DRAGONBORN SORCERER

"O Skyler, you're not the only one who endured this much torment" Sylphy stated, sobbing on his behalf yet felt enthralled, "Everyone cursed with the same fate as yours, met the same end. However, you're the only one who turned out to be on Stage-5. That's remarkable."

He could see, could hear, could scream, but he couldn't speak as his jaws on both side left wide open. The blood falling mouth, nose, eyes, head— painted a picture for his tormentors who reveled in the sight of his agony.

His fingers were twisted, nearly every rib broken. His body was riddled in fractures. Multiple wounds were curved in to his flesh like inscription of despair. His face was severely messed up. Torn muscles hung like ragged fabric. His skull bore the marks of relentless trauma.

Every often, the healer would mend just enough of his injuries to keep him barely alive while prolonging his nightmare.

Even the strongest will had its limitations, and Skyler was no exception.

The moment came when he was no longer be healed; knocking at his death door. His body began to fail. His senses deemed. His pulses weakened. He even almost ran out of blood. Yet the torture never stopped.

Their motive was to drain him completely out of blood so that his heart could only channel pure mana to perform as an absolute core for the barrier around Zelpher.

When the last drop of his blood drained, Skyler no longer needed breathing— no longer needed to keep himself alive. Right at the moment he was about to die, Sylphy sliced open his chest with the dagger she was holding till now, waiting for the opportunity.

With precision, she curved though his flesh and bones, and pulled out his heart, at last. It was still beating as it was radiating brightly. Everyone's eyes filled with sparkling stars as the had succeeded. They achieved what they wanted— ignoring the fact they just murdered an innocent person.

For a moment, they were captivated by the glowing heart— too enthralled as to ignore the faint sound coming form Skyler's corpse.

Sylphy's eyes twinkled, narrowing it, she almost froze. The faint sound wasn't imagined. It came from him— from his corpse.

"You'll pay."

It was unmistakably Skyler's voice, dripping with menace. For the first time, his voice carried the weight of vengeance.

"Mark my words. You'll all pay for the heinous crime you've committed."

Their happy faces left wide open in sheer terror. They turned pale. Some of them even trembled in fear.

'How can a corpse be able to speak so eloquent while his mouth is in no shape for moving.' Sylphy looked concerned, 'Is it an illusion cast by him while dying? That's impossible though.'

It was not only the mana that was entrapped within his heart, but also the anguish, the rage of betrayal one after another, the unrelenting thirst for retribution— everything that he had been bottling up till now.

The moment the plucked his heart out, his thirsts were released as well. It was not pain what he felt, rather the joy of true salvation. He was happy. And the happiness drove him crazy as he stood, unedifying all the logics.

His broken limbs twitched and twisted as he staggered to his feet— like a zombie. His head lolled, his laughter echoing like nails scrapping on stones.

"Haa-haa….HAHAHAHAHA..HAA." In the malicious way he laughed terrorized the others while Sylphy stood firm, "Ah! Yes! I never felt this happy before. It's exhilarating. The pain, the agony— it's nothing but an utmost pleasure I've beseeched for a long time. And now here it is. Give me more. I need more."

The sudden twist of event was unanticipated. They, never in their wildest dreams, ever thought someone could speak that happily after going through the hellish tortured.

Skyler was dead, it was his sub-conscious mind that was speaking, consumed by pure rage and hatred which took control over him. What remained was no longer human— rather a vessel for vengeance.

"I've had enough of this!" Sylphy growled, beheading him as she moved swiftly. However she didn't stopped. Fury drove her as she hacked his limbs apart and reduced him into unrecognizable pieces of flesh.

"Mark, Luna, Tina, and others. Stuff this craps into bags or whatever. When you'll go into the forest, just feed these to the monster. I'll go secure his heart."

"Umm, Sylphy. I'm worried about what just happened right now. Will he come back?"

"That's nonsense, Tina." She screamed at her, "You're also a mage. Do you think you can accomplish something like that. It's impossible. Now, do as I told you to."

Seeing how mad she was, others didn't dare to ask further questions, and just followed the orders.

'Seriously though, what was that anyway?' Sylphy wondered as she stared at his heart, still beating in her hands.

************************

Meanwhile Skyler's soul, consumed by thirst of retribution, plunged into the eternal abbeys— a void of utter darkness.

Each betrayal he endured, came rushing for him. Each betrayal burned his soul in rage. He had convinced himself many times that seeking for revenge was nothing but and futile effort. As it seemed there was no point in believing that now. He was tried of forgiving over and over again.

No matter how many times forgiveness occurs, revenge is equally like to occur as well. After all, revenge and forgiveness are the two inevitable outcome when the coin of betrayal is tossed.

And it was time. There was no forgiveness left. What left was a complex emotion of anguish, hatred and rage.

"I swear." He roared into the eternal abbeys. "I will return. I will make them pay. No matter what it takes. No matter what it costs.

As eternal as the abbeys was, his screams continued echoing. No answer came yet it didn't faded away— until it reached to a certain presence lurking in the same abbeys.

The darkness shifted as it revealed another soul. Its presences was far superior, far greater than what he ever felt before.

The aura radiating from it, was oppressive, suffocating and was powerful enough to erase Skyler's existence within an instant.

However, his soul held firm, burning in pure hatred and rage. He refused to yield. Even if the overwhelming aura threatened to reduce him to dust.

The darkness seemed to be faded away by the mere presence of the colossal soul before him.