Chapter 4: A New Fire

The man rolled towards Morr, seemingly unaware of the fact that his head continuously collided with the ground.

The woman walked towards Morr, continuing to keep her hand in her mouth with an ever-so-slightly moving chin.

Morr walked towards the center with his injured hand behind his back, and his other hand on guard – just below his chin. The pain was greater than ever. The sensation of his injured hand throbbing and surging with pain made it incredibly difficult to focus on the two people in front of him.

The woman sniffed Morr. “Food? Food?” she asked. She took her hand out of her mouth and placed it in front of Morr’s face. Her jagged, teeth-trimmed nails were covered with her saliva. Some of her nails weren’t fully developed; it was possible to see some of the flesh under the nails as if someone purposely destroyed it.

“No.” Morr declined. What was even more unsettling than the woman’s nail was the man rolling on the ground around the two of them. He had never seen anyone behaved such as these two. As if they were uncultured and belonged to an entirely different world.

She pulled back her hand and inserted it into her mouth. Her mouth began to move up and down ever-so-slightly again. Her eyes traced the movements of the man rolling around them.

The man laid on his back, eyes faced towards the ball of light, and screamed. His arms flail in the air like a toddler throwing a tantrum. He incessantly kicked in frustration and annoyance.

Morr couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Despite them being older than him, they’re acting as if they’ve never passed the toddler stage of their lives. He felt uncomfortable and bazaar just from looking at them.

How long have they been trapped in here? The thought of fighting to the death quickly left his mind. No matter how he looked at them, he couldn’t find them close to being threatening compare to the other people he saw in this damned place. He reached out his hand towards the man on the ground.

Upon noticing the hand, the man curled into a ball and rolled around the two of them. He ceased his outburst and rolled in silence.

“They said we’re supposed to fight each other to the death, but I don’t want to do that,” Morr said. “We shouldn’t be fighting each other. It’s them whom we should be fighting.”

“Food? Food?” she asked urgently.

The man let out disgruntled noises. Nothing coherent came from his mouth.

“No, not food. Enemies! We have to fight to live!” Morr replied.

She tilted her head and repeated “Food” again.

Talking to them was an exercise in frustration. Morr, annoyed with her repetitive response, shouted, “No! Fight to live! To be free! Is this how you want to live the rest of your life? Don’t you want to experience what it’s like to live again?”

As if ignoring or dodging his question, the woman bent down and traced the trail of the man rolling on the ground.

“Fine,” Morr resigned. Talking to these two is hopeless. He sat down and watched them play around like a guardian watching over two children.

Occasionally, the man would scream and throw a tantrum whenever the woman impeded his path. Sometimes he would scratch his dirtied arms and legs. Morr never heard him actually say anything. The man seemed content with just rolling around. He never stood up.

Sometimes the woman would ask for food from Morr and the man, but she wasn’t much better when it comes to communication. She intentionally walked in front of the man and giggled whenever he threw a tantrum. Seeing her hearty smile warmed Morr’s heart. She wasn’t pretty by any means, but the sheer power in a genuine smile was enough to move Morr.

“Hey.” Morr walked over to the man and the woman and reached into his pocket. He grabbed a handful of beans and divided it between the man and the woman.

“It’s food… in a way.” He gestured his hand towards his mouth. “Eat it.”

They looked at each other and then back at Morr. One purple bean popped in both of their mouth. That intense kick of acidic flavor poured down their throats. Both of them, simultaneously, jumped back with a shrink expression.

The man tried to get rid of the flavor by licking the ground.

The woman furiously bit her nails at twice the speed.

Morr laughed. “It’s good, right?” He threw one in the air and caught it in his mouth. “The flavor takes time to get used to.”

There were so many ways to describe the taste. “Good” never appeared in their heads. Only after a while had passed did they finally return to normal.

“What are your names? Maybe… we can be friends?” Morr asked.

The man continued to roll thoughtlessly around them.

The woman tilted her head and asked for food again.

“Yeah…” He handed her a purple bean.

As soon as she realized what was in her hand, she threw it far away from her. And, almost instantaneously, she snapped back to tracing the trails of the man rolling on the ground.

Like two flowers blooming in a deserted wasteland, the man and the woman’s odd nature entirely stood out from the depraved humans he saw before. They were so beautiful and glittering… They didn’t seem to cling onto freedom or wanted to sacrifice anything, and everything, to escape from this hell. They were just them. Enjoying the present, the things around them, and the people they’re around. Under the ball of light that kept the darkness at bay, the three of them looked like an odd, yet happy family.

