Kapitel 9: Breakfast?

"Never what?" Lilia's voice rang out as she noticed Alice's serious expression. While her face was always serious without much emotion, her eyes betrayed a lot of what she thought inside. Lilia felt chills just looking at her. For a girl like Alice, even for the short time they've known each other, Lilia didn't think she had such hostility within her.

Everyone has their own story, especially if they ended up in a place like the slave coliseum, but Lilia couldn't deny that she was curious about Alice.

"Oh. Sorry, just thinking… about what happened before here." Alice shook her head as she paused for a bit, half-way through her sentence. Just calling those people family made her want to throw up in revulsion.

"Hmm, I'm assuming from your reaction, you don't want to think about them anymore." Lilia chuckled as Alice nodded in response.

"What about you? Did you hate… people before here too?"

Hearing this, Lilia paused. Flashes of her past flickered in her mind. The sight of a boy's body, the visions of a girl younger than her, both sharing her features. The smell of iron drifting through the air as she was covered head to toe in blood overtook her senses for a moment.

Clenching her arms tightly, Lilia forced a smile and nodded.

"Yes, I hated it. I hated it a lot. It's why I'm here after all. But enough about our past. What do you think they'll have us fight tomorrow?" Lilia asked, changing the subject. She'd rather not take the time to dwell on her past if she can help it.

"Maybe something weaker than Grave Robber. But stronger than the dog." Alice guessed.

However, if the enemy was indeed something stronger than the Hound she killed earlier, things were going to be much harder than before. Alice had never trained her body. She didn't ever get to learn any combat techniques to help her survive such a situation either.

The only reason she won yesterday was due to drinking the beast's blood along with her perception seeing an increase. If the Hound was a little smarter or if Alice made a single fatal mistake, she would be a corpse in the arena right now.

"Maybe. But I'm guessing we might have to eventually fight other slaves." Lilia replied in a low voice while eyeing the rest of the captives.

"I don't know the exact details of what goes on in this place but I have heard of slaves being pitted against one another on a whim. I know you showed no reaction to the body of the guy that died to the Lily AB, but have you ever killed anyone?" Lilia asked, her voice sounding serious.

Hearing this, Alice paused.

Did she ever kill anyone? Never. Did she think about it? Plenty of times. But thinking and acting are two very different things. The feeling of extinguishing a life with your own hands, seeing the soul fade from their eyes as it loses its light amidst fear and desperation — Alice doesn't think she could do it. Not unless it was towards her old family.

If she could help it, she would rather not fight. Yet for the sake of survival, she must revel in such acts to live. Thinking to herself for a long moment, she eventually opened her mouth.

"Never killed. But if killing means I live, I will do it."

Seeing Alice's determination, Lilia couldn't help but feel pity for the girl. If she weren't in a horrible situation herself, Lilia would have wanted to protect Alice, if possible. It would be an act of repentance for her sins in the past.

"Well, it's very unlikely, so you should be fine. As long as you can kill Abyss Beasts, that's all that matters. Just get some sleep for now. I had asked earlier about our schedule. It seems like once we wake up in the morning, we'll be given breakfast then sent off to do some labour before fighting again at night." Lilia waved her hand dismissively as she laid on her back and closed her eye.

Seeing this, Alice nodded and did the same. If they were going to be doing work early in the morning, it would be a good chance for her to build up some physical strength. She was simply too weak right now.

She hoped she wouldn't get the strange vision again since she needed a good night's rest.

That night, Alice dreamed of a time before her 10 years of pain. A time where things seemed too good to be real.

She felt as though there was something she was forgetting. Something which served as the key to everything that happened. Yet her memories were fractured. All she could remember were the sights of her birthday banquet. The moment where things went wrong.

Splintered visions of blood and death, moments where strange monstrous limbs would rupture from her own body.

Cries and screams, panicked calls of her name. A blurred vision of a woman jumping in front of her.

But she did not stop. She was an unstoppable killing machine and her thirst for blood could not be satiated.

Snapping her eyes open, Alice shot up in cold sweat as her memories of the strange dream blurred and faded. But the feelings were all real. Looking down at her hands, flashes of blood flickered through Alice's vision. She clutched her head from the pain.

"Alice? Alice! Can you hear me?"

Hearing Lilia calling her name, Alice looked over, finding the girl looking at her cage with worry on her face.

"Can hear. Sorry… bad dreams." Alice sighed as the pain faded away.

"If you're having bad dreams about it then I guess it must be pretty fresh in your mind then."

"No, 10 years old." Alice shook her head as she should've stopped having nightmares about that event by now, yet something spurred it to re-enter her dreams.

'Am I missing something from that day?' She wondered to herself.

Before their conversation could continue, a metal bowl was slammed in front of them with scratches and dents visible on the surface.

A thick, viscous fluid was slapped into the bowl with a loud splat as some of the liquid managed to get Alice in the face.

Feeling the texture and smelling the odour from the fluid, Alice felt disgust rising up from the pits of her heart. The sludge itself was creamy in colour with hints of green and purple. Strange chunks of what she imagined to be vegetables and other ingredients sunk into the fluid, unable to keep themselves buoyant.

