Bab 41: WEIGHT OF WATER AND MEMORY
Kiel's unease grew as Kaname's words settled into the air, heavy and unshakable. His fingers hovered. Trembling slightly, he struggled to find the right response. The cold tub before him loomed like a silent predator, waiting for him to make the first move.
"This better not kill me," Kiel signed, his hands moving slowly, each gesture marked by a trace of hesitation.
Kaname's lips twitched into a half-smile, though it didn't reach her eyes. "If it does, you won't be around to complain."
Kiel shot her a sharp look, his hands rising again in quick succession. "Funny." He then turned to Kiki, whose mischievous grin had only widened.
"You're really going through with this?" Orenji's voice cut through the tension, his usually easygoing tone now laced with concern. He stood a few steps away, arms crossed, his eyes fixed on Kiel. "You know you don't have to do this. No one's forcing you."
Kiel hesitated, the weight of Orenji's words pressing heavily on him. Rational thought screamed at him to walk away from the insanity of the ice bath, but the expectant gazes of Kaname, Kiki, and Yukira kept him rooted. He could feel the pressure to persevere, a stubborn part of him refusing to let them see him back down.
He inhaled sharply through his nose and nodded, raising his hands to sign once more. "Let's just get this over with."
Without another word, he pulled off his shirt, revealing a map of scars and faded marks that crisscrossed his torso. Each scar was a testament to past battles, dangers faced, and a harsh reminder of the survival he had fought for. The cold radiating from the tub made him wonder if he was about to add another chapter to his painful history.
Orenji winced at the sight of the scars, his concern deepening. "You sure about this, man?"
Kiel didn't answer with signs this time. Instead, he nodded grimly, stepping forward and dipping one foot into the icy water. The shock was immediate—a biting chill that shot up his leg and left him breathless. His body instinctively jerked back, but he forced himself to remain still, gritting his teeth against the numbing sensation.
He braced himself and lowered his other leg into the water. The cold climbed up both sides of his body, each nerve screaming in protest as his muscles clenched painfully. The icy water surged around him, making his skin feel like it was burning from the cold, but he pressed on, slowly sinking into the tub.
The water rose higher, inching up his torso and ruthlessly stealing the warmth from his body. His breath came in short, shallow bursts as he fought to maintain control, his mind desperately trying to ignore the growing numbness spreading through his limbs.
Kiki, watching with an air of fascination, leaned forward. "How does it feel?"
Kiel shot him a glare, his hands shaking too much to respond. His entire body was trembling now, each breath sending jagged shivers through his chest. The cold was relentless, draining him of his strength.
Kaname's calm, steady voice cut through his scattered thoughts. "Focus. The discomfort is temporary. You need to let your body relax. Once you do, your heart rate will slow, and you'll enter the state we need you in."
Kiel's hands were too stiff to respond, but he managed a weak nod. He tried to steady his breathing, battling the sharp pain in his limbs and the sluggishness taking over his thoughts. The more he fought to focus, the more his body rebelled, muscles twitching uncontrollably in the icy depths.
Suddenly, a shadow moved in the corner of his vision. Yukira stood at the edge of the room, her sharp green eyes narrowing at the sight of him. "You actually going through with this," She said, her voice low and disdainful. "You're crazier than I thought."
Kiel's heart sank further. Yukira's presence had a way of cutting through his bravado, stripping away the walls he had built around himself. Her disdainful gaze made him feel smaller and more exposed than ever.
He raised his hand weakly, managing only a single sign: "Go away."
Yukira smirked, leaning against the wall with casual arrogance. "You'll freeze to death before you accomplish anything." She paused, her eyes glinting with something darker. "But maybe that's what you want."
The jab stung more than he'd like to admit. Kiel's breath hitched, his resolve wavering as he sank deeper into the icy waters. Panic began to claw at him, making his heart race erratically.
Orenji knelt by his side, his voice softer now. "If this is too much, Kiel, you don't have to prove anything. You can still stop."
Kiel closed his eyes, trying to block out the noise, the cold, the fear. His body screamed for him to escape, to pull himself out of the water, but a deep-seated determination kept him anchored. He had come this far, endured this much. Turning back now felt like abandoning everything he had fought for.
With a shaky breath, Kiel opened his eyes and nodded again. "Let's finish this."
As Kiel's body trembled in the icy water, his mind became a battlefield of conflicting thoughts. The numbing cold gnawed at his muscles, making it harder to focus. His hands twitched, struggling to form another sign, when Kaname's voice pierced through the haze.
"Relax, Kiel. Slow your heart rate. The discomfort will fade if you just focus."
Slow his heart rate? Kiel shot her a skeptical look, unsure if this was just another layer of the bizarre experiment. Yet, he remembered reading about techniques that used controlled breathing to enhance focus and access hidden memories. Could this process really help him recover what he had forgotten?
The memories he had lost haunted him, fragments of a past that refused to resurface. If enduring the pain was a chance to unlock them, wasn't it worth the risk?
Kiel's breath was shallow and quick, but he forced himself to close his eyes, tuning out the biting cold. He focused on his breathing, drawing in a deep breath through his nose and exhaling slowly, counting each beat of his heart as it pounded in his chest.
One... two... three...
His heart began to slow, its frantic pace settling into a rhythm that was almost bearable. He wasn't sure if it was the cold or his own willpower, but the icy grip on his limbs seemed to loosen. His hands, now steadier, moved again, signing a single word: "Focus."
Kaname's gaze flickered, her lips twitching into a slight nod. "That's it. Keep going."
Kiel's mind drifted, his focus narrowing on the emptiness behind the fog of his forgotten past. Moments, feelings, faces—they all hovered just out of reach, as if trapped behind a locked door. He gritted his teeth, forcing himself to delve deeper into the calm, pushing the fear of the cold aside.
His breath slowed further, each inhale deeper, his body sinking further into the ice. And then... something shifted.
His heart rate dropped, and his limbs became heavy. The cold enveloped him fully, but instead of fighting it, he surrendered to it. Unexpectedly, his thoughts began to drift.
Memories long buried started rising to the surface, as if the icy water had cracked open a door he'd kept locked. Faint images flickered before his mind's eye—things he couldn't place but felt deeply familiar.
A face. A voice. A place.
And then, clarity emerged. A house. Faded, yet undeniably real, standing before him. He was staring at it, his pulse slowing as recognition dawned. It was from another time, another life, but somehow, it was calling him back.
Kiel blinked, the freezing water still clinging to him, yet his mind was somewhere else entirely. He was no longer in the tub, surrounded by his friends. He was standing in front of that house, staring at its weathered exterior, an old, buried memory finally resurfacing from the icy depths.
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone