Asta’s eyes slowly fluttered open, confusion and bewilderment clouding his thoughts. “Huh? What just happened?”

As Asta scanned his surroundings, he realized that the other people who were in the room before were now nowhere to be seen. Instead, he found himself face to face with an unassuming figure, another scientist of average stature. Unlike Dr. Raki or Dr. Magi, ugly scars filled his complexion, no doubt caused by his tireless pursuit of scientific knowledge. His intense gaze bore only malevolence.

Asta’s heart quickly pounded in his chest as realization once again sank in. His eyes darted around the stark, white room, claustrophobia closing in as the scientist approached him.

“Yeah, yeah, torture,” the scientist said with a nonchalant shrug, as if discussing something as mundane as the weather. “You see, the process of integrating true dragon blood into your system is far from straightforward. It requires your body to be pushed to its absolute limits.”

Asta felt a cold sweat drip down his forehead. “Pushed to its limits? You mean to say you’ll keep hurting me to test this... dragon blood?” His voice was shaky with a mixture of fear and disbelief.

“Exactly,” the scientist confirmed with a nod, his eyes gleaming with a disturbing enthusiasm. “The pain will stimulate your body’s adaptive responses, making the integration more effective. The more you suffer, the better the results. We have found that near-death experiences can trigger rapid genetic adaptations, which are crucial for this experiment.”

Asta’s stomach churned at the thought. The room seemed to spin as the horror of his situation stretched far beyond his imagination. “Why me? Why do this to anyone?” he pleaded, his voice hoarse.

The scientist paused, tilting his head as if considering Asta’s question for the first time. “Why you? Well, you were chosen because of your unique genetic makeup. Intersexual individuals like you are rare and possess an inherent flexibility in their biological framework that is ideal for this kind of genetic experimentation.

Remember, the pain will pass, and you will survive, probably,” the scientist added, almost as an afterthought. “I mean, the potion will heal you every time, so you won’t die, even if you wish you could.”

The casual cruelty in the scientist’s tone sent a wave of dread through Asta. Helplessness washed over him as his new reality of endless cycles of pain and healing settled in. He was truly trapped in a nightmare, one so far removed from the mundane life he once complained about. Now, his every moment would be a fight for sanity against the orchestrated agony.

Asta gulped. He didn’t want to consider these implications anly longer. “Hey, how about we introduce ourselves?” He attempted to break the tension. “My name is Asta. How about you?”

The scientist’s response dripped with disdain. “There’s no need to introduce myself to livestock.”

And that was that. Faced with the scientist’s chilling indifference, Asta’s attempt at cordiality fell completely flat. The room seemed to grow colder as Asta’s fleeting hope of finding some semblance of humanity in his captor evaporated like mist.

“Livestock, huh?” Asta’s voice cracked slightly, fear and anger simmering beneath his words. He shifted uncomfortably against his restraints, the metal clinking softly in the sterile room. “That’s a pretty grim way to talk about someone, don’t you think?”

The scientist adjusted his glasses, his expression unchanged. “Emotions are irrelevant here,” he stated flatly. “Your feelings, your names, your personal stories, they hold no value in the face of scientific progress. You’re here as a subject, nothing more.”

Asta clenched his jaw, biting back a sharper retort. The dehumanization sliced through the veneer of bravado he barely managed to muster.

The scientist then held a green potion up to the light, its eerie glow casting shadows across his indifferent face. “This healing potion, though inferior to the red one, will ensure you remain conscious and healthy throughout the process.” The clinical detachment in his voice made Asta’s blood run cold.

“Cheaper because it hurts more? That’s twisted,” Asta muttered under his breath, clenching his fists. The chains rattled softly, a stark reminder of his helplessness.

The scientist uncorked the bottle, causing the sharp, acrid scent of the potion to fill the air. Asta steeled himself, his heart pounding in his chest. “Maybe it’s better this way,” he thought grimly. “What else do I have left to lose?”

With a sinister smile, the scientist approached, the potion in his hand poised to inflict pain under the guise of healing. “We find that pain has a way of breaking down mental barriers.” His expression remained eerily disconnected despite the gravity of his words.

Asta gritted his teeth as he prepared for the incoming agony. “Fine! If pain is what they want, I’ll show them I can handle it.” The fire of defiance burned brightly within him despite the impending torment.

