Levi woke up gasping.
The air was thick—wrong. It stuck to his skin like something alive, seeping into his lungs, making it hard to breathe. The smell was even worse. It reeked of rot, like meat left out in the sun for too long.
Darkness surrounded him. Not the kind you find at night, but something deeper, like being buried underground with no way out.
He tried to move. Metal bit into his back as he did. His hands barely shifted before—clink.
Chains.
His pulse pounded in his ears. He yanked his arms, then his legs. Cold iron held tight around his wrists and ankles.
Where am I?
Then—he heard it. A low, rumbling growl.
No. Not one. Many!
Something was breathing in the dark.
Levi forced himself to stay still, barely daring to breathe. His body screamed at him to run—but there was nowhere to go.
Then—metal scraped. Chains rattled.
Then, Light spilled in, cutting through the dark like a knife.
Levi blinked rapidly as his eyes adjusted. Then, he saw it.
And his blood turned cold.
The room was a charnel house, a grotesque collection of twisted, nightmarish creatures. Some were humanoid, while others defied description, their bodies distorted in inconceivable ways. At the far end of the room, Levi spotted a group of disheveled individuals who may be human. They seemed tense, their eyes weary and grim.
A figure stepped forward, silent
It was wrapped in black robes, embroidered with deep red lines that moved, pulsing like veins. But its face,
There wasn't one.
Just smooth, pale nothing. No eyes. No mouth. Just a blank mask, staring straight into the room, taking its time to appreciate everything in sight.
Beside it or him, something huge shifted.
A giant.
It towered over everything, built of thick muscle and its skin as black as obsidian. The only piece of clothing it had on was a blood-soaked loincloth.
The faceless figure handed it a pouch. The giant took it with slow, careful hands, opened it and stared at it's contents. Then he spoke.
"Nei maa Ka fu bor tisim?"
Levi flinched.
The voice was too deep. It felt like the walls themselves were shaking.
The faceless one answered smoothly, its voice calm, almost bored.
"Look, you only brought me food for the venatores, and you expect to be paid more than this? don't be greedy now.'
The giant man begrudgingly took the money pouch and huffed, then turned to his group of giants and shouted "babisi kimina tus teda! "
Levi's mind spun. The voice had come from a man with no mouth if that thing can even be called a man, but that wasn't the terrifying part, the words he spoke were.
The group of large giants marched in one by one. They began with the humans, unlocking cages and dragging people out by their chains. Then they moved to the monsters, maneuvering the entire cages out of the room without opening them possibly to protect themselves from the monsters. One by one, the room was emptied.
The faceless man spoke, "With this our business is concluded, I shall take my leave " then he turned and looked at the humans "I do hope that you are as tasty to the beasts as much as you cost me, you bunch of useless scum" then he turned and vanished into the large imposing arena that stood before everyone's eyes.