Chapter 26 : Early Morning

“Seriously!?” complained Fiona as she stared down in disgust at the bowl that was placed in front of her “Oatmeal!? ...Can't we have any eggs or waffles instead? Or anything that's better than this shit!?”

“No, this is the best thing for all of us today.” explained Anton as he sat down in his seat at the breakfast table and began to dribble a generous amount of honey over his own bowl of oatmeal “I doubt we'll be able to break for lunch so we'll need something that'll last us through the day.”

Fiona narrowed her eyes at her bowl and grumbled as she began to grit her teeth.

Rolling her eyes at her sister's attitude, Kianna mouthed a silent thank you as she took the offered honey from Anton and began to dribble it over her own bowl.

“So, what exactly are we going to do today?” asked Fiona as she brought her eyes up to Anton “I know how you like to be stupidly vague! But can we at least get a hint?”

“You don't need a hint. I can tell you exactly what we're going to do.” said Anton as he stirred up his oatmeal “But first there's something I'd like to ask you both.”

“Oh, for the love of! It's always so many questions with you! Fine! Whatever!” declared Fiona as she eyed the bottle of honey that was still in her sister's hand “What is it now!?”

“Do you two even know why you can't use your magic?” asked Anton as he took a bite of his food and looked up at the dark elves.

“Uh, yeah! We do! And so do you!” exclaimed Fiona as she gave him a glowering look “This is got to be the stupidest question you've asked so far! Considering you already know damn well what the answer is! It's because our worthless bitch of a Mom won't teach us how to use it! I don't know how many times we've already told you this!?”

“...So then no, you two don't actually know why you can't use your magic.” stated Anton as he scooped together another spoonful of oatmeal “Do you?”

“...Is it, not because of our Mother?” questioned Kianna as she and her sister looked at each other.

“It is. That is exactly what your problem is.” said Anton with a nod that turned into him shaking his head “But not really.”

“I hate you.” stated Fiona calmly “With everything I have. Body and soul. I just hate you, so much.”

“You see, your real issue is a lack of influence.” continued Anton as he ignored Fiona's statement “Dark elves, like nearly every sapient species, aren't born with the ability to manipulate mana. They develop this ability later in life.”

“...Why aren't we born with that ability already?” asked Kianna as she tilted her head and cocked one of her ears in a curious manner.

“Self preservation. The same reason that most other species aren't born with it either. Its easy enough to understand that any infant, or even a child, with the ability to manipulate mana would be a danger to itself as well as everyone around it.” explained Anton “For argument's sake let's imagine that there was a baby who could manifest a fireball. Now how long do you think it would take before the house that baby was in was burnt down? With that baby more than likely still inside it.”

“Oh, oh no!” cried Kianna as her face filled with turmoil and her ears pointed themselves straight upwards “That would be awful!”

“Mm hm, yes it would be.” nodded Anton in agreement “That's why most children don't gain the ability to manipulate mana until they reach a certain level of ego development. In other words, children don't generally learn how to use magic until their mature enough not to immediately kill themselves with it. This can happen at different times for different species, but the most common time-frame is usually around puberty or at some point after. And that would have been about the time that you two would have developed the ability as well.”

“...Except we never did.” mumbled Fiona as she and her sister both looked down at the table and lowered their ears in sadness.

“Sure you did.” stated Anton as he lifted a spoonful of oatmeal up to his face “You can both manipulate your mana just fine.”

“...What!?” exclaimed Fiona as she and Kianna both looked back up at him “No we can't!?”

Anton finished swallowing his mouthful of food before turning to Fiona.

“Fiona, I'd like you to think about something that makes you angry.” he proposed as he looked her in the eyes “And I want you to really focus on whatever it is that you come up with.”

Fiona went completely still as she stared back at him. After only a brief moment her eyes tightened in an intense looking fury and began to glow with a faint red light.

“Um, I think she might be thinking about you...” said Kianna as she looked back and forth between her sister and Anton.

“At this point I'd be offended if she wasn't. That's not what's important though.” said Anton as he turned to the second dark elf “What's important is that her eyes are glowing. You see, dark elves make their eyes glow by filling tiny shards of protein in their irises with mana. So this means that if you two couldn't manipulate your mana, then you wouldn't be able to make your eyes glow, but since both of you can make them glow, we know for sure that you both can manipulate your mana.”

“Oh! Really!?” exclaimed Kianna as she turned to her sister and stared right into her glowing eyes “Well that's cool! And good to know!”

“Hold on a second!” exclaimed Fiona as she glared at Anton “If we can do this then why can't we do anything else!?”

“Because you don't know how to manipulate your auras.” stated Anton as he turned back to her “I've told you already that the vast majority of your skills and abilities utilize your auras in some way. So without your auras available to act as a channel for your mana, there really isn't much you can do.”

“...That! ...Okay, that makes sense.” grumbled Fiona as her glare intensified “Why can't we manipulate our auras then!?”

“Because your Mother neglected you. She never gave you the influence you needed to learn how to resist her aura.” explained Anton “And without learning how to resist her aura, you never learned how to manipulate your own.”

“...How would she influence us?” asked Kianna as she watched her sister blink away the glow from her eyes.

“Slowly, and overtime. Just by utilizing her aura around you she would have gently triggered responses out of you until you could fully manipulate your own auras at will.” explained Anton as he looked from one dark elf to the other “This should have been something that would have happened throughout your childhoods. And that way by the time you two would have reached the point where you could manipulate your own mana, you would have already mastered the control of your auras. Unfortunately, that's not what happened.”

“...When you say “utilizing” her aura, what exactly do you mean by that?” asked Fiona.

“This.” said Anton as he let his aura flare outwards and engulf the entire kitchen.

The two dark elves cringed back in their seats and flattened their ears back submissively as the aura that surrounded them became laced with malice.

“That's one of the simplest forms of Auramancy.” stated Anton as he released the malice from his aura “Its called “Flaring” your aura, and its basically just spreading your aura outwards until it fills the area around you. Once you can do that, you can fill it with an emotion that'll then influence anyone in that area who can't resist it.”

