30 Pain

This time, Cray was not surprised with the current disappearance of the scenery. The scenery then changed as it had reverted into the thick forest. It was still evening, and he could see Nick waking up.

"Where am I?" Nick looked around and saw his brother that was unconscious. "Gilbert!" He then attempted to move his body towards him only to find that his own body was likewise restrained in a similar fashion as Gilbert's.

But even if he was tied tight, he still struggled hard. After a while he felt hopeless, so he began to call out for help.

"HELP! IS THERE ANYONE AROUND! I NEED HELP! I'M TIED UP!"

He then heard the bush near him rustled.

"Who's there?"

Without answering Nick's question, a person who was covered in black clothing had come out from the bushes and once again knocked out Nick.

Cray seeing this now noticed that the scenery changes every time Nick lost his consciousness. He took note of the huge difference between the recent changes and the very first one. The conclusion that he reached was that it was impossible that Nick had been unconscious from when he was a kid, so what he was seeing must all be relevant and would somehow relate to each other. However, as to how they are interconnected he still didn't know, he had no other choice but to wait and see.

Cray then waited for the next scene to appear, but he felt his body being dragged towards Nick's.

"Wha-Wait! What's happening!"

After that Cray heard a voice coming inside his mind.

"The Trial of Fire had begun!"

What? What's the Trial of Fire? He thought as he was confused about the new words that he had heard. His assailant, however, stared at Nick who hasn't been knocked out.

"How are you able to withstand tha-" He didn't even finish his sentence before he decided to attack once again. He punched Nick with his right fist expecting that Nick wouldn't be able to dodge it because he was still restrained.

"NO!"

Nick shouted as he tilted his head to dodge the incoming fist and counter-attacked with a headbutt. The assailant who had seen how Nick had responded had grabbed Nick's head with his open left hand.

"You little brat! I'll kill you!" Nick directly saw that the assailant had a murderous look. But he directly looked on those eyes. He had surprisingly made his resolve so strong that his fear of death could no longer be felt thus making him able to withstand that murderous gaze.

Cray, on the other hand, could clearly feel all that Nick was feeling. He felt that his head was about to explode from the pain. He could also directly saw the murderous gaze that the assailant was giving, in fact, that was all that he could see.

At this moment, the assailant had started to use his right fist to once again punch Nick. But Nick was very tenacious as he kept his stare at those eyes.

One punch...Two punches..."Let's see how long you'll last!"....Five punches.

Each and every punch was headed straight towards the gut. Cray was also feeling those punches. He wanted to puke. His insides were a mess. He knew that he would no longer last long.

Nick endured.

He continued to stare daggers at the person in front of him.

Even if he knew that this might cause his own death.

Cray could one-sidedly hear the influx of Nick's thoughts.

I must stand my ground. I must stay alive. I'm going to save Gilbert. I'm going out of here with him. I'm going to protect him. I'm going to be fine. I can still do this. I'm not giving up.

I'm not going to....

"DIE!"

The moment that shout was made, the hand that was holding Nick's head let go. Soon, a punch came straight towards his face.

Cray who could feel what Nick was feeling had also felt that punch, he felt that one or two of his teeth were removed.

"Alfoollt mahhhi illi bruftha!" Nick had managed to at least utter these incomprehensible words before he closed one of his eyes.

Do you want power?

The power to stop this person.

Cray then saw images of Gilbert getting hit and dying. Those images felt like a premonition as he looked at the current situation.

"Ghhheeerrvert!"

Nick who had also seen this screamed. He no longer could determine the difference between what he saw and the reality.

I can give you the power to stop that guy. I can even give you the power to kill. All you need to do is to agree.

Cray could feel that something was wrong. He didn't know where the voice was coming from nor did he know what kind of power the voice can provide. In short, Cray wouldn't agree with accepting the power as he knows that nothing in this world is free and that everything comes with a price.

But he was him and Nick was Nick. While Cray could still have the leverage to think about accepting the deal Nick did not. Nick was in a crazed state as he heard those sweet words.

So, without a moment to think about anything else, he had accepted it.

"GIIIBB MIHH DAH PAWOOOHH!"

After Nick had agreed to it, a vortex began to appear from his back.

Hands with sharp claws came out, it was followed by two horns sticking out from the forehead. The figure had a big bat like wings and a pointy tail. Its face had an ugly grin as it made its sinister laugh.

"The contract is now established."

It then made its way towards Nick's body as if to merge with it.

The assailant had widened eyes. It then had a fervent gaze towards the creature who was merging with Nick.

The assailant had removed the black cloth that was masking her face. She was the woman who had danced with Gilbert a few moments ago. Nick who saw this immediately noticed his mistake, but it was already too late.

The contract was now a done deal.

"I- What did I d-"

And before he had managed to regret even further he let out a scream. Before he only felt the pain that was inflicted externally, now he could feel the pain coming internally it was like his insides were twisting in directions that they were not supposed to. His bones felt like they were being crushed bit by bit slowly smothering them into powder. His muscles felt like they were being twisted while being torn continuously.

The pain was simply excruciating. Imagine stubbing your toe on the table but this time the pain a hundred-fold while feeling that the pain all over your body.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH"

Nick and Cray cried out as they both felt the pain.