Bab 17: Master (1)
If anyone Is directly on this chapter again after reading the previous chapter before please reread it as i had accidentally uploaded unfinished chapter
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Penélope jolted awake, her heart racing from the remnants of her nightmare.
She sat up slowly, stretching her arms as the stiffness of sleep left her body.
The room was still dim, but the faint glow of the rising sun began to creep over the horizon, casting soft rays of light through the blinds.
She ran a hand through her hair and sighed before pulling herself out of bed.
She padded across the floor to the bathroom, her feet cold against the tiles. The morning was still quiet, save for the soft hum of distant traffic.
Turning the knob of the shower, she let the cold water cascade over her, shocking her senses awake.
As she stood beneath the water, Penélope's mind drifted back to how much her life had changed over the years.
She had barely survived after escaping that hell with Robert, those days filled with darkness and despair.
She remembered the isolation, living from moment to moment, avoiding any real connection with others.
She had thought she would be trapped in that endless cycle of survival, carrying the weight of her trauma with her everywhere she went.
But then she had found work at the orphanage as a cook, a way to escape the haunting memories.
The children there didn't ask questions, and the routine of preparing meals kept her mind occupied.
It wasn't much, but it was enough to help her start to heal, slowly but surely.
It was easier to hide behind her duties than to face the past.
Yet, everything changed on that fateful day.
That day she had been called to meet a strange boy named Niklaus.
A transfer kid, the staff had said.
But when she looked at him, she saw something else. There was a power in his gaze, a knowing smirk in his demeanor that unsettled her.
He wasn't like any child she'd met before.
And then it happened—he gave his first command.
Not a request, but an order.
Her Master, she had thought bitterly in those moments afterward.
Penélope had followed the boy, Niklaus, out of curiosity.
It was strange—while she was still somewhat conscious of her actions, there was an undeniable pull toward him that she couldn't resist.
Something about him intrigued her in ways she couldn't quite explain.
Her colleagues at the orphanage, on the other hand, had fallen completely under his sway.
Their demeanor had shifted to one of quiet obedience, their every action aligned to the whims of the boy.
It was as if their free will had vanished, replaced by unwavering loyalty to Niklaus.
Penélope, however, remained aware.
She watched him carefully, catching glimpses of him planning something.
He mostly kept to himself, scribbling in notebooks or staring at maps with a chilling intensity.
Then, there were those moments when he revealed his power—like the time she saw him fly, soaring straight into the sky with an ease that left her speechless.
She had never seen anything like it.
At the time, she didn't know what to think.
She couldn't make sense of who—or what—Niklaus was.
But then he returned one day, colder than before.
When Niklaus returned that day after the strange people had intruded in the orphanage, his demeanor was icier than ever.
He stood before Penélope, his eyes calculating, his voice cold as he ordered her to gather some metal and arrange a building agency to start excavation work in an isolated region on the outskirts of Mystic Falls.
"I'll handle the land acquisition," he said, as if it were a trivial matter when she asked for it.
Penélope nodded and turned to leave, ready to fulfill the task.
But just as she was about to go, Niklaus called out to her.
"I know you're not completely under my compulsion," he said, his piercing gaze locking onto hers.
Penélope froze, feeling a chill run down her spine.
"You're different," he continued, stepping closer. "You have more chi than most people."
" Your body... it's been sacrificing your sense of self to keep you going through whatever hell you've been through."
" It's why the compulsion hasn't fully taken hold of you."
Penélope's mind raced.
She didn't fully understand what he was talking about, but she felt the truth in his words.
Her past—the trauma, the survival, the years of torment—had changed her in ways she never realized.
"You must have some talent," he added, his tone almost indifferent, as if acknowledging something rare but of little consequence to him.
With that, he dismissed her with a wave of his hand, and Penélope, though shaken by his insight, went to carry out his orders.
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After the chamber was built deep in the outskirts of Mystic Falls, Niklaus had given Penélope a simple but stern order: bring him food from time to time and speak nothing of him to anyone.
She obeyed without question.
Months passed.
Penélope watched from the shadows as Niklaus immersed himself in books, teaching himself various martial arts with an almost unnatural focus.
He practiced relentlessly, his young body moving with precision that belied his age, honing skills that seemed far beyond his years.
When he wasn't training, she often found him meditating, his energy coiling and shifting like a storm waiting to break.
The turning point came one evening when, instead of sending her away after delivering his food, Niklaus simply looked at her and said, "Stay."
Penélope blinked, confused.
She hesitated for a moment, then sat down near him, unsure of what was expected of her.
The silence stretched between them, thick and heavy, as he continued his meditation.
"Sit closer," he added after a long pause, his eyes still closed, his voice soft but commanding.
Nervously, Penélope shifted closer.
She could feel the tension in the air around him, as if he were surrounded by an invisible force.
For the first time in months, she felt nervous around the cold boy.
Something about his presence made her all tingly, and she was aware that he was aware of more than just the physical world around him.
"Do you know why I asked you to stay?" Niklaus asked suddenly, opening his eyes and glancing at her.
Penélope shook her head slightly, unsure of what to say, after all he didn't really... you know tell her.
Niklaus, his face still eerily calm, looked at Penélope with a detached curiosity before speaking.
"I'm about to try something... risky," he said, his voice flat. "I'm going to absorb your life energy."
Before she could process his words, his hand pressed firmly against her head.
At first, she felt nothing but a slight warmth, then a tingling sensation that rapidly grew into an unbearable, searing pain.
It felt like her very essence was being drained from her body, every cell screaming in agony.
She screeched, her body writhing as she tried to push away from him, but an invisible force kept her in place.
Suddenly, that force shattered, and she was flung backward, her vision blurring and darkening around the edges.
For a moment, she felt herself slipping into unconsciousness, her mind drifting in and out.
When she came to, gasping for air, Penélope was met with a horrific sight.
Niklaus stood in front of her, his hand completely missing, the stump smoldering.
His entire body resembled a charred corpse, skin blackened and cracked as if he had been burned alive.
His single remaining eye blazed a terrifying red, and his muscles glowed like molten lava, heat radiating from his form.
Penélope's breath caught in her throat. She couldn't move, couldn't speak.
All she could do was stare in horror as the young boy she had been serving seemed on the verge of disintegration.
But then, slowly, the blazing red in his eye began to fade, his skin starting to knit itself back together, steam rising as his flesh repaired itself with terrifying speed.
The charred remains of his body began to heal before her eyes, the cracks sealing, the molten appearance receding.
Niklaus's eye returned to its usual cold gaze, and his missing hand began to regenerate, bones and tendons forming, followed by muscle and skin.
Within moments, he looked almost untouched, though the air was still steaming.
He flexed his newly formed hand and glanced at Penélope, his expression neutral, as though what had just occurred was nothing out of the ordinary.
"Interesting," he murmured, his voice calm but not without disappointment. "It seems life energy absorption has a steep backlash."
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