It had been three days since the venerated Roman Empire defeated one of the numerous vassal empires under its command. And with the destruction of the Gracian Empire, my world inexorably descended into a nightmare.
I could still remember the day — the cold, chilling moments when those who emerged from the horizon weren’t clad in sky-blue armor, but in deep red. Their battle armor, stained crimson along its edges, looked like a nightmare drawn from the depths of hell.
My stomach churned at the sight. The worse had yet to come, however, as I once again witnessed the brutality of the Romans.
Bodies littered the street and smoke crawled through the shattered buildings, carrying the metallic scent of blood.
The helpless young men and women like me were taken captive, while those they deemed too old to be useful were slaughtered where they stood. Then, they gave us a fleeting, miserable hope to hold onto.
"Get admitted into the Roman Elites’ Academy and get rid of your slave status!"
However, to do that, we had to prove that we were neither worthless nor useless. And to prove our worth, we had to fight each other.
’W-we had to kill each other.’
I stared at my blood-soaked hands, the body of a familiar countryman lying beneath me. He was just fifteen. Barely older than I was. Yet he had to suffer this cruel fate. I tried to convince myself that I had been left with no other choice, even though deep down, I knew it was nothing more than a sickening attempt by my mind to justify what I had done. But to bring an end to the Romans, I would do anything. I’d be willing to give anything.
Even my humanity.
Glancing at the cheering crowd, their loud uproar for more blood pressed against my ears. The sight was sickening. However, with each enemy I slayed and each victory I accumulated, there was this strange rush of adrenaline. An eerie, unsettling want... need for more.
’Two more days. Just two more days and...’ My fists tightened, my eyes turning red from the anguish and the burning hatred. ’I will be one step closer.’
One step closer to destroying everything they held dear.
The thought filled me with dark, surging vitriol - enough to temporarily soothe the smoldering ache in my heart. Two armored men stepped forward from the black, charred gates behind me, escorting me away, down into the pits — the home of wretched beings like me, they would say.
Tak, Tak-!
A foul stench hit me the moment I stepped into the pit. Here and there, shadows lingered around us longer than they should, casting eerie distortions across the walls. In this chilling world, there was no laughter or joy, nor even any semblance of hope. Instead, all that could be felt was unending, smoldering hatred, anger, and a stubborn, almost defiant will to survive.
If only that were enough to survive.
The thought never failed to send shivers down my spine. However, the countless days I had spent in this hell, along with the countless corpses I had stepped over, to some extent, made it more bearable. Even the stench, the emotionless state of everyone around, and the sight of the bloody Roman soldiers didn’t seem so hard to take anymore.
Crack!
Thrown by one of the Roman soldiers, a slight pain jarred my sense on impact with the cold, freezing metal. The warrior stared at me, disdain written plainly across his face. He seemed to have a lot of things to say to me, however, he said nothing. Shaking his head, he gave me one final glance before walking away. His companion, unsurprisingly, wasn’t as reserved.
"Gordydamn Gracian." He spat at me, the contempt on his face visible. For a few moments, he said nothing and simply stared at me. Eventually, he turned around, glancing sternly at the pits -metal barred cells like mine- before walking away, the sound of his boots scraping against the floor.
Step. Step.
Even as his silhouette left my line of sight, I could still hear the screeching, eerie symphony. Spitting out a mouthful of blood, I sat against the freezing metal bar, my breaths coming out in short, ragged gasps.
"Ah... Hah..."
Today’s three matches, and indeed, all of them battles to the death, had taken a huge toll on me. More than I wanted to admit, they had placed an even more unbearable burden upon me: A mind consumed by guilt.
Closing my eyes, I covered my wet face as scenes of the earlier, beautiful days with my family flashed before me.
"Father. Mother." The words came out barely a whisper, the scenes of their brutal deaths flashing before my eyes. It was at that moment, as I felt rage and anguish unlike anything I had ever experienced, that something reached out from within me. Slowly, eeriely, it sought to seek the light.
At first, I couldn’t feel it.
I clenched my fists.
I didn’t want to.
Not when I’d be forced to fight against other Awakened should it come undone. And with my descent skill, I knew I stood no chance against a desperate Awakened fighting for their life, just as I would be mine. Yet, my attempts to halt it were futile.
The Pre-Awakening, born from anguish, suffering and pain, was what fueled one’s awakening, after all. A plethora of emotions that no doubt filled my heart. Perhaps that was also the reason why Awakened were quite abundant in such dire times. In an age that brought about countless deaths and disasters, and the crumbling of Empires and kingdoms.
Crack, Crack!
"Ugh!"
Stifling a groan, I felt it rise within me, subtle, imperceptible cracks spreading around it, and from within which a deep darkness crept into existence. Then, the very next instant, an unbearable pain washed over me. I gritted my teeth and clenched my hands against the floor, writhing from the agony that threatened to consume me.
The endless darkness I felt made me certain that whatever ability I’d awaken would certainly be related to darkness. However, there was something different about this darkness. Something about it that made my heart freeze in my chest.
Even more unsettling was what came with it. Something hidden, imperceptible, yet it was there. I could feel it. However, try as I might, I was unable to reach out to it.
"Akh!"
Coughing out a mouthful of blood, I felt the transformation come to an end, blood rushing through my skull as I slumped onto the floor. A loud crack echoed through the pits.
The voices of the pit members and Roman soldiers alike faded into the distance, becoming little more than muffled echoes.
Tak-! Tak—!
I could hear hurried footsteps, and I could feel a deep darkness creeping into my vision. And then... everything went dark.