Mortal Magic: Broken

A few hours flew by as I was sitting in my cell carefully taking care of the wounds I got from being careless in my fight with Yuto. I had bruises that I could barely keep hidden until they faded and one or two burns that would be distracting me for quite some time now. I made sure to cover all parts of my body that had scars so I was never seen bare-chested and when I had to take my clothes of I made sure no one could see me. I could not see the actual extent of my condition without taking my shirt of and to do that I had to wait until even the guards were sleeping, because they never stayed awake in the night even if they had just come on duty.

They had brought the man I fought in as I waited; in the same cell I occupied to be more precise. He was still unconscious and he seemed to be a long way from waking. He would probably sleep all night and maybe some of the morning before coming out of it. I kept my ears open for the sound of utter silence after the guards stopped laughing with the jokes each other made and the end of their predictions for the next day, and as I expected soon they were out, having their twisted fun in the realm of dreams that everyone thinks is real. My arms were sore and there was pain every time I pushed them beyond what was comfortable, but I slowly pulled off my shirt and threw it at the bed. I was sure that my back was never hit by any means today so I turned all my attention to my front side. My upper arms had several bruises that I was sure where still forming and I had burns between my wrists and elbows that would be visible either way. I suppose that coming out of this fight unscathed would be suspicious so I won’t be making any attempt at concealing those, but for the rest I had no problems. My arms however were not the only place I had visible markings from this. My chest and abdomen were full of scars too, just like my back, and now I had some minor burns to add to the pile that made it difficult to move freely. Most of the damage was at my stomach and that would be irritating because every time I ate it would be painful I imagined. Luckily there were no burns on my chest near my lungs to make breathing painful so that was something.

I took one of the long pieces of cloth I kept under the stone like mattress I was sleeping on and dipped it in the bucket of water on the small square table in the middle of the wall of the cell opposite the iron bar door. I was lucky the water here was always cold cause that was what I needed right now. I wrapped the now cold and wet cloth around my abdomen and the sensation was comforting, the slight pain from the burn I felt was subsiding as the skin was losing temperature. I would have to do this many times in the following hours. I kept my shirt off and laid on the bed face at the celling, the only thought that occupied my mind was how to break out of this place. I already had many ideas to do so, but I never seemed to have enough power to set my plans in motion. My latest plan was to use an arte that would create enough panic and destruction for me to escape unnoticed. The problem was that it required my body to create enormous amounts of mana and release it constantly to create countless projections that would fly in every direction. It was dangerous for me as well because the whole process would exhaust me and of course any number of blades could find their way into my own body. This arte was beyond incontrollable, something similar to what my body goes through every month when the blood moon gives every magus a boost in his magical abilities, for me it made my body create the amount of mana I need for this attack and so much more, but it was more painful than someone would think. It was like my insides were melting and my body was flooding, and upon reaching the critical point I would expel all that mana outside of my body where anyone could use it if he wanted.

The thought of going through this again in a couple of days was unsettling, so much that when Yuto came to and was staring at me I had no clue. I only realized it when he tried to ask me something and he fell on the ground from the dizziness and the headache coming with being unconscious. As he was getting up I swiftly pulled on my shirt despite the pain I was feeling and then made sure he was sitting on his bed. He kept looking at me confused and I hoped it was because he was not dead or at least due to being in the same cell as me, but as luck would have it, he was looking at me like that after seeing all these scars. “How did you get all these, you had nothing when we were fighting”. I averted my eyes from him and went back to my bed trying to avoid the question. “I don’t know what you are talking about”. He kept trying to get up but after he got dizzy a few times he gave up and grabbed his forehead in defeat.

“What happened? Where are we”? I didn’t like the way he was talking in plural, there was no we here. He should be asking how he was still alive and why he was with me in this cell instead of where we were both. Rolling my eyes I refrained from answering and he just kept rubbing his forehead like it would take away the hammering. I got up and took one of the two wooden cups on the table and filled it with water before giving it to him and he emptied it in seconds. That was a mistake on his part since by doing that he got a new wave of pain on his head and he let out a groan of pain after the cup dropped from his shaking hand. “You should take it slow, the headache will go away soon and I am sure you are not dizzy anymore. Still you should lie down and rest, let your body heal as much as it can before you have to fight again”.

