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The pain came in defferent forms.

It could be physical. Sometimes the lethal, shooting agony that has you begging for mercy, and often, the throbbing, hot sensation of aching bones and exhausted muscles.

There was mental pain too. The nightmares were too real. In Eternal Death, it's made clear that nothing is meant to be believed, and yet, you'll find yourself wondering. How do you define reality, anyway?

It could also become more of an emotional torture. Emotions are strange things, you see. Pathetically useless, as Eric liked to say. Shame, regret, and longing tend to mix together well, resulting in a bitter emptiness that churns somewhere deep inside of you, digging, hurting all the way down to the bottom, thirsting for your soul.

I lay awake, trying to distract myself from all these pains, when the alarm sounded and made me jump. A cold sweat broke out on my forehead as I stood up and tried to calm my breathing.

The alarm was bad news, and it kept screaming in my ears.

It didn't take long for my cage to start rattling. I hit the iron bars head-first and didn't get the chance to regain my balance. The floor moved underneath my weight, the whole cubic cell shook, turning upside down, as if a particulary angry giant had just picked up the whole place and was walking with it placed atop his shoulder.

It took a while for my surroundings to settle down once again. Thankfully, the cell didn't have any problematic furniture - at least, nothing that could reach me through the bars - so the chance of me getting knocked out by something heavy hitting the back of my head was low. Inside my tilted cage, there was only one bed with a thin mattress, whose legs were chained to the ground and the ceiling, keeping it from moving too much. Nothing else. There wasn't even a lamp or candle to illuminate the place.

My eyes strained, sleepy and tired of the everlasting darkness. Although I knew there was nothing to be done about it, I wished I'd found some way to produce light on my own. Maybe that way, I could have gotten some sleep, not having to worry about creatures lurking in the shadows.

Silence and darkness stretched on, interrupted only when I began expecting the worst.

A single flame came to life at the far side of the cell, hovering in midair as if someone was holding it. Another one followed, and a second later, there were half a dozen candles sitting all around my cage, brightening both my vision and my mood. To some extent.

As if on cue, the metal cage door opened with a squeak. I took half a step forward, wary of my sudden release. The alarm had quieted down at some point and now the only thing I could hear was my own breathing.

Two heartbeats passed and nothing pounced on me. The late night punishment must be over, then. I thought, and, ignoring my bruised legs' protests, stepped out of the cage. The door closed and locked itself behind me. Then there was a digital ding sound, signalling my cell's door was about to open.

I spent thirty six seconds watching the process. Thirty six different locks clicked open one after another. I'd only ever managed to pick five locks, out of luck. These couldn't be here to just keep me from escaping my punishment. Eric was putting on a show. A show of power.

I braced myself, but there was no one waiting outside. I exited my prison, frowning. I didn't even have an escort? Well that's a first.

I quickened my pace, worried about the consequences of keeping Him waiting. The Aphotic section of the dungeon was as poorly-lit as its name suggested. The gas lamps flared with a faint purple light. It was no small feat to be able to navigate these labyrinthine hallways without a guide and by guide I mean one of the castle's creatures. - Most of which could actually be pretty lethal. Skeletons were considered the most friendly amongs Eric's pets and we weren't exactly on good terms, so... - I'd memorized almost one third of the most common routes inside the building, in hopes of having the upper hand. After eight years worth of nightmares and bad memories, I was sure I could find my way to Eric's room even with my eyes closed.

I reached the stairway and began dragging my groaning body up the stairs. Darkness swallowed me whole. The row of gas lamps came to a sudden stop behind me, and there was no telling when and where they would come back. It was always the same with this castle: Unpredictable changes at unfortunate times. Sometimes, I wonder if everything is controlled by somebody, although that seems unlikely. The castle is huge, and the changes happen so often, the person would probably need to see and change almost everything at the same time.

"Eric has better things to do." I said out loud.

I heard a crack somewhere further down the stairs, and then the unmistakable pounding of feet on the stone. Realising my mistake a bit too late, I cursed myself for acting so dumb and careless and began to run.

The fact that the stairway continued going up for at least another ten minutes made it all the more difficult to make my burning legs participate in this marathon.

It was hopeless, and as it turned out, I didn't even need to bother. I felt a swift motion right beside my ear, then there was the explosion of pain behind my eyes as something hit me hard in the temple.

Dark stars danced in my vision and I slipped down a couple of stairs, swaying on my feet. The darkness made it hard to tell if I was blacking out already, or my eyes were playing tricks on my brain. But I sensed two dark figures casting shadows over me. Shadows that felt different, distiguishable from the absence of light.

Bony fingers wrapped around my wrists, pulling me up to my feet in a not-so-friendly manner.

"Hi there." I said. "No offense, but you're a tad late."

Something growled in my face. Far from the sounds coming out of a provoked animal, the growl was deeper, a bit hard on the ears. Like the strong wind that signals the arrival of a storm.

I blindly searched the air in front of me until my fingertips came into contact with something. Or better yet, went through something and touched the other side. Bones. An empty ribcage.

The second skeleton tore my hand away, making me yelp. Something cold and heavy replaced their fingers around my wrists and with a clank, the chains fell into place.

I sighed, and let them nudge me up the stairs.

The darkness remained. A certain reminder of death and suffering, accompanying me to a place where doom sealed my fate.