My breath halted for a moment as I looked down at the number stitched onto her shirt.
[116]
Blood had stained the white numbers red, but I could still read them.
It was the girl I had saved during the assault.
The one who had slept just a few meters opposite me on another bed. The girl who hadn't spoken and spent the whole day curled up in bed.
The girl who had screamed for help.
The girl who had thanked me after I saved her.
I didn't know her well.
I didn't even know her name.
But even so—
My body froze.
My heart raced.
My breath hitched as I stared at her lifeless body.
I knew...
I knew she wouldn't live long.
That she would die in one of the next fights.
But still…
It hurt.
Seeing her here.
Cold as ice.
Eyes closed.
Clothes soaked in blood.
I hadn't felt much for a long time.
Not when I killed another teen.
Not when they never came back to the cell.
But now, seeing the girl I had saved only a few hours ago lying dead in front of me—
I felt…
Sad.
I didn't cry.
But my heart ached at the sight of her.
"Boy!"
Before I could sink any deeper into those emotions, Baldy's voice echoed through the corridor.
Snapping out of it, I crouched down and slid one arm beneath her legs and the other behind her back before lifting her. Cradling her bloodied body in my arms, I pressed her gently against my chest and turned around.
Step.
And walked down the corridor.
Drip.
Blood fell from her body to the floor.
Drip.
Like the tears I couldn't shed for her.
Drip.
With every step, another drop fell, leaving a red trail across the grey stone.
She was light.
Too light.
As if she didn't weigh anything at all.
As if death had taken everything from her.
Step.
Looking down at her face, I saw that there was a faint smile on her lips.
Not a broad smile.
It curved ever so slightly.
But in a place like this, even that was rare.
As if death had been something she wanted.
Something she welcomed.
I couldn't understand it.
But seeing that expression still eased the weight on my heart a little.
At least she hadn't gone in pain.
Step.
Drip.
I will remember you.
Step.
And the smile you had when you welcomed death.
Drip.
I hope you will be reborn into this world once more.
Step.
And that you will live a life where death won't make you smile.
Drip.
My gaze shifted away from her and forward again.
The others were already dozens of meters ahead, but I didn't quicken my pace and kept walking slowly.
It didn't matter.
I couldn't lose sight of them in a straight corridor.
And even if I did...
My eyes lowered.
A red tail ran along the corridor.
Blood.
I could just follow it.
Step.
As I walked, my thoughts drifted toward something else.
Soul Parting.
It is a custom on Terros.
You could compare it to a funeral.
The dead are burned until only ash remains. Then that ash is scattered far and wide by the wind. The body is burned so that all of its sins are burned away with it. Afterward, people drink and speak one last time about the dead.
They tell stories.
About who they were.
What they did.
How they lived.
And after the ceremony, no one speaks of them ever again.
It is done to sever their worldly ties and give them a chance to be reborn.
Yes.
On Terros, it is believed that people are reborn.
There is no afterlife.
Only an endless cycle of death and rebirth.
The amount of good or bad karma you accumulate in your life decides how many memories you carry into the next.
An endless cycle of lives and deaths…
It might sound strange to people from Earth, who have their own beliefs and religions.
But I think it is beautiful.
I hadn't thought much about it before.
But now, with her cold body nestled in my arms—
I truly hoped she would be reborn into a good family.
That she would live a life filled with happiness.
Because that was what she deserved.
What all the teens thrown into this hell deserved.
Step.
I somehow caught up with the others even though my steps were slow. It wasn't strange since I only carried one corpse while they had two or more.
They had slung them over their shoulders or dragged them across the floor by an arm or leg.
We soon reached the place where the crates had been left, the workers stopped while Baldy spoke to the man who had ordered us to bring the corpses.
After a short exchange, Baldy turned toward us.
"The cage over there."
Gesturing to the left, Baldy started walking toward it, and the others and I followed him. We stopped in front of one of the cages.
Thud.
Baldy was the first to let his corpses drop in front of the bars. The others followed right after him.
