Aaron stood stiff as the slave scrubbed blood from his skin, his muscles locked. Water crashed down in violent sheets, soaking him, rinsing red down the drain. Each deluge hit like a slap, forcing him back into the present. He was here. Not in the tunnel. Not at that moment.

  Aaron heard whispers and laughter from beyond the steam, but it all felt distant, muffled. He dragged his hands over his skin, forcing the water to cleanse more than just blood. The attendant teased him, her touch light, almost playful. He stiffened. Why is she acting like this? Is this a game to her? Or just another task?

  Then, a darker thought crept in. If I kissed her— He jerked away, pulse hammering. What the fuck was that? His hands trembled. No. No fucking way. Not here. Not like this. That’s not who I am.

  The air felt too hot. Her smile—calm, unbothered—twisted his gut. The slave blinked in confusion, then smiled, as if soothing a nervous pet. Aaron shook himself and gently pushed the attendant away as she got too close.

  “I am clean. Let us leave and wait for my friends.” He stepped out of the cabin, breath ragged, skin tingling from both the scrubbing and something deeper.

  The bench outside felt almost unnaturally soft. He sank into it, tension clinging to his spine like a parasite. The attendant settled on an armrest nearby. The other slaves were looking at them curiously. Sounds of water and voices echoed from the other cabins. Aaron let out a relieved breath. At least my friends aren’t doing anything disturbing. He closed his eyes for a second. Small mercies.

  His attendant touched his arm. “If you prefer some other girl,” she smirked, “or boy, you only need to say the word.” Well, I guess it doesn’t even occur to her that I might have an issue with this social setup.

  Aaron pursed his lips. The way Theon had reacted to his comment on slavery made it clear that discussing it with a slave would be a terrible idea—probably even worse for her. He realized he had stared into space for too long. “No, you’re fine. It’s just that…” That I’m from a world where slavery is seen as a moral abomination and this entire setup is just so uncomfortable? At least I’m not American. They’d have had a stroke with all the nudity around here.

  She nodded. “I will not do anything you do not want me to do, Anax.” Her black eyes met his. The playfulness was gone, replaced with a mask of calm professionalism. Better. But… Aaron looked down at her naked body, a sick twist curling in his gut. She’s not bound, but does that matter?

  He turned away sharply. “Give me a moment. I’ll wait for the others.”

  Laughter rang from Reha’s cabin—carefree, easy. The sound clawed at him. Aaron’s chest tightened. Sometimes she’s so human and friendly. But then she does things like this. With Erai and now with the slave. And Theon… Sometimes he feels like a nerdy buddy. At other times, he’s the ruthless aristocrat. And Reha is fully at his command. Is he using me as well?

  Aaron closed his eyes, forcing breath into a steady rhythm. Not here. Not now. The weight of heat, stone, and soft laughter pressed in like a vice— He couldn’t breathe. Get me out. The cool water of the oblivion road rose to meet him like a lungful of ice.

  He plummeted through it, breaking the lower surface. The infinity of the serene void welcomed him with its well-lit blackness. He floated down toward the glassy pillar and the rotating sphere. Something lay curled beneath it.

  Quetzy. The little furnak rose its head like a cobra and looked at him.

  “YouAreUpset,” it assessed. Aaron let out a breath. This place is safe. No fucked-up shit can occur here. Unless a god or a too-powerful mind mage pays me a visit. But until then, I can vent here. Aaron sank into the abyss, the cold water of the oblivion road swallowing him whole. He drifted down, his breath steadying. His mind quieting.

  Aaron exhaled. “Slavery.” The word sat heavy in his throat. Quetzy tightened around his shoulders, warmth wrapping his spine. Aaron exhaled hard. His chest trembled. I don’t have the words.

  “I hate it. I should hate it.” His voice thinned. “But I don’t just hate it…” His breath hitched. “But I don’t just hate it. I like the power. The attention. I like that they look at me like I matter.” His voice cracked. “I’m a bad person.”

  Quetzy’s puppy eyes met his for a long while.

  “AreYouEvil?” it whispered. “WouldAnEvilPersonQuestion? OrBeThisUncomfortable?”

  Aaron shifted around on the floor. The cuddlesnake squirmed over him. He got lost in petting Quetzy’s silken fur. “I feel I should do something. Tear it all down. Isn’t that what a chosen hero should be doing? Instead of letting himself be washed by slaves? Isn’t this the path of temptation? What if I’m already fallen?”

  Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

  Quetzy tilted its head rapidly from side to side. “WhatCouldYouDoForTheSlaves?”

  “I could tell them that slavery is wrong. That taking agency from a human limits their potential. That it keeps societies from industrializing because the landowners will never allow factory owners to threaten their power base.” Tears welled up in Aaron’s eyes.

  “And finally, I’m sitting here crying while people are enslaved and forced to do whatever their owner wants out there!”

  “YouKnowTooMuchAboutHistory. DoNotThinkMoralTruthsSelfEvident. AndYouAreNotWallowing. YouWereThrownIntoHorribleSituation. WeirdIfYouWereTakingThisWell. AnyGoodPersonWould.”

  Aaron said nothing for a long moment. What am I actually culpable of? I have killed slaves. But only in self-defense, right? I need to figure this out. I would have expected the girl to be a hollow shell, not as lively as she was. Aaron sat up. I have to talk to Theon.

  He drifted up toward the ocean above, calm and ready for what was to come. Let it stick. Let me stay steady.

