Mortal Prayer (Levi x Eren Fanfic)

Chapter 9: Tunnel Light

Levi's POV:
I wonder if Death is a truly sadistic being. Does he really snatch the souls of the living and leave them suffocating from the very air that they breathe since birth begging for every ounce of life, or does he made it peaceful by swiping it with ease where one barely understands the notion of their own passing until it is gone before the world? I like to imagine that the world freezes like a photograph in a single frame. In death, time ceases to exists and with it, your existence fades. And yet, your memory holds that photograph unable to forget. There is no context, no date, or any kind of identification. Simply, it is you staring at its beauty forever. You can weep forever, yell forever, or perhaps it is a mercy to simply forget. To close your eyes and descend into utter darkness, should such an action be possible in the afterlife from hence you closed your eyes in the mortal world? It is all a mystery.

However, death could not be merciless with me.

It would have been such a blessing if Grisha could have left me numb in his work. However, serenity finds no comfort in my existence. I blinked my eyes open as dim surgical lights scanned me with those small white dots. I could practically smell the grin that stitched itself to Grisha's face upon seeing I was awake. He wiped a scalpel pristine clean as he walked to my side.

"Good morning, lovely," he greeted. "I imagine that you have had a pleasing rest?" He placed down a scalpel and replaced it with a pair of scissors, wiping down the blades from what seemed to be dry blood that crusted at the edges and flaked off like instant dry mashed potatoes. It amazes me how they let this man keep his license every year.
I scowled and tried to move around. I found my wrists and ankle bound. To my shock, my prosthetic leg was gone and my knee cap was kept in place by metal braces. I glared at Grisha, sneering at his ugly mug.

"Pleasing is a rather prude term of putting it," I answered. "Are you really going to torture me and dissect me knowing my organization holds your son in containment?" Grisha scoffed and began to chuckle almost like what I said amused him.

"You know nothing, little boy. It is true that Eren is my son by blood, however, he is insignificant compared to you. You are special, you see. Did you ever find out where your right leg went during your little escapade in the streets? I think you should know by now," he stated. "Of course, perhaps it was not predominant in your little interaction. You see, I implanted your leg into Eren all those years ago. The result of two various blood types should have left him dead, and yet, his cells bonded beautifully. In fact, they evolved. Your DNA is key to my success. My life's work is finally coming to an end with you in my hands." He suddenly reached down and began snipping at my clothes, stripping me down to my bare nakedness. The blades of the scissors slid through the fabric with ease, and my body instinctively tensed as the cold metal trailed my skin. Grisha set aside the tool before marking my abdomen and my chest in black marker. "You and I are going to be having a lot of fun, Levi."

I could not even find the air to breathe when the first cut came. Straight into my chest avoiding all my vitals, Grisha wielded the scalpel carving me alive. True fear is not of what kills you, but what will not. Watching my reflection in a wall mirror, the blood and pink flesh spilled outside of me like I was a little toy doll being played with.

Pain seared me straight down through my bones. But, I refused to scream. I could not let him have the satisfaction of my degradation. It seemed like slice after slice. I could feel him shifting around inside of me. The blood dripping down my sides, a spicy wine that leaked and stained the white sheets a crimson red. The needles sank in and out Just when it couldn't get worse, he backed away holding my severed left arm swinging in his hands. He grinned and set it aside like it was a pet, caressing the skin and pulling on the muscle tendrils under the shoulder joint like loose strands of clothing.

Suddenly, he opened a cupboard and pulled out a giant machine, a large piston-like nozzle attached to a multidirectional crane. It looked like what seemed to be a type of radioactive laser. I could only watch as it came closer and closer, its red eye staring back.

Until all that was left was an eternal white light.