Chapter 66

• Pain greeted me like an old friend.
• The light above me flickered erratically, buzzing incessantly like the annoyed hum of an angry swarm of bees. It bathed the small, grimy cell in a cold, sterile glow that made everything seem sharp—too sharp. The walls felt closer with every breath I took. It wasn’t just the space; it was the suffocating sense of isolation. My body hung limply in the chains that bound me, wrists raw from the rusted cuffs cutting into my skin. Every shift, every movement, was an agonizing reminder of my captivity. My feet barely touched the cold stone floor, and my legs shook with the weight of my own helplessness.
• I had no idea how long I’d been here—trapped, forgotten. I was so disoriented that the passage of time felt like a dream. Was it hours? Days? I couldn’t tell. I only knew the emptiness that seeped into every corner of my mind, pushing away every thought except the unrelenting pain that gnawed at me.