I laughed. “Well, I can neither deny nor confirm. Anyway, he gave me medicine and when I came to my senses, I was like this.”
“Are you saying he has developed a drug to treat the mind of the medium?”
“I don’t know. How would I know? It’s not like he likes me enough to tell me anything. I am just research subject to him. Maybe I am just special?” I smiled again. The blindfold slipped down and I could see a little of my surroundings. I also saw Antares studying me with amusement. His red eyes were even more red than before but his appearance was different. He seemed to have used transformation magic before. It was… unappealing to my senses.
“Special…,” he muttered. He didn’t seem to have believed me. Perhaps it was strange to him that I, who had been fed the poison that he made, had survived against all odds.
He studied me as though he was thinking of different experiments to inflict upon by personage. I shuddered to think what he had in mind. Perhaps he didn’t know how to draw blood and study the components like Kaichen. That would be a blessing.
“That’s amazing. I’m sure the addiction wasn’t pleasant, but I didn’t expect you to have such a sane mind like this.”
“Exactly what part of me looks normal to you?” I was trying to stall for time. My hands were shaking so badly behind the chair that it even shook the chair where I was tied to. My headache was killing me. The pain in my eyes was worse. I had forgotten how it felt because I had been taking my medicine for so long that it had worked wonders. It was harder now to bear it.
“Do you have nightmares?” asked Antares.
“Everyday.”
“What about sleep?”
“Ah, I can’t even remember when was the last time I slept well.”
“How about your hand?”
“Can’t you see for yourself?”
“Do you have hallucinations or hear things?”
“I don’t know what a ‘hallucination’ is.”
“Do you feel the intense desire to do something?”
“I often binge eat.” Of course, it was all lies. Kaichen had always told me that whenever I opened my mouth, only lies appeared. I wonder if that was true. I didn’t know what the truth was anymore.
Antares probably wanted to check the symptoms to gauge the progress of his poison on my mind. I knew for a fact that he was behind the epidemic in Acrab. Bastard! But why would he kidnap me?
“Well, it’s highly likely that the poison has mutated under the influence of the forbidden magic. But it’s amazing. I didn’t expect anyone to survive in the forbidden magic. What did you see and experience in it?”
“I don’t remember.”
“Seems like a lie.”
Suddenly everyone is a judge! You believed the lies that I told you till now! I frowned and groaned. “I really don’t remember. I was curious to find out myself but no matter what I do, my memory is fuzzy.”
“As with other prohibited magic, the medium of time magic is bound to become ruined. You don’t have an idea how valuable an experimental subject you are, do you? To the extent that even Kaichen did things he doesn’t like to seek your cooperation for his research. It would have been a great help if you could remember what exactly happened in the time magic. You really don’t remember anything?”
Whether I’m a valuable experiment subject or not, I have no intention of cooperating with anyone like Antares. I became the subject of Kaichen’s research because he saved me from the terrible time magic. If I wasn’t grateful, I wouldn’t have agreed to becoming a test subject at all. Cooperating with Antares? I would rather just drop dead.
“Yes… I can’t really remember anything.”
“It’s a shame. But don’t worry, I have some drugs that can dig up your memories,” he said. “I will make you remember everything.”
“No, I am fine as I am.”
Antares approached me with a medicine from his shabby desk. This bastard was a black magician! Obviously, he would have thought of something like this! The bright-red liquid in the vial he brought with him didn’t look too good. The drug that shattered the mind to unearth forgotten memories didn’t sound very safe.
I made a mistake and I will die for it. It was too late now. I struggled but Antares was strong. He opened the vial and grabbed my mouth and poured it down my throat. I could feel his fingers prying my lips open. I felt disgusted. How dare he put his dirty finger on my mouth?
It looked like liquid but it didn’t go down my throat smoothly. It felt slimy and jelly-like. I tried to spit it out but Antares forced my mouth shut and I swallowed. Tears sprang in my eyes. It tasted terrible! I was disgusted. I retched.
“Ugh! Uck!” I wanted to throw up but the stuff was already gone. My heart, which had pounded so hard, began to race overtime as though it was going to explode. I felt like I was going to have a seizure or a heart attack.
I gasped for breath. My body heated up. My heart palpitations became worse. The headache was so bad that it felt like my head would explode. My eyes throbbed. I groaned in pain as my body twisted. The ropes cut into my skin as I struggled. I was still tied to the chair. I grabbed the armrest of the chair to calm myself but this was too overwhelming. It hurt so much. It felt like my vital organs had twisted themselves and turned upside down inside my body. I couldn’t breathe properly. It was ridiculous that the pain would be so bad.
