(A/N):
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The thing inside the shattered crate finally pulled itself free.
And the forest recoiled from it.
The creature unfolded from the broken wood in jerking movements, dozens of pale arms dragging its swollen body across the burning ground.
Flesh stitched from different bodies twitched constantly beneath stretched skin while clusters of mismatched eyes rolled wildly in every direction.
Then all those eyes stopped.
Locked onto Ghost Rider.
The creature's mouths opened together.
And screamed.
"-GRAAAAAA!!!"
The sonic blast exploded outward instantly.
The air itself warped.
Trees bent violently before shattering apart as the soundwave ripped through the forest in a straight line toward Ghost Rider.
The earth split open beneath its path while branches and burning debris were erased into splinters.
But Ghost Rider moved first.
The flaming skeleton shifted sideways in a blur of black smoke and hellfire just before the sonic wave struck his position.
The attack missed him by inches.
Behind him the forest exploded apart.
Entire rows of trees were obliterated as the sonic force carved a massive trench through the woods stretching far into the darkness.
The creature screeched again.
Louder this time.
More hands clawed outward from its torso as if bodies trapped inside it were trying desperately to escape.
Ghost Rider ignored it completely.
His attention remained fixed on Arkady.
The Russian creature was still trapped beneath the burning chains, electricity bursting wildly from his body as he struggled harder now.
"WAIT—!"
Hellfire erupted.
Not from Ghost Rider's skull.
From his hand.
The flames poured directly onto Arkady's chest like molten judgment spilling from hell itself.
Arkady screamed in pain as he felt the full burnt of the hell fire.
Not theatrically. Not with excitement anymore.
Real pain.
The infernal fire crawled across his skin hungrily, burning through muscle and electricity alike.
Every place the flames touched turned black instantly while the regenerative lightning beneath his flesh fought desperately to repair the damage.
But it couldn't.
Because this wasn't ordinary fire. This was punishment.
Sin given flame.
Arkady thrashed violently against the chains as electricity detonated from his body in uncontrolled bursts, frying the surrounding ground black.
"GET IT OFF!"
Ghost Rider leaned closer while the fire continued consuming him.
The flames reflected across Arkady's widening eyes.
"YOUR BODY HIDES YOU."
The hellfire burned deeper.
Arkady screamed louder as parts of his chest began splitting open beneath the fire, exposing glowing electrical currents beneath the false flesh.
"BUT YOUR SINS DO NOT."
The creature behind them screeched once more.
Another sonic wave erupted outward.
This time Ghost Rider raised one burning hand without even looking back.
Hellfire exploded outward in a circular wall around him.
The sonic attack slammed against the flames and scattered upward into the sky, shredding clouds apart above the forest.
Arkady stared at that with horrified fascination.
Even now—Even while burning—Part of him still wanted to understand.
"How…"
He gasped painfully.
-Gasp!
Ghost Rider's chains tightened harder around his body.
The fire intensified again.
Arkady's skin cracked apart in long glowing fractures while lightning leaked from the wounds like exposed veins.
"YOU CAME HERE HUNTING MONSTERS."
Ghost Rider's voice deepened.
The flames surrounding him darkened toward crimson.
"BUT YOU NEVER REALIZED…"
He grabbed Arkady by the throat with one burning skeletal hand and lifted him off the ground again despite the electricity exploding around them.
"…YOU WERE ONE YOURSELF."
Arkady screamed as the hellfire spread further across his body.
But Ghost Rider stopped.
He didn't fully burn him.
Didn't reduce him to ash.
The flames halted just short of complete destruction.
Deliberately. Punishment. Not execution.
Arkady hung there trembling violently, smoke rising from his burned body while weak electrical currents flickered beneath cracked skin.
For the first time since entering Forks—Fear finally appeared in his eyes.
Arkady's body trembled violently in Ghost Rider's grasp.
Electricity sparked weakly from the burned cracks running across his skin, but it no longer exploded outward with the same violent confidence as before. The hellfire had weakened him.
Not physically alone. Something deeper.
