Kasperine's breaths were shallow and erratic, her mind clouded, and her eyes unable to find clarity. The incessant ringing in her ears only added to her anxiety. In a state of half-consciousness,  she felt a merciless grip on her hair, yanking her body upright.

"Ah!" Her voice trembled heavily. "Why? Who are..." Her words faltered, lost amidst the pain and confusion. She shook her head vigorously, trying to clear her vision and discern her tormentor.

The man who had brutalized her pulled her hands backward, twisting them mercilessly before tightly binding them with a thin zip tie. He secured two more around her legs, preventing any escape.

All the while, she could sense the presence and piercing gaze of another man who had entered the room while she was being beaten. Kasperine attempted to lift her head to get a better look, but before she could do so, the lights dimmed. A dusty sack was draped over her head, disorienting her completely, and then she was lifted and unceremoniously dropped into what felt like the trunk of a car.

"No!" Kasperine roared, her chest constricting with fear and a sense of déjà vu haunting her. She kicked the back of the trunk with her bound legs, pleading desperately, "NO! GET ME OUT! PLEASE!" Her hoarse voice grew even more strained. But her pleas were ignored, and the car began to move, the bumpy road causing her immense pain. Still, she continued to kick and scream until the car came to an abrupt stop, her nose colliding with the trunk walls, sending shock waves of pain through her brain, and a gruesome scream emerged from her throat.

She heard footsteps approaching the trunk, thinking she might have succeeded in persuading her captor. However, the trunk opened, and through the tiny holes in the sack, Kasperine tried to make sense of the man's face. Before she could do so, a heavy blow struck her neck, everything fading to black. The pain and fear swallowed her whole, leaving her in a nightmarish abyss of uncertainty and torment.

The sounds were muffled, and Kasperine felt disoriented as circles danced before her eyes. Her short hair fell before her eyes, adding to the blurry scene. Slowly regaining her senses, she realized she was lying on a hard, wet surface - a marble floor. Her cheek was soaked, likely with her own tears. As she attempted to move, the reality of her situation sank in; her limbs were rigid and tightly bound. The burning pain intensified with every moment, the sharp zip tie cutting into her skin, leaving her feeling uncomfortably trapped.

"When is he waking up?!" Hissed a cold and rough voice, momentarily numbing the burning sensation on Kasperine's skin. Struggling to catch her breath, she noticed the man who had brought her here, getting closer, and he grabbed her by the back of her shirt, lifting her as if she weighed nothing. He callously threw her to her knees, but Kasperine's body lacked the energy to remain upright, and she fell face-first onto the floor.

The pain had become so severe that she could barely react to it anymore. The sound of someone rising to their feet echoed in the room. "How many days has he made me wait?" The voice sent shivers down her spine. "Hah! You had to tie his feet so he wouldn't run away again," he continued, and then he approached Kasperine's fallen body, stepping on her ankles pressed against the floor.

"Gaaah!!" She screeched, her body convulsing like a breathless fish. His chilling cackle blended with her screams, filling the air. He stepped away, then lowered to one knee, placing it just before her eyes, and lifted her chin with his hand, forcing her to look up at his face.

His eyes were black and dead, like a void that could turn anyone to stone. "So tell me! Where is the seal?" he dKasperineded, a true villain in every sense. Kasperine felt as though she had lost her sense of hearing, unable to comprehend his words. She mustered the last of her strength to respond weakly, "Huh?"

"Huh? Is that your answer?" he taunted. In her state of delirium, the only thought that filled her mind was that this must be a dream. She hoped to wake up from this nightmare, to find that none of it was real. "This is a dream! It must be a dream!! When I wake up, it will be over!! This is just a dream," she repeated in her mind, staring lifelessly into his eyes as if she had already become a lifeless soul.

Kasperine's breaths quivered in the cold, damp air, her mind clouded with fear and confusion. The eerie silence was broken only by the distant echoes of dripping water, a constant reminder of the darkness that engulfed her.

"So you're not going to talk like this? Huh?" Mosiah's voice cut through the silence like a chilling blade. His eyes bore into her soul, devoid of any warmth or empathy, making her shiver even more.

With a nod to himself, he released her chin, and she fell to the cold, hard floor once again, the sharp pain in her limbs serving as a constant reminder of her helplessness.

"Reed! Hand me the rod!" His command sent a shiver down Kasperine's spine, and she glanced at Reed, hoping for some mercy, but his eyes were as cold and lifeless as Mosiah's.

"But, Lord, I don't think we should..." Reed's voice trembled, but his hesitation only seemed to fuel Mosiah's cruelty. “He will die…” His voice turning into a mumble. 

"THEN LET HIM DIE," Mosiah roared, his words sending chills down Kasperine's spine. It was as if the very air around them had turned frigid and hostile.

"I don't--" Kasperine tried to speak, her voice barely a whisper, but it was drowned out by Mosiah's rage. His grip tightened around her throat, squeezing the life out of her.

"I don't know," she finally managed to choke out, her voice quivering with terror.

"What?" Mosiah's cold, dead eyes bore into hers, as if trying to pierce through her soul.

"I don't know," Kasperine repeated, her voice barely audible now, and the coldness in the room seemed to intensify.

With a sudden burst of fury, Mosiah flung her across the room, and she crashed against the icy floor, her body trembling with pain and fear.

"He is just like his father. He won't speak!" Mosiah's words sent a chill down her spine, and she felt like a mere pawn in his twisted game.

"I need to find another way," he muttered, his tone dripping with malice, and she knew she was trapped in a nightmarish world with no escape.

Reed stood still, his eyes devoid of any emotion, and he moved to carry Kasperine's lifeless body away, leaving behind a haunting silence that echoed through the cold, desolate room. The darkness seemed to close in around her, as if the very walls were suffocating her, and she couldn't shake the feeling that she had stepped into the abyss of a nightmare from which there was no waking.