The days passed by, boring repetition. It was hard to pinpoint the exact duration of time that passed since he awoke here but judging by the cycle of lights that were routinely turned on and off in the corridor-likely in tune with day and night- he could estimate that about 4 days had gone by.
Kai grew used to the barely edible slop that they were given in place of food, though Kai hardly cared about such things- food had always been just a means not a pleasure. The food was given twice a day, everyday, giving us just enough that we don't starve or dehydrate to death.
He'd given up on trying to find answers, pushing his thoughts aside to focus on observing all the happenings in this prison. Over time, he'd learned a number of things.
First, six guards patrolled the corridor daily, all just as towering and menacing to Kai's chagrin. Each concealed behind the same featureless mask that obscured their faces, which likely meant they wished to hide their identity, probably because something incredibly shady was going on here.
This was the conclusion Kai had come to after watching everything that happened here. What gave this theory basis was what he watched happen everyday, when the custodians would take one of the inmates here. They'd collect one prisoner here, every day, always the one. And of course, that prisoner would uselessly struggle to no end, while the guard callously dragged them away to who knows where.
'Though, that was probably the one thing that alleviated my boredom, but even that was getting old.'
What's more is that, none of those that were taken, ever came back, which likely meant that they were dead or worse.
But Kai, frankly couldn't care less, he was on the verge of losing his sanity, and was getting increasingly irritated with the lack of amusement he could draw from.
The soft hum of machinery echoed through the prison, jolting Kai from his thoughts. He shook his head, stirred from his curled up position in the corner of his cell, and sighed softly.
'It's that time again.'
While watching others struggle desperately to resist being dragged away, had indeed incited some morbid fascination in Kai, but the repetition of that same desperation over the course of the past 4 days had become monotonous, leaving him disappointed.
Nevertheless, it was still the only distraction from his thoughts, so he wasn't about to ignore it as he shakily stood up, dragging his shackles behind him as he proceeded to watch the show.
However, contrary to Kai's expectations, instead of the typical two guards, the gorilla and giraffe, that had undertaken the prisoner collection proceedings, on this occasion, there was a third figure alongside them.
Kai frowned, his eyes narrowing as he studied the third. The figure was another male ('I'd say the lack of female representation was borderline sexist but oh well'), his body was a lot leaner than the gorillas and shorter than the giraffes, yet the aura he seemed to exude made him seem like a much more intimidating person than any of the previous sentries here.
His attire appeared a notch above the other guards, the clothing of a higher quality and, contrary to the other guards that all strapped a standard sword around their waist, this one had a long angular weapon tied to his back. It was a broadsword.
His eyes twitched.
'A broadsword. A fucking broadsword. Did I die and go back in time? Why on earth are these archaic weapons everywhere?'
Kai resisted the urge to facepalm, frustrated at the sheer pointlessness of these outdated tools.
What truly drew his attention to the third figure, however, was the supposed featureless mask, except this one wasn't featureless. On the mask, an insignia was etched onto it. The symbol was oddly eerie, taking the shape of an inverted pentagram with an eye etched into the center of it, surrounded by undecipherable characters.
The gorilla and giraffe seemed to struggle, shifting nervously with the key, trying to unlock the cage in front of them. After a good deal of fumbling the two, finally pushed open the door, letting the third figure walk past them into the cage, exiting his field of view.
Moments later, he came out, holding a pair of chains in his hands as he strode past the nervous pair awaiting him. The chains dangled along, clanking against the metal bar as the figure dragged them out with ease while the prisoner walked out behind him.
Kai's brow twitched slightly while he observed the person from that cell. For one, 'she' was a girl, her tattered appearance in keeping with the atmosphere of this place. Her hair, a shade of vibrant pink unfit with the gloomy context, tied unceremoniously into a bun as she followed the guard without resistance. Kai couldn't help but feel intrigued at the sight, watching her closely.
He watched them carefully as they headed his way till they reached his own cell, passing it slowly.
The girl's gaze passed by, meeting his own as they stared at each other for a mere moment. Her eyes were stark, devoid of all, not scared, not desperate, just… numb. Kai's lips curled ever so slightly.
