Ten Ways to Break a Man

Way Three

A shrill scream ripped through the desolate halls. As it faded, another one took its place. It came from the chamber at the end of the hall where a blond haired boy was cuffed to the wall.

His legs were collapsed underneath him. They were shaking, desperately needing rest. Blue veins popped out in his arms which were covered in a thick layer of sweat which blended into the blood that was streaming out of the missing chunk of skin in his hand.

The man in front of him was holding a ragged, bloody nail in his hand. He set it on the cart next to the other three bloody nails that he yanked out prior. The nails had been difficult enough to pull out. Prompto's body had tried to stop the blood itself, creating a small barrier around the nail.

When the nails had been ripped out, the barrier had been broken. By then- depending on how many hours Prompto has stayed passed out- the nails had set themselves inside his hand.

Prompto was glad that the nails were finally out. He hated feeling the nails embedded in his hand and not being able to do anything about it. If he had stayed like that longer, his skin would have started to grow around it. Since he shared Noctis' power, his body would heal small wounds by itself. It had done that while he slept.

What made Prompto feel slightly better was that Ardyn hadn't demanded answers to any more questions before he removed the nails. Instead, Ardyn had yanked them all out on his own accord.

Ardyn frowned at the blood that was pooling from his hand before he reached into his pocket and took out a small bottle of green liquid.

A potion? Prompto thought with hope. Is he going to heal me?

Ardyn seemed to know what he was thinking as he uncapped it. "This isn't going to fully heal your wounds. Just enough to keep you awake."

"Awake for what?" Prompto said before letting out a hiss as Ardyn poured a bit of it on the hand. The pain was almost as worse as the pain Prompto had felt as the nails were yanked from his hand.

"I don't like my property to be filthy," Ardyn sniffed as he threw the empty bottle at the ground. It shattered into small bits, a few hitting Prompto's knees and falling to his feet.

Ardyn hummed as he looked up and down Prompto's body. "You're filthy beyond repair. Your outfit is soiled. May as well toss it out."

"N-no!" Prompto sputtered. "This was made just for me by the outfitters in the citadel! You can't throw it out."

"That's the point," Ardyn argued. "You aren't a lucian anymore. You serve me now, not that pitiful excuse of a prince!"

"Don't say that," Prompto growled. "Noct is more worthy than you to be king. The Astrals chose him!"

"Damn the Astrals!" Ardyn yelled as he reached over and pulled the cart of tools. It collapsed to the ground, the tooks spilling all over the ground. It left Prompto in a daze of shock and fear at the chancellors sudden outburst.

"They were the beasts that took away everything I cherished. I once followed their guidance in the promise that I would become the first king of Insomnia. It was magnificent, being given the chance to become a symbol of hope for all the suffering souls, only to have it taken away in a single stroke as you are shown your far worse destiny. Those gods are liars, they deserve to be tied up to their shackles and beaten to the very last edge of their words!"

A lump grew in Prompto's throat as Ardyn turned to look up at him with pain filled eyes. "And you look so much like her," Ardyn rasped."I can't bring myself to torment her, even after what she's done to me."