  Aaron blinked. The warm air hit him like a wall. Reha was walking toward him, smiling, hand-in-hand with a stranger. Theon sat opposite him, his arm around the girl, talking with Aaron’s attendant. He was retelling the river tale from the trial. Both women seemed to listen attentively. Aaron tried to use his counter-social-engineering skill guide. He could not get the feeling from it that manipulation was going on. What does that mean? Is this genuine?

  Theon’s eyes fell on Aaron, and he interrupted his tale. “You are back. I meant to ask,” he pointed at the red glowing medallion around Aaron’s neck. “How were you able to form a mind shield? You said after the Trial of Will that you had no idea how to do it.”

  He got up and motioned the others to follow. They walked along the paths toward one of the gazebos. Aaron pressed his lips together. This is a problem. I can’t tell them about the mind mage. But at some point, I’ll probably have to explain my mind shield. Oh, of course. I can literally deus ex machina my way out of this.

  “After I drank the float juice, a Watcher of the Psyche came to me. The same one we had in the ceremony. It showed me how to use magnets as a mind shield.”

  Theon froze mid-step and slowly turned. “Magnets?” His voice sharpened. “You’re telling me you’re using magnets for shielding? Magisters spend years attuning to intangible substances, crafting barriers from pure thought and vision. I had to search through half a dozen vision journeys just to find a diamond sphere that worked, and Reha spent weeks refining her steel.” He sniffed. “And you—what? You just—what do you even use for magnets? I tried iron. It wouldn’t stay magnetised. And I’ve never heard of anyone using magnets for this.”

  Aaron chuckled awkwardly. And I dropped the next bombshell. Good thing that gods have omnipotent explanatory power. “Well, I just did what the Watcher told me. She of the Psyche works in mysterious ways.”

  Theon shook his head. “You need to help me build one like that. If it is possible for an Aspirant to do so…”

  Reha’s attendant whispered something into her ear, and she laughed, placing a kiss on his cheek. Aaron tensed. His own attendant gave him a strange look.

  “Okay, but why is that such a big deal? And what was that other crystal the Knowing Sage used on me?” Let's try to distract him a bit.

  Theon’s eyes narrowed for a fraction of a heartbeat. “The crystal was an advanced reader for values and personality. It was extremely rude to use one on you,” Theon shrugged, “but that is the purview of a Sage.” He tipped his chin and strode toward the gazebo, his posture shifting as his voice took on a lecture-like cadence.

  “Your shield determines how deep you can go into the Dreaming Abyss,” he continued. “At its bottom is the goddess. Some say an angel transcends if they touch her there. For us, this will determine the quality of spells we can find. A wall shield will give you Initiator spells. Our shields—”

  Aaron tilted his head. “Initiator?”

  Theon waved a dismissive hand. “Single purpose, unalterable spells. No creativity, no versatility. Useless. Our shields, however, suffice for adjuster spells, which we can adapt slightly.”

  He glanced at Aaron, assessing him. “Later, you can find alternators and constructors, where you have a lot of control over the expression of the construct. You—” Theon hissed sharply.

  “You might get alternators with your shield,” he continued with wide eyes. Aaron smiled tightly. So the adjuster spell on the brink of an alternator that I was promised is a big deal, then. His smirk sharpened. Maybe next time, I can negotiate up to one of those constructors.

  As Theon spoke, his tone turning professorial, they passed under high arches into a marbled hall. Steam curled like smoke, too luxurious for what Aaron suspected was coming. Theon exchanged a few polite words with another naked attendant. Aaron glanced at Theon. What does he really want to talk about?

  The attendant led them into a red-draped chamber. Steam curled from a marble tub, its water spilling over the edges like liquid gold. Aaron barely noticed. His gaze drifted to the slaves. This place is too comfortable for what’s about to happen.

  Theon spun the metal-filled crystal sphere. The hissing static of white noise washed over the room. Theon, Reha, and their attendants settled onto the hot tub’s bench. Aaron followed, as did his attendant, who thankfully kept a respectful distance. Theon and Reha hugged their attendants.

  One of the outside attendants appeared, carrying a tray with six large elegant wine glasses and three shot glasses. The attendant emptied the shot glasses, and the golden wine was passed around. Noticing Aaron’s questioning look, Theon nodded toward his attendant.

  “Fog juice,” Theon said, swirling the golden liquid in his glass. “It prevents long-term memory formation. Everything we say in here… stays here.”

  Aaron’s throat closed. So nothing said here leaves a mark. No guilt. No record. No justice. He looked at the slave, pouring wine with robotic grace. Everything done to them will vanish like steam. He let out a slow breath. Learn now. Change things later.

  A hush fell over the room. Theon leaned forward, his steely eyes locking onto Aaron’s. “The juice is active now.”

  His lips curled into something that wasn’t quite a smile.

  “It’s time you understand what you call slavery.”

  +++ Shout-Out Time +++

  Aaron sighs.

  Well, despite everything, I could be worse off, like being sent into the body of a child.

  That would be tough.

  I remember this story...

  Hey you. Yes, you, person in front of the screen!!! The one with the confused and slightly manic look.

  I wanna ask you a favor. Today's shout-out is special. The story was written by the guy who tore my story apart, kindly acted as my beta-reader. He does really great work with dialogue and character. You definitely wanna check him out.

  by SneakyFrog

  David died, broken in more than one way.

  Hailed as a monster, he seeks the power to protect what matters.

  Intense, character-driven, with a deep magic system.

  Upload schedule: Mon/Tue/Wed/Thu/Fri 4:47 PM EST / 10:47 PM CET → Each chapter is 1500 +/- 500 words long.

  What do you think of Aaron's decisions? Would you have done the same?

  Comment below, Like, Favorite or Recommend. It really helps. Thank you :)