-~*~-
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The gray broken concrete wall covered with vegetation hid her whereabouts perfectly. Combine that with being in the middle of a densely populated monster forest. It doesn't help the cause at all.
To add to that, she barely received any food during her whole capture. It has been like what? 2 weeks already and she had only been given bread to sustain her for the next 4 days.
Water? That is up to chance. If the Auril is graceful enough to provide some rain, she could at least catch some from the semi-broken roof above her.
Thankfully her plea for help was heard by at least one of them. Rain keeps falling once every 2 days during the night. Her only period of grace with nothing to fear. Well, less fear.
Despite all of this, it doesn't provide her with the chance of even breaking free. Her hands are bound by chains that are connected to each other. The moment she moved her left arm, her right arm got pulled back.
The even worst part is that her legs were chained together with her own neck. Tries to move forward, her own head will snap her back. Either restraining her breathing or her head smack the hard concrete wall.
It has been two weeks since her stay here. Or capture is much more fitting.
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She was unconscious then and opened her eyes to being locked in said position. The last thing she had remembered then is her leaving for the Averlion Palace and silently reading her book before the carriage horse starts to act weird.
It suddenly jolted to another route of which she herself didn't have time to think of where it was headed too. She was thrown around by the unexpected jolt around the carriage. Like a potato sack.
The next thing she remembered is that one of the three servants had tried to go out to check the situation when a blade flashed before the window. He was pronounced dead on the spot. A clean slash through the neck.
Another tried to protect Yanyi and the other was trying to reach a communication point. Unfortunately, the door on both ends was ripped open.
Yanyi was yanked away and was fed something that somehow makes her unable to move a muscle. She was barely able to watch, the servant that had tried to protect her got stabbed at the neck.
Her eyes are reaching to Yanyi's semi-unconscious state.
The other one is trying her best to escape the situation. Unfortunately, there are two more guards around them that capture her and soon enough sliced off her head. It rolled to the ground.
Hands still gripping the communication device in her hand.
The guards that had taken a hold of her then turned to a tree and willingly threw her to the ground. Right beneath a tree. Then…
They all fall down on the ground.
"Phase 1 complete. Now for phase 2, my favourite part." A sinister voice rings above her ears. Much higher, almost like on a tree.
It might just be her own imagination but she seems to witness some sort of thread retracting back to the top of the tree. Whatever or whoever this person is, nothing good is ever coming out of this.
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She was unable to form any ideas to escape. The short amount of food requires her to not use too much energy. That means she can't even think of how to escape.
Not yet.
Creak!
The creaking of a rusted down door nearly caught her attention. 'It has reach that time huh?' She thought to herself. Didn't even bother to look up at the oncoming individual.
"My~It has been 2 weeks already. And you are still here, young lady. *laugh* What a joke those search teams are." The voice she had found to resent reverberated in her eardrums again.
The man is unknown to her. She didn't recognize him from anywhere.
Not from case files.
Not from debt files.
Not from military files.
And certainly not from those secret files.
He walks closer and slaps her cheek almost playfully. Checking if she is alive or not. Of course she twitches the moment he starts to crease her cheek. And he smiled in return.
"Glad to find you are still alive. I can't be having you dead until you pay for all your sins."
"Sins…?" She questioned with a voice so quiet you couldn't have heard it if you weren't close to her. Her eyes of silver had now turned dim.
"Yes! Your. Sins. I mean your very existence is already wrong. You are a blatant obstacle to our Future Lady."
"Future… Lady?" Yanyi had heard this exact same thing multiple times. Almost daily even. This guy keeps on preaching about a "Future Lady" and how she is the "obstacles" to her reign.
If she is indeed the obstacle to this "Future Lady" then she must have been a horrible individual to begin with. After all, fate chose her and Devian as the Holy Rin-Sil. She can't defy fate.
The man, hearing that she is still active enough to ask questions and act confused, is not having it. That creepy smile turned into a frown almost immediately. He then walked over to a table situated not that far away from Yanyi. But far enough so that she can't reach it without potentially killing herself.
He knew that she wouldn't risk it.
"Enough chit chat. If you have the energy to question, you have the energy to endure." He takes on what appears to be a mechanical drill. Flexing it by turning it on.
