The bed to Ryan's surprise was way more comfortable than how it looked. At a glance, the unusual bed looks super stiff, mostly because of what it was constructed with. The whole thing looked like it was made of a black polished stone, even the mattress! The only thing that looked soft was the blanket which the materials was made up of some type of red silk and satin, mix. Despite the look of the bed, it was actually very soft, but firm enough to not feel like you're sinking into a marshmallow.
‘Whatever, I'll take what little wins I can get.’ Ryan thought as he got comfortable on the bed. While he was examining the bed, he couldn't help but notice someone practicing their nonsensical poses on the other side of the room, like he was fighting an imaginary figure and Hiro was going about it with a half-assed effort. He swung his fist at a speed that wouldn't hurt a fly.
‘I know everyone's weird in some way but he's on a whole nother level and I just need to ignore him as much as possible for the time being.’ Ryan shifts his focus onto his orb necklace to see if there's anything useful about it or stumble upon something about this item.
But unfortunately, he was having a hell of a time examining the necklace because it was a freaking choker-style necklace and it hugged onto his neck so tightly, that it was not budging at all. So his best option is having his fingers trace over this thing in a desperate attempt to see if it can come off.
‘I will say though, whatever this thing is, it feels like it has a pulse of some sort. Which is just all kinds of creepy.’ Ryan shuttered.
After a while of inspecting the orb necklace, Ryan started to hear footsteps from beyond the door to their room. He got up from the bed not sure if he should try to hide or just be obedient and not do anything to provoke the Dark Elves, because at this point trying to pick a fight with them is pointless. So he just holds his breath hoping whoever it is just keeps walking past the door and doesn’t come to their room.
As Ryan waits, he hears the door open as the Dark Elves walk into the room. There were five of them, one Priestess and four guards in light armor.
‘That armor looked so thin that I feel like I could dent it just by breathing on it, but I'm sure logic doesn't work the same as it does on Earth.’ Ryan thought to himself.
He also noticed that two of the guards were carrying trays. It looks like it was feeding time for the inmates.
While Ryan was observing his captors, Hiro in his immense wisdom decided this was his moment to shine. As he yelled "Your biggest mistake was when you dare try to imprison me you SCUM! Now feel the might of my Justice! HI-YAH!"
So there goes Hiro running straight into a 5 vs. 1 match right in front of Ryan's eyes.
‘Am I surprised by this, no. Am I disappointed in him still, yes.’ Ryan sighed internally while shaking his head.
‘It's almost impossible to reason with someone who has “Main Character” syndrome and I’m probably going to get pulled into Hiro’s bullshit, too.’
Ryan just let out a sigh as he prepared himself for what was about to come. The first guard casually walks in front of the group and moves towards the charging human and as Hiro was about to jump the elf catches him by the neck like it was nothing.
It was like Hiro crashed into a wall when he was running full speed at them. At that point, the Priestess raised her hands and began to chant.
Suddenly the two runes, located on the opposite sides of the room, started to glow and then the orbs on Hiro's and Ryan's necks started to glow in unison. Then Ryan started feeling that same power coming from his orb like the first time he was brought to this world.
‘So I’m going to get immobilized, great.’ Ryan knew how this was going to go.
When the Priestess finished chanting, that's when Ryan started to float a little off the ground and got pulled like a magnet towards the rune with the same color as his orb, luckily it wasn't as painful as last time.
So there Ryan was, trapped over his spot in the room looking over at the five Elves with the one guard still holding Hiro by the neck looking to torment him for his disobedience.
The guard had a smirk on his face as he watched Hiro's body starting to stretch from the pull of the red rune which was on the other side of the room, about ten feet away. It looked really painful as Hiro’s body looked like a stretched rubber band.
Hiro screamed at the guard, "Aaarrrgghhh! YoU'lL ..... N-NevEr ...... G-Get aWAy witH-h ....... THIS!!!!"
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Ryan shook his head after hearing Hiro's weak threat.
"Well, this is the second time. You’ll have to learn sooner or later, human." The guard said with a grin on his face.
He seemed to enjoy inflicting pain on Hiro. After a moment he finally let go of Hiro's neck as his body shot over to the other side of the room like a bullet, flying towards his rune, and when he came in contact with the red light above the rune he came crashing to a halt as he was floating in the air. Hiro grimaced in pain from the force full stop.
The guard then turns around and walks back towards his group of Elves laughing as he passes them.
"Seriously this is his second time attacking them? Christ, Hiro! How the hell did he manage to survive living in society back on Earth?" Ryan says to himself. "At some point, Darwinism is going to catch up to you."
"SHUT UP!" Hiro yelled back.
"ENOUGH!" said the Priestess.
