress went. Could it be that the closer you got to completing whatever this twisted "mission" was, the more leniency you were granted?

You tried to make sense of it, but your thoughts kept circling back to the captors-Mia, Ashley, Lila. Each interaction, each attempt to reason with them or survive their obsession. Could pushing the progress forward somehow keep you alive?

Seven hours of rest meant you had time-time to think, time to plan. You lay back, staring at the ceiling, overthinking every possibility.

"I can make it," you whispered to the empty room. "I just need to keep the progress going...push it higher."

You somehow laughed at the idea of being happy at the mere seven hours of freedom. Your voice cracked, frustration bubbling to the surface. "What are you trying to do to me?!" you shouted, fists clenching. The room offered no answer, just the cold, indifferent silence.

But even with the frustration, something was clear. You had to use this time wisely. You had to think ahead.

"Just survive," you muttered to yourself. "Survive and keep pushing."