“I hate it when you do that!” declared Fiona as she shivered and rubbed her upper arms.

Anton grinned and let a calming essence spread throughout his aura.

“Is this better?” he soothed in a mocking tone.

Fiona said nothing as she pointed her ears straight back and glared.

“So are you going to teach us how to flare our auras like this today?” questioned Kianna “Is it hard to do? And is that why it's going to take all day?”

“Oh no, I doubt I'll even have to actually teach you how to flare your auras.” said Anton as he released his aura completely and looked back down at his bowl “No, once you know how to manipulate your auras you should be able to flare them automatically. In fact, I'll be really surprised if you can't.”

“So then what are we doing?” asked Fiona as she watched him eat a spoonful of his oatmeal “Just straight up learning how to manipulate our auras?”

Anton pointed his finger at her and nodded as he finished swallowing another mouthful of food.

“Exactly!” he declared as he looked from Fiona to Kianna and back “Today is all about getting you two to the point where you can freely manipulate your own auras. That's our one and only goal for the day.”

“Okay, that sounds good to me!” nodded Fiona excitedly “So how are we gonna do that!?”

“Through influence. The same way you should have been influenced by your Mother.” explained Anton as he folded his arms on the table “Though instead of having to resist her gentle influence, you'll have to resist mine... And I'm afraid I'm not going to be gentle with you. We don't have time for that.”

“...Uh, wait! What!?” exclaimed Fiona as she and her sister both eased themselves back and pointed their ears straight upwards “What does that mean!?”

“It means that we're about to condense something that should have taken years to accomplish naturally, down to the smallest amount of time possible. Hopefully less than a day. Now, this can be done. In fact we'll be using the exact same method that was used to influence me. So I know for sure that it can be done this way... But it will be intense, very intense. I'm going to literally be assaulting you with my aura until you can resist it's influence. In other words this will be a sink until you can swim type of crash course. And you two will be forced to endure my aura until you can harness your own auras and bring them forward to fight back, stop my influence and resist what's happening to you.” explained Anton “Now, if you two were still children then I would of course never even consider going with this method at all. Instead we'd just have to sit and wait as you slowly built up a resistance to the presence and ambient activities of my aura. And although it is true that we could still technically go with this gentler method, even now. I'm afraid we aren't going to. Because unfortunately for you two there's just no way of knowing how long it will take for you to build up your resistances, it could still take you years, or possibly even longer. And that kind of time-frame just isn't going to work. Luckily for all of us though. You're not children anymore. And you're both pretty tough! So I think you'll be able to handle this more intense method just fine... or at least I hope you can... I guess we'll see.”

The dark elves went still and remained silent for a moment as they stared back at him.

“...This, this is sounding like you're about to torture the shit out of us.” sighed Fiona as she narrowed her eyes and pointed her ears straight back “And you are, aren't you!?”

“Pretty much.” nodded Anton.

“Fuck!” exclaimed Fiona as she rolled her head back over her shoulders and stared straight up at the ceiling “Are you serious!?”

“I told you this wasn't going to be easy for you, Fiona.” said Anton with a shrug “You want to be a real dark elf and that's fine. You are going to have to earn it though.”

“Damn the dead Gods... Fine! Fuck it! Fine! Whatever!” exclaimed Fiona as she brought her head back down and glared at him “We can handle whatever bullshit you think it takes! So bring it on!”

Anton nodded to her before turning to Kianna.

“And what about you?” he asked as his eyes softened “Think your ready for this?”

“No!” whined Kianna as she laid her ears back submissively “I don't want to be tortured!”

Chuckling at her expression, Anton shook his head.

“I'm not exactly excited about this either. It won't be a real burn though, Kianna. Only the illusion of it.” he soothed as he looked back at her “Now, I'm not going to tell you that it won't feel like real pain, because it will. But you won't actually be injured in any real way, that I can promise you.”

“It's still gonna hurt though! Right!?” whimpered Kianna as she looked down at the table “Do I really have to do this? Can't I just wait and let it happen normally?”

“...Yes, technically.” sighed Anton “Like I said before, it is possible to do this that way...”

“Just let her wait then!” exclaimed Fiona as she leaned towards Anton “I'm still down to do it now!”

Anton was silent for a moment as he stared back at her. With a soft sigh he shook his head.

“I don't think that would be a good idea Fiona.” he said calmly “It'll be putting a huge gap between you two. One that may be unhealthy to your relationship as sisters.”

“...So wait! If she doesn't want to do this then we aren't going to!?” exclaimed Fiona as she pointed her ears straight upwards “No! Are you serious!?”

Anton said nothing as he let his gaze fall to the table.

Her eyes going wide in panic Fiona immediately turned to her sister and lowered her ears.

“C'mon Kianna! Please! This won't be that bad! We can handle it!” exclaimed Fiona as she gave her sister her puppy dog eyes “You wanna learn how to use your magic too, right!? Well this is what it takes!”

Kianna said nothing as she avoided looking at her sister by focusing on Anton.

“It's just for one day! And then you're good! We just gotta get past this! We're so close! ...Please!” implored Fiona as she tried to put herself in front of her sister and force her to look into her eyes “C'mon Kianna! ...Please! ...Please!”

Kianna's expression didn't change as she continued to look around her sister at Anton.

Breaking her eyes away, Fiona looked at Anton for a moment and then back at her sister.

“...You do say you trust him. You do say that.” she whispered as her eyes became desperate “You keep saying that Kianna! You keep saying it! You say you trust him! And that you know he won't hurt you! That he'll take care of you! Well if you really believe it! And you really trust him! You should prove it!”

Kianna was still for a moment before she slowly shifted her eyes to her sister and stared at her.

“...You are such a horrible bitch, Fiona.” she mumbled as her expression became glowering and she dropped her gaze to the table “...Fine, I'll do it!”

“Yes! Thank you!” cried Fiona as she leaned over and threw her arms around her sister's neck “Thank you so much!”

