Chapter 16: Still empty

I'd strung him up, as one would naturally do when they catch an animal. He hung from the banister in the very room, he had her taken from. He swayed stark naked. Suspended above a puddle of his blood. I had made his first night particularly special, depriving him of sleep. Until he wept and begged for the very mother, he threw down at my feet only a few nights ago;

The irony.

I had beaten him bloody; and blacked both of his eyes, Part of me later regretted it. I felt no remorse. Only bothered by the fact I could not later look him in the eyes, and watch the light fade from them. They have not seen the light of day since then. Still, he did not deserve to see, much less to breathe. I was careful to make shallow cuts across his body; nothing enough to make him bleed out. That would be too easy for him. It would be kinder than what I truly wanted for him. The moment he began to doze off. I would rub salt on his wounds. He would scream until he could no longer.

No rest for the wicked.

I was going to make our time together was going to last. Four days of this had done nothing to sate my bloodlust. Still, I reminded myself. I must make this last. I needed to repay him for all of her pain. Admittedly, there were moments when I let my anger get the best of me. I glanced down at his contorted legs, which were beginning to blacken. Then back up at his member. Or where it once was. Nothing but a charred stump sat in its place. His abdomen had already begun to swell, from not being able to relieve himself. He had called my woman a whore. I had sliced it off in a swift motion without a second thought. I had to cauterize the wound if I wanted him to last a little longer. With the very same fire poker, I gripped in my hand now. He had not uttered a word about her since then; a smart move on his part. He'd stopped eating on the second day. No doubt he saw starvation as a way out of this punishment. However, I would not allow it. It made me sick to my stomach. To keep him alive, but my fury was not yet satisfied. I would not let him go. Not until I say he had suffered enough. Deep down I knew.

It would never be enough. No amount of pain would make it right.

I placed the poker into the open fire. I let it sit there, letting the minutes fly by. I did so, not taking my eyes off him. I pulled it from the fire. I pressed it on either foot. He did not move. Or take any notice.

Hn. He was beginning to lose feeling in them.

I pressed it into his thigh. His scream ripped through the air. I pulled the poker from his thigh.

"Please," he begged, spit dribbling over his lip. "Have mercy on me God of War. I beg you."

"What a pitiful thing to ask. How foolish are you? Mercy? You dare to ask me for mercy. Did you show Kagome any mercy? Did your men? No, they took advantage of her. They violated her. I showed them no mercy, just as I will show you none. I will walk through the gates of the underworld, pull you back from the depths of hell, and torture your soul until I grow bored of it."

He wept. He even mumbled prayers to any God who would listen.

"Save your words and save your tears. There is no one alive; man or God who can save you from me, boy. If they were to see you in your pathetic state. They would laugh, and watch. Some would go as far as to join in, to add to your misery. Be careful what you and who you pray for."

"Please… Just kill me." he pleaded.

"No," I said plainly, resting the poker on the fire.

I exhaled and set the poker on the ground. I stood making my way over to the table. I had taken a set of tools from Sango's shop. Tools specifically made for skinning an animal. I ran over the thumb over the handle on the thinnest blade. The pliers next to them caught my eye.

I have seen humans use these for ripping out difficult-to-remove bones.

I looked over at him.

I wonder.

I made my way over to him and stood only a few inches away from him. I could feel his fear radiating off him. Still, I felt nothing. There was no swell in my chest, at the sight of his mutilated body. There was no satisfaction to be found. The answer was not in his blood; no matter how much I tried; still nothing. Four days I searched, and still I was empty. I watched him, and I listened.

More tears.

More prayers.

Useless.

It was all useless.

I grabbed his jaw, forcing his mouth open. I wrapped the plier around his molar; clamped down tightly and yanked, but slowly. I wanted him to feel it. Each agonizing second that passed by. If I could feel nothing, I would make him feel it all. He struggled against my hold to no avail. His screams were muffled. I finally ripped the tooth from his mouth. It cicked against the stone floor, as it bounced into a corner. All he could do was suck in the air. He did not scream. He did not shed any tears. He only shook with pain, as the blood cascaded down his chin; mixing with the puddle of blood beneath his feet. He hung there limp; head hung low. He was beginning to lose consciousness. I pulled the rest of the molars from his mouth. He moaned in pain, gargling on his own blood. I looked at him, my eyes narrowing into slits. I rushed over to him, grabbing a fistful of his hair. I jerked his head back and listened. The bastard had stopped breathing.

I would not allow it.

"Hades! Do you hear me, uncle!? Send him back NOW! I have not yet finished with him! I WILL BRING WAR TO YOUR REALM IF YOU DO NOT HEED ME!" I snarled.

Moments past. His body jerked forward as he gasped for air. As he frantically tried to look around through shut eyes.

"I was…" he hoarsely trailed off.

"Dead." I finished for him.

He groaned in pain.

"You thought you were free of me. That your pain and suffering were finally over. As I said, boy. There is no escaping me. Not unless it is what I wish." I whispered harshly.

I pick up the blade that had caught my eye. I ran it down his thigh. He grunted and twitched from the pain, making the blade sink deeper into his flesh. With the slightest of pressure, it made such a beautiful cut. He was unable to weep, or even make a sound. I took a long look at him, dropping the weapon to the ground. It mattered not what I did to him. How much pain I caused him. It would never take her pain away. It would not wipe away all that she has been through. It would never fill the void in my chest. Formed by my self-loathing, of failing to protect her.

"Humans." I began. "How vastly different you all can be. To think that you and she are two halves of one whole. Inconceivable. When you two were split, every ounce of all that was good and pure flowed into her. Whatever scraps were left behind are what unfortunately created you. To even begin to imagine doing such a heinous thing to a creature that has done nothing but be kind to you. A woman who once defended you to me. A woman of kindness. A woman of all good of pure light…. your half… She is too good for a world such as this. She is too good for a spinless swine like you. All this simply because she denied you and wanted to follow her heart. If you truly cared for her you would wish her well. YOU WOULD BE HAPPY FOR HER; but no. You wound her. Physically and mentally. You have given her scars she will wear for the rest of her life. That is what you have given her. Your soul will forever be in search of hers. Day after day. Month after month. Year after year roaming the afterlife. Even Milenia from now, she is all you will crave… but as I stand here today. You will never reach her; not fully. Just pitiful memories, and thoughts of what could have been. Then, just as you feel as though she is within your grasp. There I will be. You will be doomed, to never know the touch of her skin, only the way I do. To never feel her caring caress. To never know what it is it is like to be loved by her. You will search for her always, and she will be nowhere to be found, and that will be your true punishment."

I looked down at myself. I needed to clean myself before I left to see her. I watched him as he wept silently.

Good. Let that sit with you for whatever little time your physical body has left on this earth.