Christopher looked at Captain Merrem, realizing that he might not be much longer for this loop. The man looked at him with stone cold features that somehow still unmistakably showed his anger.

“So, it is you. I was clearly neglectful in my previous questioning.” The captain said menacingly. Christopher was somewhat surprised that Captain Merrem even remembered his face from when he arrived in Lumen.

“Return to your posts.” Merrem commanded to the guards that were watching over Christopher, after which they swiftly departed. This left only Christopher, Captain Merrem, and the captain’s right-hand man, who was still masking his face behind the hood.

Guard Captain Merrem picked up one of the two empty chairs and dropped it right next to Christopher. The man’s presence was terrifying, so Christopher had [Bookmark] on his mind.

The Guard Captain heavily sat down before grasping Christophers already bound arm in a vice grip. The large man had done the same when interrogating the caravan members, but now he did so much more violently. It rather hurt but nothing Christopher could not stomach.

The purpose of the clasping still eluded him. Was it to determine if the target spoke the truth? Could the Captain be looking out for Blight’s Essence? Was it so that he would sense Christopher summoning any Soul Bound items? Maybe the purpose was to simply intimidate his target. Having the Captain this close while clasping his arm was certainly scary as hell.

The still hooded man took up a position behind Christopher, right in his blind spot. This really bothered Christopher since it would prevent him from seeing a possible attack coming. There were no tools of torture that he could see at least, leaving Christopher some hope that they would not make this physical.

“I should warn you that I am in a rather bad mood. I was forced to spent the last several hours of my time putting out fires due to your actions. I advise you to clearly answer all of my questions”

“Did the Blight not attack at all? And how much time has passed since then?” Christopher dared to ask

The captain just looked at him, not even bothering with a response.

Christopher would need to consider his answers carefully. He also doubted that his previously shared backstory would hold up under the now closer scrutiny. Time to be a little more forthcoming. Hopefully he could skirt around the edges of what he could share without violating the rules set by the administrator.

“I will try to speak as openly as possible. I should warn that some things are impossible for me to share by the direction of the Goddess”

“How convenient for you.” The captain said coldly

“I can assure you it’s not convenient at all.”

Christopher saw the muscles in the captain’s jaw clench.

“State your full name and town of origin.”

“My full name is Christopher Bell. I cannot share my place of origin under direction of the goddess.”

Not a great start for a first answer, and the captain clearly agreed, tightening his grip painfully. He nevertheless continued with the questioning, ignoring Christopher’s inability to answer for now.

“You are from a noble house?” the captain asked. Latching onto his last name.

“No, I’m not. I am from a country far away.”

“Which you are unwilling to share?”

“I am not able to.”

“I see, and why is that?”

“I receive a debilitating punishment for sharing details of my background and abilities. But I am very much on your side in the fight against the Blight.”

Captain Merrem changed the subject, which surprised him again. Christopher was not sure what to think, the questions meandered all over the place.

“What did you try to accomplish by sabotaging the Soul Alarm?” he asked coldly.

“I was trying to help Lumen.” He let out a sigh. “I had good reason to believe that the city would be attacked just minutes after the time at which I raised the Soul Alarm, but I clearly miscalculated. I am sorry for the trouble I caused.”

“Please explain how you were supposedly aware of the Blight’s strategic intentions.” The tone made it clear that he did not believe Christopher’s claims even a little.

Christopher knew it was a fair question, but it was one he could not really answer. He tried anyway.

“I have an ability that gives me information about possible futures. This ability told me that this was the likely moment of attack.” Luckily no debilitating head pain followed his statement.

Christopher realized how much this would sounds like bullshit, but what else was he going to say. Captain Merrem certainly did not look impressed.

“I see, what a wonderful ability. This mysterious ability is clearly working well.” The captain said deadpan before pausing. “Let’s pretend for a moment that I for some reason believe what you are telling me. Why did you forge official documents and take matters into your own hands, instead of sharing your information with the relevant authorities?”

“I know how it sounds. You would have treated me as a raving lunatic.”

Captain Merrem violently slamming his free hand on the table.

“Tell me about your associates! We know that you did not work alone.”

‘Associates?’ What was he talking about?

“I worked on this alone. There are others like me, but I am not in contact with any of them at the moment.”

“So, you claim to have no association with the man named Sunchal?”

‘Oh fuck, I am finished!’

This confirmed that they had in fact investigated Christopher after his capture. Had they talked to the people he knew? That thought pained him. He wondered how everyone had taken his supposed betrayal. Christopher had not forged very close relationships on this loop but he still hoped that people like Tinos and Naan did not feel hurt and betrayed. While Christopher was thinking of his response, the captain continued.

“It will not take us long to unearth all of your movements in the city. I strongly advise you to cooperate or this will get very unpleasant for you.”

