章 22: Pain
"Is there a place where I can change?" Alex asked Scarlett. He had no intention of staying in his current attire during the process, as he was certain it would get messy, so he preferred to change beforehand.
"You can do it over there, and there are also garments designed for this sort of thing if you need them," Scarlett replied, pointing to a room she had just conjured with a remote-like device in her hand.
"Thank you," Alex said before heading towards the designated room.
Inside the room, he found white garments that looked like they were meant for patients—or perhaps test subjects.
He undressed and put on one of the garments before exiting the room. There, he found Scarlett sitting on a chair with a notebook in hand.
"What's the notebook for?" he inquired.
"Take a wild guess—it's obviously for taking notes. It's not every day you get to witness the destruction and reconstruction of a human body, so I want to document it," she paused for a moment before continuing, "and who knows? Maybe, thanks to this, I might make a significant discovery."
"Fair enough," Alex replied, settling himself on the floor, crossing his legs into a meditative posture, and addressing the system, "How long will this take?"
[Just a few minutes,] came the system's response.
"I guess I can endure it if it's only for a few minutes," Alex remarked.
[...]
[Alright, I'm ready. Start the process,]he said, mentally preparing himself.
"Okay."
[Process beginning in 3...2...1...0.]
During the few seconds after the system announced that the process had begun, Alex didn't feel anything. He started to ask why he wasn't experiencing any pain, but before he could finish his sentence, a pain of intensity he had never imagined surged through him. Unable to contain his suffering, he unintentionally let out a guttural scream of pain.
"AAAAAHHHHH...."
Scarlett, who was observing the situation a few meters away, jumped in surprise. The scream had been so sudden that it caught her off guard. One moment, Alex was in meditation, and the next, he was writhing on the ground, releasing a scream of excruciating pain.
Alex continued to thrash on the ground like a fish out of water, his body convulsing with unbearable pain.
He felt his muscles tearing, his skin fracturing, and blood oozing out. Even the act of screaming sent waves of agony through him, as if his vocal cords were being seared. But he couldn't stop screaming.
In an instant, his pristine white clothing began to stain with blood, the crimson liquid flowing from every orifice - quite literally every one.
Scarlett, who stood nearby, watched the horrifying spectacle with a mixture of awe and terror as Alex's body was being systematically destroyed.
What she couldn't see, however, was the chaotic symphony unfolding inside Alex's body.
Every bone in his body shattered, then reconstructed itself, only to be broken down once more, creating an endless cycle of destruction and reconstruction. But it wasn't just his bones; every element constituting his body, from the tiniest cells to the largest units, went through this harrowing process.
After a while, even his screams ceased. His vocal cords had been completely seared. His eyes began to dry out, his hair fell away, his teeth dropped out. At some point, he lost all sensation, no longer able to see, hear, smell, feel, or even taste. All that remained was the unrelenting agony that refused to let go.
One might wonder how he could still be alive in such a state. Anyone else in his place might have given up. But not Alex.
He refused to yield. Why, one might ask? After all, he had spent his past years doing nothing of consequence, becoming utterly useless in the eyes of the world.
He sometimes even questioned himself why he was living. Yet, it was precisely this feeling of uselessness that drove Alex. He was fed up with feeling worthless and was willing to endure any pain to change that.
"I must endure... I must endure... I must endure...", This phrase had become a true mantra for Alex as he endured the harrowing pain he was going through.
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