As the darkness over the arena slowly peeled away beneath the flare lights and burning skull-fire, the people's eyes widened more and more. Only now did many truly begin seeing the place clearly where they had been standing, and the more they saw, the more unnatural everything felt.
A strange confusion spread through both soldiers and freed slaves alike. Many suddenly felt as though they had never actually seen this place properly before, despite spending years inside it.
The stone walls appeared larger. The carvings looked unfamiliar. Even the shape of the arena itself now felt distorted beneath the moonlight and burning glow.
Some people rubbed their eyes repeatedly. Others stared around with pale expressions. One freed slave muttered shakily,
"We've been here for years…"
His breathing grew uneven.
"So why does this place suddenly feel different?"
Another nearby whispered,
"You're right…"
He looked towards the towering walls nervously.
"We already knew this arena… so why couldn't we truly see it before?"
A soldier nearby frowned deeply.
"It feels like…" he hesitated, "either we were trapped inside some illusion..."
"…or our minds were blind all this time."
Several others nodded unconsciously. Fear slowly crawled back into their hearts. Then another voice suddenly rose from among the soldiers.
"Does anyone know whose voice that was?"
A nearby soldier immediately straightened and bowed his head respectfully.
"That was His Majesty's voice."
The first man blinked.
"But…"
He hesitated awkwardly.
"That sounded like a boy."
Instantly another soldier snapped angrily.
"How dare you question royalty?"
His glare sharpened.
"Can a king not be young?"
"Shut your mouth and lower your head!"
The frightened people quickly bowed apologetically.
But before the tension could spread further, the voice from above echoed again.
"Forgive him."
The boy's voice carried faint amusement.
"Forgive and forget…"
A soft chuckle followed.
"That is the benevolence of your king."
The flare lights flickered below.
"Please do not misunderstand."
His tone became strangely gentle.
"Continue watching the ritual peacefully."
Then after a brief pause—
"And remember everyone…"
The boy laughed lightly.
"I only became king for the sake of this ritual."
Murmurs spread quietly through the crowd.
The voice continued casually,
"So once tonight ends, all of you are free to leave and return to your lives."
Another pause.
"But…"
The atmosphere subtly shifted again.
"Please do not forget me afterwards."
Several people unconsciously lowered their heads deeper.
Then suddenly, from somewhere above, a woman's pained shout came indistinctly. The boy immediately responded loudly.
"Hurry up and finish it!"
His playful tone returned.
"You people possess no skills at all."
"Only bodies."
A few soldiers exchanged nervous glances.
Then once again, the boy's laughter echoed from the top of the arena.
"I apologise, everyone."
His voice carried drunken amusement.
"A little brother of mine is currently busy planting seeds in untamed fields."
A few confused murmurs spread among the crowd, though nobody dared question the meaning openly.
Then suddenly, one soldier loudly raised his fist and shouted towards the top,
"All hail His Majesty!"
The cry echoed through the arena. Another soldier immediately joined.
"All hail His Majesty!"
Then another and another. Soon the entire seating grounds thundered with voices.
"HAIL HIS MAJESTY!"
"HAIL THE KING!"
"HAIL!"
The sounds rolled across the gigantic arena like waves beneath the burning skull. Far above, the unseen king smiled.
"Thank you."
His voice softened almost warmly.
"But do not focus too much on me."
The flames within the floating skull crackled louder.
"Place your faith where it belongs."
Then slowly, a low chuckle echoed again.
"And please…"
The flare lights danced violently beneath the growing pressure.
"Enjoy the ritual."
....
As the king's words echoed from above, waves of murmurs immediately spread through the crowd like insects crawling through dry grass.
Someone suddenly shouted with excitement, "It is the divinity! The blessing of the holy ritual! Submit yourselves before the Holy Lord for the grand beginning!"
More whispers rose. Some bowed their heads deeply. Some clasped their trembling hands together. Others stared upward with pale faces, unable to understand whether they should pray… or run.
Then silence swallowed the arena once again. But unlike the fearful people, the men below, the soldiers seated around the circular arena had already erupted into excitement.
They raised their weapons high into the air.
Someone slammed a spear against the shield repeatedly.
Some struck their spears against the stone floor rhythmically.
Some whistled loudly.
Others laughed wildly as though celebrating the arrival of a festival instead of witnessing something ominous.
Yet something felt deeply wrong. No one could actually hear them. The soldiers' mouths moved. Their bodies shook with cheering. But not even the faintest sound crossed into the arena below. It was as though the entire seating area had been separated from the world itself.
Only silence descended from above. Meanwhile, beneath the floating skull, the glowing ring continued rotating slowly. Small particles of light rose from the ground like ashes and merged into the ring one after another, dancing around it like spirits trapped in worship.
The cracked skull above burned brighter. Its blue flames deepened. The red vein-like patterns spread further across its surface like roots growing beneath flesh, and every few moments, the hollow eye sockets flickered unnaturally, as though something inside was slowly waking up.
A man among the people suddenly frowned.
"Didn't you all hear sounds from above earlier?" he whispered nervously. "Why did it suddenly become quieter?"
Another replied immediately, "I thought I heard soldiers shouting."
"But I hear nothing now."
"Where even are those soldiers?"
"In this darkness, how can anyone see clearly?"
A nearby old man clicked his tongue.
"Stop worrying about soldiers. Focus on your devotion. This is a holy ritual."
But another voice answered shakily,
"Then what is this sound I keep hearing?"
"What sound?"
"That scraping… like metal dragging…"
Several people fell silent.
Then someone suddenly remembered something.
"Wait… do you all remember that woman from before?"
The others turned towards him.
"The one who used some kind of veil to block sound from reaching us?"
A few faces changed instantly.