"I'm guessing you never ate something like this, ahahaha! It's pretty much the usual food for slaves in these parts. Disgusting yet nutritious and very easy to make." Lilia laughed.

"This… Common?" Alice asked while prodding the breakfast with her finger. The fact that her finger did not sink into the fluid nor did any of it stick to her finger caused Alice to do a double take.

"Yep. It's a blended mesh of vegetables, wheat and some other leftovers they have lying around. Gives you what you need for the day and pretty damn hard for your body to chew through all of it, so it'll last the whole day." Lilia shrugged while picking up the bowl.

Even though Lilia said it was common and that she'd seen it plenty of times before, it still didn't detract from the innate disgust Alice felt towards the sludge.

"Here's a tip. Don't smell it, don't take a moment to savour how it tastes, and don't pause to chew it either. It's already blended and the chunks are small enough to just be swallowed without issue. The moment you pause and think about how it tastes you'll regret it. Here, let me show you a demonstration." Lilia explained as she gestured for Alice to look towards her direction.

Pinching her nose, she grabbed the bowl and opened her mouth wide. Drinking the sludge in one motion without taking the time to chew, she swallowed it all in one go before slamming her bowl down.

Gritting her teeth, she forced a brave smile towards Alice while tears threatened to fall from her eyes. Lilia punched herself in the chest and gave a wide, teary smile. To Alice, it looked like she almost threw up.

"Whatever you do, don't throw it up. If you do, you'll be forced to clean it. Trust me, you don't want that to happen." Lilia warned repeatedly as Alice furrowed her brows and grabbed the bowl.

Pinching her nose in the same manner as Lilia, Alice squeezed her eyes shut and opened her mouth. The moment her tongue came into contact with the sludge, she already wanted to throw it away. It was stone cold to the touch, sending shivers through her entire body. But since the sludge seemed to be the only meal they would have today, Alice could not afford to waste it no matter how much she hated it.

With tears in her eyes, Alice forced herself to swallow the sludge as the cold thick mishmash of disgusting ingredients flowed down her throat before entering her stomach. She could feel where the food went due to the difference in temperature. She tried her best not to gag or retch. The moment any of that happened, Alice didn't think she could hold herself back from throwing up.

"You can do it Alice! Just a bit left!" Lilia cheered, praying hard that Alice could get used to the food for the time they were in the colosseum.

Gritting her teeth, Alice swallowed the last mouthful and slammed her bowl down before looking towards Lilia.

While her face was stone cold like before, the pain in her eyes and the slight redness to her cheeks from holding everything in betrayed her inner thoughts and her anguish from having to eat this type of food.

Giving Alice a thumbs up, Lilia had to admit that the fact that she didn't throw up on her first meal was impressive already.

AUTORENGEDANKEN
Reili

Edited by: Tales Bringer

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Kapitel 10: Under The Coliseum

With breakfast over, the two had a few short moments to themselves before needing to work.

According to Lilia, there were three types of labour slaves were forced to do in these parts. First was labour on the ships that entered the Slaughter Docks. Slaves would be responsible for carrying parts of the cargo to their superiors.

That was usually left to the combat slaves either belonging to an owner or those who haven't been sold yet. They were, after all, slaves who had their physique enhanced by sigils or blood.

Since neither Alice nor Lilia belonged to this group of slaves, they weren't going to help out on the docks.

The second type of labour was performed by the carrier slaves. Hunters will often temporarily hire these slaves to help them, whether that be carrying their luggage or helping them hunt. Until they earn enough to buy a slave outright, they would usually borrow them.

Naturally, if a slave dies out in the field, the Hunter would have to pay a penalty. But compared to losing one's life in the wild, letting a slave die in the Hunter's place was a much easier option. Thus, the casualty rate of slaves was high.

"Both of us have been sponsored, so we won't be getting this type of job either. After all, if a slave one of the VIPs has their eyes on died, it'll bring bad rep for the hosts of this place. Hence why it's most likely we'll get the third type of labour. I suppose we can call it the easiest type." Lilia explained while scratching her cheek.

"We just have to help out whereever we can. It can be deep in the mining shafts or helping out at an apothecary. Depending on what's available that day, it could be easier or harder." Lilia shrugged.

"You know lots." Alice couldn't help but appreciate Lilia's knowledge.

"Ahaha, well it's nothing. I was a slave before arriving in this place so I've already been through a bunch of these things. I'm not sure how things work in this city since it's a new place but it shouldn't be too different."

"Even so. Still knowledge." Alice reaffirmed as Lilia nodded.

"It is indeed still knowledge." Lilia puffed her chest out.

Looking at Alice's honest eyes and slight hints of curiosity, Lilia couldn't help but be reminded of her own sister. Despite Alice's appearance, she was more akin to a young teen with her mindset.

Lilia didn't know what caused such a disparity between her actions and appearance but it was most likely something along the lines of confinement. One that didn't allow her to interact with others.

Either way, Lilia wanted to make life a little easier for Alice if she could.