“Humph. Bravo, Fiona. Once again you prove that we can always count on you to use the ugliest tactics...” grumbled Anton as he shook his head “Never fails...”

“Please! It's not like she's gonna regret it!” cried Fiona as she gave her annoyed looking sister another squeeze “Will you!?”

“...Probably not.” mumbled Kianna as she gave her still smiling sister a sideways glare “You're still a bitch though!”

“And I can live with that!” exclaimed Fiona as her smile became snarky.

“Well isn't that just the most wonderful of attitudes...” grumbled Anton as he shook his head again and commenced to finishing off his bowl of oatmeal “And with that any sympathy I may have had for you today is now gone...”

“Oh, please!” snapped Fiona as she pointed her ears straight back “Don't act like you're not going to enjoy the Hell out of this!”

Moving only his eyes, Anton looked up at the obnoxious dark elf and said nothing as he finished chewing and swallowing the last mouthful of his oatmeal. Once he was done he broke off their eye contact and rose from his seat.

“Finish your meals and then do whatever you think you need to do to get yourselves as ready as you can be.” he said as he took his bowl to the sink “I wasn't kidding when I said we won't be taking any breaks. So use the restroom now whether you need to or not. When you're both ready to get started, meet me in the dungeon.”

“...Okay.” nodded the dark elves in unison as they watched him make his way out of the kitchen.

“Oh! And one more thing.” said Anton as he stopped in the archway and turned back to face them “What color underwear are each of you wearing?”

“Please tell me how this is seriously necessary!” growled Fiona through her clenched teeth as she stared straight ahead and did her best to stand as still as possible while Anton tightened the straps of the black leather legbinder he had wrapped around the full length of her legs, from her ankles up to her thighs “Because I'm having a really hard time imagining how it could be!”

“And what exactly are you going to do if I said it wasn't?” asked Anton as he stood up behind her and using two fingers began to thump her on the very top of her head “Please tell me because I'm having a really hard time imagining what it could be...”

“Okay, okay!” snarled Fiona as she pointed her ears straight back and lowered her head in an effort to get away from his thumping fingers “I get it!”

“No, you don't “get it”, Fiona, and I have my doubts that you ever will...” grumbled Anton as he undid a strap of the box-tie leather armbinder that held the dark elf's arms folded away behind her back and tightened it down another notch by pulling the strap through it's corresponding roller buckle “Anyways, to answer your question, yes, this is necessary, very necessary.”

“Yeah right!” muttered Fiona as she worked to maintain her balance while Anton's efforts forced her to lean forwards “Like this isn't just a weak excuse to tie us up again!”

“I don't need an excuse to do that, Fiona.” said Anton as he checked the tightness of the her armbinder's other straps “I would think that was clear to you by now.”

Fiona grumbled incomprehensibly as she glanced to her side and frowned at her already bound sister who sheepishly smiled back.

The two dark elves stood about ten feet apart, and although they were inline with each other they were each facing opposite directions, with Kianna facing the main door of the dungeon and Fiona facing away from it. They had both been bound and dressed in an identical fashion, with the armbinders and legbinders keeping their now useless limbs both sealed away and held in place. Aside from their bondage gear both of the dark elves wore nothing but their collars and matching pairs of simple white colored bras and panties.

“All of this is necessary.” said Anton in an absent tone as he stepped around to Fiona's front and looked her over “Just trust me.”

The dark elf kept her ears pointed straight back and glared while she watched him run his eyes up and down her bound and nearly naked body.

“I don't see how the fuck any of this shit can possibly be necessary!?” growled Fiona through her clenched teeth “What the fuck does getting stripped down and then tied up have to do with learning how to use magic!?”

“Technically, you haven't been “tied up” just restrained.” said Anton in the same absent tone “And that bondage gear is important because it's going to help me keep you in one place. And, while you're wearing it, it'll be a lot harder for you to hurt yourselves...”

“...Wait!? Hurt ourselves!?” exclaimed Fiona as she leaned back and away from him “What the Hell are you talking about!?”

“As for being stripped down that has a few purposes as well...” said Anton as he ignored her question and looked up at the ceiling “The first reason its important is because with you dressed like that I can easily see you and what you're wearing. And the second reason is so that when I look up at the two of you I can't immediately tell which one of you I'm looking at. And that is actually going to be very important here pretty soon...”

“What, why?” questioned Fiona “Why don't you wanna be able to tell us apart?”

“Because I don't want to play favorites with you two, but I know myself well enough to know that I will.” explained Anton as he brought his gaze back down and locked eyes with her “I don't want to take it easier on Kianna, and I don't want to be harder on you than I absolutely need to be. So if I can't tell which of you is which then it will be a lot easier for me to keep things even between you.”

“...Oh.” mumbled Fiona as she blinked in surprise “I see...”

“And as for the third reason... Well, it's the aesthetics of course.” explained Anton as a smug half grin spread across his face “If I'm going to have to sit in one place for hours and hours on end. Then I think it only makes sense for me to make sure that I'll at least enjoy the view around me!”

Fiona blinked and then went still as her eyes widened and began to glow with an angry red light.

“Hm, yeah. That does make sense.” reasoned Kianna as she arched her back to thrust her bra covered chest forward and began to twist her shoulders back and forth in order to emphasize her jiggling breasts “That seems fair enough to me.”

“Oh, shut the Hell up, Kianna...” groaned Fiona as Anton began to laugh “I swear you are such a slut! You're worse than a fucking cat in heat!”

“No I'm not!” cried Kianna as she pointed her ears straight back and glared angrily “And you're one to call me a slut! When was the last time you gave your poor clit a night off!?”

Fiona pressed her lips into a thin line as she narrowed her eyes at her sister. Both of the dark elves now had their ears pointing straight back as they stared each other down.

“Alright, alright! That's enough! Let's keep things moving forward. And speaking of forward.” laughed Anton as he put his hands out in front of himself and made as if he was about to catch Fiona “I think you're good now, so go ahead and fall forward for me.”

