Chains rattled with every restricted step I took.

Five of us were shackled together in a line, and I was caught in the middle. A soldier at the front yanked us along while another shoved us from the back.

We passed through the city, and contrary to what I'd expected, we moved away from The Pit. As soon as we left the walls, I realized.

The actual pit in the ground—not the arena—was our destination. My heart thumped in my chest. I'd narrowly escaped that natural phenomenon when traveling to Rakfall, and there seemed to be no way to dodge it this time.

How ironic that everything I went through brought me right back to Hellsgate. How... fitting.

My feet dragged along with the other prisoners. The stench of hopelessness circled around us like a fly, tainted with physical weakness and fear.

The journey took even longer this time, as we all moved slowly. Snow was no longer on the ground, and the sun burned my skin, meeting no resistance from this empty plain. We stopped only once for the night, but I could not sleep.

I had to question this kingdom's decision to carry out executions by throwing prisoners into Hellsgate. Perhaps it was efficient since it left no bodies behind. But wouldn't it be better to kill us inside the city and only then dispose of the bodies? That would at least ensure our deaths.

If I had a little bit of strength, I knew I could kill these guards. Without my mana, my body would have been enough. These chains around my hands could be deadly. I guess that was the point of the whipping—to please the citizens and ensure I was too weak to fight back.

They'd broken too much of me to heal.

The next morning, I felt the ground slowly begin to slope downwards. Since there was no snow, slipping wouldn't be an issue like last time. Not that it mattered.

We were stopped by the guards, and the rattling of chains signaled the release of the first prisoner. Without preamble, I heard the thud of flesh and a yelp, and his body rolled down the hill. He didn't scream as he fell over the edge, so I couldn't tell when it happened. For a moment, it was silent.

Then the second man began yelling, cursing at the guards and at the gods. I couldn't imagine the scene he saw in front of him. How huge was the pit? Was it a deeper black than what I saw every day?

He struggled as the guards unchained him, wasting his last bit of strength. My ankles were finally free of the weight in front of me, and I felt my legs tense. Running was a pipe dream in my condition, but it seemed my body hadn't gotten the memo.

They pushed the man, and he never stopped screaming. I listened as his voice rapidly dropped, and I couldn't pinpoint the exact moment when it finally dissipated. The pit really was too deep to fathom.

The lock of the cuffs around my ankles clicked open, and the chains rattled against the ground. The guard then stood, unlocking my hands next. I could feel him hesitate, hands wavering in the air. Finally, he released a breath, then removed the metal collar from around my neck.

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I inhaled, taking in the free air. Shifting, I felt my mana begin its slow rise. The collar must have cost enough to take the risk of me fighting back, or the guard wouldn't have been ordered to remove it.

The other soldier approached me from behind, and my shoulders flexed. This mana would be enough—I would not go down without a fight.

Quickly I crouched and turned, lunging for the guard's ankles. He went down with a thud, and I pushed myself over him, forcing my mana into my arms to make them move. I punched his face, and it jerked to the side with a crunch. Two more hits were all I could get out before the other guard grabbed me from behind.

My back screamed in pain as the man got an arm around my neck, yanking me backward. I grabbed onto it, crouching low. Then, with a groan, I threw him over my shoulder, and he wheezed when his back hit the ground, throwing the sand into the air, and I tasted it in my snarling mouth.

The other guard had gotten up while I'd been occupied with the first, his arm swinging through the air. I bent, lunging for his torso. He fell backward from the impact, and I gripped him tight.

In seconds, we rolled down the slope, and he flung his limbs wildly, screaming like the prisoner before me. I refused to let go.

If I was to die, I'd take one more with me.

The world went silent as we fell over the edge. My stomach dropped, and everything went cold. Sunlight no longer warmed my skin.

I could no longer hear the guard, as I had let go of him the moment we entered freefall. If I couldn't feel myself falling, I would've thought I was just suspended in the air. The wind didn't howl around me.

The impact never came.

***

Wake up.

I sat up with a gasp, clutching at my aching head. Was I in hell? I'd never believed in anything after death, but strangely, I felt alive.

The wounds on my back still stung, skin stretching painfully with every movement. Grass brushed against my bare feet, and I could feel the sun.

My heart pounded heavily in my chest. I just couldn't understand. If I hadn't ever wished to get my eyes back, now I wanted them desperately.

Fabric brushed along the grass as someone stepped in front of me. I let go of my head and saw the priest.

"What…"

He shook his head slowly at me, then looked up. Suddenly that dreaded voice that began this whole thing spoke to me again.

[Trial One of Project END has finished. Trial Two—Restructure—will soon commence. Thank you for your cooperation.]

Again, nothing had been explained. Again, the voice thanked me for my forced compliance. Was I back on Earth? If I was, I had no idea where. I could hear no one around me.

The pyromaniac appeared, crouching down next to me. He laughed, his voice harsh in the silence.

"I thought it was finally over!"

"Is this really Earth?" I asked. It seemed the only logical conclusion.

The priest looked around. "So it would seem—but it has changed." He sharply turned back to me. "And so have we."

With a start, I looked inside. My mana core was still there, slowly filling up. I raised my hand, and a tiny flame appeared at the tip of my finger. When I summoned it, my status also appeared in front of me, completely unchanged.

Nothing could be explained with the little knowledge I had. I could only assume I was the lab rat of some being that had enough power to change the structure of the world and command its inhabitants. What else was it capable of? I could only imagine.

But I wasn't dead. My time wasn't over. Steel wrapped around my heart, and a hate towards those who could bend me to their will grew inside it. If I could grow, I could reduce them all to ash, I knew. The strong ruled over the weak.

With the priest and the pyromaniac watching, a resolution threatened to consume me.

I would burn until the stars go out and the seas dry up, and then I will keep on burning.