“Sunchal was someone like me, someone with special powers. I was looking for allies and I managed to find Sunchal soon after arriving in Lumen. He was however to scared to go up against the Blight. I have no idea how he died and know nothing about his business dealings here in Lumen. I am as confused as to what happened as any other!”

The pressure on his arm increased.

“Our investigation suggests that you knew him well. We have reports of regular scheduled meetings between the two of you at the Bottomless Tankard. What was it that you discussed there?”

“I was trying to find others like me, to gain allies and to strategize on defeating the Blight. Sunchal was the only person I found here in Lumen that had powers like me. We talked about everything from our personal lives to my goal of stopping the Blight.”

Captain Merrem appeared to lose his remaining patience. moments after, he nodded to the hooded man standing somewhere behind him. Christopher felt two hands grip his shoulder. A strange feeling started radiating through his chest, after which a soul rending pain shocked through his body. It was a sensation unlike any he had experienced before, and Christopher let out a startled scream. Christopher was moments from using [Bookmark] until the pain quickly started receding. The feeling had only persisted for a few seconds before the sensation had fully stopped.

‘Damn, what the hell kind of torture is this. This must be some kind of magic bullshit.’

The hands of the hooded man had meanwhile never left his shoulders, as if promising that they could very much do it again.

“We know all about your little group called the Summoned. Tell me who else you were working with.”

“Wait, you know about us?” Christophe exclaimed with startlement. How the hell did they know? Could it mean that they had interrogated other summoned?

“How many of us are here?” Christopher asked almost desperately, very interested in this information. He had of course learned about the Blue haired woman that had been taken by the guards, could it be her that had told them?

“You are not asking the questions here.” Was the menacing response. “Tell me, how do you keep in contact with the Blight?”

‘Shit, it seems that I have really lost them.’

“I never had any dealings with the Blight. I am on your side.” Christopher exclaimed firmly before continuing. “Are there other people like me in the Dungeon? Please, I must know who they are! It is important for the safety of Lumen.” Christopher almost begged, knowing that the question was foolish as he asked.

“It seems that you are hard of hearing.” Captain Merrem said coldly. The Guard Captain then glanced past Christopher and nodded.

Christopher braced himself for what he knew would follow as he still stubbornly held out against using [Bookmark]. The potential to learn more about other summoned was too tempting. Christopher decided to bear it a little longer. Even the questions they asked him might give him important information. The Soul rending pain that racked through him immediately made him curse his own decision.

Christopher convulsed, and his bindings painfully shaved against his wrists and ankles. That pain did not even register compared to what was being done to him by the hooded man, the sensation wrecking through his body. It truly was a completely unmatched horror that could not be called mere pain.

“I’m going to need a bit more cooperation from this point forward. Otherwise, I can send you to a place that will be sure to make you talk.”

“Please, I have answered all your questions with complete honesty. I will not tell a single lie.” Christopher managed to get out.

His sense of time was a bit warped but he suspected that the previous torture had only lasted a few seconds, meaning that things could get a lot worse. Christopher decided that he was not going to experience this a third time. He had the command ‘Use Bookmark’ ready on his lips. Christopher was not sure how to proceed, realizing that they were talking in circles.

“Tell me more about your organization.”

“You mean the Summoned?”

“Yes, tell me everything you know!” The captain demanded, tone making clear that he accepted no arguments.

“It’s not an organization at all, and we are not really working together yet since we have only been selected a few weeks ago. All I can say is that we recently have been given the task of fighting against the Blight and that we have all been given some special abilities to accomplish that task. There should be many people all over Veneria and the other continents that are just like me. Honestly, I am confused about it all myself, uncertain of how to proceed.”

Captain Merrem suddenly sighed and broke his stoic and cold expression, releasing his arm, surprising Christopher again.

“This is not very helpful.” he rubbed his forehead with a sigh. “And I feel none of the usual tells associated with agents of the Blight. And you withstood the attack too well to be directly involved. Helle, you can remove your hands.”

Christopher felt renewed hope that Guard Captain Merrem could be brought to his side after all. Probably too late now, but maybe in another loop. He did not let down his guard though, maybe this was just a change of tact from the captain.

“I have to admit that both of you have set you story straight, as unbelievable as it is. In the end, I like to judge a person’s actions, and yours have been nothing but destructive.”

“So, you did talk to someone else like me. Who was it? Was it Sunch-?” Christopher’s questions were suddenly interrupted by a loud blaring that sounded all too familiar.

“Oh Blight, what is happening now?” Captain Merrem exclaimed. “I will let you consider things for a while, we will resume the questioning later. Helle, let’s go!” Captain Merrem left with purposeful strides with the person called Helle behind. They left the door open.

‘Is this the real invasion?’ Christopher wondered

No other guards came to get him over the next several minutes. Christopher did not think that anyone was coming to release him from the chair and bindings until the attack was fought off. Which would likely be never.

‘Not much to do but try and break out of these restraints then’