Morr sat there, watching the two of them play around, with a slight smile on his face.

Food woman and dirty man… They aren’t so bad. He rested his injured hand on his lap. The blood-soaked cloth was partially wet, and the bone-shivering pain could still be felt. He looked at them and couldn’t help but feel how amazing they were.

Whenever the man was itchy, he would scratch himself. If he wanted to roll in the dirt, then he would roll in the dirt. Screams and tantrums came freely and uninhibited by the presence of the woman and Morr.

The woman wasn’t afraid to ask for food. She wasn’t shy to bite her nails in front of Morr and the man. And, somehow in this damned place, she can find something to laugh and smile about.

They’re not afraid to express themselves. But they don’t look like they can fight… at all. Will they really be fine? Memories of his first battle resurfaced. Everyone there were at least more threatening than these two. Whether it was the spear woman or the many people who died -- they all had the capability to kill someone. But when Morr looked at the two in front of him, not an ounce of malevolent could be felt. If I just stay here – if we just stay here… Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad to die here… with the two of them.

****

Church of Salvation, Hall of Light…

White walls and ceiling encompassed the room with three men in extravagant white robes. A ginormous chandelier hanged at the center of the ceiling. All 128 sockets held one candle each that was lit by a blue flame. Below the chandelier were the three men. One had a grey sash, one had a red sash, and the last one wore a black sash on top of his robe. They surrounded a mass of white orbs that acted like surveillance, showing footage of humans killing humans.

“Chamber A, B, C, D, E… the winners have been decided,” the man wearing a red sash said. “Chambers 1, 2, 3… and 100 have finished as well.”

“Same here,” the man wearing a grey sash reported. “Chamber AB, AC, AD… EX, EY, and EZ have one last person standing.”

Their eyes ran back and forth, scanning each individual orb.

“Likewise, including my account as well, that should leave us with only 100 candidates left,” the man wearing a black sash said. “Once the numbers approach close to 50, send word to the Revenants to proceed to the next level.”

“Hopefully the vessel can withstand the impact this time,” the man wearing a red sash said. “I can’t imagine how long it’ll take to capture the amount of souls we have now.”

“All is within His will,” the man wearing a black sash said. “Your faith begins to worry me.”

“No. It’s just the last time it happened the vessel broke too fast. Now that we’ve been harvesting even more… I fear that no one will be able to withstand the ritual,” the man wearing a red sash said.

“Don’t think too much. All you need to do is have faith in the Lord.” The man wearing a grey sash formed a cross with his hands and touched the center of the cross with his forehead. “Besides, this time the Lord seems to be extremely excited.”

As they continued to monitor the orbs, a particular feed caught the eye of the man wearing a grey sash. “Look at this,” he informed the others. That particular orb expanded, allowing the three men to easily view its feed.

“What’s this?” the man wearing a red sash pondered. In that video feed was a man, a woman, and a teenaged boy. The boy sat nearby, watching the man and woman interact. “Why aren’t they killing each other?”

“I thought solitude and a bit of wiring would be enough to break anyone… it seems I was wrong.” The man wearing a black sash pointed to the man and the woman. “You can see from their behavior that they’re not normal. They’re not fit to be a vessel. You could say that they’re the result of our solitude and wiring.” He then pointed at the boy. “Compare to them, the boy seems to be able to retain some sort of humanity. If we wire too much, then the man and woman would completely break. If we don’t wire enough, then there would be more cases like this boy… This is troubling indeed.”

“No, don’t change the regime. Situations like this doesn’t happen enough for us to be worry about. Still… to think that there would be a chamber without anyone killing each other…” The man wearing a grey sash pulled out a scroll with a white seal from his pocket. “It’s time for some replacements.”

****

As Morr watched the man and the woman play, he couldn’t help but think of his mother and father. “Is this how mom and dad would be like? Well, not exactly like them, but…”

The woman walked over and tilted her head. “Food?”

Morr pulled out a purple bean. “Did you want another one?”

The woman shook her head and chew her nails.

Morr laughed. “I wish I was smarter. Maybe if I was, I could understand you and the man.”

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“Food…” The woman placed her hand on Morr’s shoulder and then walked towards the man on the ground.

Morr spoke softly, “Yeah… if only…”

In the corner of his eye, Morr noticed a figure stepping from within the darkness and into the light.

The man held a sword in one hand. He was slim, and seemingly malnourished, but wore a huge grin on his face. A dirtied white cloth wrapped around his left eye and silky hair. His clothing was loose and padded with dirt. “So, this is the key to my escape…”

The man and woman, frightened by his sudden appearance, fled towards the opposite direction.

