'Ah… my neck hurts.'

The thought surfaced naturally as I regained consciousness. It felt like something hard and sharp had cracked me right across the neck — the kind of pain you get from sleeping at a completely wrong angle, except worse.

A small frown fell on my face as I opened my eyes... because this scenery was different. Not quite what I was expecting.

First of all, I was in a forest. But a silent one. The bonfires were gone, and it looked like I'd been abandoned in the woods while I slept.

But that wasn't quite it either. The woods themselves had no signs of the caravan — no trampled grass, no ash circles, nothing. This was a forest all the same… but definitely a different one.

I tried to straighten up from my prone position only to find out that I was completely restricted.

'I'm tied?'

"Finally awake?"

A cold, flat tone reached me. The speaker wasn't in my line of sight — the voice was coming from behind me.

My frown deepened as I played the voice in my head. It didn't take more than a few seconds to figure out who it belonged to.

I managed to shift myself upright, leaning back against a tree and exhaling slowly. Then I smiled.

"Pretty boy. Wow. Took you long enough."

'I should summon Kassie… catch him off guard.'

I tried to — however, the rope binding me glowed with golden light and dimmed almost immediately. I lowered my head to look at it.

That was when I knew.

'Oh fuck me.'

The pretty boy Templar finally stood. I could hear the rustling of leaves as he moved, and then he appeared in my line of sight — armor pristine as ever, hair immaculately white, and those eyes, full of meaning and insufferable handsomeness. Even the darkness seemed to part around him to let his splendor be known.

'I want that bastard's face.'

He stood before me and drove his sword into the ground with a heavy thud, then leaned on it, watching me with that infuriatingly calm gaze.

"If you try to summon your Spirit or use your essence, the Holy Lasso will only get tighter. The more you try, the tighter it gets. Eventually, it will restrict your blood flow and you'll die a horrible death." He paused. "That is, if you keep trying."

His eyes were blank. Emotionless.

"If you, however, stay still and answer my questions, I can broker a deal for you."

A small frown made its way onto my face. I raised a brow, then frowned even deeper the next second.

'Broker a deal?'

I let out an absurd laugh.

"You must think you're talking to a seven-year-old."

The Inquisitor sighed and straightened.

"Listen, Heathen. This is not about you… this is about the Church in Aetheris. Something is wrong there, and something tells me you're my key to finding out what. Answer my questions and I'll arrange a deal for you with the Head Church."

I leaned back and spread a smug grin across my face.

"Oh? Is that so… if I'm that instrumental to your little crusade, then release me. I'll tell you what you want afterwards."

He was silent for a moment, disdain dripping from his expression. But he lowered his eyes moments later and let out a small, almost hollow chuckle, muttering under his breath.

"Why must you all be so irritating?"

He sighed and looked at me with a frown that suggested he didn't want to be doing this any more than I wanted to be here.

"Listen, fool. If you get taken to the church in Aetheris, do you think you'll be heard? They'll either kill you or use you."

I clicked my tongue in mock pity, which only made him frown harder.

"You're not taking this seriously…"

I smiled. "Quite the contrary, actually."

His eyes narrowed.

"Do you know the gravity of being caught by them? If you answer my questions, I can secure you a proper trial — one that will give you the opportunity to defend your stance to the Solar Pontiff himself. If you admit your guilt and are willing to serve, you'll find forgiveness. A life of new light."

At that moment, my face contorted like I'd just tasted dirt.

"That's it? That's your… deal?" I shook my head. "Just take me back to Aetheris."

His frown was barely containable now. He seemed to be burning with more indignation than he was letting show.

"Listen here, you foolish heathen." His voice dropped, cold and sharp. "I know you do not value your life. That is why you could kill hundreds of innocent people. But if you don't tell me who you are — where you come from, and how exactly the Kingdom of Aetheris spawned Spirit Summoners without the knowledge of the Head Church — the least you'll have to worry about is your own life."

He let that hang in the air.

"Your friends. The ones helping you run. Every innocent person you've ever met in Aetheris, whether they're connected to you or not — they will all suffer."

He let that sink in.

"Unless you don't have an iota of empathy for all the people in that kingdom, you'd better start talking." His eyes locked onto mine. "Who are you?"

"Your father, you piece of crap. I'm your fucking father."

The guy looked like he was going to explode. His face, so flat before, wasn't flat anymore. He stood before me, glaring.

Then he suddenly began to loosen his gauntlet, letting the metal chunk fall to the ground. His gaze was cold and practical as he loosened the second one.

"I see you have no intention to cooperate with me and do this the easy way." He cracked his knuckles — slowly, patiently — then looked at me. "You see, I've had reason to be angry since yesterday morning. I have been reining myself in… and just now, with a foolish heathen like you, I need not practice such illuminating values as patience. Discipline. Restraint."

He stepped closer, one deliberate step after another.

"I am an Inquisitor. My purpose to the Lord of Light is to hunt people like you — and make you bleed with pain." He grabbed my hair and wrenched my face up to his. "Since you have decided not to do this the easy way, I will show you why you should fear me."

This bastard… punched me.

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