Her gaze moved on as they walked away, Kai's expression creaking as it shifted from his default, a devious idea began to seize itself in his head.
'I'd basically be asking for death if I do that…but then again, I wanted to die anyway, so what do I have to lose?'
Kai mused to himself for a moment before he sprung to action, slamming his own chains into the iron bars as hard as possible. The group turned around facing him as he opened his mouth just in time.
"Oi, asshole."
The silence that followed was deafening as all gazes fell on Kai. Ignoring them, Kai held onto the bars of his cage, calmly watching the guards in front of him.
The group had frozen in place, staring back at him in clear shock, not expecting this. Even the girl showed small signs of surprise.
The first to snap out of it was the gorilla. He huffed so hard, Kai nearly saw steam pouring out of his mask as he strode over to the cage.
"What the fuck did you just say? Say that again?"
Kai tilted his head.
"Shut up, you gorilla sized oaf, I'm not talking to you."
"Wha-!"
"I told you to shut up, didn't I,"
Kai interrupted him, calmly despite the situation he was in.
"I don't have any interest in someone who needs to compensate for their lack of intellect with muscles."
"Now, listen here, you little shit." He growled deeply.
"No, You listen, you oversized baby, I understand that your ability to understand basic words is severely lacking due to that peanut sized brain of yours, but I told you, I wasn't talking to you, so fuck off."
His mountainous body was trembling with rage as he gripped the hilt of his sword tight.
"YOU KNOW WHAT, YOU LITTLE F-"
"Stop."
That singular phrase cut through all the tension as the gorilla about to bang his chest, shrunk in size, silently staring at the source of the voice.
The man in the pentagrammed mask strode silently, ignoring the shivering mass of flesh before him as he turned towards Kai.
Kai couldn't see his face at all, but his gaze lay heavy on him, his knees shivering, sweat flowing down his temple as he faced the gaze head on.
"So, who did you want to talk to then?"
"...Well, You, you are their boss after all, you would be the one with more brains rather than the other two."
"He-"
The giraffe immediately shut his mouth at the hand of his boss.
"Yes, and how did you know I was in charge?"
"...Not exactly hard to figure out, the other two have featureless mask while you have something else…uh, the other two almost tremble around you, and avoid meeting your gaze, meaning that you are someone above them, and they fear you, which shows that you are not only their boss, but someone powerful enough to make their lives miserable if you wanted to.."
Kai's throat grew dryer the longer he spoke for, feeling his body continue to shrink under the pressure of the man's presence.
After a moment of silence, he spoke, his voice deep and cavernous.
"Ok, so what did you want to talk to me about?"
"Ah, that, yes, Take me as well."
The man paused at Kai's request.
"What?"
"You heard me, take me as well."
Suddenly, Kai's knees buckled as blood sputtered from his mouth, coloring the muddy ground below him as an enormous pressure descended on his body, pushing him into the ground. Kai grunted, gritting his teeth as the floor cracked around his body.
'What the hell is happening!'
Kai's thoughts grew jumbled as the pressure acting on him increased.
"I'll have you know, I don't appreciate it when someone tries to play games with me."
Kai's vision grew distorted as he kept his gaze unbending to the man. He couldn't comprehend what in the heavens was going on but he knew he could not back down here. He choked out through bloodied gasps, stuttering.
"Ta-ake, m-e as well-ll."
The weight increased, the ground now cutting into his pale skin, enough to draw blood, yet Kai's gaze remained in place, even if he were unable to make out what he was seeing. Pain radiated throughout his body, feeling almost like his spine was on the verge of being snapped in half.
Finally, the force relented as Kai coughed heavily, heaving as he sucked in all the air he could into his body in relief. He moaned softly from the release, his knees shaky as he grabbed the bars to support his weight. His vision was still impaired by what happened so he was unable to see what had occurred, nor understand it.
But he was sure, the man was still regarding him, in his pathetic state. In fact, he could almost feel an interest in the stare of the obscured man.
"Ok. Sure. We'll take you as well."