I remained a few steps behind, still holding the girl in my arms, watching what they would do next.
Baldy straightened and walked to a small hatch built into the cage, about a meter above the floor.
The hatch was barely wide enough for one person to fit through.
Creak.
Baldy opened it, then crouched beside the corpse in front of him. One of the others stepped over to help, and together they lifted the body and shoved it through the opening into the cage.
Thud.
At first, there was only the sound of the corpse hitting the floor. Baldy and the other worker were already reaching for the next one.
Then I heard it.
Grrr.
A low growl.
Grrr.
Then another.
Grrr.
And another.
From the dark back corner of the cage, where the lightstones couldn't reach, a pair of pale blue eyes appeared.
They glowed in the dark.
Like shards of ice suspended in darkness.
A soft ripple of mana spread through the air as those eyes drew nearer.
Then more appeared.
Four.
Six.
Eight.
Blinking awake one after another, all of them watching us.
Then the first beast stepped into the light.
A wolf.
But not like the ones I had fought before.
Its fur was snow white, faintly tinged blue at the edges. Frost clung to it and fell silently to the floor like crystals as it shifted its shoulders. With every movement, another faint wave of mana rippled through the air.
It was huge.
Much larger than the wolves from the arena. Even from a distance, its head nearly reached my head.
Then a second wolf emerged beside it.
Then a third.
A fourth…
Their pale blue eyes shifted from us to the corpses on the floor. Their paws made no sound as they approached.
Not even a scrape.
They gathered around the corpses slowly. And that was when I saw their teeth clearly for the first time.
They were long and curved like daggers. Every fang looked sharp enough to rip a human apart. Ice coated their teeth and reflected the dim light.
As they opened their mouths, clouds of white breath slipped into the air, and strands of saliva hung from their fangs.
Drip.
Droplets fell to the floor one by one, leaving tiny patches of ice wherever they landed.
At first, I thought they would lunge at the corpses and tear them apart.
But—
The wolves waited.
They lifted their heads and watched as Baldy threw the next corpse inside.
Thud.
Then the next.
Thud.
And the next.
Thud.
They didn't move and only watched as one corpse after the other was thrown into the cage. Soon, I was the only one left standing there with the small girl still cradled in my arms.
That was when the wolves finally moved again.
A pile of corpses lay before them, but they didn't start feeding. Instead, they pushed the bodies aside with their paws.
As if making space...
For the next corpse.
"Come on, boy. Throw it in."
I had been watching absentmindedly and only snapped out of it when Baldy spoke. Holding the girl a little tighter, I stepped forward.
Step.
Until I stood directly in front of the hatch.
The wolves were all staring at me now. Their pale blue eyes followed my every movement as I slowly lifted her.
And—
Thud.
I let her body fall into the cage beside the others.
Then I stood there.
Frozen.
Watching.
One of the wolves locked its eyes on me.
It stared at me.
Then—
They moved.
They lowered their heads and opened their jaws wide before digging their fangs into the corpses.
Crunch.
A limb tore away, and bones snapped in two between their teeth.
Krrsh.
Fragments of bone sprayed across the floor. Flesh was ripped apart, and even more blood spilled from the corpses.
Krrsh.
Crunch.
Like the beasts they were, they tore the corpses apart one after another, biting off chunks of flesh.
Krrsh.
Crunch.
And I watched it all.
Frozen in place before the hatch.
I watched as they tore the small girl apart.
One bit into her arm and placed a paw on her torso before wrenching the limb free and crunching down on it. Another buried its snout into her stomach and devoured what remained inside. Blood and flesh flew across the cage.
Over time, the wolves' snow-white fur turned crimson as they fed.
When I had seen enough—
Step.
I turned around. And headed back down the corridor toward the metal gate.
There were still more corpses left.
But my mind kept returning to what I had seen—to the wolves devouring the bodies one after another.
And I understood.
This is what awaits you if you lose.
This is where death brings you.
This is what you become.
Food for the beasts.