"This other link... Why could I not feel it before?’ Jensen wondered. ’Do you know anything about this?’

’Yes. I know,’ Xal’Zyraeth answered.

Before Jensen could ask, Xal’Zyraeth continued. ’Do not bother asking... I cannot answer.’

’Is it something I have to be worried about?’ Jensen asked... He didn’t bother pushing because he knew there was a limit to how much help Xal’Zyraeth could provide without compromising them.

’Depends on how you think about it.’ Xal’Zyraeth went silent.

Jensen could tell that this time Xal’Zyraeth could no longer provide more answers.

Jensen nodded and turned his focus to Elda. His connection with her made it seem like he could feel her. He did not even know how to explain it in words.

"You want to ask where I come from?" Elda asked, unsure of what she was feeling from their connection.

"Yes," Jensen answered.

Just to confirm if she could still read him if he closed off the connection. "What am I thinking now?"

"I... I do not know," Elda answered.

Jensen nodded. ’Looks like I was right. It seems similar to the connection I have with Xal’Zyraeth... Maybe I can study it for the future and use it to improve the Mind Link skill.’

For now, he shelved the idea to the back of his mind.

"Go on... Tell me your story," Jensen said as he jumped down from the tree and sat next to the tree.

He patted the ground beside him. "Sit."

Elda looked at him quizzically but sat down anyway and she began her story.

Elda had been born into a declining awakened family... Not a powerful one like the Uesugi branch in Oakland.

Just a small extended family.

From her memories her mother died early... She could not even remember her face, nor could she remember why her mother died in the first place.

Her father became obsessed with restoring the family and he tried to train Elda but gave up immediately after he realized that her siblings were far more talented and had a higher chance of awakening.

The pain inflicted on her by her father in the name of training was severe.

But the torture was not even the worst part.

It was the indifference... From everyone.

She begged the neighbours, friends, police, everyone and anyone who she thought could help but no one cared.

After a while, she just stopped... she gave up.

She knew then that no one could help... More like they did not care.

When Elda was around eight years old, her father finally got rid of her.

Not because he needed money badly, but because he genuinely did not want her anymore, so he sold her to a cultist group for less money than a decent meal.

At first, the cult seemed peaceful, the members smiled constantly, fed her, taught her and even told her she was chosen.

Then the rituals started.

The cult believed suffering purified the soul... They considered pain sacred.

Children with mana sensitivity were especially valuable because they survived longer during rituals.

At first, Elda did not cooperate and in a twisted move one of the cultists took her back to her family just to show her the difference.

She was shocked to realize the lengths her family had gone to erase her and remove her from their life... It showed just how much they did not care for her and how much they did not love her.

With her spirit broken, Elda returned and quickly became one of their favourites.

Not because she was talented, but because she endured, after all, she wanted someone to love her... To accept her.

They burned symbols into her skin, forced her to kneel for hours on salt and broken glass, starved her, locked her in darkness for days.

They even forced children to fight one another for food so they could experience as much pain as possible.

Just because the cult leaders wanted to create ’saints’

However, in reality, they were simply monsters enjoying torture under the disguise of religion.

Some children broke mentally, some became fanatics and some killed themselves.

But Elda survived... Not because she had hope, but because she had become incapable of expecting rescue.

Inside the cult, Elda eventually bonded with several other children and for the first time in her life, she experienced something resembling friendship.

They secretly shared food, warned each other before punishments and even protected the younger children.

One older girl especially became important to Elda, she taught her how to steal keys, how to hide pain, how to lie convincingly, and how to survive beatings without screaming.

Eventually, the older girl organized an escape and... it worked.

But the escape was brutal. Several children died during it while others were recaptured, and Elda was heavily injured protecting one of the younger children.

Still, they escaped and for a brief moment, Elda thought things might finally improve.

Then reality crushed that hope.

The outside world did not magically save them... No, they became starving fugitives with some dying from infection and others simply disappeared.

And eventually, the group split apart.

But Elda could not forget the children still trapped inside the cult... So, she made the worst decision of her life.

She went back.

Elda snuck into the cult compound to free the remaining children... Somehow, she also succeeded.

She broke several children out and escaped but during the escape, she was fatally injured.

The others... the people she rescued ran, leaving her behind not because they hated her, but because they were terrified.

Elda understood that logically.

But emotionally? Something inside her broke permanently that day.

She still managed to get away. She believed that if her friends had helped her, they would have all escaped.

That was when Heinz’s bandit group found her.

At first, she thought she had been saved because they healed her wounds and even fed her... something none of the outside world did for her.

Then she realized the truth... They intended to turn her into a slave and possibly worse.

Elda refused, even injured, she stabbed one of the bandits with a piece of broken glass, so they locked her in a cage.

Inside the cage, Elda met another imprisoned woman.

The woman acted kind and spoke gently... She reminded Elda so much of her first friend that Elda trusted her and shared her plan to escape.

That was her mistake.

The woman betrayed the plan to gain favour with Heinz.

In front of the entire bandit camp, Elda was dragged out and punished publicly as an example.

That was when the true torture began.

They wanted to break her mentally... So, they tortured her slowly for entertainment.

Her arm was chopped off and one of her eyes was removed, she was starved and denied water for several days.

She was beaten repeatedly and her body was carved apart over days.

The woman who betrayed her watched everything happen then later married one of Heinz’s lieutenants... she was even invited to watch the ceremony as it happened.

That betrayal affected Elda more than the torture itself because every single time she trusted someone, they abandoned her or betrayed her.

By the time Jensen found her, Elda was already mentally prepared to die but seeing Jensen and Talia gave her a sliver of hope.

That was why she endured the vampyre transformation.

Because compared to her previous life, the transformation was merely pain. And pain was something she had mastered long ago.

Jensen stayed silent for a few seconds as he processed what Elda just told him.

Yes, he knew he had a bad life, but her life was magnitude times worse.

And some how she managed to keep her hope alive for so long.

He respected that... he truly did.

He didn’t even know what to say... so he asked a question.

"You mentioned your first friend, but you never mentioned her name... what is her name?"

"I... I... I don’t remember." Elda answered as tears slowly rolled from her eyes.

Jensen slowly raised his hands and wiped off the tears from her eyes.

"I can’t believe I can’t remember her name." More tears poured from her eyes as she confessed. "It like it just vanished and it only been... I... I don’t know."

Jensen frowned and just as he wanted to ask another question when Elda cut him off.

"Master... please don’t leave me."

Jensen did not know what to say to her, so he simply hugged her and brought her closer.

And he did something he couldn’t even believe himself. He reopened the connection between them.

[A.N.: Lykana, thank you very much for the Golden Tickets and continued support.

I truly appreciate it. As a small thank you to you guys, this Chapter is longer than the usual 1,000+ words.

I also what to appreciate everyone for the power stones, comment and review... Thank you... Thank You... Thank you.]