Leo persisted bravely through the first four. It was as if they got easier each time he had to go through the warps. The boy’s vision warped as he arrived at the fifth scene. The unending dream shaped the small pond in their valley. It perfectly recreated how the little amounts of light reflected by the moon shone upon the landscape. Leo could feel himself inside the young body again. How the cold fingers of a soldier in metal armor grasped his neck and pushed him into the water.
It’s different; I don’t remember that black smoke from last time. It feels so… clear. Lost in his thoughts, Leo didn’t even notice water was already flowing inside his longs. The burning feeling just felt as if a feather was brushed against the insides of his longs. He died before even realizing what was happening.
In the sixth warp, the black smoke was present again. Leo was inside a middle-aged female body and was bound to a chair. A man with a huge ax walked up to her; a wide smile was present on his face. Although there was no sound, Leo saw his lips moving to spell the words, “This is fun.” Leo tried to make a disgusted face, but the muscles of the woman didn’t even move one bit under his command. He just had to watch. With a wide swing, the man tried to cut off her head, but he was weak. The attempt didn’t even reach the bones in her neck.
Pain, wilder than anyone would be able to bear, washed over Leo again. Failing once more, he woke up on the hard, wooden floor. The feeling was present in his own neck for a few seconds before it faded away. A deep groan escaped his longs as he crawled towards the opening with the outside air. Once again, he threw up, although it wasn’t food this time. A part of the impurities that resided inside his body came out. What’s this? Doesn’t this normally require high-end medication to happen? Confused, he sat back inside the cart.
“We’ll arrive in the evening if nothing happens. Your meals for today are in the crate as usual”, Jeff said from the front. The words brightened up Leo’s mood. I’ll finally be able to move around again. Being in this carriage for days straight really isn’t entertaining. How do those horses even manage to keep going day and night while carrying this heavy vehicle?
His thoughts were disturbed by a movement from below the blanket. Leo watched as a little girl stuck out her head, her hair all messy. She looked around with a panicking expression before spotting Leo. The moment she saw him, she relaxed and sat up. “Good morning, Leo”, she said. “Good morning, Akino”, Leo answered. She got up and walked over to Leo, spreading her arms and giving him a warm hug. “What’s this?”, Leo asked.
He was confused about why the girl was doing this and sought a reason. “Can’t I? If you don’t like it, then please tell me”, Akino said. Leo didn’t answer. Deep down, he enjoyed it, even though he would never show any signs of it. It was the first time he had received affection in a while, and it was what he really needed. The moment passed by in silence, but both of them showed more than they could ever tell. At last, after a few minutes, Akino pulled back from the hug and sat down next to her friend.
He told her what Jeff had told him while they were eating their breakfast. “Really?! That’s amazing; I’ll be able to show you around the city. Maybe we can go eat some fun things like…”, the girl chattered on for a while. She talked about her favorite places, foods and a lot more. Almost the entire morning was filled with a hyperactive girl. Even Jeff at the front let out a few annoyed sounds throughout the ride. “You should eat”, Jeff said, “enjoy it while you still get it for free.” He’s right; I have almost no money, so we really should eat well. Leo walked over to the crate filled with rations and grabbed their meals.
As he handed Akino her part, she looked at him with big, disappointing eyes. “It’s that dry bread again? I don’t want to eat that! It’s disgusting!” She pointed at the bread as if it would magically transform into a delicious piece of meat. “I’m sorry, Akino, but there’s nothing I can do about it. Just eat it, alright? Who knows, maybe this will be the last time we eat for a few days,”, Leo said. The boy looked at her with pity.
Akino grabbed the bread and forced a piece down her throat. “Disgusting”, she murmured. Leo took a bite as well and noticed why she said it. The bread tasted as if it were already overdue. He looked at the remaining bread in wonder, trying to find some sort of sign that his guess was right, but there were no traces. Leo remained quiet about it, though, and kept eating as if he didn’t mind. If I act like it’s not tasty, Akino will follow my lead and stop eating. I can’t have her run low on energy before we enter the city.
Jeff twisted his neck and looked at the two children with a smile. Leo sat down and made up a scenario in his head. It was one of his habits that helped him pass time. He imagined how life would be if nothing had happened back at home. How his family would’ve sent him to school like a normal teenager. Before he knew it, his visions became a bit too vivid; they became more realistic than should be possible. Leo shook it off and looked around him. Akino next to him seemed to be sleeping. The sun isn’t setting, and she looked like she still had loads of energy before. What’s going on? Leo’s vision became yellowish and blurry. Tears started to form in his eyes for no reason, and his head began to spin.
Leo felt the carriage coming to a halt; the sudden stillness was almost disturbing after the ceaseless motion. He tried to stand up, but his legs gave up on him, sending him crashing to his knees. Dizzy and disoriented, the boy looked up. Why’s everything rotating? The world spun around him in a sickening blur. Leo clutched at the rough wooden planks beneath him in a useless attempt to move around.
Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.
Through the haze of his vision, Leo saw a blurred figure enter the cargo area of the carriage. Jeff’s silhouette was unmistakable. He approached Leo and kneeled down in front of him. A mocking smile playing on his lips as he forcefully opened Leo’s eyelids with two fingers.