The creature behind them continued screeching through the burning forest, its many hands clawing blindly through mud and ash.
Ghost Rider ignored it. Completely.
His flaming fingers tightened around Arkady's jaw before slowly forcing the Russian's face upward.
Arkady struggled weakly.
"W-wait…"
The flames inside Ghost Rider's eye sockets burned brighter.
Far brighter. Until they resembled twin furnaces staring directly into Arkady's soul.
Then Ghost Rider spoke.
Slow. Heavy. Absolute.
"LOOK INTO MY EYES."
Arkady froze. The world vanished.
"...."
Not gradually. Instantly.
The forest disappeared. The fire disappeared. The rain disappeared.
And suddenly—Arkady was somewhere else.
Cold. White. Sterile.
His eyes widened. An operation theater.
"...."
No—His operation theater.
The exact one.
The rust stain near the sink. The flickering overhead light. The smell of antiseptic mixed with old blood.
Every detail remained exactly the same.
Arkady staggered backward in confusion.
"No…"
Then the doors opened.
And someone walked in.
Arkady's breathing stopped. It was himself.
Not the present version.
The older one. Human-looking.
Before the transformations had fully consumed him.
That Arkady calmly walked toward the operating table carrying surgical tools.
Emotionless. Focused. Methodical.
And strapped to the operating table—Was another Arkady.
Screaming. Begging.
Thrashing against restraints.
The observing Arkady stumbled backward in horror.
"No…"
The doctor version of himself didn't react.
Didn't care.
He simply adjusted his gloves and picked up a scalpel.
The screaming version cried harder.
"PLEASE STOP!"
But the doctor ignored him completely.
Just as Arkady himself had ignored countless others.
The scalpel cut down.
Arkady screamed. Not the restrained version.
The observing one. Because he felt it.
All of it.
The blade slicing flesh. The nerves opening.
The agony flooding through his body like molten metal.
Arkady collapsed to his knees clutching himself while the operation continued before him.
Then another memory appeared.
Another room. Another victim.
Then another. And another. Children. Prisoners.
Supernatural creatures chained to tables.
Humans dissected alive while Arkady calmly observed how long consciousness remained after organs were removed.
Every scream echoed together.
Every plea. Every moment of terror.
And now—He felt all of it. Not watched. Experienced.
The Penance Stare dragged him through every ounce of suffering he had inflicted upon others.
A vampire whose nervous system he had electrically stimulated for six straight days.
A shapeshifter skinned alive while still regenerating.
A child infected with unstable supernatural tissue while Arkady took notes beside the bed.
The pain hit him all at once.
Infinite. Endless.
Arkady screamed until his throat tore apart.
But the visions continued.
No escape. No mercy.
He saw himself smiling while patients begged him to kill them.
He felt bones breaking.
Skin peeling. Organs failing.
Every experiment. Every procedure.
Every second of agony he had ever caused.
And the worst part—He understood now.
For the first time—He truly understood their pain.
Back in the real forest, Arkady's body convulsed violently in Ghost Rider's grasp.
Electricity exploded wildly around him in unstable bursts while smoke poured from his eyes and mouth.
His screams echoed through the burning clearing like an animal being torn apart.
The stitched creature behind Ghost Rider suddenly stopped moving.
All its mismatched eyes widened simultaneously as if even it sensed something horrifying unfolding.
Ghost Rider remained motionless.
The flames around him burned steadily while Arkady suffered within the depths of the Penance Stare.
Then Ghost Rider's voice rolled through the forest once more.
Cold. Final.
"FEEL THEIR SUFFERING."
Inside the vision, Arkady collapsed fully onto the bloody floor of the operation room while countless screaming voices surrounded him from every direction.
And the doctor version of himself slowly turned—
Smiling.
Before picking up another scalpel and walking toward him.
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(Author's POV)
(A/N):
Guys My New Fic name is:
-->Karuppan: King of Openings.
Check it out... I hope you will like it
Whats your thought's guys.
Thanks for reading the chapter!
Please give a review and power stone!!!