Yuto looked at me with confusion in his eyes as he had no idea what I was talking about, so I had to take things from the beginning and explain the situation he is in. “You are still in the arena, or at least in the cells bellow. I spared your life when they wanted me to kill you but someone else will have his turn to kill you”. After hearing my explanation he lowered his head and held it in his hands without a word. Minutes passed in silence and the burning secession in my abdomen was coming back for more. I drank some water myself from the second cup on the table and in doing so I caused the skin on my belly to stretch and I took a deep breath trying to hide the painful grimace that appeared on my face. However Yuto proved to have excellent hearing and listened behind my sudden intake of air.

Coming slowly to my side without any warning he gently placed one of his hands on my abdomen and earned a furious stare after another groan. He traced my skin with his hand making me more uncomfortable by the second and after he was done he told me to remove my shirt. After putting the cup on the table and releasing it from my death grip I took my time to remove my shirt for the second time and he told me to sit down. I wasn’t sure if I was more angry than embarrassed by the way he touched me but I was sure my face was red the moment he untied the damp cloth and started touching me gently and in places that there were no burns. “You are lucky that the burn is not severe, otherwise you would have to stay in bed for days. And I assume this is not an option in here”.

He sat on my bed and continued rubbing his palm on my stomach in circular motions and after a while I felt his hand grow warmer as it kept up with the routine the man set in motion. The uncomfortable feeling at the place he was touching me started to fade and it was like I was never hurt in the first place. When he finished he explored the rest of my front and looking at my scars he asked with a voice almost like a whisper. “You got like this in here”? I got up and pulled my shirt on again and then he saw my back too and I heard him gasp in surprise at the sight. I already knew my body was more or less ugly with all these scars that literally covered my back and front, but still his reaction was a little embarrassing and felt like a blow to the gut.

“How long have you been here? You look very young to be more than 20 and all that didn’t happen recently, most of it is very old”. He was very observant I gave him that, but he was sure to obtain markings like mine soon in here if he was not careful. “I’m not. I turn 18 in a few days. And I’ve been here for almost 5 years, the longest from what I know of”. His face saddened and he shook his head in frustration at the sound of my statement. “So young. No kid should go through all this. You should have been home with your family, your friends and experience the joys of life, not holed up in this cell for so long”. His words angered me for some reason even though they had not offended me a bit. To tell the truth it might have been due to the fact that I had nothing of what he just mentioned no family, no friends, and the only joy I felt before all this was the happiness that I gave to someone back home by taking care of them. “I have no family fire bender, and all the friends I had are dead, burned to a crisp along with my home. I survived only because they found my magic amusing and a great source of entertainment”.

I was sure he was feeling more guilty than sad now for some reason. I mean he was not responsible for what happened, I already knew who was and I will make sure he pays. By feeling guilty he just tortures himself. I should know since I felt that way too until I decided to become strong no matter what and take what I want. This place was the means to do this, and now I only needed to get out of here. “I’m sorry”. He doesn’t get it at all like I thought. “Don’t be fire bender. What’s done is done. I will find a way to make the man responsible pay soon, one way or another”.

“Please call me Yuto that name feels like an accusation. It makes me feel like I use my powers to destroy”. I turned my head to look at him as he was staring at the floor and the sadness in his voice told me that he was not very popular where he came from. Nevertheless I had no reason to make him miserable so I guess it’s Yuto from now on then. I gave him some more water with his cup and he took it with a small smile on his lips. His mood changed immensely after that, he was sad here yes, but he was also glad that he was not alone in this place. We spoke about our homes, what they are like, or were in my case. He told me about his wife and daughter, how much he loved them both. He was forty five years old a year older than his wife from what he told me and his daughter was turning three on the seventeenth day of the next month. I didn’t tell him much, just described him my home village, and my sister as much as I could remember to give him a real image of her. And I told him that I was born on a night with a blood moon and my birthday was this moon.