They didn't have to wait long. A man dressed in an all black outfit with a silver chest piece, shoulder guards, and wrist guards approached their cage.

Grabbing a chain, he secured it against their collars and opened the door of both cages. Without saying anything, he tugged the chain and turned around, dragging the two against their will.

Alice noticed that Lilia was being oddly quiet, her usually cheerful disposition nowhere to be seen as she stared at the ground.

'They'll probably treat us worse if they see us being happy.' Alice mused. It was the only explanation for Lilia's actions she could think of.

With the two of them following the man without saying a single word, they were led through the facilities of the Coliseum. As they walked through the place, Alice spotted the main arena through the gaps of the wooden walls. Most of the obstacles they had placed there during the events couldn't be seen anymore. Furthermore, the area had been repurposed into a marketplace.

Whether that was the main market for citizens or the black market where underground trade occurred, Alice wasn't sure.

Glancing away from the arena, Alice saw waves of workers moving back and forth. Blacksmiths in the red hue of the smithy hammered away at metal collars while Abyssal Beasts were chained up in cages, awaiting harnesses.

Apothecaries extracted the blood of Abyss Beasts while keeping them alive, large Bruisers with iron cages over their heads guarded the entrance to each facility, and mysterious cloaked figures wandered around the place, making their way toward the slave quarters.

'They're probably here to buy slaves without letting people know their identity.' Alice thought to herself. While she wasn't sure about the overall slave system and the public opinion on it, Alice could still imagine that the cloaked figures probably didn't want to parade around town letting everyone know they bought a slave.

But those were just her own thoughts.

Once they were opposite the slave quarters on the other side of the building, the two were led into an elevator that sent them underground.

The elevator was running on the same red liquid Alice had seen on the conveyor belts that sent the cages towards the arena during her first day here.

If she remembered correctly, all of this was due to 'Abyss Engineering', running on blood.

Descending into the depths of the coliseum, Alice could feel the temperature drop as water droplets formed on the rock walls surrounding the elevator.

The echo of machinery from above slowly faded out into the distance with the sound of shifting gears ringing ever louder in the silence.

Neither Alice nor Lilia made a single peep. The person leading them away was silent as well.

They assumed he would explain their job to them once they get to the bottom.

'How far are we even going…' Alice thought to herself with a frown as the lights around the elevator flickered to life, illuminating the three of them in an orange hue.

Strangely, the rocks surrounding them lit up with a fluorescent green colour in the presence of light.

Turning to Lilia to see if she knew what was going on, the curious light in the older girl's eyes told Alice everything she needed to know.

Lilia didn't know where they were.

Once they reached the bottom, the man tugged their chains once more. He didn't even let the two admire their surroundings. The girls didn't imagine a place like this even existed.

There was a single river flowing through the cave, reflecting the soft rays of light emitted by glowing bugs on the ceiling. Large stalagmites surrounded them with the rhythmic sound of water dripping every so often from the ceiling. Above, the stalactites slowly faded into a strange, translucent crystal that gathered a clear fluid which coalesced into an orb of water and splashed into the rocks below.

In the distance, lanterns had been set up to light up the cave. The flames inside flickered against a soft gust of wind that flowed through the cave. With each flicker, the cave would shine with the fluorescent green Alice saw on the way down.

In the presence of the glowing rocks, there was a strange fluid mixed into the river that lit it up with a neon blue, turning the ordinary body of water into an ephemeral sight that flowed like graceful silk.

In all her years trapped within the Zenia prison, she had never heard or imagined such a scene.

How much of the world had she missed? How many sights like this exist in the world?

Clutching her chest, she could feel a fire burning within. A desire to see more of this sight. She wanted to witness the beauty of the world she lived in.

Seeing Alice's enraptured gaze, Lilia couldn't help but chuckle. She found it rather cute how Alice was so enamoured by such a sight. Though she wasn't any better since this was the first time she had seen something like this as well.

With the two of them standing still, the man frowned and gave the chain a hard tug, causing Alice to fall forward while Lilia barely managed to keep herself on her feet.

"Stop dawdling." He uttered coldly. There was a clear sign of disdain in his eyes as though he was questioning why he had to be the one to show them where to go.

"Sorry." Lilia apologised while helping Alice up.

"Lets keep up with him. The more we annoy him the worse it'll get for us." She whispered to Alice while dusting her skirt.

Nodding her head in agreement, Alice gave the cavern one last glance before jogging behind the man.

Leading the two through the cavern, they soon arrived at a man made entrance surrounded by lanterns that illuminated the surroundings.

The entrance was in the form of a large set of stone doors that had the visage of a multi-limbed beast in a low crouching position. Strange glyphs and patterns surrounded the beast with a single red jewel serving as the eye of the beast.

Pushing the door open without any issues, he revealed a prison of sorts, hiding a myriad of Abyss Beasts within the cells, chained against walls.

Their bodies were malnourished and they lacked energy, a clear sign of having their blood repeatedly extracted for their effects.

Alice could even spot a large cluster of Vampire Lilies attached to one of the walls with several lilies already wilting in the darkness.

However this wasn't their stop. Their destination was much further into the prison.