Morr looked behind him at the man and woman and saw that they were frightened to the bone. The man flail his arms and legs, but he didn’t let out a scream or shout. The woman nervously bit her nails at twice her normal speed while adverting her eyes. They tried to hide behind each other, leading to a constant back and forth until their backs reached the edge of the light.

Morr’s eyes fell onto the sword. He judged that the length of it was, at the very least, longer than his arm. “What do you want?”

“What do I want? What do I WANT?” the man excitingly said. “I want many things, boy. Women, power, an army, a kingdom! Those are only a few things of what I… want. And you three are going to help me get there.” The man brandished his sword back and forth.

Morr’s eyes swayed back and forth, paying attention to even the subtle movements of the sword. “Then you can die.” Morr charged the man, keeping the length of the sharp sword in mind. But as soon as he closed the gap, the sword remained still. Unexpectedly, what came after him wasn’t the sword, but the man’s foot. Morr’s ear rang as the man’s foot collided with his ear, and then rang again when his head collided with the ground.

“Die? Yes, you will… soon.” The man laughed, and he brandished his sword again. He calmly walked over and picked the boy up by his black hair. With a sinister smile, the man gently tapped the flat surface of his sword on Morr’s cheek.

Morr glared at him with disgust. Facing him up close, Morr had a feeling of what the man’s history was. The way he walked, the way he acted – just by staring into his eyes Morr pieced everything he knew about the man. “Pitiful.”

His sinister smile quickly transitioned into an ugly smug. “Pitiful? What the hell would a brat know about me? I did everything I had to do to get what I wanted. All me! You haven’t even hit that stage of your life yet! Then again… you probably never will.” He turned the edge of the sword towards Morr’s cheek and gradually applied pressure.

Upon noticing the smallest amount of blood dripping down the sword, the man on the ground rolled over at full speed. He bumped into the man’s leg and bit his ankle as hard as he could.

The man with the sword roared, and quickly threw the boy away. He turned his sword towards the man biting him and stabbed him through his chest. “You piece of shit! You want to die? Yeah?” He repeatedly stabbed the man. On the 4th stab, the man’s teeth finally let loose. The man with the sword fell onto one knee. Any sense of control over his ankle was gone. He looked back, and all he saw was a pool of blood and a bite-sized hole near his ankle.

Morr felt his hand throbbing, surging with immense pain from the landing. But the pain couldn’t sway him from what he just saw. “Damn it all!”

The woman steadily approached the man, baring her crooked teeth. With the primal eyes of a predator, she stalked the man, circling around him and keeping her knees bent.

“You want some too? Come here, whore.” The man lick his lips.

“No, stay away!” Morr shouted from the top of his lungs. He struggled to stand up, but the loss of balance quickly dropped him to the ground. These damn legs! Listen to me!

She pounced towards the man, hissing at his immobile state.

The man’s arm was longer than hers. He grabbed her by the neck and laughed. He gradually increased the pressure as if he was trying to pop a hand-sized balloon.

The woman used both of her hands and clawed at the man’s arm. Her nails slowly peeled off; blood oozed out of her finger nails due to the excessive amount of force. The rate of her inhale and exhale rapidly rose as she struggled to get more air into her body.

“Fucking whore!” He slammed her to the ground. The man quickly clapped the woman’s hands together and stabbed his sword through them.

She howled and screamed, trying to wiggle her hands out of it, but it only made the pain worse.

The man had lustful eyes as he slightly twisted the grip of his sword. He then lifted her head by her hair and slammed her to the ground. He watched every motion in glee as repeatedly pulled her hair and pounded her head to the ground.

This stupid body! Listen to me! Morr forcefully slammed his injured hand into the ground. An extreme jolt of pain ran through his body, overriding the loss control of his legs. Morr sprang onto his feet, ran as fast as he could, and tackled the man.

Slowly and gently, those small hands wrapped around the woman’s head. “Are you okay?”

She didn’t answer or move at all. Like a statue, she was completely still, but there was still some warmth left in her body.

“This is going to hurt a bit.” Morr pulled the sword out of her hand as fast as he could to lessen the pain.

He walked over to the man, who was carefully trying to position his injured ankle in a safe position.

“You’re right. I don’t know anything about you and your past.” He swung the sword from left to right, trying to get used to the weight of it and the motion of the swings. “But the current you is all I need to know.”

“Are you serious, boy? Ah, I wished you would’ve gave me some more time with her.” The man provoked with lecherous eyes.

“What did you say?” Morr glared at him.