After that his interest turned to my abilities. He never heard of a magus with the power of projection. “Projection is different than illusion. Illusions are just that, a trick of the mind, but projections are very much real, the only limit is the casters imagination. I can project only weapons for some reason that I never understood, but I can create any weapon I see, even for a second. I just need a glimpse and then I can recreate it. I can also create weapons that are completely imaginary, like this”. I stretched my hand and imagined a dagger with a grip made of gold and decorated with rubies, with two blades that resembled the mouth of a dragon. “I know it’s not practical but still that is the point. And every projection has this translucent purple like color, and they are really fragile, compared to creations of iron they are more like reinforced glass. Durable enough against the real thing for a while, but too fragile to be reliable if you can’t create more the moment they break”. He kept shooting questions at me until he turned serious all of a sudden surprising the hell out of me. His gaze was making holes on the floor and I couldn’t help but think he was asking all these questions to distract himself with his interest and fascination. “What is it”?

Without taking his eyes off the floor he sighed and clenched his fists as he took a week breath in. “What’s going to happen now”? Finally he was starting to get anxious. He was worrying me by taking all of this as lightly as a joke. “If you mean with this mess you got into most possibly by accident from someone’s whims then you have to fight to survive. Not as you did with me… But like your life depends on it, because like it or not, it does now. I don’t want to have to deal with your death since I am practically the one who caused it. You should have died by my hands and when I left you alive I pretty much sealed your fate, they will not go easy on you”. I paused for a minute to realize what I had just said. Even if I wanted it to be a lie, I really wanted him to survive. I’ve lost so much in here, and for some reason, I don’t want to lose another life in here. “The first week will be a test, to see what you can do. You already got through the first day so you only have six to go. In this time you will be brought to your physical limits, they will exhaust you, try to break your body and mind, make you see that life in here is nothing but a sick joke they use to have their fun. You will have to survive without food until then, only water, so that your body will need energy to absorb the mana you find and absorb now effortlessly. The food is enchanted to give you only enough energy to live the fight of the day so you have to win as fast as possible, absorbing the least mana possible. Then we will see what to do next”.

The last sentence was more a whispering announcement for me rather than Yuto. He didn’t seem to understand what I said and it was better this way. This needed to stay a secret. I won’t lie to myself, I want him to live, to go back to his family, and I will do what I can to help him. “Is it hard? What they do to us with the food”?

“I don’t know about the mana part since I can’t absorb what exists around me, but it is frustrating to have limited reserves of energy”. In that moment he raised his head and looked at me like I was insane. Right he didn’t know about that part of my abilities, I never mentioned it in the first place. “Right, I can’t absorb mana, my body is not built for it I assume. I can create my own mana, it happens effortlessly and instinctively so I am not limited in magic until I ran out, which can’t happen if I don’t use high tier magic for extended periods of time. It didn’t come up before so I didn’t tell you earlier”. He looked like he was thinking something over and over again but I knew he didn’t find the fact repulsive. Otherwise he would have done more than just freeze. I knew he needed time to think so I decided get up and go clean myself up in the bath.

“I’ll leave you to yourself for a while; I’ll be in the common bath if you need anything. It’s the only wooden door in here you can’t miss it”. Walking to the iron door I opened it and got out of the cell before turning back after a very confused Yuto asked me to wait. “The doors are not locked”? He thought the cell doors were locked? There was no need for that. The guards were simply guarding the corridors that lead out not the main complex of the cell. “No it’s not necessary. The guards don’t bother themselves with what goes on in here, they are here to make sure no one escapes and bring us to the arena. The cells are a free zone so to speak, you get used to it”. With that I left the cell and him to find my way to the wooden door while I saw everyone on the way was sleeping through the iron bars. So many lives that are trapped here and most of them will die eventually, and so many more will take their place in this pit. Humanity truly is the abomination that monsters are born from.