258 Pain that tears the soul (2/2)
Ezequiel stared back at Zitra and after a moment he spoke.
”Master and I altered my memories, so at that moment I truly believed that who was being captured was him. It was only after everything was over that my memory was unlocked. The enemy this time is a formidable one and his information gathering skills are too mysterious. To trick him, everyone had to believe that Master was the one captured and act like that for the next couple of days. I entered the tower and did not show myself to make sure I did not act strangely.”
When everybody heard that they felt a little relieved and a small smile appeared on Zitra's face. The deception was not a matter of trust but that they needed to believe that Zatiel was truly captured so their response would be genuine.
However, in the next moment, a solemn expression appeared on everyone's face. Zatiel's abilities had always appeared to be endless and he could easily handle any problem, but it was clear that this opponent forced him to pay a great price to trick him.
They all sit down and waited for almost three hours until Zatiel's eyes finally opened.
The instant he woke up, his face twisted by what could only be described as a pain that could tear the soul. The blood vessels in his eyes became visible and his body shivered uncontrollably.
He clenched his fist so hard that his nails buried in his skin and the next second he grabbed his head with his bloody palms.
Heinz and the rest were shocked by the violent reaction of Zatiel but just as they were about to move they heard his voice.
”It's okay... I just need... a minute.” Zatiel's voice was hoarse and you could clearly see that the pain he felt was so high he could barely speak.
When they heard his words, the expression of everyone became ugly as they felt impotent. Zatiel wasn't a vain person so he would have asked for their help if they could do something.
They could only see as he was assaulted by pain so immense he could not stop shaking.
Little by little, Zatiel gained control over his body until he finally was able to maintain his posture and stop shaking. It was clear, however, that the pain was still there, he was just containing it.
Despite that, his eyes still burned with the will of an overlord and it appeared he did not care at all for his condition.
He could see that the eyes of the people in front of him were filled with curiosity and concern. A smile appeared on Zatiel's face and calmness filled his eyes. He knew the questions that filled their minds so he proceeded to answer them.
”The enemy was someone who could not be deceived with something so simple as a clone, no matter how good it was. That body was a copy made from my flesh and blood and I transferred part of my life force so it was indistinguishable from my original body.”
When they heard his words, they all understood why his body looked like that of an old man. Rank 1 life forms and above would usually maintain their youthful appearance for most of their lives but Zatiel had damaged his life force so his body aged quickly.
”But even with that, in his core, he was still just a replica so I took things to the next level. I ripped a piece of my soul and inserted it in him. In essence, the one who was captured was really Zatiel Daybreak.” Zatiel spoke those words as if they were not a big deal but it shocked everyone who heard them.
A piece of your consciousness being destroyed would cause so much pain that some people would go crazy, and the soul was hundreds if not thousands of times more sensitive. Before they could process what they just heard, Zatiel dropped another bomb.
”That type of procedure is dangerous since if the connection between the two of us is broken, the will and ego in that fragment of my soul could change. To stop that, I maintained our bond and he and I are still just one, but it meant that the wound on my soul could not close. Long story short, I have to endure the pain of ripping a piece of my soul over and over again until the Zatiel that is currently captured by the Heavenly race die.”