Ryan became silent not wanting to test their wrath. All he could do was stare at her waiting to see what was going to come next. Luckily for Ryan, it seemed like the priestess was waiting for them to calm down. When things finally quiet down, the priestess finally speaks again.
"My name is Elianna, the left hand of the Dark Elf tribe here in Sorellia. We have come to give you your daily meal. Savor and nourish it, for you will be doing trials to see if you are the Chosen Ones. Steel yourself if you wish to complete the task given to you, so you may live to be fed another day. Hopefully, you won't disappoint our Lord. Understood?" She asked while looking over to her four comrades.
She nodded to the two guards holding the trays as they walked to the table at the center of the room. They placed the trays on the table and started to distribute the food.
"We will leave you to eat now," Elianna said walking out of the room, leaving with the guards in tow.
Just before she walked through the doorway she stopped and turned towards Hiro and Ryan as if she remembered something.
"Oh... Before I forget... If you decide to keep repeating your antics, we'll have to rearrange your living arrangements to a less comfortable one... I hope you two understand?..... May the Dark surround Us." she said with a pleasant smile on her elegant face. But there was nothing pleasant behind her words.
Once the last guard left and closed the door, the magical bindings released them without warning. This caused Ryan's legs to feel a jolting sensation running from his heels to his hips when landing on the ground with straight knees. He and Hiro were floating about 6 inches in the air, so it wasn't too bad of a drop, but jarring nonetheless.
As Ryan gathered his balance back he hurried to the table, not knowing what type of stunt Hiro might do to their food. Plus he was starving. So once Ryan got to the table he saw a bowl of water filled with a black liquid and a bunch of leaves that looked like cabbage. The Dark Elves also left them with a bag of dried meat that was covered in ash.
‘Well, I guess beggars can't be choosers. I hope it tastes better than it looks.’
It took Ryan a while to work up the courage to take the first bite but surprisingly it wasn't half as bad as it looked.
‘Again I'll take any small victory when I can.’ Ryan thought to himself.
After they started eating, Ryan looked over at Hiro, who was staring at him with that same angry expression on his face when he tried to attack the Dark Elves. Like he was trying to figure out how to kill him without getting caught. Ryan just sighed and shook his head.
"I'm sorry, Hiro. I didn't know how else to deal with that situation. You go running around like a chicken with its head cut off."
"You should have aided me," he said with a grunt.
"Really!? But what would have happened, if I helped you?" Ryan said while taking a sip of black liquid. "I would have been stopped just the same way. You were like a fucking rag doll to them, Hiro."
Then Ryan took a bite out of the dried meat that was covered in ash. "There's a time and place to take action and right now I don't know enough about these Dark Elves. Plus their creed is kind of creepy... May the Dark surround Us."
Hiro sighed in frustration. "I hate worthless people, like you."
"Worthless?! Fucking look in a mirror…..” Ryan tries to calm himself as he continues, “Haah… Listen, Hiro, we need to be smart about this, we don’t know what they’re after?"
"I know," Whispered Hero as he looked off to his side.
"No, you don't! That was your second attempt and it probably went just as well as the first." Ryan took a bite of the leaf that looked like cabbage. 'Aach, bitter!' Ryan cringed after his tongue was saturated by the bitter vegetable.
He continued, "Listen, if you go for a third attempt I will break both of your goddamn kneecaps. Got it?!" Ryan said as he pointed at him in a threatening manner.
Hiro grunts in frustration. "Fine! Just be warned Ryan, you are making a powerful enemy. Once I pass these trials and become the One, I’ll break you."
Ryan just shakes his head, ‘This guy just got curb stomped and he wants to be their "Chosen One" too? What the fuck is wrong with his brain?’ Ryan thought. 'Plus why would the Dark Elves want humans as their Chosen Ones? It's probably for the best not to be a Chosen One. If this is how they treat their chosen ones, I'm better off being a nobody.'
Ryan took a few seconds pondering what the elves' end game was. Did they need a champion or do they need a sacrifice? Ryan was hoping it was the former.
‘Who knows what they will do to us? Most likely they want to sacrifice you and me to the Dark entity or something similar.’ Ryan felt a bad omen in his future that he didn’t want any part of.
'But it wouldn't make sense to summon us just to kill us. What the hell do they want from us?'
The room was silent as Ryan and Hiro stood there speechless. Both were lost in thought.
‘Yeah, Hiro, the title of Chosen One is all yours my friend.’ Ryan thought while finishing his meal.
At that point, Ryan decides to turn in for the night. This has been the longest day of his life. And he thought it was only going to continue. "Got to bide my time, and escape from here. You got this Ryan." He says this to himself before Ryan finally drifts off to sleep.