“...What!?” exclaimed Fiona as she shifted her glare down to his waiting hands “The fuck do you want!?”

“I need you to be laying down for this next part, so I want you to fall.” explained Anton as he beckoned her forward with his fingers “Don't worry, I'll catch you.”

Fiona's eyes darted from his hands to his eyes and back before an irritated scowl spread across her face. Unable to bend her knees due to the legbinder, she tentatively leaned forward on her toes and bent herself at the waist until the better part of her torso was hovering over Anton's still waiting hands.

With an impatient sigh, Anton reached out and grabbed her around the waist, just below her ribs, and pulled her forward as he twisted himself to the side.

With a surprised grunt, Fiona went stiff as she was partially lifted into the air and then gently lowered to lay face down on the floor.

“Alright, now you just wait there for a second.” said Anton as he stood back up and made his way over to Kianna.

“Oh, yeah! Will do!” cried Fiona sarcastically as she shook her whole body back and forth “Because I have so many other options!”

“You could have even less...” mumbled Anton as he stepped in front of Kianna and put his hands out to catch her “You stubborn dark elf!”

Kianna smiled softly at him before looking down at his hands. Raising herself up on her tiptoes she folded her ears back behind her head and closed her eyes as she let herself fall forward.

Catching her as gently as he could, Anton slowly dropped to his knees and lowered Kianna down until she was laying on the floor in an identical but opposite facing manner to her sister.

“Such a good girl! My brave little dark elf!” he praised as he began to slowly move his hands around beneath her “She knows she can trust her Master! ...Even when he has her trapped and helpless!”

The hapless dark elf giggled gleefully and started to wiggle frantically back and forth as Anton slipped his fingers under her bra and began to playfully fondle her breasts while tugging at her nipples.

“...Seriously, are you really going after her right now!?” grumbled Fiona as she thumped her head against the floor “Please, please don't start fucking in front of me over there! Please! I'm begging you!”

“Shut up!” snapped Kianna as she glared over in her sisters general direction “If you don't like it then don't watch!”

Anton chuckled and shook his head as he made to slowly slide his hands out from under her.

“Ah! No! Not yet!” cried Kianna as she tried to follow his hands by squirming forwards after them “Ah! Dammit, Fiona!”

“No, it's not her fault, Kianna. We have things to do today.” laughed Anton as he planted his hand on top of her head and ruffled her hair “We don't have time for that right now!”

He couldn't help but to chuckle again as the clearly upset dark elf grumbled under her breath and hid her face by pressing her forehead against the floor in protest.

Leaving his hand on top of her head, Anton leaned in close to her ear.

“Now you be patient, you greedy little thing...” he whispered as he gave her head a playful squeeze “And don't you worry. I can always tie you back up again later, whenever we have more time to really enjoy ourselves!”

Kianna went still for a second before turning her head slightly towards him.

“...Really?” she asked in a hushed tone as she spoke towards the floor and pointed her ears straight upwards “Are you serious about that!?”

“Of course I am. After all!” chuckled Anton as he gave her head another ruffle “I've got both a fully stocked dungeon at my disposal, and a cute little sex slave to play with! Do you really think I haven't thought about mixing the two together!?”

Kianna was still for another moment before she turned her head so that she was facing directly down at the floor again.

“...So, should I keep being a good girl?” she questioned quietly as she began to slowly sway her hips back and forth “...Or should I be bad instead?”

Anton chuckled loudly as he gave her head another squeeze and lifted his hand away.

“Either way works just fine for me!” he smiled as he reached over her bound arms and gave one of her very round, thinly covered butt cheeks a rough squeeze before tugging her panties to the side and giving her a quick but sharp swat on a patch of exposed skin with each word he spoke next “You, greedy, little, thing!”

Kianna froze completely the instant she felt the stinging smacks begin to land across her backside. When no more appeared to be forthcoming she began to moan softly and pointed her ears straight back behind her head.

“Dammit, Fiona!” she growled in frustration as she pressed her forehead back into the floor “Why do we always have to do your stupid shit first!”

The clearly aroused dark elf couldn't help but to continue moaning softly and curl in on herself as Anton began to roughly massage the freshly spanked spot on her bottom with just his fingertips.

“Oh, yeah! We're definitely doing what I wanna do right now!” cried Fiona as she started thumping her own head against the floor “Cause listening to my sister moan like a thirsty whore while she gets sexually molested has always been my idea of a great time!”

“Yeah, it actually has been, you freak! And I'm not getting sexually molested!” snapped Kianna before miserably laying her ears flat behind her head and laying limp against the floor “Unfortunately...”

Anton laughed and gave her another quick swat before shaking his head and getting back up to his feet.

“My poor, mistreated little dark elf...” he teased as he crossed over to where Earlivi had arranged all of the dungeons “furniture” into a surprisingly organized pile “Her little life is just so difficult...”

“It really is!” whined Kianna as she began to squirm and rub herself against the floor “Things have been really shitty for me lately!”

“Yes, they have...” nodded Anton as he opened a wardrobe and began to rummage through the leather bondage items that were being stored inside it “And unfortunately its going to get a lot worse before it gets any better...”

Kianna groaned miserably as Fiona craned her head back over her shoulders in an effort to get a better look at what Anton was doing.

“What are you looking for over there!?” she asked as she narrowed her eyes in suspicion “...Are you gonna gag us again!?”

“Yes, eventually.” answered Anton as he made his way back towards them “But first I'm going to strap these suspension cuffs around your ankles.”

Fiona pointed her ears straight upwards as Anton tossed a pair of padded leather cuffs in her direction. She followed the cuffs with her eyes as they both sailed through the air and then slid across the floor before finally coming to a stop near her feet. Confused, she stared at the black, buckle covered pieces of crafted leather for a moment before turning back to Anton and finding him not only crouched down behind Kianna but midway through the process of tightening the cuff he had already wrapped around one of her ankles. Eyes going wide with a creeping realization, Fiona frantically twisted back and forth until she was able to roll over onto her back. Staring straight upwards now, she felt a heavy knot begin to form in her stomach as she gazed up at a long steel bar with two metal rings welded to each of it's ends. The bar was slowly drifting back and forth as it hung from a steel cable that fed out of an industrial hoist that had been mounted to one of the heavy beams that now ran across the ceiling.

