Killswitch: Battle of the gods

Deeper...

The guards were huge, muscular and dressed in dark robes, their faces covered with hoods. They dragged the five prisoners into the cell by their limbs, and then left, locking the door behind them without a single word. The prisoners lay there slumped on the floor, unmoving. Ben and the woman exchanged a glance, and then the woman cautiously approached the prisoners. As she drew closer, Ben could see, bound by his chains that the prisoners were all children, their ages ranging from about five to twelve. Their skin was pale and thin, they looked as if they had been through hell.

Immediately, as soon as the woman touched the children the inquisitor came in, with his t*****e devices in hand. The inquisitor was a tall, imposing figure, dressed in black robes. He wore a mask that covered his face, and he carried a toolbox filled with various t*****e devices. As the inquisitor set down his tools he glared at Ben and the woman, his eyes cold and hard. "What are you doing?," he barked. "These prisoners are not to be disturbed. Get away from them." Ben felt a surge of anger. "These are just children," Ben barked back, his voice shaking with rage. "They don't deserve to be treated like this."

The inquisitor grabbed one of the children - a boy of about eight years old - by the arm and pulled him to his feet. The boy whimpered in fear, and the woman let out a small cry. The inquisitor held a knife to the boy's throat, his eyes glinting with malice. "I will not tolerate any interference," he said, his voice low and menacing. "If you do not comply, I will kill the boy." Ben felt sick. He had to do something, but he was chained, he wanted to do anything, but what? If he moved, the boy would die. The inquisitor looked at the woman, Ben realizing it is her kid, he began. "Where is Alsies’ claim of land, where is he holding them?". The woman kept quiet. The inquisitor's gaze turned to the woman, and Ben could see the fear in her eyes. It was clear that the boy was her son, and that she was terrified for his life. She remained silent, her body trembling. The inquisitor's grip on the boy tightened, and Ben felt his heart racing. He had to do something, but he didn't know what. If he tried to do anything to the inquisitor, the boy would die. But if he did nothing, the boy would suffer a terrible fate. He was trapped. The inquisitor clicked his tongue, then casually slit the boy's throat, the body fell to the ground with a thud, blood flowing from the gaping neck wound as the child gurgled and chocked on his own blood. The inquisitor then grabbed the other child, pulling her from the floor by the throat, then casually stabbed the other girl in the neck. He looked like he derived pleasure from it as he licked the blood off the knife.

Ben's voice cracked as he screamed, his eyes wide with horror. "I'll tell you everything, I promise!," he cried. "Just please, don't hurt the others." The inquisitor looked at him, his expression unreadable. "You know nothing, if you did, the potion you drank and the spell we used couldn’t have broken you, but she does," he said coldly. "You are of no use to me." Ben's heart sank. He had failed. He had tried to save the children, but what if he had only managed to get them killed. The woman was sobbing quietly, her face a mask of grief. The inquisitor called the guard, “take them away, kill them all,” he said, “leave Alsies, he will be executed in public". Ben watched as the woman and the children were dragged away. Ben sat alone in the cell, his mind racing. He was filled with confusion, fear, and guilt. He didn't understand how he had ended up here, or what was happening to him. He felt like he was living in a nightmare, a terrible dream from which he couldn't wake up. He tried to focus on his breathing, to calm himself down, but it was no use. He was trapped, and he didn't know what to do.

Ben's stomach churned, he felt a wave of nausea wash over him. He leaned over and retched, vomiting onto the floor. He wiped his mouth with the shoulder part of his ragged clothing, and he began to sob. He felt like a failure, like he had let the children and the woman down. He had tried to save them, but he had only made things worse. He felt utterly hopeless, and he didn't know what to do next. Hours bled into sunset, he was still in the dungeon, the inquisitor came back and looked through the door. "I have seen men crumble for family, but even your twins among those five refused to say anything, a family of brave fools until the bitter end," he mocked. " I am both impressed and dumfounded by your foolishness". Immediately it sank even more, his children were among the children tossed to the execution, he didn’t have any children, but now he was told he did, he was confused, but he felt it hit hard, it made him sick, he began to sob once more.

Ben felt as if he had been punched in the gut. The inquisitor's words had landed like a physical blow, and the weight of the revelation about his children was crushing. He tried to process the information, but it was too much to bear. His entire world had been turned upside down, and he felt like he was losing his grip on reality. He buried his head in his hands, trying to shut out the world, but the pain and grief were too much to bear. Alone in the dark something in him snapped, Ben started to laugh maniacally, with tears on his face, he had lost his mind for a bit. The laughter bubbled up from somewhere deep within, a raw, hysterical sound. Ben didn't recognize it as his own, but he couldn't control it. Tears streamed down his face as he laughed and sobbed at the same time, his hands curled up like claws, his back inverted as he stared up to the dungeon ceiling. He felt like he was going crazy, but he couldn't stop. The laughter immediately turned to a sobbing wail, and he crumpled halfway to the floor, hanging caught by his chains, sobbing uncontrollably. He didn't know how long he hung there, crying and gasping for breath. The inquisitor rushed in as if to help, unbeknownst to the captive, he was then punched by the assumed savior in the gut to which he immediately let out a groan as he soiled himself. Ben twisted over in pain as the inquisitor's fist connected with his stomach. He felt a hot rush of humiliation as he soiled himself, but he was in too much pain to be embarrassed. The inquisitor stood in front of him, watching him with a look of disgust. "You're a pathetic, sniveling fool," he spat. "You're not even worth my time." He turned and left, leaving Ben crumpled on the floor.