Chapter 11: Insanity 4
In the northern building, not far from the prison quarters, two men occupied a dim chamber on the third floor.
One stood silently by the window, cloaked in pale light. Draped in fine silk, his tall frame radiated quiet authority, and his thick mustache twitched as he spoke, voice cool and sharp.
"So you're telling me that foolish vice leader is still acting on his own whims?"
Kneeling behind him was Makaram, the man favored by the branch leader himself. His head remained lowered, posture reverent, as though the air around the leader was too heavy to meet with unguarded eyes.
Suddenly they both felt an intimidating spiritual pressure. So powerful that they began to cold sweat
Branch leader looked at makaram and makaram noded in agreement
Swish
Makaram vanished and went to the place where the pressure were felt. And it was coming from the prison nafees was at.
Suddenly, a crushing spiritual pressure swept through the room, dense and overwhelming. It pressed against their chests like an invisible hand, sharp enough to draw cold sweat from both men.
The branch leader's eyes narrowed. Without a word, he turned to glance at Makaram.
Makaram met his gaze and gave a single, firm nod.
Swish.
In the blink of an eye, Makaram vanished from sight.
He reappeared near the source of the disturbance: the prison.
Where Nafees was being held.
****
In a small, dark room, Nafees was tied to a wooden chair. The ropes were tight, cutting into his skin.
Suddenly, cold water splashed on his face.
Splash!
He woke up with a start, gasping for air. As his eyes adjusted, he saw a man sitting in front of him.
The man had sharp, fox-like eyes.
It was Makaram.
"Where… where am I?" Nafees asked, his voice shaky.
Makaram smirked. "That's the first thing you ask?"
Nafees stayed quiet.
Makaram leaned in. "Let me ask you nicely. what faction are you from?"
"What are you talking about, sir!!?"
Nafees looked confused
Makaram chuckled coldly as he said,
"No, no. You had the guts to come here to spy. You should be saying, 'Please kill me without mercy.'"
A cruel grin tugged at the corners of his mouth.
Nafees's face turned pale. His breathing grew uneven.
Makaram's voice dropped, sharp and direct.
"Now, answer me. Which faction do you belong to?"
"I swear, I don't know what you're talking about!" Nafees cried.
Without a word, Makaram reached into his robe and pulled out a thin, metal needle.
Then, with terrifying calm, he slid it under Nafees's fingernail.
"AAARGHH!"
The scream ripped from Nafees's throat, echoing through the cold stone walls.
Nafees's breath came in ragged gasps, sweat pouring down his face. His body trembled in the chair, pain still pulsing from his bleeding nail.
Makaram watched him with cold eyes, waiting for the next lie.
But then, through cracked lips, Nafees finally broke.
"I'm not a spy…" he gasped. "I came from… another world."
Makaram's expression stiffened, his eyes narrowing.
"I swear… I don't know anything about your factions or this place. I'm from a world called Earth. I only got here recently. I don't know anyone…
His voice wavered as tears welled in his eyes.
Nafees Keep saying about his life in that world.
Makaram said nothing, but his gaze sharpened with each word.
"There was… a girl,"
Nafees continued, his voice cracking.
"She was different. Mysterious. I met her a few weeks before I woke up in this world. I thought she was just a strange but something about her didn't feel normal. She spoke of death like it was… personal."
He coughed, struggling to stay conscious.
Makaram stared in silence, unmoving.
Nafees lowered his head. "Please… I'm not lying. I don't even know what this place is."
A long pause filled the room.
Then, without a word, Makaram turned away and walked out.
The heavy door shut behind him with a deep thud, leaving Nafees alone in the silence.
Moments later, Makaram entered the branch leader's chamber.
The cult leader stood by the window, arms crossed behind his back.
"Well?" he asked, without turning.
Makaram bowed, his voice low and uncertain.
"…I believe he lost his mind ."
Makaram remained bowed, his fists clenched at his sides, trying to make sense of what he had heard.
The silence in the room stretched until the branch leader finally spoke . his voice low, steady, and cold.
"That pressure we felt earlier…"
He turned slightly, his eyes now glowing faintly under the dim light.
"It wasn't ordinary."
Makaram looked up, startled.
The branch leader continued, his tone grave.
"It was heavy. Ominous. And disturbingly familiar."
He walked slowly toward the center of the room, each step echoing softly against the stone floor.
"That aura… I've only felt something like that once before, when I stood in the presence of our main branch's cult leader."
"Blood daemon?!!!"
Makaram's eyes widened in disbelief.
The branch leader nodded slowly. "Yes. That same depth. That same chill… buried under flesh."
He turned back to the window, folding his hands behind his back.
"This boy, this 'Nafees'... He may not be lying. But that doesn't make him harmless."
Makaram said nothing, waiting.
"For now," the branch leader said, his voice dropping into a whisper
"we will not interrogate him further. Let us recruit him. Watch him closely. every breath, every shift in energy. If he proves useful, he may become something… far greater."
"Yes, sir," Makaram replied, bowing deeply.
The branch leader's gaze drifted far beyond the horizon.
"If this truly is something from beyond… it may not be fate that brought him here."
To be continued....