Deven sat in the corner of the cage, his knees drawn close to his chest, trying to make sense of what just happened. His thoughts were interrupted when a familiar voice spoke up right outside the bars.
"Hey," Dr. Octavis greeted with a grin, leaning casually against the cage.
"You're probably confused about why you're in a cage right now."
Deven looked up at him silently, clearly expecting an explanation. Octavis just laughed—a light, almost amused chuckle—before continuing.
"Well, you see… ever since monsters appeared in this world, every person—every human—has been on edge."
He pushed off the bars and began pacing beside the moving carriage, hands in his coat pockets.
"People are much more alert now, much more aware of their surroundings than they ever were back in the old world."
One of the guards called out, urging him to get in the carriage. Octavis waved them off, choosing to walk alongside instead.
"This also means," he continued, "we've had to be a lot more expressive. Or rather… more truthful. With ourselves and with others."
He finally stepped onto the back of the carriage as it rumbled forward, brushing off his coat.
"And why, you might ask? Because ever since we discovered the Copiers—and what they can do with the dead—we've made it a rule: we don't lie about someone's death."
He paused, then moved closer, grabbing onto the bars of Deven's cage with a serious expression.
"Why? Because if we do…"
His voice lowered, almost like a warning.
"…there will be far worse consequences."
Deven stared at him, unsure of what to say. After a moment, he finally spoke.
"Why are you telling me all this?"
Octavis met his eyes and smiled again—friendly, but unsettling.
"Well, you see… that nurse back at the academy? She knew you were dead. Her face said everything. And to her, that made you one of them."
He leaned back, resting his weight casually on one leg.
"That's why I told you all this. To explain what kind of situation you're now in."
Deven's heart beat faster at the implication. He looked down, then up again, swallowing hard.
"Why didn't you let them kill me?"
Octavis chuckled and gave him a curious look—almost like a scientist admiring a rare discovery.
"Because you're interesting."
His gaze swept over Deven's body as if analyzing it.
"To give you some perspective, most Copiers can only replicate about 30 percent of a person. Maybe the body. Or just the voice. Some even copy intelligence—but never all at once."
Then he locked eyes with Deven, and his smile grew unnaturally wide.
"But you… you copied everything. The bones. The memories. The personality."
Deven blinked, his mind reeling. He didn't even feel like a fake. He didn't remember being anyone else. He opened his mouth to ask something else—but before he could speak, the carriage came to a halt.
"Ah! We must be here," Octavis said, sounding genuinely excited.
He turned and walked away, leaving Deven alone again. Moments later, guards returned and opened the cage. They carried the entire cage onto an elevator—one that looked strangely out of place in this world, distinctly modern, made of polished steel and glass.
Inside, Dr. Octavis stood waiting as the guards set the cage down beside him and stepped in.
The elevator began to descend. Deven felt a strange sinking in his stomach—not just from the motion, but from the weight of everything he'd just learned.
Then, with a soft chime, the doors slid open.
And Deven's eyes widened in shock.
Before him was a vast underground facility, dimly lit with cold white lights. Dozens—no, hundreds—of monsters filled the space, all locked in thick glass or metal cells. Some were small and hunched. Others were massive, their bodies brushing the tops of their enclosures. Some looked terrifying, others pitiful. But all of them had one thing in common—
They were being contained.
And now, so was he.
The guards picked up the cage and began following the doctor down a dim hallway. Eventually, they reached a room that resembled an asylum—cold, sterile, and unsettling. The guards set the cage down in the middle of the room, and one of them unlocked it.
Deven slowly got to his feet, glancing around warily. He stepped out of the cage with caution—but before he could fully leave, one of the guards roughly grabbed his arm and slammed him to the ground. Deven grunted in pain as his body hit the cold floor.
Another guard stepped in, securing a strange collar around his neck.
Once the collar was locked in place, the first guard let him go. Without another word, the two guards lifted the cage and left the room, leaving behind two others and the doctor.
Deven pushed himself up, his hand reaching for the collar. Confused and cautious, he looked at the doctor, just about to speak—only to stop when he noticed the man holding a small remote with a wide grin.
"Hey, what does that d—"
Before Deven could finish, the doctor pressed the button.
A surge of electricity exploded through his body—inside and out, from his skin to his very bones. Not a single nerve was spared. Deven screamed in agony, writhing on the floor. He tried to speak, to beg for it to stop, but all he could see through the haze of pain was the doctor's unnaturally wide smile.
The torture continued for what felt like hours. By the time it ended, Deven couldn't move. He couldn't even stay conscious.
When he finally awoke, he was inside a cell—isolated from the others. There were no monsters nearby. No people. Nothing. Just him... and a few rats and bugs crawling along the floor.
Groaning, Deven pushed himself up, barely managing to prop himself against the wall. Just then, two guards approached and opened the cell. One grabbed him by the back of his shirt and began dragging him down the hall. Too weak to resist, Deven let himself be pulled like a sack of meat.
After a few minutes, they arrived at the same room as before. The guard threw him in without care, and Deven hit the floor hard, rolling and tumbling. He barely managed to lift himself onto all fours, breathing heavily. The room was empty.
Then, a familiar voice echoed from above—louder, distorted, and giddy.
"Hey there. So—how was it? Your first time being electrocuted? Good! Great. Now I'm going to give you something... and you better eat it, okay?"
Deven blinked, confused. He couldn't see where the voice was coming from.
A hatch opened on the wall to his left, and something was tossed in.
It was the mangled carcass of a Skelterling.
Deven stared at it in disbelief. Was he supposed to eat that?
"I... I don't think I want to eat that," he muttered, looking up toward the ceiling.
The voice returned, now more eager.
"I never said you had a choice."
"Wha—?"
Pain shot through him again as the collar activated. Deven screamed, collapsing onto the floor. Though it only lasted a few seconds, it felt just as intense as before. When it ended, he was left gasping, his body trembling and flushed with heat.
"Now," the voice cooed, "are you going to eat it, or do I need to press it again?"
There was sick excitement in the tone.
Deven didn't respond. He crawled toward the carcass like a wounded animal. He paused, hesitating, but with no other option, he sank his teeth into the rotting flesh. He gagged, nearly vomiting, but forced himself to chew.
He ate all of it.
Later, the guards returned and dragged him back to his cell. He sat in the corner, shaking violently, his stomach churning.
He stared blankly ahead.
And in the silence of his isolation, one thought echoed in his mind:
(I don't want to be here.)