I was sitting quietly in my room, watching the illusion of two droplets racing down the wall, inch by inch.
I had bet everything I had on the drop on the left, which was currently in the lead.
But,at the very last second, in a thrilling photo finish, the drop on the right used an uneven part of the wall as a ramp, shot past its rival, and snatched the win.
All my money was lost, which, admittedly, was nothing.
How could I lose if I was the one creating the illusion?
Truly, the mysteries of the universe.
I was debating whether to bet Victor's sword on another round of the droplet race when I heard a knock at the door.
I jumped off the bed to open it, but the door opened without my help.
One of the guards stepped in: Martha, around thirty, a sword user, awakened at advanced 1-star, sound element.
I hadn't been idle over these six months.
I had gathered as much information as possible about everyone around me, within my limits.
"Follow me, number 33."
Martha left the room, and I obediently followed.
Honestly, I'd become the perfect kidnapped child.
I lacked nothing: I was obedient, calm, caused no trouble, and had high potential.
Well, yes, I was planning my escape, but that was a negligible detail.
We walked through a few tunnels and, after a couple of minutes, arrived in front of a room I had never been in before.
Inside, there was a large round table with several chairs and a chandelier hanging in the center, illuminating everything.
Seated around the table were several guards, and among them I could see Victor, number 7, and number 1, all here for guard duty.
Unlike the others, though, I could see the exhaustion in my companions' eyes.
We had been told the shift would start after training, but not the exact time.
So hours passed, and only now, at a time when I would usually already be asleep, we were called.
I was in better condition only because I had decided to get some sleep, after telling my body to wake me up in a few hours.
Luckily, my body listened, and here I was, surprisingly well-rested.
I sat in the last available seat and waited in silence, listening to the guards' conversations.
"How much longer is it going to take?"
grumbled a man named Mark, sitting across from me.
"It's always like this when he's in charge of security. We can only wait."
Martha replied beside me with a sigh.
"If I were stronger, I'd punch him."
Mark added.
"If you were stronger, you'd be the one showing up late."
Great comeback, Martha!
After another couple of minutes, I heard footsteps approaching.
A steady, slow, confident sound.
Each step felt heavier than the last, as if the air itself had grown denser.
When I turned to look… I froze.
The man who had just entered wasn't particularly handsome, but not ugly either.
Black hair, blue eyes, a saber at his waist, and a scar over his right eye.
Yes, the man who had just walked in was Daren.
It took all my willpower not to launch myself at him immediately, to strangle him and tear his eyes out.
All the rage inside me was on the verge of exploding at that moment.
After the initial shock, I looked away to calm myself.
I kept repeating in my mind that it wasn't the right moment, that I had to wait, that it would be useless to try anything now.
Somehow, I managed to steady my emotions: creating illusions of Daren dying in all sorts of ways over the past months had helped a lot.
I raised my gaze again only to see Daren staring at me intensely, then, as if he hadn't recognized me, he looked away.
Had he forgotten me?
The thought made me both happy and angry.
"Good, you're all here. Let's divide the sectors and get to work immediately."
He paused for a moment, examining the four of us new recruits.
"I'll take number 33 and number 12 to sector four. Mark, you take the other two to sector thirteen…"
The bastard calmly began listing assignments, but I stopped listening after the first sentence.
I was supposed to spend eight hours with him without killing him? Seriously?
Setting aside my bloodlust, I knew I couldn't do anything against him right now.
Not because I'd be captured immediately afterward, that didn't concern me much, but because he was simply far stronger than me.
I could feel from him a presence as intense as Ronald's.
For now, I looked him in the face, that face I so badly wanted to stab,and locked away all my darkest thoughts in a corner of my mind.
After finishing giving instructions to everyone in the room, we began the patrol and… nothing happened for eight hours.
Daren didn't look at me, didn't try to attack me, didn't humiliate me… he did absolutely nothing.
In fact, he was even considerate toward Victor, who was tired. He explained in detail the route we had to take, the points where we needed to stop, and how to properly use the artifact every thirty minutes.
If someone had seen us from afar, it would have looked as if we had never met.
I was back in my room, thinking about my reunion with Daren.
Had he really forgotten me after just a few months?
That initial look made me think otherwise.
But in truth, it was better this way: it would have been annoying if he constantly caused me trouble.
I would simply wait for the right moment to remind him of my existence.
Time passed, and without having slept all night, I was brought back to the training field.
I was very tired, but there was nothing I could do to avoid the training.
I was about to start the exercises when I heard Ronald's voice behind me.
"Number 33, due to your behavior during the patrol, you will be punished in the disciplinary room."
I froze mid-motion.
What the hell had I done?
I mentally retraced the last few hours, every step, every word.
But the answer came on its own.
There was only one person who could report my behavior and have me punished: Daren.
I didn't resist when I was escorted to that torture room.
There was no point in attacking the guard only to be knocked out by Ronald and wake up tied to a chair with an even harsher punishment.
As soon as I arrived, I saw Marcus preparing his equipment with precise, almost methodical movements, as if he were doing an ordinary job.
And in a corner: Daren, with a disgusting smile on his face.
"Hello, number 33. I knew we'd meet again! I've come up with lots of new games for us to play together! You have no idea how lonely I felt without you!"
I didn't respond as I let myself be tied to the chair, ready for another round of immense suffering.
"You're smiling, number 33? I knew you missed me too!"
I kept ignoring the psycho torturer and instead turned my gaze toward Daren, who was still silent in the corner.
"You know, I'm really happy to know that not only do you remember me, but that you're still the same asshole as before. Hahahahahahahahahaha."
I burst out laughing.
It wasn't something most people would do in my situation.
But I was genuinely happy at that moment.
I didn't fully understand why, but being remembered by Daren had lifted my mood.
If someone could read my thoughts, they might mistake me for a lovestruck maiden.
That's when my soulmate spoke.
"Unfortunately… number 33, in here I don't have the same freedoms I had during our little journey together, so I can't do anything to you directly…"
He paused for a moment, his smile twisting even further.
"…but reporting you for not doing your job? That I can do whenever I want. And I'll be here watching you suffer. This will become my new weekly pastime."
"Hehehehehehehe."
That smile.
That arrogant voice.
That way of looking down on others.
I'm so glad you haven't changed. Thank you for the gift, because…
"One day…I'm going to kill you, Daren."
I said it with a wide smile.