Kiyoshi stared helplessly at Yokoshi, mind racing for some justification to quell his brother's outrage. But what defense could exonerate such blatant treason?

"The Imperial grows corrupt, prioritizing conquest over humanity," Kiyoshi pleaded. "I could not stand idle while innocents suffered!"

Yokoshi's face darkened in stony contemplation. At last, he replied gruffly, "Your concerns do not negate disregard for orders. Yet returning serves no purpose now. Stay gone, lest worse befall you."

Relief swelled Kiyoshi's heart at this small mercy. But distress gripped him anew - Imran lay frighteningly still upon the floor, pallor akin to death's.

As Kiyoshi bent low with concern, Imran's eyes flickered rapidly beneath closed lids. Faint mutterings escaped his lips, twisted with anguish unseen. What horrors plagued the rebel's dreams?

[Warning s@xual content and depiction of r@pe. NSFW. Do not scroll if you can't handle it. Just go to the next chapter]

The dark memory of that fateful day seared itself anew behind Imran's closed eyes. Once more he found himself paralyzed, forced to bear helpless witness as rampaging soldiers desecrated his family's small home.

His mother's agonized cries echoed endlessly in Imran's ears as three Imperial troops restrained her, tearing ruthlessly at her clothes till tattered rags remained. Her pleading shrieks blended hideously with the men's raucous laughter.

Imran strained desperately to look away, but some invisible force pinned his gaze to the unspeakable acts unfolding. One soldier grabbed his mother's breasts with callous hands, squeezing cruelly till she shrieked in pain. Another yanked down her pants and shoved himself inside her weeping flesh without care or preparation.

Thick, hot tears forced their way down Imran's cheeks as he watched, heart being scraped raw within his chest. His screams lodged painfully in his constricted throat, unable to drown out the sickening sounds of violation.

The last soldier leaned in to force his rigid member between his mother's trembling lips. Imran felt a rush of hate so potent it threatened to swallow him whole. He longed to kill them all with his bare hands, to taste their blood and make them suffer tenfold what they inflicted.

But he remained paralyzed, powerless to stop the brutal atrocity searing itself into his soul. His mother's defeated sobs echoed endlessly, a dirge for all the innocents whose lives were shattered under the Imperial's ruthless march.

Silence...

Finally Imran awoke with a start, cheeks shining with recent tears. His breath came shallow and uneven, body wracked with emotions untold. Kiyoshi dared not inquire, only offering a steadying hand until the trauma's last vestiges released their hold.

In silence they lingered thus awhile, separated yet bound by tragedies beyond repair. Darkness lurked in every soul this day had brought to light. Kiyoshi knew Imran had a rough past for his distrust to the imperial soldiers. He just doesn't know what exactly happened. He plans to wait until Imran opened about it himself.