Balagra’s eyes narrowed, and Vir silently cursed.
“It seems you’ve been holding out,” Balagra said softly.
“And that concludes our combat evaluation!” the Overseer’s cheery voice boomed. “Those of you conscious enough to hear my words, good work! As for the rest of you, well… Not so much, I suppose.”
The magic that had been hurling back and forth halted abruptly, and Chitran guards flooded in to break up any lingering fights.
“Return to your berths,” the Overseer said. “We’ll have your results tomorrow. Until then, enjoy your free time.”
The Chitran leveled his gaze on Vir and smiled, but it failed to reach his eyes.
“No, not you. You are coming with us.”
40BRICK BY BRICK
“Sit down,” the Overseer said in a voice that was both soft, yet commanded absolute obedience.
Vir slowly lowered himself into a basic wooden chair. It wouldn’t do to comply immediately—prisoners like him would resist the Overseer in every petty way they could, and so Vir had to play the part.
The room itself was a small, dingy affair, feeling more like an afterthought that was squeezed into an open space well after the others had been built.
“I’m going to ask you some questions,” the Overseer said. “Answer honestly, and there’ll be no problem. Lie…”
The monkey man played his hands over a tablet, and Vir saw prana of all affinities flare to life on his collar.
Ah, yes. That’s my cue.
Vir’s eyes bulged. He gripped the collar, screamed, and fell off his chair.
The Overseer grinned. “Not much of a pain tolerance, eh? That was a low setting. Good. Means you’ll be obedient.”
Guess I overreacted…
Vir struggled shakily to his chair, making full use of his well-honed acting skills to pretend like he was recovering from severe trauma. The collar, of course, did absolutely nothing to him, as it didn’t use Ash prana. Even if it had, Vir doubted it’d break through Prana Armor so easily, and if it could, he’d just absorb the energy, anyway.
He’d never understood how, for most demons, forced injection of their own affinity was a painful affair—let alone an affinity they didn’t possess. For Vir, it simply meant he couldn’t absorb them into his body, but such attacks otherwise had no effect.
Perhaps it was due to Ash prana being the origin of all affinities—denser, superior, and more resistant.
“We’ll start out easy,” the Overseer said, circling slowly around him. “What was that movement art you used?”
Vir frowned, pretending as if revealing his power was difficult for him. “W-well, it’s called…” he trailed off.
“Yes?” the Overseer said, leaning closer.
“Ash,” Vir whispered.
“Ash?”
“Burn in Ash.”
Vir smirked at the Kothi, who was expressionless. Then his lips curled slowly upward into a savage, tooth-filled grin. At least, one that showed whatever teeth the Overseer still possessed.
“So, you’re one of the stupid ones. Alright. Have it your way.”
He tapped on the tablet, and once more, prana surged through the collar—faster, and with more force this time.
Vir screamed in agony again and writhed on the floor.
“Stop! Please!” he begged, but the collar remained active, so Vir continued acting like he was in extreme pain.
Geez, Vir thought when the prana didn’t relent. If this actually worked on me, I’d probably be unconscious by now…
To play the part, Vir pretended to black out.
“Tch,” the Overseer clucked. “Somebody bring me some water.”
Vir heard shuffling, and was soon splashed with a bucket of cold, murky water, jolting him ‘awake.’
“Wha-what happened?” he mumbled, blearily looking around.
“Well?” the Overseer snarled. “Had enough? Or would you prefer another round? I can do this all day if you like.”
“N-no,” Vir said shakily, gripping the chair and raising himself up with mock difficulty. “I’ll tell you. I’ll tell you everything.”
The more ‘normal’ Vir came across, the less attention he’d bring to himself. Capitulating right away might’ve made the Overseer suspicious, so he played the part of an uppity prisoner who thought he knew better. Vir figured such types were a dime a dozen around a place like this.
“It’s… my tattoo,” Vir said with sagging shoulders. “Aspect of the Broken Realm.”
The Overseer grunted. “Thought as much, but still… Broken Realm? How does a tattoo about a blighted world bestow movement arts?”
“In my head, a broken realm has Ash Tears everywhere,” Vir lied smoothly. “I use those Tears to move through the world. Well, not exactly. But that’s how I see it, anyway.”
“Curious. Can you do anything else with it?”
Vir shook his head. “I’m afraid not.”
The Overseer grunted again. “Unsurprising. Still doesn’t explain how you managed to move so far at once, though. Not even the strongest of us can do that outside the Ash. I don’t buy it. You’re a spy, aren’t you? So who is it? The Iksana? Panav? Fess up.”
“Huh? A spy?” Vir said, only partially feigning his surprise. The Overseer’s intuition was both terrifyingly on-point and as wrong as could be.
“Makes sense, doesn’t it? What’s your angle? I should have you killed, just to be sure.”
“That won’t be necessary,” a new, deep voice said.
The Overseer turned, ready to go off on whoever dared interrupt his interrogation. Yet when he took in the massive form that had stood hunched over, he paled instead. “Ravager! To what do I owe the honor?”
“You don’t,” Cirayus said curtly. “Because I am not here for you. I’d like to question this prisoner if you don’t mind.”
“O-of course, sir,” the Overseer said, snapping to attention, but making no motion to leave. “I’d be happy to have you here. I believe this one will crack easily. Low pain resis—”
Cirayus raised a brow. “Alone.”
“Oh, er… right.” The Overseer threw him a crisp salute and marched out. He met Vir’s gaze as he left. As if to say, I’m not done with you.
“You’ve got a lot of backbone to pull something like that here,” Cirayus boomed, loud enough for any ears outside to hear.
Then, in nearly a whisper, he added, “What were you doing, lad? Attracting attention like that? You’ll undo everything you’ve worked for.”
“Please! No! Don’t hurt me!” Vir replied, also loud enough to hear.
“I couldn’t let them die, Cirayus,” he muttered. “I need all the help I can get, and I think he’ll be useful. You saw the rebels at Samar Patag. There’s no one there who can fight, let alone lead. And we need leaders if this is to work. I’m building the foundation. Brick by brick. Stone after stone.”
“You’ll tell me what I need to know, or would you like some more collar?” Cirayus thundered, grinning. The words were a facade. The grin was not. “Turning my own words back on me, are you? Look at how you’ve grown!” he whispered.
“Can you cover for me?” Vir asked softly.
Cirayus chuckled. “What are godfathers for, eh? You’re lucky I was here. You’ve certainly managed to catch that Kothi’s attention. Aye, I’ll get the Chits off your back, though I’m afraid there’s little I can do about the suspicion your fellow prisoners must now have.”
“Let me deal with that,” Vir replied, before shouting, “No, please! Not the collar. Not again!”
Cirayus slumped his shoulders. “I’m set to deal with another Ash Beast horde some days from here so I thought I’d drop in. I’ll be gone awhile. Irks me to leave you alone like this.”
“Is it normal for Ash Beasts to be so active?” Vir asked. “And I can take care of myself. You know that.”