Space Core

POV: Jerome

I groaned in pain, my muscles protesting against me. Just what had happened? I remember finally getting through that weird floor meeting back up with the master and arriving at the core room... Then a trio of maybe-humans? They had spoken with weight behind their voices.

I struggled a bit but managed to open my eyes after a painful few moments. I was quite thankful for the trees blocking out the light of the sun, otherwise, my eyes would surely have been burned from the harsh treatment. Wait a minute, the sun? Am I finally out? Am I fre-

{system has now been successfully integrated. Unknown Mind-Runes destroyed and replaced with base skill 'soul-bound'.}

What? A system? And what does it mean by Unknown Mind-Runes? I don't think there are any Mind-Runes on me, apart from the ones that MasTer gave... to... me... Fuck.

I moved quickly, standing up with a lack of grace rivaling the greatest of pigs. Damn it, I told myself, I need to run away. But... for some reason, I was reluctant to do so. I knew, intellectually, that 'Master?' had forcibly taken control over me and had forced me to do whatever it wanted. But I just couldn't bring myself to do so.

I reluctantly stayed in place and calmed down a bit. A 'system' huh... I wanted to know what the 'skill' named 'soul-bound' did, it sounded quite important.

The 'system' obliged.

{The skill 'soul-bound' has been modified for your current situation, so it will not be applicable to another person with a skill of the same name. This skill has replaced previous Mental control and has created a two-way route between those concerned. This skill is of the 'Telepathy' type and cannot be used to control others.}

I didn't know what that 'system' was, or what it did. But I already knew I would like it. It freed me from my prison after all. I took a few moments to re-read the message before coming up with a plan. The description said that it created a two-way route between my mind and master's. And so, I should be able to get some of my answers there...

What I found confused me greatly. With some parts of the mind blocked from me, and the rest being quite different from what I was used to. But from what I could find, the whole thing really was a twisted thing. I learned that she was called Certe and had just appeared in the dungeon someday, though some memories about that were blocked, and that she'd spent quite some time waiting before finally meeting me.

To say that it felt weird to know what Certe thought of me would be an understatement. Because, while I knew what she had done and that she was a sociopathic murderer, she somehow cared about me. I could tell that my actions brought her joy and that she wouldn't ever let anybody other than herself hurt me. But why? It didn't take long to find out. Apparently, the pain she brought me made her feel good; Extremely good. And, well, I was just the last guy left alive. There was no need to feel any particular mercy for me. And so, she'd branded me. Made me her servant in pain. And after some amount of time, she had begun to care in her own twisted sort of way.

It shook me to know all of that. Because I didn't know what to do now. I almost wished I could be back under that Mind-Rune, its cloudy effects being so alluring.

I took a few moments before deciding. I would continue to be Certe's 'servant' for the moment and would act as I did before. All of that for the protection she would guarantee me, of course. Because there was no way in heck that I was happy with it, I wasn't enjoying it, and I certainly wasn't almost touched by how much she cared. And if I did, then that was surely just the after-effects of those runes...