Slowly, his steps get closer to her. He then takes a hold of Yanyi's chin before turning it left and right, checking where he should begin. "I think this drill still hasn't had enough fun with your face. Let's see~ How about your eyes?"
"What…?"
"A very rare coloured one. Not fit for a garbage like you. So~ I'll help you remove them!" He said it almost excitedly. Yanyi tries to resist as it is normal for a person to resist such deadly threats.
But what can she do?
She can't move a muscle!
"ARGHHHHH!!!!"
The screeching scream of pain echoes throughout the forest. But not one person dare step foot here, so who will even hear her scream?
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Drill her eyes…
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Cut off her fingers…
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Pull out her teeth…
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Whip the bloody mess of her skin…
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This is the sort of thing she has to go through.
Every.
Single.
Day.
And she's 10 years old.
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Normally you would think that such cruel and gruesome methods would have totally killed an adult, let alone a child. You are right on that. But wrong on the fact that the man even let her die in the first place.
Every single time, she would be on the brink of death and every single time he wound somehow healed her. Causing her to live to yet another chance of disappointment and another day of torture.
A real torture.
When you can choose to die nor live.
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It has been nearly 15 weeks since she was captive. She has completely lost hope. Her eyes are as dull as the deep ocean. Her hair is tangled like the vines of a tree. Her body?
Well its another day after the torture.
It was healed to the brim.
"Huh? It has been nearly three months, isn't it, young lady? And I have heard that your father has deployed all of the forces he has even overseas to search for you."
A sinister laugh.
"How horrible must it be for you. To know that he is trying his hardest to find you and yet you are still here… slowly dying from insanity."
A smirk.
"I think I have enough fun for this whole thing. I need to dispose of you before they even attempt to search the forbidden forest. Hiss. That would be horrible for my family. My son especially."
A twitch.
"I mean he is a few years older than you, but boy is he so eager to learn so many new magic tricks from me. Especially when I teach him how to use Lumire and Umbra at the same time."
A movement.
"I mean an ambition such as his would definitely utilize the string master ability. After all that's how I controlled your family guards!"
A slight frown.
"Might as well, tell you everything. You'll die in a week or so." He placed a piece of stale bread near her mouth. Silently forcing her to eat her food. And she did.
"A human's need for survival is far stronger than their ambition. You are similar." He said with a taste of disappointment. Cleaning everything up and leaving the warehouse. Leaving her alone.
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"Auril, for the sake of Yucoria… I plead to you, give me enough strength to pull one hand out… I beg you. This subject begs you."
She munches on her food.
One that had combined with tears.
Never had she cried in her life.
For the first time ever.
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Nearing the end of week 16, the man did not cool down on his torture. Even after saying that he will kill her afterwards and throw her body just right in front of Xue's gate.
He did go all out today. Using the giant metal hammer to break all of her joints and her ribs essentially. Using the pliers to pull out all her nails and teeth. Using the screwdriver and drill to stab her in every place possible. Using the saw to cut off her fingers off.
One by one.
Slowly.
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He is now using his Lumire power to heal her while cleaning the tools he had used. She had fully healed by the time he turned back to her. But not without something in his hands.
A long metal stick with a flat surface at the end is staring right back at her. The flat end is blaring red. Almost like it had been burned. "I can't just leave you without a parting gift. So~ I have this for you!"
The torching end of the branding iron is not something she had found comfortable with. The pattern on it is a picture of a butterfly lily and a small wren bird perching on top. The background is covered with a door signia covered in vines.
No words anywhere.
"To show that no one should mess with us."
He slowly approached Yanyi whos' eyes had already gone as big as a bug, struggling to make the chain lose. But she can't.
She's not there.
Not yet.
He bent her neck forward, exposing Yanyi's pale and untouched skin at the back of her neck. Twisting her head to try to release his grip. It is to no avail. He pulled her neck out to the point where her feet were hurting from being pulled back to the wall.
"Here Is Your GIFT!!!"
HISSS!!!
"ARGHHHH!!!" A screeching pain with tears echoes yet again. This time for good.
Lifting the branding iron, the man examines his masterpiece. Quite contend as to the single clear picture of the brand. "That's perfect!" He went back and put the branding iron in a puddle of water.
Yanyi's short hair is now long enough to cover the back of her neck.
