Chapter 29: TWENTY-NINE

**THANE**

“Are you alright?” Kaidos asked while I pulled away from him, a small frown on my face.

“I’m fine,” I grunted out.

But I knew it was a lie as my body wouldn't stop shaking and the image that had formed in my mind now swallowed me up. 

*“Yes, Thane, you need to go through pain to be strong!”*

*An excruciating pain burned through my body as waves of electric shock went through my body and I let out a loud scream I almost blacked out.* 

*“Without pain you won’t have power! Power is everything, pain makes you strong.”*

*Another wave of electric shock went through my body as I broke down in tears.*

*“P…please spare me. It’s been years already,” I cried.* 

*I received a hard slap followed by brutal words, “Don’t be a pathetic wimp like your weakling brother.”*

“Thane!”

I blinked as Kaidos’s voice pulled me out of my thoughts. He was staring at me worriedly. 

“Are you alright, Thane?” he asked.

I shrugged him off again, “I’m fine.”

“I know what father did and how it affects you till now, Thane, please don't shut me out,” he said.

I glared at him, “Don’t talk trash, Kaidos. I'm doing perfectly fine.”

“We both know you're lying to yourself and that makes you delusional,” Kaidos stated.

“I don't give a fuck, Kaidos. I'm fucking fine stop trying to interfere,” I snapped.

Kaidos stared at me, his eyes flashing. I knew he could feel what I was feeling, it was part of the twin abilities. Times like this I wished I could turn it off. 

“You don't have to hide from me, Thane,” Kaidos said softly. 

I hated when he talked to me like this. I'm the one who’s supposed to protect him and not the other way around.

“Just leave. I wanna be alone,” I said to him. 

Kaidos quirked an eyebrow at me as he stared at me, “You want me to leave?”

I frowned, “Did I stutter?”

“No I’m just wondering why you want me to leave you alone so badly when you know that's the last thing I’ll do,” Kaidos replied with a shrug.

“Get out, Kaidos!” I snapped.

I hated snapping at my brother. He's been the reason why I've been so strong for so long. But right now I didn't want him to see me break. 

My father had been a monster. He tortured me and called it training. Kaidos knew all about it but he didn't know the tremor behind those memories. 

My mind was a mess and I just needed to be alone so I could sort through my thoughts. But I should have known my brother was stubborn than a mutt. 

“You don't expect me to leave now, do you?” he chuckled, placing a firm hand on my back. I glared at him. 

“Fuck off, Kaidos, don't act like I’m a child you have to babysit,” I spat angrily. 

“Why do you keep pushing away the people who care about you, Thane? What are you so afraid of?” Kaidos asked. 

“Leave me alone, Kaidos. Why are you so fucking stubborn?” 

Kaidos laughed, “It’s because I’m so fucking stubborn that we’re still brothers. Else you would have pushed me away a long time ago.”

I let out a quiet sigh as the desperation flashed in my eyes. Kaidos saw it and he knew how desperate I was to be left alone. 

He stared at me and sighed, “Pushing me away isn't going to help you heal but if you need me you know what to do.”

The moment Kaidos was gone, I felt the weight I had been holding back crash down on me.

My legs buckled, and I dropped to my knees, gripping my arms as the tremors ripped through me.

My body shook violently, sweat dripping down my forehead as the flashes became unbearable.

The electric shocks.

The screams.

The pain.

I gasped for air, but it felt like I was suffocating. My father’s voice echoed in my head, each word stabbing into me like a knife.

*“Power is everything, pain makes you strong.”*

I clawed at my arms, trying to ground myself, but it wasn’t working. My mind was slipping, spiraling into that dark place where I couldn’t tell reality from the past.

I needed control.

Desperation clawed at my throat as I stumbled to my feet. My body felt like it was on fire, but I pushed forward, shoving open the door. I couldn’t let anyone see me like this. Not Kaidos. Not anyone.

I moved through the halls swiftly, taking the private entrance down to the pleasure room. The darkness of the corridor helped settle my nerves slightly, but it wasn’t enough. My fingers twitched, my breathing ragged.

As I stepped inside, the heavy scent of perfume and something more sinful filled my senses. The dimly lit room was lined with velvet drapes, the sound of soft laughter and muffled moans filtering through. But I wasn’t here for that.

Lyrita.

She was exactly where I expected—reclining on the plush chaise, dressed in something that barely covered her body. She looked up, her dark eyes locking onto me, instantly reading my state.

“My Overlord,” she purred, a knowing smirk playing on her lips. “I was wondering when you’d show up again.”

I didn’t bother with pleasantries. My voice came out hoarse, raw.

“I need the Dungeon.”

Her smirk widened, but there was something else in her gaze—curiosity, maybe even concern. “Rough night?”

I clenched my jaw. “Just do it, Lyrita.”

She stood, her heels clicking against the floor as she approached me, her fingers grazing my jaw before trailing down my arm. “You know the rules,” she murmured. “Once we start, there’s no turning back.”

“Good,” I whispered. “Because I don’t want to.”

She studied me for a moment, then nodded, leading me through the hidden door.

As it closed behind us, the outside world faded away, and I let myself sink into the only thing that could numb the pain.

The only thing that could make me feel alive.