God’s Cube

It rained heavily from the somber-looking sky. To the boy just standing in the storm, it did not matter at all. The rain soaked him from his brown hair to his toes, but he just stood there, uncaring about the water that had already saturated the ground to a muddy mess. He sank deeper into the mud, but he hardly noticed. His senses were completely overwhelmed by something far worse than the weather. A foul smell that clawed its way into his nose, dragging him back to the grim reality.

He was only thirteen, yet his green eyes were cold. Despite the chilly air, his body gave way to no reaction, no shiver. His body was scrawny, but if you were to look deeper, you’d see the initial steps towards a proper development of a well defined body. The knife he held was totally heavy with blood. It dripped from the blade in slow, thick drops, mixing with the rainwater and mud, making the ground look a gross shade of red. He just stared at it, his young eyes showed no emotion, as if the scene around him was just mundane. He finally looked away from his knife and stared at this scene.

Bodies lay everywhere around him, cold, still, their faces pale in the rain. Kids, all kids, no older than he was. Their skin bore stab wounds, some of which he knew were caused by his knife, others were from other kids who lay now just dead at his feet. He had known them-some by name, others he just knew their faces. They had quite literally grown up together, trained from birth for an unknown objective, held by unknown men.

Then, above the sound of the rain, a slow and deliberate clapping evolved. Bringing him back to reality. The boy turned his head sharply, tension burgeoning in him born of fear and recognition. Emotions instilled in him from birth at the sound of this clap. The mission was now over, in came his tamer. 

"You were always my best product," 

he said, the tone of his voice replete with satisfaction. The man speaking was nothing more than a hologram. Displayed from a small cylinder object in the hands of a fully armored masked man. 

“Congratulations, you’re now ready to challenge the cube. The youngest ever to do so. Don’t disappoint me like the previous generations and come back alive. We’ll be able to achieve so much.” 

The man holding the hologram then turned it to himself, and spoke briefly with it. Afterwards, he signaled the boy to come over, and they both left. The kid spent a few days in the now empty dorms he had grown up with, until one day, a group of men all dressed in black came to pick him up. They brought him to a side of the facility he had never been to, filled with scientists in white robes walking around with piles and piles of documents. Eventually, one of his escorts gave him a holographic cylinder, turned it on and signaled him to go inside. 

“See that cube my kid? You’ll be tested inside. Succeed, make me proud. Let’s make history together.” 

Those were the parting words of his tamer, whom, throughout all his life, he had only ever seen as that small blue holographic. Speaking to him and the other kids, of dreams of grandeur and success. Words that meant little to him.

The boy stood there, his face completely blank, staring as the hologram of his tamer vanished. The little cylinder he held in his hand weighed heavy, but he didn't give that one bit of afterthought. He didn't really give anything much attention. Feelings, thoughts, they don't matter. He had to just follow orders. That's all it was, that was who he was.

Before him stood the Cube. It was huge, intimidating, lighting up the room with a soft, red pulsing glow. The Cube was alive in its own way, a weird and powerful presence that from what he was told, had spread throughout the world, daring new challengers to step inside. From what his tamer had said, it had taken many lives before. But to the kid, it was not something that created fear. Fear wasn't something he got. The order was given, and he was gonna follow it. As he approached the Cube, his bare feet made no sound, even on the cold metallic floor. Noiselessly, the door of the Cube slid open, disclosing a pitch-black void from within. The kid stepped inside.

Behind him, the door hissed shut and clicked, sealing him inside. Inside, the Cube was empty. It was completely dark, hollow, silent. He didn't move, just waited. There was nothing to think about, to worry about-the space around him was as empty as his head. They'd told him that from the instant he stepped inside, the trial would start, the Cube would test him, push him to the limit. But nothing happened.

Time had passed, seconds, minutes, hours, the kid had no idea. Then, out of the silence, an extremely loud irritating noise was suddenly heard. An alarm boomed into the void. The Cube's systems sounded as if completely failing. Red lights flickered on and off, and the pitch black was illuminated. Outside the Cube, chaos ensued. Gunfire erupted, the sound muffled by distance, indistinct yet closer by the second. It seemed explosions shook the very walls around the Cube as they rumbled through the facility. Inside, there was only the blaring alarm and the smothering darkness. The boy did not even flinch at the mayhem beyond the walls. That was not his problem.

The alarm stopped suddenly, and it was really quiet afterwards. Then, this voice, cold and robotic, came from the darkness.

“Trial complete. Congratulations, enhancement initiated.”

The boy's eyelids fluttered, his body suddenly weakening, his consciousness slipping. He made no resistance; he was not able to. He just crumpled to the ground, feeling that cold surface press against his skin as he started to zone out. The Cube's energy kicked in, starting the whole process that was about to change him forever. Right before he passed out completely, the kid felt one last thing, it wasn't fear or pain, but this weird, unfamiliar warmth spreading all over his body.

Then, there was nothing.

Several days had passed before he reopened his eyes. When he regained consciousness, he found himself in a completely white room. Laid down in a soft bed, softer than anything he had ever laid on. Around him were many unfamiliar faces, some of which noticed his eyes opening up and looked at him. They all showed different emotions. Some were rejoiced, some showed pity, others were scared. He didn’t understand them well, but he knew his life had just gone off script.