God Rising: Battle of Atela

"Did you do anything to her womb?"

"Should I?" Darren sighed in relief. That definitely meant a no. It had to be a no. He scurried to the small room where Artemis was, and his gaze switched to the body on the bed once the door swung open. She shivered, eyes closed as she waited for her cruel faith. She heard the door open, and she didn't have enough energy to prevent what was bound to happen with her new master.

Darren stepped on the floor of beautifully carved and varnished redwood as he moved towards the lush bed covered in purple silk, decorated with a few glowing stones.

"Please... have mercy" her voice came out brittle as she heard the sound of moans from the other side of the wall. Seemed like another slave's master couldn't wait to have her before getting to his home.

Artemis found it hard to accept she was really sold, but no matter how much she denied it, it didn't change the fact she belonged to a filthy beastman that was going to objectify her as a pleasure toy.

She watched him take his shirt off, revealing his chiseled chest, then he tossed the red tunic aside. He was half shadow, every muscle on his torso flowing from the light into the dark. Darren edged closer until she could see half of his face, illuminated by the candles on the bedside table. Something about him seemed familiar, but she didn't want to give herself too much false hope.

He pulled out a knife from his pocket, and Artemis forced her eyes shut, thinking he was going to cut her to pieces, but he cut the ropes tying her to the bed.

"Darren!?" She exclaimed In shock as he took off his mask revealing the drastic changes in his face in such a little while. She gawked at him in disbelief. Her tears flowed out more like a waterfall as she weakly pushed herself into his arms. She was relieved he was the one, and not another person. She cried into his chest, and his eyed glazed over before he shoved her back.

She titled her head, and an evil grin appeared on his face, "Do you think I'm here to save you? Yes?"

Artemis didn't reply, she slowly walked back, and eventually tripped because of the shirt on the floor. He continued to inch towards her and she pushed herself back until she'd reached the limit of the wall. Her heart raced as he crouched to her height before running the tip of his finger around her jaw.

"I don't owe you anything anymore, Armin. I came to you with a proposal for us to be friends, but now you've ended up as my bed slave. Are you aware of the rules the slave contract contains? You see that mark on you, it won't let you kill yourself. If you try killing me, you'll die. And I can add many more rules as I wish." He pat her head hard and she stayed frozen, numb with an intense feeling of distress and disbelief.

"You wanted to see the beastman in me, now I'm willing to show you. How do we start the night Armin?" He got up, then stroked his chin thinking of something she could do "oh, I have an idea, you have two choices… You can either kiss my boots and apologize to me or, would you want to suck me instead? You have a minute to decide, Armin. If you fail to do so, the pain you'll experience is more than what you faced back then in the arena, Artemis Rivera."

The slave's eyes widened, "When did he?" She quietly asked herself.

"What's the matter, Rivera? You seem surprised? Is it because I know who you really are or because of how much I've change. Well, I thought about it, why you didn't use your magic to disguise yourself. That's because you feared being caught, and everyone would find out you're still alive. Mind you, you have less than thirty seconds left."

Artemis didn't move, whether or not he knew, that wouldn't change the fact she'd still right despite the gender rules. She looked at him with eyes hinting defiance. There was no way she'd do any of that. She gritted her teeth in anger, "I'm not doing it." A savage, bitter blast of pain cut right through her bones and gripped her brain in it's freezing claws. She let out a strangled scream and felt blood well into her throat from the tongue she had just bitten in a vain attempt to keep quiet and not show how helpless she was that night.

The torment continued to scratch and ache her every bone. It choked the breath from her lungs and made a noose around her neck. Her weak heart constricted in its wake as if not sure if it should go on beating. She violently crashed to her side, gripping her arms tightly as her mind cowed into meek submission, demanding a solution that she could not provide.

She'd sunken into something so lifeless, it was scary to look at her, but Darren wasn't moved by her vivid state as her consciousness ebbed. She stayed on the floor, numb with tears pricking her eyes. Her pale hands trembled with fear and sadness.

"You brought this upon yourself. You have no one else but yourself to blame. Now, where is Zircon," Artemis couldn't move her mouth muscle, and Darren thought to himself, 'Maybe I should add a punishment for not answering a question.'

"The slave master has it. Get it back."

"Of course. Unlike you, I don't take risks that can cut my life short. Why would I leave Zircon behind? Now get up. We have to move before the slave master leaves." Darren walked out of the room, leaving the door open. Wincing In pain, Artemis grabbed the corners of the table beside her to help pull herself up. Darren had changed. Every detail about him was different. She wondered if that made her the weakest in sol because without food her magic metre had depleted and so did her health point. It was most likely she wouldn't live longer than a month with the rate things were going.

The moment she stepped out, the next thing she saw was Darren conversing with Ali. She hoped the book was alright. If not, her life would be over, and she'd live as Darren's bed slave forever.

"My slave said there's a book she once came with. Do you still have it?"

Ali stroked his beard, and he took long to answer. Darren could only hope he'd get the answer he was praying for.

"I think I threw it away somewhere."

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