“Oh, Hell no!” she exclaimed as she felt a bit of bile rise into her throat “No, no, no! No, no, no, no!”

Both Anton and Kianna turned their heads in her direction as Fiona continued her outburst. Completely panicked now, Fiona began to frantically twist back and forth as she tried to escape from her bondage and failing this she rolled back onto her belly and desperately tried to crawl away by squirming back and forth across the floor.

Anton sighed and shook his head as he raised his right hand and snapped his fingers.

“...Oh c'mon! Not this shit again!” cried Fiona as she began to drift up off the floor and float out into the open air “Why are you doing this!?”

“Because, it's for the best.” mumbled Anton as he finished tightening Kianna's cuff and started on her second one “Just trust me...”

Fiona growled miserably and clamped her eyes shut as she tried her best to remain as still as possible.

While watching her sister as she floated aimlessly through the air, Kianna let her eyes drift up to the ceiling and the bar and hoist that were mounted there.

“...You're going to make us hang upside down?” she asked quietly as she nervously laid her ears back behind her head.

“Yes...” breathed Anton as he adjusted the boot-like cuff around her ankle “I know its going to be uncomfortable, but just trust me, this is the safest way to do this.”

“...What do you mean?” questioned Kianna as she looked back at him “How is hanging in the air gonna be safe?”

“Because you won't be able to hurt yourselves while you're struggling, but you'll still be able to move around, which will keep you from going completely insane.” explained Anton “Once we get started you two are not going to be able to stop yourselves from trying to escape. So restraining you is necessary. But strapping you down to a chair or even a bed isn't a good idea because then you'll have something to strain against. And trust me, you will strain yourselves! You'll won't even feel the pain either. You'll just keep fighting until you literally tear your muscles apart. And what's worse is that you'll be so desperate for relief that you'll be more than willing to bash your own heads in just to make it all stop. Trust me on this. I've been through it myself. I know what its going to feel like, and I know how much you're going to want to get away from it all... Unfortunately, I'm afraid I won't be able to let you do that...”

“...Argh!” groaned Kianna as she slumped back against the floor “Fuck you Fiona! This is all your fault!”

“My fault!” cried Fiona as she kept her eyes shut but turned her head towards her sister “Bullshit! You wanna blame anybody for this then blame fucking Mom! If she hadn't been the biggest bitch on Terra then this shit wouldn't be happening to us right now!”

“...Hm, she's actually got a point for once.” mused Anton as he finished with Kianna's last cuff and went to stand up “That's got to be a first...”

“Ha ha! Very funny!” exclaimed Fiona as she shifted her non-existent gaze to him “There's gotta be another way for you do this! This seriously can't be the only way!”

“I'm sure there are other ways. But I wouldn't know them off hand, and I'm not interested in experimenting with this right now. As uncomfortable as this is going to be for you, I know you won't be able to hurt yourselves and that is the most important part of this. As such, we are going to go with this method.” declared Anton as he chased down Fiona's now floating ankle cuffs “...This is the exact same method that was used with me. So I know that this way will work.”

Kianna grimaced as she felt herself slowly floating upwards and away from the floor.

Having gathered the runaway cuffs, Anton stepped up behind Fiona and took hold of her ankle as he quickly set to work. The frustrated dark elf let her head slump forward in irritation as she resisted the urge to try and kick him away.

Once he finished with her, Anton then set his eyes on the bar hanging above them. Taking a small plastic remote out of his pocket, he pointed it up at the hoist and pressed a button with a downwards facing arrow painted on it. The hoist immediately began to make a whirring sound as it began to spin and release more of it's steel cable. Anton sighed and narrowed his eyes in annoyance as the bar began to bob about near the ceiling rather than simply drop downwards to where he could reach it. Pointing a finger at it, he shot out a glowing orange light chain that sped through the air before wrapping itself around the floating bar and pulling it in as it disappeared back into his fingertip.

Bar in hand now, Anton turned back to Fiona and quickly attached her ankle cuffs to the metal ring at the end of the bar by using several high capacity, metal rock climbing clips. Leaving her to float about on that end, Anton walked his hand down the bar and took hold of the metal ring on the opposite side. Pulling the bar, and Fiona, along behind him he then made his way over to where Kianna was now floating at head height. After attaching the second dark elf to the empty ring he pointed the remote back up at the hoist and triggered it to reel its cable back in. Once the bar, and it's attached dark elves, had been towed upwards to a height that Anton felt comfortable with, he shut the hoist off and snapped his fingers again.

The two dark elves were both whimpering and groaning miserably as they now found themselves twirling slowly in a wide circle while hanging precariously above the floor at a height that put their upside down faces in line with Anton's chest.

Anton gave the unhappy sisters a sympathetic look before closing his eyes and turning away from them. Making his way back to the hodgepodge of stacked furniture he pulled out one of the high backed chairs and brought it over to sit it down below, and at the very center of the hanging bar and in between the two spinning dark elves. Next he brought over one of the bedside tables which he sat right next to the chair and a lamp which he set up on the table.

The two dark elves watched quietly as he then went around the room setting up more lamps along the walls around them.

“...What the fuck are you doing!?” questioned Fiona as she twisted her head painfully at the neck in order to keep him in her sights and glare at him “You couldn't have done this shit while we were still on the ground!?”

“I'm setting these lamps up so that they can help me to recognize when you two are done.” explained Anton with an absent tone “And I'm actually giving you the chance to get a little used to that position while I do this.”

“Yeah, there's no getting used to this!” growled Fiona as she worked to avoid looking downwards “...And how are lamps supposed to let you know when we're done!?”

