“So, you’re from the future…” Arlen restated.

The room they’d kept Tess in was luxurious. Couches, lounges, ornate dressers, and windows that let the sun pour in. It would feel like a palace were Tess not floating in the air, just in front of Arlen. She could move. Well, she could sort of move. It felt like her body was trapped in a sludge. A crystal in the room kept her magic from working, which made Tess feel as though she was without her heart. But there was no way to get back to the ground or find purchase from where she was floating. She’d tried. She’d tried for hours. There was nothing else to do here when she wasn’t being questioned.

Arlen sat upon a couch just ahead of her, legs crossed, arm stretched out across the back of the seat. Tess wasn’t sure what he did with the mangled arm. He kept it covered with that purple cloak. Was it injured and healing? Did he amputate it? Tess could only hope she’d done him some immense pain. She abhorred this man. He had done her so much pain.

Still, he looked comfortable.

He was a monster though, with gray skin and purple eyes. Having had a close look now, Tess could see that his tongue was black.

“No,” Tess replied, shaking her head, “Well, sort of, I suppose.” She could still taste blood in her mouth. “I was in the Black Sun,” Tess added.

“So you’ve said,” Arlen chuckled, “From a tower of kittens.”

“Just one cat, actually. Wydwen.”

“Sure,” Arlen waved a hand, “And all of this is some Trial? Something conjured up?”

“I don’t know,” Tess replied, “I don’t know what’s real and what isn’t at this point.” She coughed, spitting up blood onto the floor. Arlen didn’t seem to mind. It’d been days since they put in the pain ritual. Using thorns, splinters and shards of bone, they stuck the side of Tess’ neck with a ritual circle of three constellations. The Devil. The Devil. The Red Poppy. It hurt. It hurt more than Tess could have ever imagined. Surely Arlen couldn’t use any of the information she could tell him, right? He would die about ten years from then, and certainly there’s nothing she could say that could change that.

Arlen nodded his head and asked, “So what becomes of all of this?”

“All of what?”

“The Black Sun. Me. Auwra.”

“The Black Sun arrives. Auwra still exists. You died a long time ago,” Tess replied, turning that last sentence into a gut punch.

Arlen didn’t take the bait, however, and continued to the next question.

The interrogation went on for quite some time. Arlen had broken her on day one. She offered up everything that she thought would be harmless for a dead man to know. She tried lying, but Arlen seemed to know everytime, and resistance meant unbearable pain. Tess couldn’t withstand that. She tried. She lasted only a few minutes before she realized it was futile.

It wasn’t possible to hold out. It would never end. Arlen would make sure of that.

One thing that she was happy about was that she’d been questioned about the Heroic Divine. Tess could say things such as “they kill you” and “they’re regarded as heroes” or “they stop the Black Sun in its tracks,” but she couldn’t tell Arlen where they were. She couldn’t give much personal information beyond what Arlen had already known. She couldn’t say any specifics about what they were going to do next. She simply didn’t know, and that frustrated Arlen.

When it was over, Tess asked, “What will you do once you’ve gotten all of your answers out of me? Are you going to kill me?”

“And waste all of that potential?” Arlen shook his head, “No. No.”

Tess frowned and growled, “I won’t help you. The moment you free me, I’ll-...”

“Easy,” Arlen navigated his fingers as easily as making a fist, casting sorcery that made it so Tess couldn’t breathe, in or out.

While she struggled and squirmed, Arlen explained, “I can do with you whatever I want, Tess. I could mold your mind over time. Pain and terror are powerful manipulators. Powerful motivators. I could inscribe your body with so many rituals that-...”

Tess was spasming, jerking back and forth, unable to even gag or make a choking sound.

The movement seemed to draw Arlen’s attention. He looked at her and said, “You understand? You will do anything that I want, whether you know it or not. Whether you want to or not. You have no control or authority anymore. Nod if you understand.”

Tess’ eyes watered, twitching in midair.

She managed a nod.

Arlen said something else, but Tess couldn’t hear it. Everything was black, everything was drowned out by a ringing in her ears. She was going to die.

Her breath suddenly came back to her. She sucked in a lungful of air, letting it out in hacking coughs. Her vision was slowly returning and her hearing returned. She felt like she was going to vomit. She hugged herself around her midsection, beginning to cry.

“But I don’t have the time,” Arlen said, “These ‘Heroic Divine’ of yours are more of a threat than I’d predicted. I need someone to break them from the inside.” He looked off to the side, “Or, gods, could I invade the future? Could I complete my mission that way? I wonder who I could get to do that…?”

Tess shook her head slowly, weakly, all hope lost.

“Aha! Good on you for volunteering,” Arlen congratulated her, “But you’re not trustworthy yet, and certainly not powerful enough, so we need the help of a friend.”

Tess looked up toward the door, waiting for someone to enter.

“Oh, no, he’s already here.”

Looking back to Arlen, she saw the demon spring from his shoulders and head. A dark shade with fangs and claws hovering over the madman killer. Molu’zhar, he’d been called. Tess thought that Elnaril had killed him, but he must have only dismissed him temporarily. The thought reminded her of Elnaril’s gruesome death.

Tess said softly, “You’ve hurt me enough…”

“This won’t hurt,” Arlen assured her, “Molu’zhar is going to live in you. He’ll have control, though. But you can still watch.”

Like she’d been with Miri? Except this time she wouldn’t be in front. She’d be along for the ride. The thought was terrifying. She wondered how Miri dealt with it.

“Please-...”

“You can watch as you go back to your friends and Molu’zhar does what he does best,” Arlen added, “Whether those are present friends or future ones. I’ll have to decide later.”

“Arlen, p-please..” Tess whimpered.

“Quiet,” Arlen snapped, holding up a hand.

Tess flinched, worried he was going to hurt her in some way again.

“That is enough,” Arlen hissed sharply, “I don’t want to hear your sniveling when you’re in the wrong on this. I am healing the world and you are-... you want to live in its festering wounds just so you can maintain who and what you have already. Let go, Tess, just let go and you’ll see that what I’m doing is right.”

Tess nodded, attempting to avoid whatever pain would be inflicted upon her if she fought back. She just wanted it to end.

“Do it, Molu’zhar,” Arlen spoke softly, almost sadly.

Tess held her hands up defensively, “No, please!”

White-hot, searing pain burnt into her upper back as Molu’zhar flew toward it with a haunting laugh. Tess felt her vision cloud, her mind twist as it grew muddled and malleable. Suddenly, she sank into the depths of her own consciousness, watching her surroundings like a play being performed, and she was the sole member of the audience.

“Welcome, friend,” Arlen laughed.

She saw herself be let down to stand upon her own two feet. She saw herself looking at Arlen.

Tess felt herself smile.