Day 1

The scientist began his relentless assault on Asta’s senses. After many beatings...

“Do you know what happens when 2 mm of skin is peeled off?” The scientist asked with sadistic curiosity as he prepared to cut into Asta’s trembling form. Within moments, the buzzing, grinding sounds of a machine could be heard, getting louder and louder as it approached Asta.

Asta struggled with all his might against his restraints as the machine’s cold, merciless blades met his skin. The pain was immediate and excruciating, slicing through him sharper than any fear he had ever known. His screams filled the room, raw and guttural, but the pain only got worse.

The scientist, unaffected by Asta’s suffering, paused the machine, leaving Asta panting and shivering from shock. “Now, let’s add another layer to your understanding,” he said calmly, producing a small lighter from his pocket.

With a flick, the flame came to life. “When skin is freshly exposed like this, even a tiny flame can feel like an inferno,” the scientist explained in a detached tone as he brought the flame closer to Asta’s raw wounds.

Asta’s eyes widened in terror. “No… please!” He gasped, the heat from the small flame prickling painfully on his peeled skin even before it even touched him. The scientist’s actions were not just physical torture but psychological warfare, designed to destroy his mental fortitude bit by bit.

As the flame finally made contact, Asta’s agony escalated into a harrowing crescendo. The pain was indeed as if his entire body was engulfed in lava, an unbearable sensation that dwarfed all his previous experiences. His screams formed a haunting melody as they once again pierced the sterile silence of the room.

The scientist watched on with clinical interest, noting Asta’s reactions with a cold smirk that made the scene all the more horrifying. “Interesting, but not unexpected. Just 2 mm peeled off your skin allows a small flame to feel like your whole body is melting in lava.” The scientist calmly extinguished the lighter as he prepared another machine.

Before long, Asta fell unconscious as the pain and screaming became too much to bear. The scientist simply watched on with amusement, his chilling laughter echoing in the now silent room. Asta’s harrowing ordeal had only just begun.

Day 2

More beatings. The scientist unleashed relentless blows and blunt strikes upon Asta’s body, leaving him battered to the point of near death before healing him.

Day 4

Invasive procedures. The scientist subjected Asta to a series of back-to-back invasive surgeries to extract his blood and other fluids for data collection and potion brewing.

Day 9

Bone shattering. The scientist systematically broke, healed, and injected unknown metals into Asta’s bones, incapacitating him with excruciating pain.

Day 14

Cuts and lacerations. The scientist tore through swathes of Asta’s skin once more with sharper and harder implements until he couldn’t anymore.

Day 22

Electrocution. The scientist sent larger and larger jolts of electricity through Asta’s body, convulsing his muscles until his nerves were completely seared.

Day 27

Drowning. The scientist blindfolded Asta then submerged him in an unknown liquid, initially by the head then later by his whole body, only pulling him out after longer and longer stretches of time.

Day 37

Starvation. The scientist denied Asta sustenance aside from one bitter pill every day. Despite the hunger gnawing relentlessly at his insides, Asta couldn’t fall unconscious as every fiber in his frail body screamed out in agony.

Day 85

Sleep Deprivation. The scientist put an innocuous looking clock beside Asta. Every time Asta tried to fall asleep, a ticking noise would grow louder and louder in his mind until he snapped wide awake, completely delirious.

Day 133

Chemical assault. The scientist injected a series of nanomachines, toxins, and sludge one after the other into Asta’s veins, causing him to scream nonstop as he felt all his blood and organs burn like hell and change.

Day 151

Dislocation. Now voiceless, Asta could only watch in horror as his body was contorted beyond recognition then reassembled. His appendages, joints, and ligaments were all wrenched then stretched beyond their breaking point by the scientist.

Day 156

Suffocation. The scientist placed a closed helmet over Asta that slowly released a heavy green gas over time until it was the only thing Asta could breathe after falling unconscious multiple times.

Day 180

Mental Torture. The scientist dangled a tesseract over Asta’s eyes that captured his consciousness and forced him to relive his worst nightmares and evolving deliriums over and over again. In just one day, Asta lived a hundred years of torment.

By now, Asta was a mere husk of his former self, unable to do anything at all. However, despite teetering on the edge of death, his unyielding spirit, tempered by the fires of suffering, remained. He silently swore again and again that he would set himself free and kill those scientists who tortured him, until it completely occupied his frenzied mind.