“You'll see.” said Anton as he looked back at her and sighed “Alright, I'm going to go grab a few things from upstairs real quick and then we'll be about ready to begin...”

“Wait! You can't leave us like this!” cried Fiona as she went stiff “What if we fall!?”

“...Well, if you'd like.” said Anton as a thin smirk spread across his face “I could have Earlivi come and watch you while I'm gone. Give you all a chance to be alone together for a little while. How does that sound?”

Although the effect wasn't quite as obvious or dramatic as it normally was, what with their ears being hidden by their hanging hair, it was still clear by the wide eyed looks on their faces that both of the dark elves now had their ears pointed straight upwards in panic.

“No! Just... Just hurry up!” exclaimed Fiona with a grimace “Please!”

“I will.” assured Anton as he quickly left the room. Within minutes he returned carrying both volumes two and three of his dark elf books as well as several bottles of water. He set these items on the table next to the lamp and looked back up at the dark elves.

The two sisters were just as miserable looking as they had been from the moment their ordeal began. Dressed identically and with their hair hanging below their heads it was now nearly impossible to tell them apart at first glance. Or at least it would be, were it not for the gems on their collars.

Anton grimaced as he narrowed his eyes at the pink and green gems that immediately signaled out the identity of who he was looking at. Making his way back to one of the standing wardrobes he searched through it for a moment before returning to the dark elves.

Kianna whimpered and leaned her head back as her eyes locked onto the pair of gags that were draped around Anton's arm. Rather than the more restrictive and complicated designs involving a whole head harness, both of these two gags were the simple more traditional version which consisted of a black rubber ball attached to a leather belt. The ball of the gag was about two inches in diameter which made it just big enough to fit snugly into a persons mouth and was positioned at the very center of the belt it was attached to. This belt was meant to hold the ball in place by wrapping around it's wearers face and being buckled tightly behind their head.

“Do you think this gag will make you panic, Kianna?” asked Anton as he showed her one of the gags “Or do you think you can handle this one?”

The dark elf stared at the gag for a moment before her eyes narrowed into a fierce looking glare.

“...I think I'll be fine!” she grumbled as she curled her lips back and bared her teeth “I can hurt that one!”

“...You? ...Okay then.” said Anton as he cocked an eyebrow and watched the dark elf clench her teeth in a determined and seemingly menacing manner “...Right.”

Shaking his head, Anton stepped around the hanging dark elf and stood behind her as he took a light but dense black cloth wrap from where he had draped it over his arm and under the gags. Originally, this cloth was more than likely meant to be used as a blindfold, but it would suit his purposes just as well.

“You're gonna blindfold us too!?” asked Fiona in an almost hopeful manner as she watched Anton straighten out the cloth in front of himself.

“No, I'm going to need to see your eyes.” said Anton as he lowered the cloth below Kianna's head and raised it back up to wrap it around her neck.

“Hey!” cried Kianna as she tried and failed to follow what he was doing with her eyes “What are you doing!?”

“I'm wrapping this around your collar so that I can't see your gems.” explained Anton “This way I won't be able to tell you two apart by just looking at you.”

“...Oh. ...So?” mumbled Kianna as she tightened her eyes “So, you won't be able to see my collar then?”

“Well, no, I guess not?” answered Anton as he tilted his head in amusement “Why? Does that bother you?”

“...I don't know?” grumbled Kianna as her ears began to slowly rise and fall “...Maybe, kinda.”

“I see. Well, this will only be for while we're doing this.” assured Anton as he wrapped the cloth snugly over Kianna's collar and tied it off “You can take it off as soon as we're done.”

Kianna was still for a moment before she nodded softly.

Anton couldn't help but to grin to himself as he stepped back around to Kianna's front and once again held up the gag for her to see.

“So are you ready to try and hurt this now?” he asked as held the gags ball between his fingers.

The dark elf narrowed her eyes at the ball as she pointed her ears straight back behind her head.

“Yes!” she hissed through her teeth “That fucking thing!”

Anton chuckled softly as he moved the ball to Kianna's lips but went quiet and focused on minding his fingers as she immediately opened her jaws as wide as she could and viciously clamped her teeth down on the offered ball in an almost vengeful like manner. Taken aback a bit, Anton eased himself away from the dark elf and the unsettling sight of her sharp canines. Kianna's bright, white teeth were suddenly standing out even more clearly than they usually did as they contrasted brightly against the black rubber of the ball that she was now angrily chewing on.

Making a mental note that he needed to look into a white colored ballgag, Anton stepped around the dark elf and buckled the gag tightly in place behind her head before moving back to her front.

The smooth, rounded sides of the ball were far too slick for the majority of Kianna's teeth to find any real purchase on, and as such they would merely slide harmlessly back and forth across it's surface as she chewed on it. This was not the case with her fangs however, as, although fairly short, the pointed tips of her canines were apparently sharp enough that they were able to pierce through the harden rubber of the ball and this was showcased by the clouds of dotted marks that had already been created across it's now scarred surface. Having seemingly become aware of her ability to damage the offending item, the now heavily motivated dark elf had become entirely focused on driving her teeth as deeply into the rubber ball as she possibly could.

Apparently sensing that she was being watched, Kianna paused her efforts and pointed her ears straight upwards as she looked up and locked eyes with Anton.

“...Having fun?” questioned Anton as he gave her a thin, toothless smile.

Mumbling an incomprehensible affirmative, the dark elf again pointed her ears straight back behind her head and continued in her attempts to destroy her gag.

Although she wasn't currently making any noises, the visual alone of what Kianna was doing was in of itself a still very unnerving sight for Anton, and shaking his head with an uneasy grimace, he left her to her self appointed mission as he made his way over to Fiona.

The second dark elf was not nearly as ill disposed towards her gag and cloth and as such was not at all interested in being as dramatic as her sister was. With his tasks now complete Anton had the dark elves as ready as they were going to be and so with a heavy sigh he took hold of Fiona's upper arm and lifted her up to hang slightly sideways.

