Chương 3: Chains of Eternity

Cold water hit Vael's face in a sudden rush, wrenching him from the blackness. Blinking against the sting, he tried to make sense of his surroundings. The room was dimly lit, the air thick with tension. Bound tightly to a sturdy chair, he could feel the unyielding grip of the restraints biting into his wrists and ankles.

He flexed and strained, testing the strength of the bindings, but they held fast, rendering him immobile.

From the shadowy recesses of the room, a voice emerged, sharp and accusatory. "Why did you do it?" Vael's throat felt dry, but he held his silence, eyes darting around the room, trying to gauge the situation. Despite his formidable skills and instincts, he felt the weight of his vulnerability, trapped and at the mercy of his captor.

Vael's silence seemed to amplify the tension in the room. For a few breathless moments, there was nothing but the oppressive quiet. Then, without warning, a searing surge of electricity coursed through him. His body convulsed uncontrollably, every nerve ending screaming in agony. The metallic taste of blood filled his mouth as he nearly bit through his tongue in the midst of the torment.

As abruptly as it began, the electric current ceased. Vael's body slumped, gasping for breath, every muscle twitching in the aftermath. From the shadows, the voice emerged again, colder and more menacing. "We can keep this up all day if you prefer. Your choice."

Gasping for breath, Vael weighed his options. The agony of the shocks was unbearable, but revealing the truth opened him up to new vulnerabilities. Yet, with every passing moment, the weight of the truth bore down on him, compelling him to speak.

Blood tinged his lips as he began, his voice hoarse but determined.

"I intended to finish the job, but something inexplicable happened." He paused, drawing in a shaky breath. "The moment our eyes met, a flood of alien memories overwhelmed me. Scenes from a life not my own, yet eerily familiar. It felt as if we were the central figures, but in a different time, a different world. Our features were similar, but distinct enough to know it wasn't us." He swallowed hard, continuing, "And when she saw me, truly saw me, she spoke my name. It was as if those same memories, that same past, awoke within her too. But she lost consciousness soon after."

The room seemed to contract in the weight of the silence. The tension was palpable, like a string stretched to its breaking point. And then, from the shadows, a low chuckle began to echo. It grew, distorting into a maniacal laughter that seemed to reverberate from every corner, its chilling nature making Vael's skin crawl.

The voice, now dripping with malevolence, broke through the laughter. "We've been on the hunt for the both of you, ever since we ended you in your previous lives."

Vael's mind raced, confusion and fear mingling. "Killed us... last time?" he echoed, the weight of the revelation sinking in.

Without warning, the room's temperature plummeted.

The sudden cold was biting, making Vael's teeth chatter and his breath visible in misty puffs. It felt as though the very walls were being consumed by winter's grasp.

The sound of deliberate footsteps approached, each step echoing ominously. The presence felt overpowering, but the source remained hidden, shrouded in the dense shadows, heightening Vael's sense of vulnerability.

As the two figures emerged from the shadows, Vael's heart raced. Mason, his mentor, stood there, but there was a change in his demeanor, an unsettling aura that hadn't been there before. Beside him, the hooded figure was an embodiment of dread. The swirling, smoky mist around him seemed to drain the warmth from the room, and the chilling aura emanating from him was suffocating. It was as if darkness itself clung to this entity.

Mason's lips moved, but the voice that emanated was not his. It was deeper, ancient, and carried the weight of countless ages. "Vael, after all this time, our paths cross again. I am Yamaraj, the God of Death." A pause, filled with haunting intensity. "You might not recall our previous encounter, but I've claimed your life once before." The revelation hung in the air, thick with implications, and Vael tried to process the enormity of what he was hearing, his mind racing to connect the dots of a past he didn't remember.

A smirk played on Yamaraj's lips as he spoke, his voice dripping with malice. "Don't fret, Vael. Death won't claim you so easily this time. Sit back and savor the show we've prepared just for you." He gestured towards the hooded figure beside him, the frosty aura more pronounced now. "The God of Ice has graciously joined us for this special occasion."

In the blink of an eye, both figures vanished, leaving an unsettling silence in their wake. Vael's gaze was drawn upwards as mechanical whirring filled the room.

Descending from the ceiling, a large TV screen unfurled, its cold light cutting through the gloom. As the screen flickered to life, Vael's heart constricted in horror. Displayed on the screen was Luna, bound and shackled, her face pale and eyes wide with fear. She looked trapped, like a terrified creature ensnared in a cage, and Vael's sense of helplessness intensified. The piercing scream from Luna cut through Vael like a blade. Every fiber of his being screamed to help, to protect, but the cruel restraints held him captive, rendering him powerless.

Yamaraj's voice, cold and mocking, echoed again. "You see, Vael, it's all about the memories. Your pain, your despair, your anguish—it's all so much more delicious when you remember everything." As he spoke, the hooded figure, the God of Ice, approached Luna with deliberate steps. The moment his chilling touch connected with Luna's arm, it began to crystallize, turning a deadly shade of blue. The transformation was rapid, and in mere moments, Luna's arm had become a solid, icy sculpture. Her eyes, wide with terror and pain, darted between her frozen limb and her tormentors.

