The young man walked through the silent streets, carrying a shopping bag. His eyes were fixed on the ground, and his footsteps echoed through the stillness of the night. The darkness around him seemed deep, and he was lost in his own thoughts.
—I should've bought that new game...— he murmured to himself, distracted. —But... there's something more important I need to do, right? I don't know... sometimes I end up postponing things...
Without noticing, the street ahead grew darker and darker until he realized he had entered a narrow alley. The only light came from a distant streetlamp, its light faint and flickering.
—Huh? Where... where am I? Did... I get lost?
He looked around. The alley seemed to be getting narrower, and a sense of discomfort started to grow within him. His heart began to race, as if something was watching him.
—I'd better get out of here...
Suddenly, the sound of cans falling echoed through the still night. The young man turned quickly, his eyes wide with fear.
—Who's there?
The sound spread, coming from several different points, echoing off the walls around him. Fear started to rise in his chest as the darkness seemed to close in even more.
—Who is it??!!
The sound stopped abruptly. A heavy silence filled the place, but something felt wrong. A shadow appeared to his left. He saw it and, in an impulse, fell to the ground, paralyzed by fear.
—Don't hurt me!!!— he screamed, shutting his eyes tightly, waiting for the worst.
When he opened his eyes, he saw something completely unexpected. A small black cat with green eyes glowing like emeralds was there, calmly watching him.
—Meow...
Relief flooded the young man, and he let out a nervous laugh, trying to calm himself.
—I can't believe I got scared by such a cute little thing like you...
But before he could relax, the sound of falling cans returned, louder and closer now. He quickly turned, trying to see where it was coming from, but there was nothing. Trembling, he looked back at the cat.
His expression shifted from relief to dread when he noticed something strange. He looked at his hand and... it was no longer there.
—AHHHHHHHHHH! MY HAND!!!
Panic took over him. He tried to stand, but pain and terror made him fail. He looked at his left leg and saw that it was disconnected from his body.
—AHHHHHHHHHH! HELP MEEE!!!
He crawled, desperate, his screams of pain echoing through the silent night. Tears began to fall as he looked at the night sky between the tall buildings, the distant and indifferent stars.
Suddenly, a shadow appeared in front of him, emerging from the darkness. He tried to scream for help, but his voice failed him, only a whisper came out.
—H-help...
The figure advanced, wielding a sword that looked more like a rusty pipe. The presence of the creature made the young man tremble with fear. He tried to crawl backward, but he had no strength left.
The shadow spoke in a cold, relentless voice:
—Finally found you. Now... I'm going to send you to where you should never have left.
The sword rose, reflecting the little light from the streetlamp, and came down with a quick and fatal motion. The young man's vision darkened before he could understand what was happening.
He woke up.
In a different place.
In a different world.
Standing in front of a homeless man near a market, just looking around, Shizu wonders where he is. When his mind recalls everything that happened, he drops to his knees and begins to vomit. His eyes shake, and his head hurts; he's about to pass out when the homeless man yells:
— Hey, damn it!!! You vomited on my bed!! You're gonna pay!!
Feeling sick, Shizu looks at the homeless man's bed and sees an open, dirty cardboard box on the ground, then asks:
— Is this your bed?
— Of course, you idiot!!
Regretting the question, Shizu puts his hand in his pocket, grabs a coin, and hands it to the man. The old man scowls and punches him in the face, sending him flying toward an orange stall.
— W-what the hell?! Why did you hit me??
The homeless man, who was sitting, stands up and says:
— Bastard, you puke on my bed and give me fake money?! I'll teach you a lesson!
The boy gets up.
— You wanna fight, huh? Bring it on! Just because you're old doesn't mean you—
The homeless man disappears like the wind and reappears in front of the young man, punching him in the face and sending him flying into another stall, nearly knocking him out.
— Agh... how... can he be so fast...
Shizu says, slowly getting up. He charges at the old man, trying to hit him, but the homeless man easily dodges and punches him in the stomach, making him kneel in pain. Then, the homeless man kicks his face, knocking him down again. Grabbing the boy by the leg, he throws him into another stall, destroying it. The homeless man approaches the body and checks if he's passed out, but the young man, fiercely, turns with a piece of wood and hits him on the head, saying:
— Asshole! I hit you good! Wait, isn't this elder abuse...?
Standing, the homeless man glares at him with anger, knocks Shizu to the ground, and starts punching him nonstop. He punches him several times, causing the boy to bleed. The people, who had already been uneasy, start panicking and shout for the guards.
The homeless man doesn't stop, and Shizu is losing consciousness, but the old man yells:
— SO?! IT'S NOT WRONG TO DESTROY SOMEONE ELSE'S BED?? I'M ALREADY STARVING, AND NOW WHAT?! I'M SUPPOSED TO SLEEP ON THE GROUND??
The homeless man delivers one last punch, the strongest of all, and everything goes black for Shizu.
"I'm going to... die...?" — Hey, boy— "I don't want..." — Hey! "I don't want to die!!!" — HEY, BOY!!!
Shizu wakes up in front of the homeless man again.
— Hey, kid, you alright?
He looks at the homeless man, confused, not understanding anything.
— Are you gonna keep staring at me? Am I that good-looking?
Shizu is startled and quickly backs away.
— Eh... s-sorry...
Walking away with one question hammering in his mind:"Did I... die?"
After walking for a while, he spots a guard near the city wall and goes to ask for information.
— Um... Hello... I'm kind of... lost. Do you know the name of this city? Or if there's somewhere to spend the night?
The guard, without hesitation, throws him against a wall and points a sword at him, and Shizu raises his hands in surrender.
— Are you crazy? Do you even know where you are, kid? You're not from here!! How did you end up here? Answer me!
Frightened, Shizu stammers:
— Eh... I-I'm Shizu Ma-Mark.
The guard, subtly, continues:
— Alright, Mark. Where are you from and how did you end up here? Tell me!
Scared of the situation, Shizu closes his eyes and quickly responds:
— I-I'm not from here! I'm from a very, very far place!... Eh... I just came for a visit and... and I was... robbed! Yeah!! I was robbed and now I have nothing!
The guard asks, now with sadness:
— Were you robbed here or outside?
Scared, Shizu answers:
— O-outside...
The guard lowers his sword and sighs:
— Kid, you're an idiot...
"Idiot?" Shizu wonders.
The guard, still with a face full of sadness, begins to speak:
— Kid... this city is Babadar City... or rather, The Prison City.
— P-prison city...?
The guard sits down and begins to tell the story of the city:
A long time ago, this city was a medium-sized village where many people lived happily and peacefully. But one day, everything changed.A horde of goblins invaded the city, killing people and destroying homes and buildings. The villagers died quickly, and their families were reduced to nothing.After a while, an army arrived — a large group of people — exterminating the monsters one by one. It was Ana Babadar's army!After the defeat of the goblins, she proclaimed herself the hero of the people, and everyone thanked her, swearing allegiance.Babadar built an empire on top of the village, making it grow little by little.But time passed... and with it, changes came. Good changes? No... terrible changes!Babadar went insane!She started raising taxes: from 10% to 15%, from 15% to 20%. Everyone was forced to pay — if they didn't pay, they had two possible fates: be given to the goblins or executed by guillotine!Many couldn't afford to pay and ended up in the streets. Others died of hunger.This is the sad reality of this city.
The guard finishes:
— Got it, kid? Now you can't leave here... or escape.
With a look of disbelief and horror, Shizu says:
— Prison... city? No... it can't be.