Cadaver Wanders

Chapter 7

Invictus woke up, standing inside The Oubliette with his legs aching and wet from all the waste thrown down.

On his feet, he could feel hard objects around him as he tried to stand still. His legs were starting to feel numb and the disgust in his skin was knee-deep. He could not even climb up his way to the trap door nor bend his knees to sit down.

"I've heard of this dungeon before. This is where the king put the people he despises the most. He would let them suffer both mentally and physically as one won't be able to sleep as they please or even sit down.

What I could feel on my feet must be the remains of those that rot away."

The smell was so strongly vile. It stays inside his nostrils. Inhaling through his nose has this slightly painful sensation as though he was breathing specks of dust.

And if he tries to breathe through his mouth, the smell would be stuck in his throat, and he will end up coughing virulently.

No matter how accustomed one is to this kind of foul smell, the fact that

it's making Invictus feel sick was telling him how stagnant the waste was mixed with the body fluids of the deceased.

He sighed and gave up trying to escape, "the walls are coated with grease. It's impossible to climb my way up. Unless someone opens that door for me and throws down a rope, I'll be stuck here forever until I die."

When Uria and Austria were burned to death, Invictus lost all of his will to live. He finds no point in continuing in life. Without his wife and daughter, his life was meaningless. So, he might as well be better off dead.

At least, that would bring him together with his deceased wife and daughter.

Growl... Invictus has no idea how long he has been in The Oubliette. He lost track of time when he passed out from having his magic core destroyed and could not take a guess since all he saw was darkness and the little orange light coming from the torch placed on the wall above the door.

"I'm hungry," he said as he rubbed his growling tummy. "Thinking about delicious food just made me hungrier."

Then he remembered the beef steak with ravioli soup Austria had for her lunch. That was considered her last meal.

"I wanna go back to that time and undo everything."

Unfortunately, the world of magic, where not every fantasy will come true, was cruel enough to inform Invictus that he would forever be stuck in the Oubliette. No fancy meal will automatically transport itself to his hands or a guardian that will pull him out of the place he was in.

"I am being delusional. There is no way someone is out there to help me. Why am I expecting someone to come to my aid? Even the people whom I thought were my friends betrayed me. They even... They even violated Uria!"

Not a single soul would have been spared back then had Invictus been able to use his magic.

As time passed by, Invictus became more and more talkative. He would find himself laughing cynically out of nowhere, whispering to himself while his stomach rumbles due to extreme hunger.

It's already been half a day. Despite the stagnant foul smell circulating in the small space, he was in where ventilation was poor, Invictus caught a whiff of some freshly baked bread. It got him acting like a wild monkey, helpless as its mind created illusions in his eyes.

As many different factors influence the length of time that the body can

last, without food, this period will vary among individuals.

Scientists have not studied human starvation using traditional experiments due to ethical concerns. Data usually comes from observational studies on hunger strikes and periods of famine.

A typical, well-nourished male weighing 70 kilograms (154 pounds) technically has enough calories stored to survive for between 1 and 3 months.

However, people who have voluntarily stopped eating to participate in hunger strikes have died after 45–61 days, which suggests that a person would be unlikely to survive for three months.

The body needs the nutrients in food to survive. It uses protein, carbohydrates, and fats, as well as vitamins and minerals, to renew cells and fuel vital bodily processes.

Without food, the body starts to use its own tissue as fuel, but it can only do this for so long. [Medicalnewstoday(dot)com]

Restricted eating, malnourishment, and excessive weight loss can lead to changes in our brain chemistry, resulting in increased symptoms of depression and anxiety. These changes in brain chemistry and poor mental health outcomes skew reality.

"Feel what it's like to truly starve, and I guarantee that you'll forever think twice before wasting food." — Criss Jami

Right now, Invictus is experiencing the first stage of starvation and he was on his third day. The increase in glycogenolysis.

Human starvation is marked by an early period of glycogenolysis and gluconeogenesis (3, 4). By 2–3 days into fast, fatty acids released from lipid stores become the primary source of fuel; this critical transition to lipid metabolism allows for protein sparing during prolonged periods of starvation.

Signs of weight loss were beginning to appear clearly in his whole body. His legs won't move after standing for three whole days without sitting or lying down.

Invictus can now barely move, and he could feel his hunger eating away at his body. To deal with hunger, Invictus would just sleep whilst maintaining his standing position. Leaning on the wall somehow helps him sleep but the extreme famine was severe that he can barely sleep. He would wake up with stomach pain, and he couldn't even utter a word, for his throat was so dry.

At this time, Invictus was just waiting for his time to come. He can feel it. Being inside the dungeon felt like being inside a tunnel where the end of the road, where the light resides, was unreachable.

Every effort was futile. None of his actions or wishful prayers was heard

by whoever was watching over him.

"Father?"

A warm voice suddenly hugged Invictus' cold existence. His shivering body felt a sudden warm touch, his soul being sheltered by a familiar voice.