CHAPTER 206: ADRIAN VS JULIAN (2)

[A/N: This Chapter may contain extreme violence. Read with discretion!]

Adrian looked at Julian now, dangling like a ragdoll, and his voice dropped to a whisper of promise.

"Oh, it’s like that, is it? Fine. I’ll make you beg me to kill you. You will plead for the mercy of death like it’s the sweetest release."

Julian’s eyes widened fractionally, and in a desperate bid, he made haste to bite down on his tongue, aiming to sever it and end himself before the torment began.

But his jaw froze mid-motion, teeth halted inches apart, as Adrian’s immense will crashed down on him like an avalanche, locking every muscle and nerve.

"Not so fast. We haven’t even begun."

Right after, he squeezed Julian’s throat harder. Julian’s face turned purple and his veins bulged as oxygen fled his lungs, his vision spotting with black stars.

Coupled with Adrian’s crushing aura, a transcendent force that pressed on his very soul, Julian felt utterly helpless, a puppet in the hands of a merciless god.

His body convulsed and his legs kicking futilely, but Adrian held firm, watching with clinical detachment as life ebbed to the brink.

When it seemed Julian was seconds from death, Adrian finally released his grasp just enough to let a ragged gasp escape.

But he didn’t end there. Spotting a stream of icy water nearby, Adrian dragged Julian toward it by the collar, his victim’s feet scraping uselessly against the stone.

Splash! He shoved Julian’s head into the icy flow, holding it under as bubbles erupted in frantic bursts.

Julian thrashed, water flooding his nose and mouth. His lungs burned as panic set in.

Adrian counted the seconds, pulling him up just as consciousness wavered, only for the water to rush back out in choking coughs, leaving Julian gasping and sputtering.

Then, splash!

Down again, longer this time, the cycle repeated ruthlessly. Drown, revive, drown. Each submersion pushed Julian closer to the edge, his mind fracturing under the terror of near-death, over and over.

After repeating the process fifty times, Julian was barely hanging onto life. His body was limp and shivering. His eyes were glassy and unfocused and water dripped from his soaked hair.

Adrian hauled him up one last time, propping him against a rock.

"Are you ready to talk now?" he asked coldly. "Or should we continue? It’s only been an hour. We can go all day if that’s what it takes."

Julian was too weak to do anything; his body didn’t even feel like his own. His limbs were numb and unresponsive.

He struggled to form words, his throat raw and swollen, when Adrian shoved a healing pill into his mouth, forcing him to swallow.

"You’ll need some juice if we’re going to keep this up," Adrian said icily, watching as the pill’s effects knit minor wounds and restored just enough vitality to prolong the suffering.

Refreshed but still broken, Julian endured as Adrian continued the torture; alternating between choking grips, precise strikes to pressure points that ignited nerves like fire, and more drownings, each one calibrated to maximize pain without granting the escape of unconsciousness.

After another hour, the facade finally cracked. Julian begged and cried, tears streaming down his face as self-doubt consumed him.

"I’ll... I’ll talk," he stammered with a hoarse voice. "Please... no more. I-I can’t... please, stop."

Adrian didn’t let go of his pressure, the aura still bearing down like a weight. He was shocked it had taken this long to break him.

Grabbing Julian’s chin, he forced their eyes to meet. "Start talking. Now."

Julian stammered, his words tumbling out in a whisper. "I’m not Julian. I only possessed his body. I’m— I’m— I’m a—"

"You’re a what?" Adrian snapped with impatience.

Julian opened his mouth to continue, and then Adrian felt it; a sudden void, like a candle snuffed out. Julian’s eyes went blank, his soul vanishing in an instant. He was dead, some final failsafe triggering his end.

"Damn it!" Adrian cursed into the air, his fist slamming into a nearby rock with a crack that tore it apart.

He’d been so close, but he failed at the end. He threw Julian’s lifeless corpse into his [Inventory], turning around to face a group of dwarves who looked at him with a fearful expression.

***

***

Elsewhere in the vast expanse of the universe, in a dim lit room, stood a sarcophagus-like pod. Inside, a body stirred. It was a lithe figure with pale skin, sharp features, and hair as black as the void itself.

A soul had settled in with a jolt and the body convulsed as consciousness flooded in.

The figure’s eyes snapped open; pools of inky darkness that reflected no light. His hands clutched his chest as if to confirm his return to physicality.

"Failed... I failed." Memories crashed over him; his plans, all unraveling at the hands of that infernal white-haired pest. Adrian.

The name burned in his mind like acid. "How? How did it come to this?" He pounded a fist against the pod’s edge.

He had been so close. The mission was simple, but Adrian’s unpredictability had turned the tide.

"I underestimated him," the figure muttered. "A mere human, and he outmaneuvered me. Me!"

He cursed under his breath. "By the Void’s maw, damn that boy to eternal torment. I should have ended him sooner."

His introspection shattered as a soft chime echoed through the chamber, followed by the hiss of a door sliding open.

A robed attendant entered, with a face hidden beneath a hood. They paused, sensing the shift in energy.

"Agent Zero? You’re... back already?" The attendant’s voice held a note of surprise, quickly masked by protocol.

"The Queen has been awaiting your report. She sensed the disruption in the link. You must proceed to the throne hall at once. The council is convened."

Zero — for that was his true name — stood slowly, his body adjusting to the return.

He smoothed his robes, masking the turmoil within behind a facade of cold composure. Failure was not tolerated in the Shadow Collective, but perhaps he could spin this setback into an opportunity.

Adrian was a threat now, one that demanded escalation. "Very well," he replied. "Lead the way."