Fearing that the man would hit him again, Khal resigned himself to the humiliation. He followed the trail towards the castle as the others were directed. The bushes grazed against his exposed torso as he made his way through. It took a while before he finally managed to maneuver through the overgrown vines and fallen trees before he made it to the castle entrance.
Inside the castle were twin statues of half man half spider on either side of the door. It made the entire castle feel eerie as soon as Khal entered. It didn't help that the inside was dark and gloomy. There was a never-ending corridor along the length of the castle with various rooms on either side. There were no elaborate dining room or guest room in sight. Khal could see many rooms with different weapons hanging on the walls as he continued. He would occasionally hear the grunts of men as they began sparring with each other. Khal was surprised to see the men wearing worn-out clothes and some even naked. The only thing they each had in common was the black face mask. Where is Claw?! Khal frantically looked around for the old man. The longer he stayed restrained the more he panicked. "Excuse me, I think there's a misunderstanding! I was sent here by General Dor! Where is Claw?" Khal finally screamed. He had lost all his reasoning at this point.
"Still your tongue or see it removed! Now, keep moving!" One of the masked men nudged Khal to continue onwards. Khal looked all around, the rooms in the castle all appeared the same, a large square area with weapons on the walls. Khal and the others were directed inside another room on the far side of the castle. Inside, Khal realized that this room was circular. Torches were plastered along the walls and a few dirt pits were directly in the middle of the room. The masked men ordered everyone to stand in rows in front of three masked men. Khal noticed one of them had an eyepatch and knew it had to be Claw. Breaking away from the row, Khal approached Claw, "Ser Claw, tell these men they made a mistake. Quickly, release me."
Claw stood behind two other masked men with his hands placed behind his back. He quickly signaled to one of the men to walk forward and address Khal. "You will not speak his name so lightly! Before you stand the greatest of the Black Recluse, Master Claw. Have you gone crazy spiderling? Return to your spot or be cut down where you stand." Khal ignored the man as he tried to approach Claw.
"Arg!" The masked man punched Khal in his stomach before lifting him up. By the time Khal realized what had happened to him, he was already in the air. The man had flung him towards his spot in the row.
Adjusting himself, the masked man then addressed the crowd. "Ahem, Welcome to The Hive. My name is Totem. I'm sure all of you are wondering why you are here. Everything will be revealed to you in time. Now, let me just say that everything you know, and love is now dead." The man paused as the whispers from the captives became audible. "Whichever Kingdom you were from does not matter here. Whether you were a servant, a slave or a noble does not matter here. What matters is strength. Five hundred of you stand before me today but not all will survive. Some will die and become fertilizer for the others to grow. Those who grow will become the pillars of The Black Recluse, but until then you are nothing."
The man then turned towards Claw who nodded to him firmly. The other masked man then approached in the same manner as the first. "My name is Cloud. Here, you will discard your name. Your name means nothing, your face means nothing. Since you are nameless and faceless, you will each wear a mask." Suddenly, five hundred men in black approached each prisoner, handing them a mask each before untying them. "You will not be allowed to remove these masks in front of others. Failure to do so means death." All the captives began to whisper among themselves again. "Quiet! Insubordination will also result in death."
Everyone became quiet. Some began to cry while others had looks of terror on their faces. Even Khal couldn't remain steadfast as he listened to the men. This was a nightmare for him. He looked around him to see some of the captives in distress. "Now, we shall begin the naming ceremony. Each will be named according to their deeds. Only after you are defeated will you receive the name blessed by the Black Recluse. Everyone put on your masks and we shall begin!"
Khal got up from the floor before placing the mask on his face. He could smell the dirt and grass all over the black cloth as it wrapped around his nose. His long blond hair flowed behind his back as he finished tying the mask firmly in place. Suddenly, he heard the sound of drums within the circular room as the men in black began grunting noises while pounding spears rhythmically on the floor. "You! Step towards the sacred pit" Cloud ordered Khal. "For insubordination, you will be the first to die." Khal entire body began to shake. He became rooted in his spot. He was not expecting to be punished so severely. He slowly stepped forward towards the circular dirt between the captives and Claw.
