Ren opened his eyes to darkness.
The same damp walls. The same musty air. The faint clinking of distant chains echoed from somewhere deeper inside.
Still here...
He slowly sat up, still hugging his thin blanket, when the iron door creaked open.
Keva stepped inside . Her boots echoed coldly on the stone floor.
"So… you've stopped shouting." Her voice was sharp, but oddly calm. "Good. New kids usually stop screaming after the first night."
Without waiting, she grabbed him by the arm and dragged him out of the room.
Ren stumbled, his bare feet scraping against the rough ground. As they turned a corner, he froze.
The hallway stretched far — filled with children, all around his age. Hundreds of them. All walking in lines. Silent. Hollow-eyed.
"Move it!" the woman snapped, kicking him in the back.
Ren stumbled forward into the line. No one spoke. No one looked at him. They just walked… toward a tall wooden door at the end of the hall.
The moment he stepped inside, he froze again.
The room was wide, dimly lit, and filled with rows of children sitting cross-legged. Instructors paced between them, shouting rules.
"Don't speak unless ordered."
"Bow when your master speaks."
"Smile if they want you to. Cry if they want you to."
Ren swallowed hard and quietly sat down next to a boy about his age. He looked nervous, but after a few moments of silence, his curiosity got the better of him.
"W-what's your name?" Ren asked in a stammer. "Where… are we?"
The boy turned to him slowly. His face was pale, his eyes dull — cold.
"...Name?" he repeated, then just stared.
Ren looked away, curling up a little.
I don't know what's happening. Where am I?
I just… I just want to go home…
Suddenly, a shadow loomed over him.
A guard.
"You. You the new kid?" the guard growled.
Ren nodded, trembling. "Y-yes…"
Before he could say more, the guard yanked the chain from his wrist and pulled him to his feet. He was dragged into a small side chamber.
Inside, a man stood, hands glowing with a sickly purple light.
"Hold him," the man said without looking up.
The guard gripped Ren's arms tightly and forced him still. Ren whimpered, too scared to fight back.
The man placed a glowing hand against Ren's neck.
"Vinctura Servitum."
A sudden burning sensation surged through Ren's throat. He gasped as a strange mark etched itself onto his skin — a ring of runes forming around his neck before fading from sight.
It was over in seconds.
The guard grunted and pulled him again.
They returned to the classroom. No one reacted. Not even the instructors. As if this was normal.
Three hours passed.
Then a bell rang
"Canteen!" someone shouted. "Move!"
Ren followed the line into another room, where bowls of watery stew were handed out. He took one and sat down next to another boy.
As he lifted the spoon to his lips, the boy beside him spoke.
"I'm Finn," he said quietly. "You new?"
Ren gave a slow nod, still shaking. "Y-yeah…"
"Who was that man?" he asked. "The one with… the glowing hands?"
Finn sighed. "That's Noro Malven. A dark mage. He's the one who puts the seals on us."
Ren's eyes widened. "There's… magic in this world?"
Finn gave a dry chuckle. "Yeah. And not all of it's good."
They talked for a while after that — not much, but enough for Ren to feel… not alone.
The bell rang again.
"Back to the cells," Finn said. "Come on. I'll show you."
They walked side by side down the corridor. The guard opened a rusted door, shoved them inside, and locked it behind them with a loud clang.
Ren sat down quietly, heart still pounding.
Finn leaned back against the wall and, after a pause, began to speak.
"I was a farmer's son once. We lived on the border of the kingdom. It was peaceful… simple."
"Then one night… demons came. Out of nowhere. They tore through everything. My family… everyone I knew... was slaughtered."
"I tried to protect my mother, but… she pushed me off a cliff near our farm. The river carried me away."
He went silent for a moment.
"When I woke up… I was in chains. Just like you."
Ren stared at him, stunned.
"How can you… still smile?" he asked softly. "After all that?"
Finn gave a small, sad smile.
"Because if I cry, if I break… they win."
"My loved ones wouldn't want me to stay broken. Once I get out of here… I'll make sure no one else feels this pain again."
Before Ren could answer, a loud bang struck the bars.
"Keep quiet in there!" a guard barked.
Both boys flinched. Then, without a word, they curled beneath their thin blankets.
The cell went quiet.
And slowly, sleep took them both — two broken kids under one roof of chains.