The confused dark elf gave him a wide eyed look and began to mumble through her gag in protest as she started to struggle in his grip. Her mumbling became far more distraught as Anton suddenly slung her to the side in an action that immediately triggered both of the dark elves to start crying out in fear as they found themselves sailing through the air and swinging around and around from the ends of the pivoting bar that they had both been hung from.

Casting his eyes to the floor in an effort to lose track of the dark elves, Anton turned around and made his way to his seat at the center of the twirling sisters. Placing the second volume of his dark elf books in his lap, he kept his eyes focused on the cover until the loss of momentum set in and the now teary eyed and whimpering dark elves slowed to a crawl as they continued to spin slowly around him.

“Alright then girls...” declared Anton as he made a note of the time by looking at his quartz watch “I need you both to listen to me very closely.”

As he spoke, Anton allowed his aura to expand outwards from his being and fill the entire area around him.

“You two are dark elves. And as such you have the ability to feel auras, this is something I'm sure you're both fully aware of at this point, considering you have both felt the effects of my aura before. What you should also be aware of by now is that not only can you feel auras, but you can manipulate them as well. This alone is a powerful ability to have and I will explain more about this to you in time. Right now though, the only thing you need to focus on is the fact that you can manipulate your own auras, and by doing so you can weaponize them, and then use them to manipulate the auras of other people...” explained Anton as he slowly began to build up the density of his billowing aura “And this is exactly what I want you to do. I want you to do whatever it takes for you to gain control of your auras. I want you to feel them flowing around you and then focus them, bend them to your will and force them into place until they are fully under your command. ...In order for you to do this successfully, you will need a target. A target to focus them against, to rally them against, you'll need something to fight! Something to hate! ...And so with in mind, I am going to become the target that you need.”

The dark elves stayed silent as they listened intently.

“Once we begin, I am not going to stop. I am fully prepared to continue this for as long as is necessary, even for days if that's what it takes.” continued Anton as he closed his eyes and rolled his head along his shoulders to crack the bones in his neck “I'm sure by now that you've both become aware of my aura, as I've filled this entire room with it's presence. And I'm assuming that you can both feel it as it surrounds you and even permeates through your bodies... In a moment, you're going to feel the intensity of my aura increase, and as it does the effect that it's presence is going to have on you is also going to intensify...”

The dark elves both began to blink and squirm in discomfort as the air around them began to thicken and become heavier.

“As this intensity begins to take effect... You'll start to notice a dull, but heavy pressure along the back of your skulls. This is normal. And its not something you'll need to worry about...” explained Anton as he looked back down at his book and let a sad frown take form on his face “Soon after that though... the burning sensation will begin...”

Both of the dark elves looked at him before turning to each other. Their eyes went wide as they each began to feel a thick pressure creeping down the backs of their skulls.

“...Falling into a freezing boil. That's about as close as I can get to describing to you what this burn will feel like. It's a burn that reaches down to your very fibers, and this will be felt throughout your entire bodies.” said Anton with a heavy sigh “...It will be unending, and there will be no escape from it. You won't be able to slip into unconsciousness, you will never be able to get used to it, and it will not dull... There will only be one way for you to make it all stop. And you already know what you will need to do in order to make that happen...”

The dark elves began to groan frantically as the first hints of burning in the form of tiny pinpricks began to wink into existence both across and within their bodies.

“I wish things didn't have to be this intense for you girls... But unfortunately, any power that's worth having will always demand a price...” whispered Anton as he opened his book and made an effort to ignore the growing cries of the now struggling dark elves “I'm so sorry...”

Taking his time with his reading, even gong so far as to reread several chapters in the second volume twice, Anton was now a little more than half of the way through the third tome when he was forced to set it down in his lap and sit up straight as a growing discomfort in his neck had reached a point where it could no longer be ignored.

Glancing at his watch, he was a little surprised to find that they had been going at this for well over twelve hours now and were fast approaching the late evening.

Chancing a quick peek, Anton darted his eyes upwards and found that neither of the dark elves were currently hanging in front of him. Thankful for the opportunity to stretch his neck, he kept his attention focused on the exposed light bulb of a lamp that had been set up directly in front of him and began to quickly tilt his head back and forth.

For their part, Fiona and Kianna had indeed lived up to Anton's expectations, as they had both gone nearly feral in their efforts to escape from their bondage. Screaming, twisting themselves back and forth, thrashing wildly and all around struggling to the point that they were literally bouncing up and down. The poor creatures made every attempt that they possibly could to escape from the unending torment that they were being mercilessly subjected to. Failing in these efforts, they were forced to endure the relentless onslaught as they continued to aimlessly spin in endless circles all while hanging in midair. Trapped by their unyielding bondage, the two dark elves could do nothing but scream out through their gags and rage as they glared hatefully down at the being who was ultimately responsible for their suffering.

And despite the noise and commotion they were creating, Anton was able to fully ignore the two dark elves and quietly read his books all whilst sitting comfortably in his chair just below them and yet still far enough out of their reach that he was completely safe from their growing anger.

Or at least he was at first.

Anton worked to keep his eyes focused on the light bulb as he brought his head up and out of it's tilt. Now relieved of the pressure in his neck, he eased down to settle back into place in his seat when he began to notice a tiny shift in the atmosphere around him. Letting his eyes drift to the floor, he watched intently as every few seconds the glow from the lamps he had set up around the room would slightly dim in a very subtle, almost eerie way.

It was at this moment when he realized that both of the dark elves had become quiet.

Checking his aura, he found that the intensity he was producing was still on par with what he had been maintaining this entire time. Yet despite this fact, the dark elves were no longer responding to it.

Raising his eyes back upwards, Anton once again focused on the light bulb sitting directly in front of him. As he watched, it's glow began to pulse, first growing in it's intensity before peaking and dimming down to almost nothing and then brightening again before repeating the process. While he stayed focused on this single bulb he registered in his peripherals that all of the other lamps in the room, including the one sitting on the table right next to him, were now following a similar pattern.

“...Hm, not bad.” he mused quietly to himself “That didn't take as long as I thought it would.”

