Chương 81: Chapter 80

The room was dark. There was no source of light in sight. A constant drip... drip... drip... echoed as water fell onto someone's head. The person in question was Nina, who had been restrained in the same position for over a month. Fortunately, thanks to the System Module and her efficient use of it, she had turned her biological functions off. Because of that, she had been able to survive the torture inflicted upon her during this time. As for the constant dripping, it was little more than a nuisance.

It caused her no pain because, in a sense, her body was not even real. Feeling that enough time had passed, Nina stepped back into her consciousness and sat down in her chair to relax. Every day had been like this. Other than the occasional visits at the very beginning, when people tried to pry information out of her, most of her time had been spent here. Every so often, she would return to control her body, look around, and then head back into her consciousness.

Due to parting on bad terms with the other personas, who felt strongly about her decision not to help the village earlier, they had all left one after another in disappointment. Nina crawled up onto her chair, hugging her legs as she stared into the darkness of her consciousness. She intuitively understood that, at some point, she could simply order them to come out. But that didn't feel right. If they wished to come out, that decision should be theirs. So she quietly stared toward the outside world.

Soon enough, someone entered her consciousness. Lily. She still looked furious.

"You know, huh? Why are you so stubborn? All you had to do was say sorry, and we wouldn't have stayed there for that long." Nina curled further into herself, silently listening. It seemed Lily still hadn't gotten over what had happened. She was still angry. Nina closed her mouth. She couldn't lie. Even if she had gone back in time knowing everything she knew now, she probably would have made the same decision. Even if it eventually led to her being kidnapped.

As Lily continued going on and on, her eyes suddenly drifted toward the outside.

"Why is it so dark out there?" She walked toward the entrance, almost stepping outside to check.

"Stop." Nina's voice caused Lily to freeze.

"What? What did I do?" Lily yelled back.

"Why are you being like this? Are you seriously being so petty that you won't even let me go check?" Nina remained silent. A bit earlier... Seeing that the second wave of gratitude was much stronger than the first, and not understanding any of it, Nina had become genuinely frightened. While overwhelmed by everything, she also noticed that Furen, the person she had been trying to avoid, seemed to have unresolved questions. So Nina decided to run away. She wasn't even sure where. A portal opened beside her.

Rosa stepped through, following after her.

"Nina, what are you doing here?" Nina turned toward Rosa.

"Can you just stop this?" she said.

"You appearing like this, breaking open space in front of me... it makes me feel like I don't have any privacy."

"I…" Rosa opened her mouth to explain.

"Stop! Just stop, okay?" Nina interrupted.

"I'm too overstimulated right now."

"I need to be alone."

"I don't... I don't want anybody near me."

"I just... just stop." After saying those harsh words, Nina didn't dare look at the sadness in Rosa's eyes as she quickly walked away. The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. Her back looked more like she was fleeing than simply leaving. She just needed a break. Eventually, she reached the opposite side of town, arriving at the ruined walls. The very gate where the monsters had broken through.

Nina sat beside the rubble, trying to relax, regulate her breathing, calm her mind, and figure things out. Everything was simply too overwhelming. She just needed space. Personal space. Self-worth value increased by 5. Current self-worth value: 61. Nina stared up at the beautiful, bright sky. She realized the way she had treated Rosa had been inappropriate. She shouldn't have yelled. She really needed to apologize. Just as she finally managed to calm herself enough to head back... A hand grabbed her.

Before she knew it, everything went black. The next time she opened her eyes, she was here. After fully coming to, she saw a man standing before her. He was muscular and covered in tattoos. Yet no matter how hard she tried to focus, even on the tattoos covering his arms so she might identify him later, everything remained indistinct. Soon she realized they had given her something to keep her mind in a constant haze. It wasn't enough to stop her from seeing what was in front of her.

Only enough to stop her from recognizing who it was. The man spoke through a voice transmitter, disguising even his voice. He had chosen a woman's voice. Most of the questions were direct. Who was she? Why did she always seem to be at the center of everything? Why did she keep ruining all of their plans? None of it made any sense. They also asked where she had come from and what reward Seraphina had promised her in exchange for traveling alongside the heroes.

Seeing that Nina looked nothing like Seraphina, nor even attempted to put on the act of a saint, they found it strange. The disguised voice even brought up her argument with Rosa, saying that someone of high nobility would never behave like that. So why had she? Other than answering her name when asked, Nina remained completely silent. She didn't know who these people were. The safest option was to say nothing. After realizing she was uncooperative, they cut into her body.