“I could’ve shown you what it means to be a man, and how us men find pleasure in women.” With a haughty laugh, the man thrusted his hips slightly back and forth.

Morr was seething at the sight of the man in front of him. He looked at the sword in his hand and threw it at the man. “Pick it up,” Morr commanded.

“You dumbass. I’ll kill you right here, right now, and get this leg fixed.” He wore the ugly look of a presumptuous victor.

Morr walked into the man’s range. The man sinisterly smiled and swung the sword, aiming at the boy’s neck. Just before the sword reached his neck, Morr quickly stepped outside of the sword’s range.

Morr walked back within the range, this time inching closer to the man. The man swung again, aiming for the boy’s neck. Just like before, Morr meticulously focused on the sword’s movement, and managed to dodge a death blow.

Morr leaped into the sword’s range. The man, annoyed at this farce, swung at the boy’s feet, which requires less distance to travel. Morr jumped to dodge the sweeping hit.

“Go to hell!” With a smile on his face, the man swapped grip and diagonally slashed the sword upwards.

Morr flipped in mid-air, precisely using the momentum of his foot towards the man’s hand.

The sword was forcefully ejected from the man’s grasp. “You bastard!” He was annoyed at how nimble the boy was.

Morr picked up the sword and threw it towards the man. “Pick it up,” he demanded.

“I will flay every inch off your body. I’ll request for the Bishop, so that he can keep you alive and conscious. I’m going to enjoy every second that this sword touches that shit body of yours, do you fucking HEAR ME?!” The man roared with madness.

“Pick it up,” Morr commanded.

The man picked up the sword. His hands were uncontrollably shaking. The strength in his grip deteriorated by the second as blood continues to leave his body from the gap in his ankle.

Judging by his pale skin, the slowness of the sword, and his shaky hands, Morr knew it was only a matter of time. He stepped within the range of the sword and waited for the man’s next move.

The man swung with all his might.

Morr carefully timed the speed of the sword and dodged it.

“You shit brat!” The man swung again.

Morr waited until the last second and dodged it.

“All your friends, your family, those who ever talked to you… they can wait for me in hell.” The man swung again, aiming at the boy’s condescending eyes.

The speed was much slower than before, but it was still threatening. Morr carefully timed it, and this time dodged it by a fraction of a second. The sword brushed his hair and ended in the air.

“Everyone you knew, everyone who had the misfortune to even look at you, I will find them and KILL THEM!” The man swung again, this time throwing his entire body to the motion of the sword.

Morr waited until the very last moment, but the sword kept on going. His heart skipped a beat. In that moment, he found himself on a thin string between life and death. Because the man used his entire body he was able to extend the range of the sword, enough to caused Morr to miscalculate. But the strength within his hands were too weak. The sword flew out of his hands and only grazed the boy’s face. Shock and in awe of being at Death’s door, Morr placed his hand over his heart to make sure his pulse was still beating.

“Screw this life,” the man deprecatingly said. “The Church of Salvation -- their bishops and monsters, and all the people I’ve known… fuck them all.” He lied still, facing towards the ground.

Morr picked up the sword, but he didn’t throw it.

“Kill me,” The man murmured.

Morr approached the man, sword in hand, and said, “Tell me everything you know about the Church and this place.”

“I’m here for the same reason you are, brat. But unlike you, I’m not one of their prisoners. I can actually do something with that power…” He rolled over and blocked the rays of the ball of light with his forearm. “After seeing this place with my own eyes… it’s hard to find the truth anymore.”

“Is that all?” Morr asked.

“What? Do you want me to tell you what the people believe, what this kingdom believes, or what the other kingdoms believe?” The man laughed. “I’ve been all over the world… and the truth continues to get tangled in lies.”

Morr raised the simple, plain sword. “Then…”

The man inhaled as much air as he could and said, “I can’t tell you everything I know with my dying breath. So, yeah, go fuck your— “

With a quick push, the sword stabbed through the man’s neck, covering a third of the sword with his blood.

Morr looked around him: at the man who was stabbed multiple times, at the woman who had her head smashed repeatedly, then at the man whom he loathed, hated, and killed. “You are pathetic...”

Sounds of footsteps came from within the darkness. Emerging from it was a scrawny, old man that Morr was familiar with.

Just as he was about to walked towards Vogh, the woman violently coughed and clutched her head in agony.

Eyes wide opened and with a fluttery heart, Morr ran towards her. The boy’s arms were placed under her head to help support her. “Vogh! She’s alive! We have to help her!”

Vogh didn’t say anything, only merely watch them.

