God of War: The Descendant

8th Chapter: móno fílo

It was silent. Completely, and utterly silent in the dark, medieval dungeon. The only sound audible was the cracking sound of the whip slashing and slitting through human flesh.

The prison cell was dark and depressing, the only source of light was that of two very dimly-lit torches, each standing at both ends of the room. Chains were hung on the walls, and hammered metal shackles were on the floor. Depressions could be seen through the cracks in the floors, perhaps where people were kept for extended periods of time. It was a plain but unnerving sight, one that relatively few have seen, and some wished they had never found in the first place.

In the northern part of the room, opposite a doorway that opened to the dungeon's dark corridor, a man was standing alone like a post. He had a thorny whip in his grasp and before him was a young girl suspended in mid-air by chains attached to the dungeon's ceiling.

The man was slim and of average height. He had long, tied-up black hair, two bangs framed his face and an unruly tuft covered his forehead. He wears a white cape with a gem-decorated buckle and underneath was a pink-edged blue jacket with strapped cuffs which bore an ankh-like symbol.

Now, unlike him who was dressed in neat and clean clothes, the girl opposite him wore nothing but a pair of tattered shorts, and a long strip cloth wrapped tightly around her midriff up to her chest. She had pale white skin, except for the bruises, lots of bruises, scattered all over her body in red and purple blotches, especially on her arms and legs. Her hair was the same colour as the man, a cold ebony-black, except hers was longer and darker, and seemed to take on a bluish tint.

"Open your mouth and say something!" The man raised his whip high above his head and snapped it forward. It's sharp end striking the tender surface of her face and raising a red stripe. Again and again, he struck her with the whip, raising several red whelps, yet the young girl did not make any sound. She gave no response. No reaction, as if she wasn't even remotely bothered by the frequent abuse she was receiving.

"Talk to me!" he shouted desperately as he raised his whip again and brought it down, striking her. This time, he drew blood. He watched a lone, red rivulet run down her snowy skin, and felt a small tinge of guilt, but pushed it away roughly. Inflicting pain upon her wasn't in his mind, but the process of interrogation proves to be difficult with her lack of response and he had no choice but to resort to torture.

"If you continue this little act of yours, I will not hesitate to hurt you again." The man challenged as he cracked his whip just inches from her face. "I can kill you right here and now, so start talking and tell me everything!"

The girl however, despite his threats, remained silent. She didn't say a word and it only fuelled his rage. He tightly gripped the whip's handle and thoroughly searched her face for emotion.

"Well what do you say?" He waited for a moment, allowing her time to respond, knowing that she would not. "You know, I still can't believe that you were able to kill a wizard saint. More or less, Alcippe." He said, leaning forward then lowering his voice. "You just ended your sister's life but it appears that, you don't feel even slightly sorry about what you've done."

He looked up at the girl in time to see her slowly lift her head. Apparently, the sudden brought up of her sister's name had caught her attention. He could see that her eyes were now fixed on his, and it seemed like she was willing to hear what he had to say. So he decided to let out all the anger, all the feelings he had been keeping bottled up inside ever since he saw the horror of his friend, his partner, lying dead on the ground in front of him.

"You murdered people who had done nothing to you, murdered your own flesh and blood— you're even worse than scum!" He spat, disgust evident in his tone. "Don't you feel any remorse at all? Do you have a heart? How can you just sit there and watch these poor suffering people mourn over their loved ones any longer?"