The Achievement Junkie

"Hmm… He lost them that quickly?" 12-13 began to chuckle and shake his head. "My he's grown careless…"

The man with a blacked-out face was casually lounging on a cushy, black thrown taken from 12-13's storage. Relaxing, he clicked his tongue and looked at Sterfen through the corner of his eye.

Sterfen's face was pale and tensed to the absolute extreme. Beads of sweat dripped from every pore of Sterfen's body. The assassin's eyes had almost rolled back in pain. His body remained still in the air as his mind was racked beyond anything Sterfen had imagined.

"If you would just accept it, the pain will subside…" 12-13 sighed with a humorous grin. "But then again, your strong will is a rare, admirable quality. Snapping such determination is a rare occurrence, one that I'll savor to the fullest… It also proves that you're worth keeping."

Oblivious to 12-13, Sterfen was too focused in his torment to understand his torturer's ramblings, let alone realize what the man was doing.

"Too bad you can't hear me, Sterfen. Right now, I'm an open book!" laughed the man, relishing the moment. "You would be delighted to know that Halmut's futile attempts to get more fruit have failed, as expected. The man is too wrapped up in paranoia to question my ridiculous orders. Oh, and we can't forget how he truly believes his hysteria is suddenly cured when I did hardly anything in the first place. All it took was a tiny push and he fell into madness all on his own! Sure, that may hinder him slightly but it makes him all the easier to lead on. If I want the 'mighty' Halmut has a personal pack mule all I need to do is hop on his back and dangle a stimulant in his face!"

12-13's laughter filled the entirety of the chateau, echoing through the halls and halting at the barrier constructed around the area.

"And you're no better!" 12-13 continued to laugh, "To think you thought yourself capable of entering my controlled space without me noticing… You only made it here because I wanted you to, not because you were capable, Sterfen. Though you're much smarter than Halmut, you're an even better toy to play with."

Sterfen suddenly began to groan louder and convulse harder. His spasms only made 12-13's laughter louder.

Then, 12-13 stood up and sighed. At the same time, Sterfen's pain eased and he began panting profusely. The shadowy man neared the floating assassin and tenderly asked, "There, there… Why keep up your front? Why stand your ground against endless torture? There's no end in sight for you, so why fight at all? Tell me, Sterfen… Why fight it?"

With shaky breathing, Sterfen didn't reply.

"Sterfen… I need an answer…"

"W-why…"

"Yes, why?" repeated 12-13.

"W-why… listen… to a man… so ugly… he permanently hides… AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!"

"Uh, uh, uh… That's not the correct answer." wagging his finger back and forth, 12-13 sighed as he began to torment Sterfen anew.

As the assassin was again preoccupied with pain, 12-13 clicked his tongue again. "You really are a rarity, Sterfen… Breaking and reforming you may be difficult, but it's worth gaining such a loyal, powerful pawn.

"Now, if only you knew what I know, Sterfen. You wouldn't have come here to confront Halmut, nor would you have allowed Jack to enter Glacier Keep without a proper warning… Want to know my little secret?"

The man clothed in darkness leaned in to whisper into Sterfen's ear, knowing full well that the assassin was unable to hear or interpret his voice under the mental torture. "I know Jack's plan… I know about his double… I know his deal with Kylon… And I know she's just waiting for the right moment to rebel…

"How, you might ask? A good question… Because I'm the one in control of her mind. I'm the one who warped her mental state and has repressed all former memories of her beloved Skaryn, swaying her to do the unthinkable with Halmut… I enabled it and made her my mental slave. The moment she tries to act against Halmut is the moment that she'll turn on Jack, just like how she's turned on Skaryn in the end. What do you think of that? No comment?"

The man chuckled, enjoying the pain writhing Sterfen's face and Sterfen's lack of comprehension to anything he was told at the moment.

"Come on… I'm committing the gravest error any great villain could conceive, freely sharing my plans and abilities with you. Why not take advantage of that?"

Having had his fun, 12-13 returned to his throne while Sterfen continued to endure. A part of the dark man was legitimately impressed by Sterfen but it was the only part of him that didn't want to speak vocally.

12-13 was also curious as to why Sterfen's mind was protected to such an incredible degree. To crack it, 12-13 would either need a long time or for Sterfen's will to break. Time wasn't much of an issue but 12-13 felt the long process would be best handled outside of Kartonia where he can better hide his antics. And given that he'll soon be taking Halmut away with one of his two objectives complete, 12-13 was willing to call his Kartonia deployment a success. Adding the capture of Sterfen was enough for 12-13 to leave without fulfilling his second, less-attractive objective. Such a well-guarded mind had to know something regarding Daruun, the only person on Kartonia capable of creating such a mental barrier.

Out of habit, the man took out one of the sacred fruits. Strangely, there was some sort of glass now contorted and shaped around the fruit's soft skin. He tossed it in the air and caught it in his hand, repeating this over and over as he pondered more about his situation. 12-13 would never accept being caught or outsmarted, not if he could help it.

"I've already got a few samples, so I can leave if necessary… But let's see if Halmut can get me that as well, or if I leave him behind…" Then, a small pitch-black bead appeared in 12-13's other hand. Dark energy poured into it as 12-13 tuned in to the bead's two counterparts, letting him look through one of his victims' eyes. "She's made it to the first door… Now the fun begins…"