The candles in the laboratory were still burning as usual. Roy told Letho and Felix what he found, and the findings shocked them. This sickly madman that was muttering under his breath had an abnormal heart rate and breathing, and that was compared to witchers as well.
He had not an inch of unhurt skin on him. Judging from the scars, he was at least burnt, frozen, and electrocuted, and his body had been modified. Those were just a few of the dozen tortures he had to go through.
These tortures were a lot worse than the Trial. Most people would have died under that kind of pressure. Even witchers, who had their immune system strengthened, would die from infections and multiple organ failures.
But Kiyan lived for some reason. He lived on in a grotesque, inhuman manner. His wounds, muscles, organs, and vessels merged, formed scabs, and healed up. He looked like a mummy, but Kiyan was extraordinarily lively.
"He's been locked up for at least a couple of decades." Felix was staring into Kiyan's crimson eyes in an attempt to find a hint of sanity, but only a void stared back. "How'd he live without food and water?"
Letho said nothing, but he had an answer. This guy is not a witcher anymore. No, to be precise, he's not even human.
"Hey, look at what I found!" Roy shouted.
Surprised, the witchers huddled closer to him. Roy handed out the diagrams to Letho. He passed them down after he was done, and when Felix finally held them, his hands were trembling for once.
"Four Cat diagrams. So this guy is a cat." Auckes looked at Felix sympathetically.
Serrit shook his head. "It's possible, but he could have stumbled upon these blueprints on a hunt. We don't see his pendant anywhere. He can be from another school."
They've searched the living quarters and experiment area, but all they found were irrelevant books and expired alchemical components.
***
When Roy showed them Moonblade and the journal, everyone fell silent. Eerily silent.
And then everyone gnashed their teeth and growled.
"Irenues var Steingard… Matteo Sigula. Very well. I won't forget these names."
"Curse those bastards! Sons of bitches! Nobody experiments on witchers!" Auckes' fists were cracking from him clenching too hard. "They'd better hope I don't get my hands on them, or I'll skin them alive and chop them up into pieces! They're gonna die a slow and painful death, and I… I will enjoy their screams."
"Which is still a merciful death," Serrit answered coldly. "If I were you, I'd do to them what they did to Kiyan. And again. And again. And again and again…"
"Most sorcerers would die before you could get through half of those tortures," Letho said calmly, but there was a chilling fury in his voice. "We'll have to hire a healer and keep them alive when we torture them. Best if they can stay conscious until the last dregs of their pitiful lives fizzle out."
"Sorry. The drowners killed one of them, so we only have one guy left." Roy shook his head. They're a lot crueler than I am.
Felix kept brushing his hand across Moonlight. He stared at Kiyan's burnt face and crimson eyes, and then memory lane came to invite him.
His mind traveled back to decades ago, when he was traveling in the wilds with a certain Cat. Reminiscence overpowered his fury and rage for a moment.
"You've recognized him, haven’t you?"
"Moonblade, red eyes, and these diagrams… If I'm right, he's an old friend of mine. His name is… Kiyan." Felix sighed.
"Tell us more." The Vipers huddled closer.
Felix started recalling his memories. "I don't remember the exact year, but it was about fifty years ago when I first met him. I took an assassination request in Cintra and bumped into him when I was on my way to Temeria. Like me, he's a rational guy. He's helpless about the school's situation, and he was no bandwagoner, so he walked the path of a drifter and eked out a living by taking requests. We had the same experience, and we shared an outlook on current affairs, so we became fast friends. We journeyed together for a month. For a month, we'd drink in the wilds and talk about alchemy, battles, and our adventures."
They had a fun time sharing drinks and stories a long time ago. Felix never thought their reunion would be this bad. He never thought Kiyan would be tortured until he lost his sanity.
"Hold it." Roy looked at Kiyan. He was still murmuring. "What do you mean he's a rational guy like you? You guys have factions in your school?"
Roy was curious about the Cat School. He knew nothing but vague facts about them. These temperamental assassins lived the lives of drifters and had no place they called home. Their school was almost deserted.
"Rational is just a euphemism. What I mean is any witcher who doesn't undergo a drastic change in personality and emotions after the Trial. There aren't many of us." He laughed at himself. "Any Cat who retains a sliver of control and humanity won't kill anyone outside of their requests."
Roy was reminded of two individuals. One was Aiden, the friend of Lambert, and the other was Kaladin, a Cat who gave up his slave business. They were both rational Cats.
"Aside from the rational guys, the other Cats lose control easily because of their personality defects and lack of control over their emotions."
"How did the Cat School's Trial cause this defect?" Roy blurted. He would take the Cat School's Trial sooner or later, but he didn't want to go insane.
Letho shot him a look of warning. He didn't like that Roy was so blunt.
"That's no secret, really," Felix answered. "Every school's Trial suppresses the aspirant's emotions to an extent, making them less sensitive to emotions compared to regular humans. Of course, there are exceptions like Auckes. Instead of getting affected, they remain optimistic and happy."
Roy cocked his eyebrow. Is that praise or a jab at him?
"The sorcerer who created our Trial aimed to weaken the aspirant's emotions more. He wanted to create an emotionless killing machine, but that backfired. The Trial strengthened the aspirant's emotions, especially dark ones.
"Most of the Cats who took the Trial had their fear, fury, and sorrow amplified to the point where they went out of control. Murder's the only way to calm those raging emotions. But that only darkened their hearts. Eventually, they turned into madmen and drove the school to infamy. Kiyan and I are the lucky ones. We didn't get affected, mentally speaking." Felix went silent for a moment and took a deep breath. "Never thought he would be tortured. Vipers, can you help me?" He looked at the Vipers and pleaded, "Please, free Kiyan of this madness. Bring him back."
"That's why we're here." Roy exchanged a look with his companions. "But are you sure he can accept his current state?"
If I were in his place, I'd probably find this unacceptable. Look at him. He's like a corpse that got burned and skinned.
"At least give him a chance," Felix insisted. "First we get his sanity back, then he can decide if he wants to keep on living as a ghost of his former self. If I were in his place, I'd want someone to snap me out of it as well."
"Okay, that brings us to the problem. Kiyan's body has been taken over by the demon that bastard summoned." Serrit rubbed his chin. He looked solemn. "How are we supposed to drive it away? I can deal with curses, but a demon from another dimension is out of my depths."
"Guys, notice that statue and magical circle?" Roy asked. "I have a feeling they have something to do with that demon in Kiyan's body. I bet the way to drive it out lies somewhere in there."
"Okay. Let's take a look."
***
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