“Can you hear me?” Morr asked the woman. “Everything is going to be fine – help is here, ok? Hang on for a little bit longer.”

Odd noises came from the woman’s mouth, but nothing coherent could be heard. Eyebrows pinched towards her nose -- her eyes were shut, overwhelmed from the pain in her head. No matter what Morr did, that painful expression sat on her face.

“Vogh! What’re you doing?! Come help!” Morr shouted.

Silence again.

What do I do? What can I do? As if steam blew out from his ears, he wracked his brain for any medical knowledge. But nothing came up.

“Vogh… Why aren’t you saying anything?” The boy pleaded.

With a long and deep sigh Vogh finally said, “We cannot interfere.”

It was then that Morr remembered that this was a deathmatch. Only the person last standing would live on. Regardless of whether the man killed them or not, only one candidate can leave this room.

Damn it all… Morr looked at the woman with sorrowful eyes. “If only I was smarter… stronger… maybe you and the man… would still be alive. Maybe I could find a way to escape with the two of you…”

Through all of the horrible experiences he had, these two were his shining moments. They were so pure and so true to themselves that if it was his way everything would’ve ended differently. At the very least he didn’t want them to be buried in such a gloomy and pitiful place.

“Hey Vogh… When you die, family members should at least be watching over your last moments, right?” Morr asked the old man. Any sense of familiarity or closeness to him was absent from his voice.

“Yes. If only that can be true for everyone.” Vogh replied.

“Then let me do that. Ask the bishop or whoever is in charge of this fucking hell, and let me take them to their families,” Morr demanded.

Vogh shook his head. “It’s not possible.”

“I’m not asking for much… Can’t you tell them that?” His head hanged low, and the pent-up frustration and anger could be felt from his voice.

“It’s pointless. Just move on” Vogh advised.

“WHY!?” That one word was mixed with so much anger, frustration, sadness, and helplessness that it trembled the old man’s heart. Irresistible tears streamed down the boy’s face, waiting for just that one answer that could save this woman.

Vogh didn’t reply. This time he couldn’t say anything. Looking at the boy’s pleading eyes forced his heart to unconsciously sewed his mouth shut. Whatever he said right now, even if it’s the truth, wouldn’t help the boy. The only thing that he could say to make the boy happy was to lie to him.

Silence engulfed the room. Neither party were willing to speak. Minutes passed with just the two of them in silence.

Morr looked down at the woman. When did her body became so stiff? When did she felt so heavy? When did she… stopped moving? She laid in his arms, stiff cold, without an ounce of life left.

“Hey…” Morr gently shrugged her, just enough to barely shake her. “Can you say something… please?”

A few seconds passed by, waiting for any kind of response.

Nothing happened.

He shook her again, but this time he exerted too much force. Her body hit the ground, and like a lifeless doll, just laid there in silence.

He took a deep breath and grabbed the sword. Inch by inch, the ground gave way to the boy digging. The sword eventually broke in half, but that didn’t stop him. He continued digging until there were two holes underneath the ball of light. They weren’t deep at all, but it had enough width for each of them.

Vogh watched the boy placed one body after the other into their respective holes. He didn’t particularly feel anything for the two who died, but watching the boy working so earnestly made him sigh at the road ahead of him.

Two mounds rested in front of the boy. Blood trails led to their graves. He tried to cover the trail with the dirt around him, but his nails grew brittle, dirty, and tired.

“This world is so unfair. Don’t you think?” The boy weakly chuckled.

Vogh knew the question wasn’t directed towards him. The boy was facing the two mounds, and his voice was too soft and kind.

“Honestly, when I saw you two, I had a feeling, y’know? I thought that if I was there, maybe I could help you guys escape your fate. I went through a ritual that helped my body grow stronger. I thought I could positively, one-hundred percent, escape with the three of us.” Morr weakly chuckled again, hiding his shameful eyes from the two mounds by staring at the ground. “But I can’t… I just can’t…. it’s hard. …I wish I was stronger before I met you two. Things could’ve been different.”

Morr held back a wave of tears waiting to burst through. “Things could’ve been different if we met at a different time… but I’m still glad I got to meet you two. I won’t forget you two, ever.” He wiped away the leaking waters from his eyes. “Please watch over me wherever you are. One day, I’ll show you the beautiful, glassy skies in my dreams.”

The boy stood up and walked towards Vogh. “Let’s go.”

Unexpectedly, the boy wasn’t sad or sorrowful. Traces of tears were still there, but his eyes spoke differently. It was as if the boy facing the two graves, and the boy looking at Vogh were two entirely different people.

Vogh nodded and led the way out.