"The naming ceremony is simple; there are four pits, therefore four matches."
Claw walked towards Cloud before whispering something in his ear. Staring at Claw confused, Cloud slowly nodded before turning back towards Khal. "Only if you can defeat twenty-four of your peers will you be shown mercy. Now, begin!"
Khal readied himself to fight. Regardless of his opponent, he would defeat them without remorse. I will survive, I must survive! Khal entered a trance as he felt the pressure of death around him. It didn't take long before a man entered the pit. He could tell that the man was smirking just by the look in his eyes. The man stared at Khal for a second before turning towards the others. "My name is Jack but you all may know me as Three Eye Jack of Igbal." The man boasted heroically. He was a large man with blistered skin as far as Khal could tell. The only area on his body without any of the blisters was his face. Khal wasn't sure if he was a beggar or really a famous cutthroat. Khal gave Claw a sideward gaze and saw the man's eyes knitted together. Khal vowed that he would stab this man if it was the last thing he did.
Khal nodded his head to the man before tightening his fist. Screaming loudly to psych himself up, the man lunged himself at Khal. Khal watched Jack fist approaching his face easily enough. He twisted his body and allow the punch to miss his face only to send a knee to the man's gut. Thud! Khal had expected the man to block his knee, so he had already followed up with a punch to his face. Both attacks landed on Jack's body before he fell on the dirt. It had taken exactly 2 seconds before the man was already defeated.
"Good! He will be known as dirt. Let him know when he wakes up!" A man in black shouted in disgust. Khal was surprised to know that the man had just that amount of strength after talking so much. It was only now he began to appreciate how strong he was for his age. There might not be as many strong people as he had first anticipated. Just before Khal could ready himself for his next fight, he noticed his fist as well as his knee burning. Strange, he was sure he didn't receive a hit from the man. Inspecting his fist, Khal began to see blisters forming and blood running down his hand. What is this?
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Khal panicked as he noticed the same thing happening with his knee. His trousers were burnt through and his knee began to bleed. Was this...acid?! Khal was unsure how the man managed to injure him with acid, but he quickly circulated his spirit energy to surround the injuries until the pain subsided. He had never seen an attack like this before. He became frightened as he realized that these people were not to be taken lightly.
---
The fighting went until it was afternoon. Khal was exhausted by the time he defeated the fifteenth person. His clothes were filled with blood, some his and some from his enemies. Most of the other fighters were stronger than three-eyed Jack. Some were even able to clad. Khal came towards death at least four times by underestimating his opponents. By the time Khal had defeated his twenty-third opponent, he was too tired to continue. His knees trembled as he forced himself to stand up.
The twenty-fourth person to enter the dirt pit was a girl. Khal had never fought a girl before, but he was sure it didn't matter in the Hive. He tried to quickly catch his breath while she slowly walked towards the pit. "Let's have a fair match," she said softly before giving a graceful bow. Khal was pleasantly surprised to see someone finally showing some courtesy. He tightened his fist and adjusted his footwork. Even though some of his opponents were unable to clad, they were still more experienced than him when it came to fighting.
Khal heard the rustling sound of her clothes as his opponent quickly closed the gap between them. Although surprised, Khal still managed to place his hands in front of his face to block a kick aimed at him. Just as the kick landed on his arms, Khal could feel the force slowly pushing him back. He dug his feet into the dirt and used his strength to push forward, causing the girl to lose her balance. Expecting her to fall by his sudden burst of strength, Khal rushed forward to end the fight quickly when suddenly, the girl cladded the empty air and used it to reduce her fall.
Khal was surprised. He never knew cladded had such an application. By cladding the air, the girl caused it to become denser, causing it to require more force to move through it. Distracted by the girl's skill, Khal failed to notice her next move. The girl quickly adjusted her body weight towards Khal's left, sending a crushing blow to his kidneys. Feeling the unexpected attack connect, Khal groaned before jumping back to get out of her range.
