I woke up and stretched my back.
Crack. Crack.
"Oui... My back hurts... Those cracks are the sounds of aging… What have I done with my life?" I sniffled like a defeated grandma.
I tried to stretch my legs, but they wouldn't move.
Oui... This can't be good.
I looked down—and my eyes widened.
A pair of red, electric-like shackles buzzed around my ankles, crackling with faint zaps of energy.
"What the… What is this?"
I reached out to touch them.
BZZZZZT!
"Ouiiiiii! That hurts! Who put these dumb shackles on me?! At least give me the old-school leg irons so I can pick at them when I'm bored! Grr~"
I searched for the knife I stole earlier, but it was gone. 'Great. I smuggled that thing for nothing.'
"Hello," a soft, sugary voice rang out behind me.
I turned and was greeted by a girl with short brown hair and an aura so cheerful it felt illegal in a place like this. She smiled as if she'd just won a prize.
"You're awake! You sure are a sleepyhead." She giggled.
"I'm Rona. What's your name?"
I glanced around—no cannibals in sight. Only kids trembling in fear, curled into themselves like they'd forgotten how to hope.
Wait… I don't remember seeing any of them before. What happened while I was out?
"Erm… Hello?" Rona waved at me.
"Huh? Oh, sorry. Zoned out for a sec. I'm Llyne. Nice to meet ya, Rona. Uh… do you know why we're shackled like prisoners?"
She nodded, all smiles. "You probably don't remember since you were out cold the whole time. Even when that brute man threw you down like a sack of potatoes, you didn't budge!"
"Haha… Embarrassing."
"They're preparing us for a battle."
"They? Battle?" I blinked.
"Mhmm!" Rona nodded excitedly. "A bunch of scary men came in, jabbed us with something weird, and then these zap-zap thingies appeared around our ankles. It's kinda mysterious, huh?"
She grabbed at her shackles with both hands.
"Wait—!"
ZAP! ZAP! ZAP!
Rona recoiled with a giggle. "Weee~ It's like a massager! With a bit of zing! Wanna try?"
"No thanks. I've never met anyone as crazy as you."
"Thanks~!"
One weirdo acquired. Great.
"This isn't a circus, you fool."
I turned to see a boy glaring at us. He had thick black hair, piercing blue eyes behind thick glasses, and enough attitude to start a war.
"This is where they trap kids like us and force us to fight—each other, and the monsters they've bred."
My stomach dropped.
"Eh?! You mean… if we survive, we get to go home?" I grabbed the boy's shoulders.
He slapped my hands off. "Of course not. If you're lucky, one of the 10 Masters will pick you as their disciple. If not... well, monster food."
"I like eating food but I don't like being the food," Rona pouted.
"Same," I muttered. "But how do you know all this?"
"One of the guards said it straight out. Not that I expect you two to have heard it—sleeping beast here was snoring, and the loony behind you was daydreaming."
Sharp tongue. But he's got a soft core. A classic tsundere.
I giggled.
"What are you laughing at?" The boy grabbed my shirt.
"N-Nothing! I'm Llyne, by the way. You?"
He paused, sighed, then let go. "Isaac. And just because we know each other's names doesn't make us friends. Got it?"
"Got it."
I looked around—dozens of kids were shackled just like me. "How many of us are here?"
"Hundred. Heard the guards counting."
"That's… a lot."
"You done? Stop clinging to me." Isaac turned away.
Boy, what a hassle this is.
Suddenly, the floor beneath us trembled.
The tunnel—we were in—began to rise like an elevator. Screams broke out around us as the lift ascended.
"What the hell is this?!" I shouted.
Thud.
The lift stopped. Blinding light poured in from an opening above.
"Oui... tone down the spotlight, will ya?"
The brightness dimmed, revealing a translucent white barrier ahead.
The brutes at the gate barked at us, "Move it, you lambs! We don't have all day!"
One by one, they shoved the kids through the barrier.
I hesitated, poking Isaac. "Hey, what is that?"
"Go through it and you'll find out," he muttered.
When my turn came, I poked the barrier. It was cold and slimy.
I looked at the brute. "Is this safe? Have you tried it?"
The man leaned down, sneered. "If you don't start walking, nothing will be safe for you."
I gulped. "Here goes nothing."
I held my breath and walked through.
Bloop.
"Ughh! That was so freaky!" I shook the goo off me. The ankle shackles were gone.
"Freedom at last... oui?" I glanced down and stomped the ground.
We were standing on a massive floating box—suspended in midair.
"Box is soooo wide!" Rona squealed, running in circles like a toddler on sugar.
"Look around." Isaac pointed beyond the edge.
I did—and I froze.
We were in a colossal stadium. The height stretched beyond sight, the width beyond reason. The audience, seated impossibly far, looked like flickering shadows. Giant screens hovered above, projecting us onto every corner of the arena.
"The box feels big… but it's like a toy compared to this place," Isaac murmured.
The crowd roared. More people poured in. The volume was deafening.
"KILL! KILL! KILL!"
The atmosphere vibrated with bloodlust.
"Wow! I've never been to a concert before! This is so exciting! My heart might stop!" Rona beamed.
"I wish it did," Isaac muttered.
I smacked him. "She may be nuts, but that's no excuse to be rude."
"I wonder if there's a button that turns the floating box off," Rona mused, wandering the arena.
"No! That's what's keeping us in the air!"
"Let's just kill her," Isaac deadpanned.
We chased her down before she broke something. Holding her in place, Isaac trembled like a ticking time bomb.
"We really can't kill her?" he whispered.
Rona, meanwhile, stared at the big screens. "Oooh! They're watching us? What if I have to poo poo? Will they see that too? Oh… I'm shy now."
Isaac blinked. "Did you understand anything she just said?"
"She acts like a five-year-old, but she looks our age… Maybe her brain hasn't caught up yet," I replied, watching Rona hum a nursery rhyme.
Isaac scanned the box. "I've got a bad feeling this isn't their first rodeo."
"Yeah…"
"I mean… this is mass kidnapping. Why wasn't it on the news?"
Rona chimed in, "Maybe they replaced us with robots! That happens in movies!"
"Possible. But someone would notice the difference," I said, scratching my head.
Isaac's eyes narrowed. "They probably kill anyone who gets too close to the truth."
"Right! Right!" Rona nodded.
"Oui…"
Isaac nudged me. "Look. Up there."
My gaze followed his.
Ten shadowy figures sat in elevated thrones—each one radiating an otherworldly aura. Their eyes bore into us like hunters studying prey.
"I think they're the 10 Masters," Isaac whispered.
"They look like weirdos," Rona giggled.
"No one is weirder than you," Isaac growled.
I pointed toward the Masters' seats. "I've seen three of them before. That one with the gentle smile and a katana—that's Master Khun. The woman with the whip and that permanent scowl? Master Asha. And the loud, gun-slinging maniac? That's Master Jay."
Isaac's eyes widened, his expression tightening. "Three Masters came after you?"
"It wasn't just me." My voice dropped as I clenched my fist. "They wiped out my entire family. I was supposed to die too… but something changed. Orders, maybe. Last minute..."
Isaac frowned. "That's not normal. Not even close."