"Well now that is settled, how do you wish to die? You can choose either of thes-!"
CRACK!
His head turned to the wall where the 10 year old girl was mounted on. Her left hand is now free. Limping at the side of her body.
She has broken the chain.
CRACK!
Her right hand.
CRACK!
Her left foot.
CRACK!
Her right foot.
CRACK!
Her neck.
The man felt an almost unpredictable entity is before him. Unable to talk to her action. With her voice box hoarse from screaming in pain, the one before him talks almost as if she is possessed.
Like something is taking her body away.
"You dare to brand this child with your cult."
"What…?"
"I have had enough of your play. Fate chose her. Fate protects her."
"Who are you…?"
"Not important for your death."
Like a rush of adrenaline, Yanyi's body moves and proceeds to move nearly at light speed. Her quick step is as swift as water. Disappearing before his eyes until he felt a gut pain near his abdomen.
Yanyi had somehow moved to his torso and gave him a huge uppercut that it nearly broke his rib. His body is now on the floor. He won't be moving.
Not a chance.
Then Yanyi takes a drill gun on the table, one that he had used against her. She grabs a couple of screws before walking, almost limping to where the man is laying down. Helplessly.
Without looking at his face, she drills down his hands onto the ground. Making sure that it is tight enough to the point it nearly twists his skin. Of course he screams in pain. Just like how he did it to her.
Slowly, she strode towards the table again. This time, taking four items with her. A hammer, a plier, a screwdriver and a saw, all of which had rust over the long exposure to moisture.
She didn't say anything to him. Only staring straight with an empty face.
She breaks all his joints and ribs with the hammer.
She plucks out all his nails and teeth as well as chipping off his little guy with the plier.
She stabbed him on every single bone she knew. From head to toe. With the screwdriver.
He is still breathing.
She stood before his head and stared down. Her nearly unworldly presence is just too much for him to handle. She just said one sentence.
"It's not done after death."
She cut off his arms.
Then legs.
Then lastly, his head.
The rust from the saw makes the blade more dull and more painful.
Standing before the moonlight glows, Yanyi silently stares at the sky. Blood coverring her whole body. Blood that wasn't hers.
She is free.
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It has been nearly five months since Yanyi's disappearance. Despite the best effort of everyone, they didn't find any clue left behind. Even the Imperial Family had taken part in it from the beginning.
They had even searched the forbidden forest just last month after enough preparation. And they found nothing.
Ariani is now bedridden with worry. She had given birth to a baby boy during the whole ordeal but her mind still worried about her one and only daughter. Xenzi is even by her side holding tightly onto her hands.
Needless to say, despair had engulfed the entire High Noble Society for a long time.
That is until someone barges through the door. It was Reneq and Luisa, the personal assistants to both Xenzi and Ariani respectively. "She's back…" They announced it almost with fear. No relief.
Apparently, the guards standing watch in front of the main gate saw a bloody figure approaching the manor and was worried. Their movement limped and seemed to be holding something.
A head.
The moment he saw the striking blue hair that nearly turned purple he knew who had appeared before them. It was the person the whole Empire had been looking for. They walked quickly to her.
Hearing the approaching footsteps, Yanyi didn't hold out longer and fell face first onto the hard ground. Everyone there starts to panic. One called for paramedics, the other called for the Lord and the Lady and the head is tending to Yanyi to not leave her alone.
Blood dripped every part of her body. It makes everyone worried.
Thankfully it wasn't her blood. But the decapitated head she had brought with her doesn't soothe any misgiving. Instead it makes everyone even more worried.
Yanyi was then taken inside and was under strict watch over. Only Luisa and Reneq as well as her parents are the only ones allowed to visit her for the first 2 months. Though saying parents doesn't really cut it.
Ariani is the only one who visits.
When being asked about what had happened to her, she refused to talk more, only stating that she had been kidnapped and brought deeper into the forbidden forest. She had taken care of the person herself.
After her recovery, she somehow becomes more rebellious. Disobey every order. Running away when she was supposed to train. Even going so far as to seek refuge at the Averlion Palace.
Most of these are when Xenzi becomes more strict with her. Telling her that she should practice more to avoid such incident ever again.
She did not like how that sounded.
At all
This is how the current Yanyi was raised.
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-~*~-