章 3: A Step into the Unknown
Chapter: A Step into the Unknown
Year, 840
Weeks had passed, and life remained the same. The underworld wasn't just a network of tunnels, though that's how it felt when you spent every waking hour in them. No, it was much larger. The city above might have flourished in daylight, but the underworld thrived in darkness. It was an entire civilization buried beneath the surface, stretching far beyond what anyone up top could imagine. An underground city where crime ruled and the slavers were its kings.
He was just a cog in the machine, a nameless boy who had long since stopped keeping track of time. The underworld wasn't just oppressive—it was eternal. The walls of the darkened city held secrets no one dared to speak of, and every step he took felt like it was leading him deeper into a place he'd never escape from.
That was until people started disappearing.
At first, it seemed random. A slave would be there one day and gone the next. The others said nothing, too afraid to ask questions. But he couldn't help noticing. The whispers grew. He overheard the older slaves, those who had survived for years in this hell, muttering about being sold. "Taken topside," they'd say, their voices tinged with a strange mix of hope and dread.
'Taken topside... What does that even mean?' His mind wandered as he worked, hauling stones from one part of the city to another, feet dragging on the cobblestone streets. It didn't matter where they were going. The work was always the same. But being sold? Was that worse than being stuck down here, or was it a way out?
The thought of being sold didn't scare him like it did the others. He knew nothing could be worse than the underworld.
One day, everything changed.
A few days later, it finally happened.
He had just finished another exhausting shift when one of the guards approached him, the man's cruel eyes gleaming in the torchlight. "You," he barked, yanking him to his feet. "Time to go."
A jolt of fear shot through him, but mixed with something else—anticipation. His first instinct was to resist, to fight, but he didn't. He knew better. There was no fighting them, not here. He had learned that much. His pulse quickened, but he kept his face expressionless, eyes down. He wouldn't give them the satisfaction of seeing his fear.
On the way, he saw the other slaves while they in turn watched him. Some with curiosity, some pity. But he didn't too much about them, not like he had the luxury to. They made their way to their destination, one which he didn't know what it would bring him to.
That's when he saw her.
She was unlike anyone he'd ever seen in the underworld. Tall and imposing, she walked with an air of authority, her elaborate dress and thick layers of makeup making her look completely out of place in the grime of the city. Her face was painted with deep reds and pale whites, her eyes sharp and calculating beneath thick lashes. Behind her, the guards flanked her like a personal army, their expressions hard and unyielding.
She was looking at him.
"Is this the one?" she asked, her voice carrying over the place. She pointed directly at him, her long, crimson-painted nails gleaming in the dim light. His blood ran cold.
One of the slavers, a burly man with a scar running down his face, stepped forward. " That's him, Small for his age, but strong enough. He'll fetch a fair price."
She approached, her eyes scanning him up and down. He felt exposed, like an animal being inspected. Her perfume, sickly sweet, filled the air around him. "Hmm," she mused, tilting her head as if weighing her options.
The woman circled him, her eyes scanning his thin frame, her long nails clicking against her sleeves as she walked. "Hmm," she mused, clearly unimpressed. "A bit small, isn't he? I expected more... but he'll grow."
He stayed silent, his stomach twisting with a mix of anxiety and curiosity. He wasn't sure if he should be relieved or terrified. She seemed strange, but she wasn't one of the slavers from the underworld. That, at least, was something.
"I'll take him," she said with a dismissive wave, already turning away. "Come along, boy. Time to leave this place behind."
The guard shoved him forward, and he stumbled after her, his mind racing. 'Leave this place? Is it really happening? Am I actually getting out?'.
The streets were wide, paved with stone and bustling with life. Merchants shouted from stalls selling everything from food to fabrics, their voices mixing with the sound of hooves clattering on the stone roads. Children ran through the streets, laughing and playing, while women gossiped at the fountains, their faces soft and warm in the sunlight.
The world was so much louder up here, more vibrant. It felt like another universe compared to the cold, dark underworld he had known for so long. The sheer noise of it overwhelmed him, but he took it in with wide eyes, trying to memorize every detail.
They were travelling in a carriage, noble's carriage, a luxurious, ornate vehicle, clearly a symbol of wealth and power.
On the way, he noticed those imposing walls standing all around the large city, meters long casting a shadow over the city due to the sunset.
He blinked once, then twice and then again.
"The Walls".
Massive stone structures loomed high above the earth , towering impossibly far into the sky. His heart began to race. He recognized them--how could he not?
They were etched into his memories from his previous life, one spent watching the Attack on Titan anime from the comfort of his old world. But this... this couldn't be real.
"No way" he whispered, his voice catching in his throat. "It can't be the Walls?"
"I'm... I'm in Attack on Titan?" The realization hit him like a truck, staring up at the towering walls that once only existed on his TV screen.
His mind raced back to what he knew of the series- titans, soldiers, endless death, and terror. The last place anyone would want to be reborn into. A world of endless conflict, and he was now a part of it all.
"I have to be dreaming," he muttered, trembling slightly. "This isn't real," even though he knew he wasn't because of all the things he experienced before.
"Hey, kid!" A voice called out to him, startling him. The woman who bought him looked at him. "Stop spouting nonsense and sit quietly."
By the time they reached a large, ornate house at the edge of Extravagant town, he had already come to terms with his new environment. It was almost nighttime now. The woman led him inside, where the air smelled faintly of perfume and incense, a far cry from the stench of the tunnels.
She finally turned to him, her expression unreadable. "You're mine now," she said flatly. "I've paid for you, so you'll do as I say."
He met her gaze, unsure of how to respond. 'I'm still a slave', he realized, the weight of the words sinking in. But I'm not underground. I can breathe up here.
"What do you want me to do?" he asked, his voice low but steady.
The woman's eyes gleamed with something akin to amusement. "You'll find out soon enough. For now, just know that you belong to me. I have plans for you, and you'll do well to follow them."
He didn't reply, his mind swirling with questions. What kind of plans? What does she want? But he knew better than to push for answers right now.
Instead, he just nodded and kept his mouth shut, falling back into the silence he had mastered in the tunnels. It was a survival instinct now, ingrained in him. But even as he remained outwardly calm, his thoughts raced.
As the days passed, he adjusted to life above ground. The woman, who introduced herself as Madame Rose, didn't treat him harshly—at least not like the slavers in the tunnels. He had a bed now, a real one, and meals that weren't just a thin bowl of gruel. The house was large, filled with rooms he wasn't allowed to enter, but there was a certain freedom in being able to walk outside, to feel the wind on his face again.
But Rose's behavior never stopped bothering him. She was polite, almost kind at times, but there was something dark lurking beneath the surface. She was too careful, too watchful, always keeping an eye on him even when she pretended not to. He saw the way she spoke to others—always with a smile that never reached her eyes.
'She's hiding something. I don't know what it is yet, but I can feel it'.
Despite the uncertainty, he couldn't help but feel a small flicker of joy every time he stepped outside. He was no longer a prisoner underground, no longer trapped in the eternal night of the tunnels. He could see the sky again, even if it was clouded with doubts about Madame Elara's true intentions.
For now, that was enough.
But deep down, he knew this new life came with its own dangers. And whatever Madame Rose was planning for him, it wasn't going to be good.
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