39 Torture (2/2)

I ran through the situation in an instant. My body was battered to a pulp and I only had 100 qi left. Thankfully, I had somehow separated my mind and body, so I could at least think clearly.

My punching technique was incomplete. All I really had was the Qi Manifestation technique. But that took hours to pull off before, could I use it now?

”Stay with me now, Schwarz. We've got a long way to go.”

Tai's voice was foggy, and I felt my thoughts slow down. The physical damage was catching up to me. There was no time to wait.

I had used it twice before, and there was no time to lose. I went for it.

I remembered the feeling. The feeling of being one, being part of the unit. The hunger, the desire to consume…

No! That wasn't it. I wasn't a mere cog in the machine. I was the commander. The leader of the horde. I knew their intentions, their desires. I knew what it was like to be one of them, but that wasn't my limit.

I siphoned off half my qi, sent it to my wrist and returned to my body. The pain was intense, but I grimaced through it. Opening my eyes, I stared Tai down.

”Ha! What's that look?”

In a hoarse, cracking voice, I cursed him.

”Fuck you Tai.”

Qi poured from my wrist, twisting like a vine around his golden arm. Tai recoiled on instinct, dropping me and jumping back. I collapsed to the ground, like a puppet whose strings had been cut.

”You surprise me Schwarz! Perhaps this will be fun after all!”

I struggled to one knee with all the strength. Broken ribs buried deeper with each movement, but I had to stand.

One limb at a time, I pushed myself up. Staggering to my feet, I stood hunched over, head buried in my neck. My arms hung limp; my right arm twisted backwards.

I knew exactly what to do. I could sense my qi waiting for an order. Under my breath, I gave the command.

”Consume.”

The vine twitched, then lay still again.

”Even your technique is useless,” Tai laughed.

Fury filled my chest, and I screamed against the pain,

”CONSUME!”

The vine erupted into a squirming web of tentacles, coiling around Tai's body.

”What the fuck?”

Tai's confusion swiftly morphed to panic, as the tentacles disappeared into his golden arms.

”What did you do?!”

His arms spasmed, flailing in the air, then fell slack by his side.

”My Arms of Asura… why aren't they moving?”

A hint of fear snuck into his voice, which almost made me chuckle. They weren't his anymore. They were mine. Raising my one working hand, I saw his golden arm twitch.

”Hm,” Tai steeled his eyes before me, ”you think I needed these?”

He lowered his stance and dashed toward me, but this time was different. With a flick of my wrist, his own golden arm whirled around and smashed him in the face.

Tai's whole body spun, his head whipped back, and he was slammed to the floor. Was he down? I could barely stay conscious to see.

But Tai was unfazed, and he kicked himself into the air, landing in a crouch.

”Now, this is fun! You should have done this from the start!”

I could barely hear what he said, because something horrific overcame my senses. My blood began to boil, searing through my veins, as if needles were eviscerating my flesh.

Suddenly, a huge force slammed into my back. My bones creaked under the weight; knees almost buckling. Through gritted teeth and scrunched eyes, I saw confusion on Tai's face.

Confusion? Why was Tai confused? And this ungodly agony… then it clicked. This pain wasn't his doing. This was a breakthrough.