"Welcome to my domain, Brace yourself for pain and suffering that will be ingrained in you forever"
He announced, and Zesshi found herself listening without contesting. Her instincts told her it was imperative to listen if she wanted to live.
Hearing such words, she halted any attempts to try and escape. She looked around herself, scrutinizing her surroundings. She spread her senses, trying to discern where she was, but she couldn't tell.
"If you're wondering where we are, this is… I guess separated space, or it's more accurate to say this is my inner mind projected into an already existing space that is separated from the rest of the world using a type of barrier."
He explained, feeling like he didn't explain it properly, but it didn't matter since the whole binding vow that makes it stronger when explained doesn't really apply since he's not using cursed energy.
"What are you going to do with me then?"
"A few things will happen, but let's explain what you'll have to survive if you want to leave this place alive."
He said while crossing his legs and resting his chin on the palm of his hand as he looked down on Zesshi from his elevated throne.
"There are three phases that you need to survive, The first is phase 1: The trial of a thousand cuts"
He said, and the elf frowned deeply. She did not like the sound of that. If she was able to move, she would have attacked him immediately.
"It's not really a thousand cuts. It's more than that, but I thought a thousand cuts sounded cooler. All you have to do in this phase is withstand each cut for a full 5 minutes, extra points if you don't scream."
Zesshi was quick to get the gist of what these phases would probably be. However, she kept her mouth shut and waited for her foe to continue speaking; as it stood, she was at his mercy, and she needed everything she could get to figure out a plan of escape.
"The second phase is a trial by fire. After the first phase, what follows is three arrows of fire that will come from any direction one at a time. Much like the first phase, there's no option to dodge."
Hearing those words, Zesshi remembered the arrow of fire he launched at her and its devastating power. She gulped, realizing that she may not be able to survive this encounter.
Her doubt had forced her to make a severe lapse in judgment. However, despite that, the error can still be fixed. Her ultimate skill did not need her to move in order to activate it.
"The goal of all life is death!"
She spoke those words, and the sound of a bell echoed throughout the space, announcing the activation of Zesshi's ultimate skill. A giant clock with Roman numerals appeared above her head. It glowed an ethereal golden color as the second hand began its countdown.
"You may have trapped me in here, but with this, I'm not going to die here!"
She proclaimed, shouting her words almost as if convinced of her victory. By all accounts, she should have the victory, Her ultimate skill was the kind that could not be blocked or countered. It was a literal death sentence. She was convinced that there was nothing and no one in the world that could survive it, not even the elf king and the Dragonlords.
In truth, the Ultimate skill, "the goal of all life is death," is not her skill but instead the skill once used by the god of death, Surshana, and the reason she can use such a powerful skill is because of her talent. With her talent, Zesshi is able to copy the skill of any individual as long as she has a piece of equipment belonging to the said individual.
Thankfully for her, the scythe she used in the battle belonged to the god of death, Surshana, and thus allowed her to use the ultimate skill of that God of death.
Seeing the clock count down each second inching closer to his death, he smiled, a grin so wide his pearly white teeth showed themselves.
"Well then! Let's see what your final and desperate attempt amounts to"
He uttered as he looked down at her in amusement. It was good that she decided to use it. This way, once he lives, the shock will shatter her pride and allow him to inflict emotional damage as well as physical damage. Her will to fight him will fade…
The twelve-second delay of the skill ended, and another sound of a bell echoed throughout the space, almost as if announcing the death of the target.
Zesshi grinned viciously as the skill activated, and there was a bright flash.
"That's it! I win"
She expressed prematurely, assured of her victory, but unfortunately, she was wrong. The light died down and revealed Arthur still sitting on his throne, his expression unreadable but still very much alive
"What?!! That's impossible. That was an instant death attack. How can you survive that?!!"
Her words conveyed her shock. However, with that shock came the realization that she never had a chance of winning and that this fight was going to end with her dying.
For someone given the epithet of Zesshi Zestsumi, she never thought she would be the one dying. The cardinals had explained that the title meant absolute death, and she found it fitting because she was the bringer of death; an encounter with her meant death.
She was proud of it because she was proud of her powers and skills. Perhaps it was arrogant, but no one could prove her wrong. At least no one has ever done so in the past.
Unfortunately for her, that name suddenly lost meaning, and her pride in it suddenly felt hollow. The shock turned into a look of horrific realization.
"It is rude to interrupt; I was going to give a full explanation, but…"
He did not finish that sentence as the trial of a thousand cuts began. Zesshi had been unprepared, and the moment the first slash touched her body, she felt an assault of unimaginable pain.
She let out a blood-curdling scream, as her entire body was engulfed in thousands of slashes. No part of her body was spared. It was as if her body was placed on the table and was being cut and filleted by an expert chef, and unfortunately, she could not block or run away; she was a sitting duck that could only receive the pain.
Her screams of agonizing pain continued for what felt like an eternity. It was 5 minutes, but to her and the pain she was feeling, it may have well been five hours of continuous and unending torture.
When the pain stopped, she was lying on the ground, shivering, tears rolling down her face, unable to speak properly, her eyes were bloodshot and wide open. However, there wasn't a single drop of blood that was lost, nor were any of her limbs severed or damaged. Her body was perfectly fine, and that wasn't a good thing.
"Now, hopefully, you'll let me finish explaining. It's very rude to interrupt"
He said his face still had no expression. Arthur felt that maybe he should invest in earplugs. Just by the trial alone, he felt bad for her. The screams she let out were not enjoyable to hear.
"There're some people out there who love hearing screams of suffering and pain, but I can only conclude that they're Sociopaths or Psychopaths because that was entirely unpleasant"
He said, watching her slowly stand back up. Her body had stopped shivering from the pain. Her levels in the cleric class helped with the dulling and alleviating of pain, but it could only do so much.
"Now then, let me properly explain this time, no interruption, ok?"
He asked, but she didn't answer, but that was fine by Arthur. Obviously, she wasn't going to answer after experiencing that.
....
A/N: honestly this is on hold for the time being but I will finish it so don't worry.