An unbearable cold seeped deep into Ronan's bones, pouring directly into his veins, making his body tremble violently as though he had been having a high fever.
Ronan's eyes snapped open, but could only see darkness before him.
A flickering orange light came into his vision, illuminating the rough stone walls surrounding him.
The air smelled disgusting, with blood and smoke together with something rotten.
"MMPH!"
A muffled scream escaped his throat. Sharp pain spread across his lips the moment he struggled.
Thick black threads dug cruelly into his flesh, pulling against his skin every time he tried opening his mouth.
He used his tongue to navigate his mouth and felt strings attached tightly to his lips.
Panic instantly consumed him, and with that his breathing became ragged.
"What the fuck is this?!"
Ronan tried moving instinctively, only to discover both his hands and legs were tightly bound by something wet and rough.
He lifted his head and saw what he was being tied with. His stomach churned violently at the sight.
They resembled intestines, or maybe they were. Slimy and twisted due to his effort, they still carried a faint bloody smell.
The bindings wrapped tightly around his limbs to the point his skin had already become pale and numb.
Ronan's chest rose and fell violently as cold sweat poured down his body.
His frantic gaze swept across his dim surroundings, the last trace of rationality at the brink of being shattered apart.
He saw eight figures wearing dark robes sitting around him silently without any movement. Their faces were hidden beneath crude bone masks stained black around the eyes. Strange symbols had been carved onto the masks like scars.
Candles burned in green colour , before each of them.
Tracing their positions, Ronan finally noticed where he was lying.
A massive circle drawn entirely in blood.
The circle was layered with countless strange symbols, spirals, and intersecting lines that hurt his eyes the longer he stared at them.
Those same symbols were carved all over his body too, with something resembling a thick black substance like dried blood.
Suddenly one of the eight masked figures rose as the others lowered their heads simultaneously and began chanting. The language sounded ancient and distorted.
"Yaa'thur… Vel… Kharon…"
"Why am I here?"
He tried to make sense of his situation, analyzing his surroundings and thinking of kidnapping or human trafficking.
His mind desperately searched for rational explanations. Every possibility sounded absurd, but he couldn't deny the nightmare before him.
The chanting suddenly stopped as the masked man bent down and picked up a long bundle wrapped in dark cloth from beside him.
Step. Step. Step.
The figure approached slowly while the others lowered their heads even further.
The standing figure stopped directly before Ronan and slowly unwrapped the cloth. A strange sharp greenish translucent stone surfaced, pulsing faintly beneath the candlelight and being reflected on his face.
The blade was crude and uneven, yet looked absurdly sharp. Ronan's entire body began trembling violently at the possibility of what that person was going to do with it.
"Nnngh! Mm! MM!" He struggled desperately.
The intestine restraints tightened painfully around his wrists, but the masked figure did not seem to care and raised the dagger silently. At the sight, Ronan shook his head frantically.
"Plea— Please stop. Please."
The dagger descended with a squelch.
A horrifying pain exploded from his chest. Ronan's struggle grew much fiercer yet he could not get free of the restraints. His eyes widened and trembled violently.
"MMPPHHHH!"
He could feel his hot blood spilling across his stomach. The excruciating pain lasted only a moment. Thereafter he started feeling cold, felt his heartbeat weaken, and his vision blurred along with it.
The chanting resumed once more, but louder and more frenzied. Ronan's thoughts became sluggish.
His eyelids slowly drooped.
"Am… I dying…?"
---
Ronan's eyes snapped open abruptly as he felt an indescribable cold spread through every inch of his body like countless icy needles piercing into flesh and bone.
His muscles felt stiff and numb to the point he could barely feel his own limbs. For several seconds he simply lay there blankly.
*Cold.* The thought surfaced sluggishly within his mind.
His breathing came out weak and uneven. Every exhale produced faint white mist before dissipating into darkness.
Ronan's pupils moved slowly. His surroundings were dim and he could vaguely make out the outline of a ceiling above him.
Rotten wooden beams stretched across it while dark stains spread between the cracks like mold.
*Where?* That was his first coherent thought.
His trembling fingers frantically touched his lips before moving lower toward his chest.
"Nightmare?"
That was his next thought, while trying to sit up.
The moment he moved, weakness crashed into him violently. His arms gave out midway.
"Thud!"
His body fell back heavily onto something soft.
"Ah…"
His voice sounded hoarse and dry. The mere act of speaking made his throat burn painfully. His body continued trembling uncontrollably from the cold.
Ronan clenched his teeth. After resting for what felt like several minutes, he gathered his strength once more. This time he managed to sit up.
"Hah… hah…" Heavy breaths escaped his mouth. It felt absurdly exhausting, as though he had not moved his body for weeks.
Something slid from his shoulders onto his lap. A blanket — a thick dark blanket lined with rough fur. Only now did Ronan realize he had been wrapped in it moments ago.
Still shivering violently, he pulled the blanket tightly around himself and rubbed his arms desperately, which did not help as the cold seemed to originate from inside his body.
Frowning, his gaze landed on a faint pale light slowly seeping through a slit that appeared to be a closed wooden window.
Using the nearby wall for support, Ronan forced himself onto trembling legs. His knees nearly buckled instantly, yet the desire to understand where he was pushed him forward.
Step. Step.
Every movement felt difficult. His bare feet touched the freezing wooden floor as he staggered toward the source of light.
Finally reaching the window, Ronan grabbed the rusted latch with trembling fingers and slowly pushed it open.
"Creak!"
A gust of cold wind rushed inward instantly, making him feel even colder.
Clouds drifted silently across the night sky outside as a pale silver moon hung quietly overhead. The moonlight illuminated the room behind him. Ronan slowly turned around.
The room became clearer with old wooden furniture, a table covered in dusty glass bottles, and dark stains across the floorboards.
And at the bed he had just risen from, a woman lay motionlessly and naked. Her body was bent at an unnatural angle atop the bed. One arm dangled limply toward the floor while her neck twisted sideways far beyond what should have been possible. The moonlight illuminated her pale lifeless skin.
Ronan's pupils contracted violently.
"What the fuck…?"
The woman's eyes were still open. They stared directly toward the ceiling without moving, empty and lifeless. A faint black substance resembling veins spread across parts of her neck and shoulders.
Ronan's breath became faster and more frantic with every second.