The Earth After Rebirth

Her back was turned to the bars of her cell. She slowly dropped to a sitting position. Legs slightly shaking. It was only hitting her now that she had almost murdered someone she hoped to go out for drinks with.

Since she had family outside, or hoped they were still alive, she had to be a little ray of sunshine amidst the madness that they had to endure all throughout those years.

"Hey idiot, are you awake?" She yelled from across her cell.

Though her voice was drowned out by the chanting of the crowd. "We want the gladiator. Our hunger satiator." The chorus was only two lines but it was simple and catchy.

"Zak! Zak! Don't you dare die on me! Zak!" The silence the met her cries made her the more paranoid. She couldn't help but think she probably went too far.

"Will you shut it?" A deep voice from the other cell sounded.

"Is that right? Am I disturbing your moment of glory, gladiator?" She mocked.

The bars from the other cell rattled, which sent bits of electricity as warning. "Don't call me that!" He bellowed.

"Why not? You broke your promise. You weren't supposed to kill anyone."

His jaw clenched. Anger coursing through his veins, mixed with bloodlust, Lil could practically smell it.

They were the oldest there but the gladiator was the strongest. He could snap them into twigs if he so chose. The sad part about it, he wasn't always like that.

Lil remembers clearly when he first came to the ring. He was thin and tall. Although he was in a predicament, the light in his eyes didn't seem to dwindle, not for anything. He had told them he planned to escape and get back to his family.

This was also when they made the pact to never kill each other. Something the gladiator took to heart and was insanely grateful, since he wasn't much of a fighter.

But everything changed after a month upon his arrival. The change was most strange, it wasn't gradual, one minute he was a normal man trying to get back to his family, then he just became a killing machine. The light behind his eyes didn't exist anymore. There was no reasoning with him, not anymore.

He lost his outgoing personality and became reserved. The first kill was hard on everyone, regardless of how much they begged for him to stop, he never relented. He was a man on a mission and he intended to see it through.

This made him the least popular amongst the prisoners, though it made him very popular with the clients that came to watch. He gained privileges the others didn't have through this.

Although he wasn't keen on using them. It was all useless in his eyes. He did enjoy the food, which was first rate compared to what others ate.

They despised him with every fibre of their bodies. They had started to doubt that he was one of them, someone from the lower district the way he sucked up to their oppressors.

"You don't know a damn thing!" He cried.

He wanted to rip his chest open, so they could see his bleeding heart. He couldn't talk, not about anything he'd went through. If he tried he would be killed before the thoughts even escaped his lips.

None of the prisoners knew his suffering. They just knew the product of it. Which was a terror to be reckoned with, nobody wanted to be pitted against the Gladiator, it was a sure death sentence.

When he arrived here more than a year ago, he was prodded and tested. He was the closest thing they were looking for amongst those who were there, of course there was a chance he could've died like many before him.

But the upper echelons of the ring were willing to take the risk. They couldn't have possibly create a super killer without involving themselves in some of the most atrocious studies in human history.

He was the unfortunate one to almost tick every box. They drained him of all emotions, crippling his spirit so it was beyond repairing. The injections also gave him muscles while he maintained his height.

They were all more amazed when he refused their orders to kill. But promised they'd let him go to his family once he was done here, from then on they didn't need to tell him twice.

That's when they noticed that, they couldn't truly erase a humans emotions. Especially one that was a strong bond between families.

Of course the prisoners didn't know all of that, all they saw was a product of murder. He killed seemingly without remorse, he tortured, everything on the outside seemed like he did emotionlessly.

They also didn't know that, with each of his kill, he carves a line in his cell and crosses it. It was his way to pay respects, to show remorse. But he couldn't express it in words.

"Let him be Lil, it's every man for himself in here. He doesn't owe use anything." Zak sounded very tired from the other side.

"Are you okay?" She quickly turned the other way when she heard the familiar voice.

"I'll live, most importantly you tried to kill me." He teased.

"Huh? I—I w‐would never..." She blushed.

He got up grunting, clearly still in pain. "The medicine seems to be working rather slow."

Lil had a worried expression on her face. It wasn't the medicine, he was simply getting old. While they were much evolved and had a longer life span and stronger bodies, fighting almost every day had its own effects. Especially those who had been doing for over 10 years.

"Don't look at me like Lilias, I'm not dying any time soon." He smiled briskly.
Enjoy new adventures from m-v l'e|m,p| y- r

The fights in the ring still went on, but the main guy everyone was anticipating had yet to grace their presents. The gladiator sat far from the bars now.

He had his elbows rest on his thighs, his hands supporting his head, comfortably resting his chin. He waited, he knew this was about the time he went on. And sure enough his cell bars disappeared, signaling for him to get into the ring.

He slowly got up, sighed deeply and just as he stepped out of the cell, a voice with a name he hadn't heard for a year called to him.

"Jin! Kill him!" Lil cried.

This match was a little special, it was most unusual, but one of the rich volunteered themselves to fight the gladiator!