He stared at his opponent with new eyes. Who would have thought that the only girl in the group would be so strong? Khal observed her closely. She was clearly using initiate level cladding but she was just too fast. Suddenly Khal saw a dim light shining below her feet, Fuck my luck, that's light element! She's an elementum! Khal quickly cladded his fist and embedded wind around his body. If he wanted to defeat this girl, he would have to go all out.
She quickly closed the gap between them again. This time, Khal was ready for her. He dodged her attack by jumping to the right before sending a punch of his own. Strangely, the girl's speed decreased, causing Khal's punch to miss her by a large margin. Khal had timed his attack perfectly but with her reduced speed, it was difficult to adjust so quickly. Left wide open, Khal was hit with an uppercut to his jaw before falling on his back. She then quickly approached Khal while one of her foot began to glow brightly. She produced a light speed kick in Khal's direction.
Boom!
The dust raised all around them. The girl coughed as she adjusted her mask to see where Khal was. She didn't feel the kick connect so he must have dodged it at the last second. Turning around, quickly, she saw Khal aiming a punch at her face. Placing her hands up in defense, she tried to block. To her surprise, Khal cladded the area under her chin, reducing the speed of her hands. Left defenseless, Khal's fist connected to her cheekbone, knocking her to the dirt.
"That's a nice trick you have there," Khal said to her as he walked slowly towards her. "Hmph! So, you're an elementum also," The girl's voice sounded soft and pleasant to Khal's ear. There was a certain soothing effect that made him feel to listen to her all day. Suddenly, Khal felt dizzy as he found himself on the dirt. It took a moment for Khal to snap out of it but it was already too late. The girl had a light embedded fist aimed at his face. Realizing he was blindsided, Khal looked at the girl with wide eyes. He cladded his cheek as he received the punch. Although he reduced most of the force by cladding his cheek, Khal still felt a few of his teeth shake in his mouth. He was sure a few were loose enough to fall out. Khal looked at the girl in shock. Not many were capable of cognizance, it was the only technique that one could learn but never teach.
Khal rubbed his cheek and spit the collection of blood that gathered unto the floor. "You're stronger than you look," Khal said as he made some quick calculations in his head. "Your body is tougher than it looks," she rebutted. Khal subconsciously wondered whether she was teasing him about his naked upper body or not. He concentrated the wind around his fists in preparation for the only spirit arte attack he knew. Noticing the difference in the wind pattern around Khal, the girl prepared her own spirit arte.
Khal watched her generate her light element and waited until she rushed towards him. She seemed to favor attacking over defending, something Khal knew he could use to his advantage. He used his natural senses to detect her position as he waited for the right second to attack. The girl began hitting Khal with light imbedded punches and kicks in an attempt to destroy his defense, but Khal endured. His hands felt numb at this point. He could barely determine whether his cladding was effective or if his hands were that badly damaged.
Khal stepped back slowly making his way closer in the middle of the pit. He made sure to do it slowly enough so that the girl wouldn't notice. It didn't take much, she was quite contented to attack with abandon. Suddenly, the girl slipped, Khal grinned as he saw his plan working. He approached her the moment she slipped, aiming his attack directly towards her temple.
The girl was pushed back several meters before coming to a stop. She Stared at Khal in shock before looking at the dirt, her eyes widen before she quickly fainted. Khal panted for breath and kept his fighting stance until he realized he had won. He fell to his knees gasping a little more controlled, surprised that his last-ditch effort worked. The light embedded kick she had initially attacked Khal with was very strong. It left a large foot-sized hole in the dirt. Enough for Khal's plan to work.
"Your name will be 'Five'," Screamed a masked man.
Everyone one of the men in black erupted in discussions this time. All knew the meaning behind the name 'five'. It was usually given to the strongest in the new batch of prisoners. Khal listened attentively as the men in black whispered to each other. Apparently, every batch of captive was given names fitting their abilities during the Naming Ceremony. The five strongest would receive a number as their name. The strongest in the group was known as 'one'. It was a name that could be traded by officially defeating the numbered as they were called.
This essentially placed Khal in danger. His name was now the one most soughed after in this group. Khal got up and stepped out of the pit. He began to understand the Hive a little. To be more specific he began to see the Hive differently. This wasn't a training camp, no, this wasn't even a hive. They are training killers.