With a wicked grin, Yamaraj casually flicked the frozen arm. The sound of shattering ice filled the room as the arm broke away, falling lifelessly to the ground. Luna's heart-wrenching screams echoed, amplifying the horror of the moment. Vael felt a crushing weight in his chest, each scream like a dagger tearing into his very soul. Vael's mind was a tempest of haunting memories and searing pain. Each memory that forced its way into his consciousness was a blade twisting deeper into his psyche. His rage boiled over,

manifesting in a deafening scream. "Yamaraj, I'll kill you!" His voice echoed with a blend of despair and fury. Yamaraj reveled in Vael's torment, his laughter a grotesque melody resounding in the chilling room. "Ah, Vael. Your curses are music to my ears. Keep it coming!" His twisted amusement was evident.

The hooded figure moved again with an eerie calm, his icy grip enclosing Luna's other arm. The cold spread like death, turning flesh into ice. Vael's heart pounded against his ribcage, the scene unfolding before him was a brutal test of his will.

As the frozen arm shattered to the ground, Luna's screams morphed into a guttural cry of anguish, a sound so raw it sent shivers down Vael's spine. He was being pushed into an abyss of helpless rage, each of Luna's screams a nail in the coffin of his sanity.

The cacophony of screams, sinister laughter, and the barrage of resurfacing memories overwhelmed Vael. He clenched his eyes shut, desperate for a sliver of silence, a momentary escape from the grotesque reality that bound him. But when the silence came, it was a harbinger of something far more devastating.

With trepidation, Vael opened his eyes, and the sight that met him was a brutal stab to his soul. Luna, the girl who now held centuries of shared memories, love, and death, hung lifelessly from her chains. Her body, now a testament to the malicious game they were pawns in, swung slightly with a haunting eeriness.

"Luna..." Vael's voice was a whisper, a futile attempt to reach out to her. His heart was a seething cauldron of grief and rage.

As if triggered by the sheer emotional turmoil, a rush of memories engulfed Vael. His mind became a canvas painted with lifetimes of love, loss, and a bond that transcended the shackles of mortality. The faces of their tormentors across eons, the joy of their reunions, and the agony of their partings, played like a melancholy symphony.

Each memory that unfolded brought a clarity that was as liberating as it was painful. They were eternal souls, bound together in a cycle of love and retribution, and once again, they found themselves in the clutches of malevolent fate.

"At last," Yamaraj purred, his sinister grin stretching grotesquely from ear to ear. "Do you remember me now?" His voice was a venomous whisper, laced with dark triumph.

Vael's silence was a heavy shroud around him, his eyes locked on the malevolent deity before him. The memories now painted a clear picture; this god of death had hunted them through lifetimes, a relentless predator reveling in their torment.

Yamaraj's dark amusement was palpable as he reveled in Vael's helpless fury. "Ah, the sweet taste of despair," he mused, "It's a beautiful scene, isn't it? Your beloved, lifeless, while you watch helplessly." In a blink, Yamaraj was before Vael, an orb glowing ominously in his hand. The essence within it swirled, a dance of light that held an entire soul captive. "Behold," Yamaraj gloated, "Luna's soul, ensnared within my grasp. This time, there will be no escape, no reincarnation for either of you. The cycle ends here."

His demonic laugh resonated through the chilling void, a dark promise of eternal separation. Vael's gaze was transfixed on the orb, a storm of emotions raging within him. The reality of Yamaraj's words hit with a cold, hard finality—this time, there might truly be no reunion, no chance to thwart the malevolent fate that had pursued them through the sands of time.

The cold gleam of the dagger was a harbinger of the end as Yamaraj brandished it with a cruel flourish. "Your time has come, Vael," his voice a venomous whisper that heralded death. As the blade caressed Vael's throat, a swift, merciless cut was made, unleashing a torrent of blood. The life force ebbed away from Vael with each pulsing gush, his vision dimming, the world blurring into an indistinct haze. Yet, amidst the encroaching darkness, Vael's mind clung to the visage of Luna. His heart ached with a raw, desperate longing, a desire to reach across the veils of death and reunite with her. His soul trembled at the thought of an eternity apart, bound in the cold grasp of oblivion.

"Farewell, my love," he whispered, the words a final tribute to the eternal bond they shared. As his eyes fluttered shut, a brilliant white light erupted, engulfing the room in a celestial radiance. The echoes of Yamaraj's furious screams resonated through the veil of light, a futile protest against an unseen power.

As the darkness claimed Vael, his consciousness faded into the serene embrace of the unknown. Though his earthly eyes closed for the final time, the essence of his being soared towards a realm beyond the reach of malevolent deities, towards a hope that love could transcend even the shackles of death.

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