Still keeping his eyes on the flickering bulb in front of him, Anton waited for one of the dark elves to come into view as they drifted in from either side of him but neither one of them ever did. He knew that there was no way that either of them had gone unconscious as the burning in their bodies wouldn't have allowed their minds that outlet to slip away. And that if they had truly gone still, as they apparently had, then there was no question that they had to still be fully aware, as the only way that they would not be reacting to the effects of his aura was if they were actively and consciously resisting said effects.

“...Well now. You two should be proud of yourselves. You've done very well today. This is very impressive. And exciting. ...And I'm sure this all must feel incredibly empowering for the both of you as well.” said Anton as he kept his eyes facing forward and closed the book in his lap “You have, after all, lived your entire lives without even a hint to what you were actually capable of... So I'm sure that there is an element of shock to this, this revelation... And I'm sure that this is a lot for you both to take in... I also understand, that it is very possible, that you two, may be a bit upset... with me.”

Anton's grip on his book tightened involuntarily as all at once the lamps in the room flickered and began to go dim as an overbearing sense of rage swelled into existence and bore down against his aura. Acting on instinct, Anton increased the intensity of his own aura in a bid to drive back the oppressive force that now surrounded him. The rippling effect of the now opposing forces clashing with each other caused the lamp on the table next to him to start to wobble and fall over onto it's side where it hung still for a moment before slipping off the edge of the table and landing on the floor where it continued to flicker wildly.

Steeling himself, Anton pulled his aura in from the room at large and focused it into a large sphere around himself. As his aura concentrated around his being the lamp that was now laying on the floor stopped it's flickering and maintained a steady glow.

“Well then! Okay!” mumbled Anton as he nodded his head “I think I'll go ahead and consider that a conformation that you two are indeed upset!”

His eyes still locked onto the flickering light bulb in front of him, Anton's face went stoic as he watched the struggling light lose out on it's battle and go dark. All of the lamps on his left side followed immediately while those on his right hung on a moment longer before they too went dark as well.

Anton now sat at the center of a ball of light created by the lamp at his feet and protected by the sphere that was made up of his concentrated aura. Just beyond the edge of this sphere the world ended and became a dark void where absolutely nothing could be seen but the deepest of blackness.

Or at least, almost nothing.

Anton stared forward and gazed out into this blackness for a long moment before slowly turning just his head and looking to his left. And there, just a few feet away from him, floating upside down in the darkness at the exact same height as his sitting head, he found a pair of large, brightly glowing, red eyes, silently staring straight back at him.

These eyes were now aglow with a fiery brightness that was so intense that it not only made it impossible to even discern their pupils or irises but also completely encompassed the entirety of the dark elf's eyeballs and had turned them into two solid red, flaming orbs.

There was no way for Anton to tell which of the two dark elves he was currently looking at as all that could be seen of her were her eyes as they stood out brightly against the blackness that now surrounded her. Though no details of her face could be seen, the menacing nature of her silent, unblinking gaze made it all too clear that this was without question, a very, very unhappy dark elf.

Anton stared at the dark elf's eyes for another long moment before turning away from her to stare forwards once again. After taking a deep breath he turned his gaze to his right and stared into the blackness at the spot where he knew the second dark elf had to be. At first he saw nothing, but as he watched a second pair of eyes winked into existence right in front of him.

The dark elf's ruby colored irises could be seen for only a fraction of a second before the brightness in her eyes expanded to the point that only the glowing redness could be seen and she became a match to her already staring sister.

Anton kept his gazed locked with the clearly angry dark elf for a moment before slowly nodding his head and turning away from her.

“Hm, well, I suppose we should go ahead and move on to the next step then.” reasoned Anton as he set his book down atop of the other one that was already sitting on the table next to him “Seems that its about time to give those collars their first real test...”

Tilting his head back, Anton looked up towards the now blackened ceiling and slowly rolled his head back and forth to loosen out the last cricks in his neck.

“I'm afraid I haven't been completely honest with you girls. And for that I do apologize. Regrettably, I neglected to mention that there is actually another reason for restraining you two in the way that I have... And that reason was so that I could, if need be, maintain control of you.” said Anton as he brought his head forward and gazed into the darkness in front of him “You see, I, unfortunately, had no way of knowing for sure just how you two would react to achieving control of your auras... I did have my predictions of course. And although this was not the scenario that I was hoping for... I am glad that I was prepared for it nonetheless...”

As Anton spoke he could feel the pressure surrounding the sphere of his aura begin to intensify. It was quite clear that the two now fledgling sorceresses, their judgment being clouded by their anger, had begun to work together against him. And although this attempt was clumsy and unrefined, the amount of power they were able to produce through their combined effort was quickly becoming too great to ignore.

“Girls, I'm going to need you both to focus, come to your senses, and calm yourselves down.” said Anton as he closed his eyes and took a calming breath himself “I need you to show me that you can handle this new power of yours, and that you can maintain yourselves. Because if you can't control yourselves... Then I will...”

Although Anton didn't see the eyes of the dark elves tighten in fury, he certainly felt their response throughout his aura.

“Hm... Very well then.” he sighed as he threw his arms out to either side of himself “I did try to warn you.”

As Anton's arms stretched out wide, an orange glowing light chain shot out from each of his hands and pierced right through the cloth blindfolds as their ends instantly locked themselves to the blood gems on each of the dark elves collars.

Anton balled his hands into fists and tightened his grip on the chains as he felt the dark elves both pull away and double the amount of power they were throwing at him.

“I am sorry girls.” whispered Anton as he slowly shook his head “But I'm afraid this has to be done...”

As Anton opened his eyes they instantly brightened, becoming soulless and piercing while his body shifted to a state of solid blackness.

Throwing his power outwards, Anton met the dark elves assault head on and blasted away at the energy that surrounded him with his own overwhelming force. As he did this, the last bit of light from the lamp at his feet grew in it's intensity until with a surrendering pop, the bulb exploded and everything went dark.