Using the System Module, Nina allowed blood to appear, though it never truly clung to the blade. After they left, the blood slowly returned to where it belonged. Unlike the other personas, Nina herself did not possess willpower-based abilities. As the main body and primary System user, she simply switched the System over to biological simulation. Since the blood itself was System-created, it naturally returned.

Afterward, she turned the biological simulation back off while instructing the System to leave the wounds intact. It would have been suspicious if they had healed immediately. When they realized even the injuries failed to frighten her, they switched to water torture. Slow, continuous, and designed to wear down an ordinary person's mind over time. They had also placed a collar around her neck. They believed it prevented her from using magic. A reasonable assumption.

The problem was that the magic had never truly belonged to Nina in the first place. It was innate to the personas. The collar merely restricted her freedom to become other people. So... things had been rough. After checking on her repeatedly during the first few days to see whether she had broken, the men eventually left her alone for nearly a month. Or at least until they believed she would finally give in. Before leaving, they had said their next visit would be at the end of every month.

Another month had passed. That meant today was the day she would meet with them again. Just as Nina was preparing to take control of her body, she felt someone step into her consciousness. Turning around, she saw Lily. The last time Lily had visited, Nina had been too exhausted to bother communicating, so she had ignored her. Lily had left in a huff once again. But every day after that, Lily returned.

After observing Nina's schedule and understanding the pattern, Lily would come whenever Nina needed to pretend to be awake for a while. She would simply watch. Occasionally, she would observe the others as well, passing through the subconscious, but they never dared to step into the conscious state. Nina avoided looking directly at her. Allowing a consensus would mean they could all return easily. But just as she was thinking about that, she felt a chill.

Looking toward the conscious world, she saw water dripping onto her head. It was time. Just as she was about to take control of her body again, she turned toward Lily.

"You should leave."

"No," Lily said stubbornly. She planted herself on the ground and sat down, making it clear she had no intention of listening. Nina sighed internally before returning to control her body. She went through the same routine as always. The person in front of her began asking questions. Who was she? Why was she at the center of everything despite not being part of the hero's party? They had ensured that all forms of communication were cut off.

They had even taken measures to suppress her abilities, preventing her from contacting anyone. Yet the heroes continued praising her, and the people believed their actions were based on the Seer's foresight. They truly did not understand what they had done. Nina listened carefully as the distorted female voice continued, almost sounding frustrated. They could have understood everything if only Nina had spoken. But she refused to answer.

The muscular man stood up and walked toward the collection of torture tools arranged against the wall across from Nina. His eyes scanned the equipment before stopping on one item. A whip with metal spikes attached to the end. He swung it against the ground. The impact left a dent in the floor. The female voice spoke.

"Very good. Reduce the force. We do not want to kill the wretch." A pause.

"Give her thirty strikes." The restraints were adjusted, and the man began. Thirty strikes. Not one more. Not one less. Nina clenched her teeth. He stared at the person before them and clicked his tongue.

"Let's leave her. We don't want her to die, do we?" The female voice continued.

"Next time we meet, you had better behave." After they left, Nina immediately began using the System Module to restore the materials that had been lost. Even though she did not need to worry about pain or biological limitations, maintaining the body still placed a mental burden on her. She remained in control of her body while the System slowly stabilized everything. This time, a large amount of material had been discarded. It would take approximately an hour and forty-five minutes for everything to return.

The faint scars would remain as evidence. Inside the consciousness, Lily watched everything. Her hands covered her mouth. Tears continuously flowed down her face. At first, Lily did not understand what was happening. Nina had blocked the conscious viewpoint, preventing her from seeing what was happening outside. But eventually, Nina accidentally allowed her control to slip. And during that final moment, when the whip struck, Lily felt only one-tenth of the pain. She immediately felt sick.

How could Nina endure that? She cried so hard that she could barely stay still. She forced herself back onto her feet before kneeing down.

"I... I said such mean things." She wiped away her tears.

"But..." She clenched her fists.

"There's no time for this."

"I have to tell the others."

"We need to get Nina out."

"This can't continue." Lily rushed into the subconscious. Nina, still controlling her body, remained unaware. When she felt the emptiness of her consciousness, she assumed Lily had already left. Good. That meant she could return to the consciousness and recover. Afterward, Nina closed off the subconscious state. Those within the subconscious would no longer be able to leave, even if they wanted to. They also would not be able to see what was happening from the conscious viewpoint.

Nina believed this was the best solution. Once she had fully recovered and the wounds were no longer an issue, she would remove the restriction. For now, she needed to rest. She returned to her chair, curled herself up, and waited for her body to recover. It would probably take half a month. Fortunately, they only came once every month.