“Impressive, you’re still awake. They’ll like that,” he said, his voice filled with cold amusement. Behind Jeff, multiple figures waited in the bright sun. Leo squinted, trying to focus, and managed to count five of them. The group entered the cart, the wooden planks creaking beneath them. They surrounded Leo, he couldn’t see their faces because of the weird effects. What’s going on? His mind was weak from the dizziness.
“You said you used black scorpion poison on them, right? It’s amazing he’s still hanging in there. We’ll take him for sure; he’s a high-potential item. We’ll take the girl as well. Looking like that, she’ll be worth a lot, too,” said a deep male voice. The man’s tone was cold and emotionless, as if he were discussing livestock rather than humans.
“One high potential boy, one medium potential girl, how about one gold and five silver. We can pay upfront,” a female voice said. Her voice was crisp and young. The cold calculation in her tone made Leo’s skin crawl.
Leo’s eyes began closing, the effort of keeping them open becoming too much. His body felt like it was made of lead, his mind slipping into a dark, foggy abyss. This can’t be real, this has to be a nightmare.
The surrounding voices faded into a distant murmur, and the faces of his captors blurred into a single, menacing shadow. As his consciousness faded away, the last thing he saw was Jeff’s smirking face, and the last thing he heard was the deal being struck over his and Akino’s fates.
“Oi, wake up”, the words were accompanied by cold water washing over Leo’s face. The boy jumped up and looked around in panic. Fuck, that wasn’t a dream. What’s going on? Where am I? Where’s Akino? Leo was inside a dungeon-like room with a cold stone ground, a lack of light, and water stains all over the walls. The only opening was a cell door made from old metal bars that were at the point of rusting.
A man who was built like a bear stood in front of him, with long brown hair in dreadlocks. He had a huge battle-ax in his hands. “Get up, you bastard; it’s almost your turn. You’ll go in together with the girl”, Leo recognized this voice; it was the one he had heard before passing out. “Where is she?!”, Leo demanded, not seeing her around. A crude smile appeared on the man’s face, enjoying the boy’s expressions. “That girl? She’s in a different room. We like to keep our items separated from each other for security reasons; who knows what’s happening to her right now?”
All of a sudden, a hard kick hit Leo in the stomach, making him fall over on the cold stone floor again. The shock echoed through Leo’s body as his body crashed onto the floor. The man picked him up at his neck and pulled him back up. “I don’t want to hear a single word coming from your mouth when we enter that room. The boss himself decided to judge you two, and I don’t want to lose my head because my product is noisy. Do you copy?”, the man’s deep voice was very threatening and cold.
Leo nodded his head and said, “Yes si-”, he was interrupted by a fist ramming into his stomach. Leo, who was hanging in the huge man’s grip, flinched as a reflex. “No words”, the man hissed. He tightened the grip around Leo’s neck and dragged him out of the cell. Leo could now see they were in a big complex of old, rusty cells underground. The man brought him to a double golden door with a tiger pattern on it. As Leo’s captivator pulled a black lever, the two doors slid apart from one another.
The inside of the room was dim; the only source of light were dimly lit torches on the wall, which cast an eerie red glow onto the stone-bricked walls. On the other side of the room, there was a golden throne surrounded by guards with a dark figure sitting on it. Only two red eyes were visible from it. “Kneel!”, the guards demanded in sync. The man went on one knee and lowered his head while forcing Leo to do the same. Two guards who weren’t visible before because of the light stepped forward and closed the heavy door.
The man on the throne began speaking, his voice giving off an invisible force that could crush a person beneath it. Leo felt his bones crack at the extreme force he was exposed to. The man raised his voice, sending waves of powerful force just by speaking. “Is this him? The special product? He looks quite scrawny.” The bear-like man next to Leo seemed to be intimidated as well, sweat being present on his face.
“Yes, sir, this is the one. He was captured less than two days ago and just woke up from the poisoning he was under.” I was out for two days? This is bad. What happened to Akino at that time? Was she out as well? “So he is in a weakened state? How boring! I was about to test him a little. This is worsening my mood even more. First that stupid girl, and now a weakened boy.” Leo’s head went up after hearing those words; he looked right into the two glowing red eyes. The man looked back at him and laughed at Leo. “Seems like that made a reaction. Let me tell you something, kid: she’s fine, and I’ll allow her to stay that way. I just need one thing from you. I’m a businessman, you see.”
Leo kept making eye contact with those soul-eating eyes; his entire body was sweating and shivering in fear. “Because of those stupid nobles, I have to go through this process and can’t force you into fighting, but I can still sell you or use you for other labor. I heard about you and your skills, and I must say I’m impressed. A boy who can use some sort of magic or aura before going through his trial of catastrophes? It’s simply unheard of among us humans. You see, I’ve always been jealous of the elves, who are born with magic and get a head start on us. You’ll be great to beat them at their own games. Let me tell you about my proposal: I know that girl’s origin, and I’ll return her to where she came from on a single condition. I want you to complete your trial of catastrophes. I’ll then allow you to become a gladiator in my games. The more you win, the better your life will get here. A beautiful win-win, right, kid? Your friend is allowed to live her life happily, and you get the chance to grow stronger. All you have to do is sacrifice yourself and accept becoming a gladiator so that the girl can be free. What do you say, boy? I must say that if you don’t meet my expectations, you will be used as a tool. You might become a miner or a slave, for example, but I highly doubt you would. So, do you wish to accept my deal?”