The doctor

No more pain. No more physical pain. He knew damn well that there was no way that he could prevent emotional pain - at least not at the moment - but he was more than prepared to undergo a surgery to prevent physical pain. He could stub his toe on the stairs and not even feel it. He could hit his head on a tree limb and be none the wiser.

It was a dark night. A castle in Germany; he experimented. He lay his own self on the operating table, directing his assistant. This crazy procedure he had worked so hard on. He messed with his nerves. His assistant, under his careful guidance, delved into his body. He didn’t want to ever feel pain again. He made it so that he would never have to feel pain again.

But, in doing so, he made sure that he would never feel pleasure again. Of any kind. No pain, no pleasure. He retained taste and hearing, seeing, smelling. For a while he retained his touch sense, despite not being able to experience the sensations of pain and pleasure. He would feel his foot hit a step, but not feel the pain associated with it. In time, however, his sense of touch also faded.

He would hurt himself, cut himself and not realize. Not feeling a pin prick on his finger or nail through the foot. He would wander his castle, leaving trails of blood. The floors of his house were splashed with blood. Eventually, he bled himself to death.