"You're right…"
"I remember."
"Even the king bowed towards her…"
Murmurs spread again.
Fear slowly crawled into their hearts once more.
Then...
KRRRRAAAKKK…
A horrible cracking sound echoed throughout the arena.
It sounded like ancient rusted iron being scraped violently against another piece of iron.
The sound pierced directly into their bones.
Many immediately covered their ears.
Others turned sharply towards the massive gates surrounding the arena.
And then...
BOOOOM!
All ten gates opened simultaneously.
A violent black wind burst inward like a raging flood. The flare lights bent wildly. Several were extinguished instantly. Darkness poured into the arena like living smoke. For a brief moment, it felt as though night itself had entered the world.
Yet the moonlight still remained. Pale silver light spread unevenly across the arena floor. Some places glowed clearly. Darkness completely swallowed other areas. Shadows stretched unnaturally long, twisting across the ground as though alive.
Light and darkness mixed together in disturbing harmony. The atmosphere instantly changed. The earlier excitement vanished. Now only dread remained. Some people started crying softly. Some muttered prayers desperately under their breath.
Some begged forgiveness for sins they had never committed. Others cursed quietly, blaming those around them for bringing them here. The oppressive feeling only grew heavier.
Then...
Crunch.
A sound like bones being crushed echoed from the darkness.
Everyone froze.
Crunch… crunch…
A wet yet heavy sound continued slowly. As though something enormous was chewing. Some people's breathing stopped entirely.
They suddenly turned and saw ten shadow-like figures appear behind a man without warning.
Before anyone could even react—
Crunch!
Those black figures bit into his body from every side at once. One tore flesh from his shoulder. Another ripped apart his arm. One bit directly into his stomach while another chewed through his neck with sickening laughter. The sounds of tearing flesh and cracking bones echoed throughout the arena.
Crunch… crack… crunch…
The smell of fresh blood spread instantly through the air, so thick and metallic that many felt as though the gates of hell had opened before them. Yet the worst part was not the blood. It was the laughter.
Those things laughed while eating him. A twisted, childlike laughter echoed from the darkness as though they were happily sharing a feast. Then suddenly the shadows split apart and melted back into the darkness below.
Silence descended for one brief moment. Everyone nearby stood frozen. The body that remained no longer looked human. It had been eaten from every side like a biscuit broken apart by starving beasts. Chunks of flesh were gone.
The ribs were exposed. Half the face had vanished. Yet strangely, not a single drop of blood remained on the ground. Even the bones looked unnaturally clean, almost polished white beneath the moonlight. Someone opened his mouth to scream. Another bent slightly, wanting to vomit.
But neither sound came out. Because suddenly, they noticed another long, still shadow nearby watching them.
The next instant, as it moved. The darkness surged across the ground like a giant sea wave collapsing over prey. It swallowed another nearby person instantly. This time nothing held the crowd back anymore.
Screams exploded throughout the arena. People shouted with everything left in their lungs. One after another, voices rose like endless tides of terror. Some tried to run. Some fell while crawling backwards. Some grabbed strangers desperately, and within that chaos the shadows laughed again.
A horrible laughter mixed with the sound of chewing flesh. The crowd wanted to escape this nightmare. Wanted to flee this hellish place immediately. But just as many turned to run, a strange voice echoed inside their minds.
That old hermit's voice.
"Without shadows… form has no meaning."
Everyone suddenly looked downward instinctively. And what they saw froze their souls. Their shadows were moving unnaturally. All of them were connected. Every single shadow stretched across the arena floor towards one massive darkness moving beneath them.
As that thing shifted, their own shadows stretched with it, twisted with it, shrank and expanded unnaturally, like living servants obeying their master.
Then...
Crunch.
Another horrible chewing sound echoed.
The black figure passed through another group, leaving behind only blood, broken bones, and agonised corpses. Yet even those remains began disappearing slowly into the darkness below. The creature vanished again. Assimilating into the shadows themselves.
But now no one moved. The crowd stood trembling in silence, silently counting whose turn would come next.
Then...
Crunch…
The sound rose again nearby. Everyone turned slowly. The black figure had appeared once more besides the half-eaten corpse from before. It crouched there happily, chewing the remaining flesh like a starving animal protecting its meal. Its body looked unstable. Like smoke. Like darkness wearing the shape of something human.
Then suddenly...
It stopped eating.
Slowly…
Its head turned towards the crowd.
As it had noticed their stares, it smiled.
A long, unnatural smile stretched across the shadow's face, no eyes, no clear features, only that smile beneath the moonlight. At that moment, many forgot every emotion they had ever known. 'Fear or anger or thought' – who knows what's inside them? But for them, even breathing seemed distant. They could only stare helplessly while a strange humming sound slowly spread around them.
Hmmmmmm…
Then a soft, heavy and hypnotic sound came from every direction. People looked downward again. Below them, their own shadows clung tightly around their feet like restraints.
And somehow, they understood the meaning without words.
"Do not move."
"Do not make sound."
"Stay attached to me."
The humming spread further throughout the arena. Some people's eyelids became heavy. Others swayed slightly as though drunk. Some forgot whether they were standing on one leg or two. The line between sleep and reality slowly blurred. Yet no one resisted anymore. No one even had the strength to scream.
Meanwhile, the black shadows began jumping from one human to another. Sometimes they only passed by. Sometimes they paused. Sometimes they devoured someone instantly. But not everyone was eaten.
That uncertainty made the fear even worse. Then, those shadows finally moved towards the front of the arena. Everyone saw them clearly now. Yet still… no one could move, no sweat fell, no screams came from them and also no fear even remained visible on their faces anymore.
Only empty silence with a simple watcher role as those living shadows passed through the crowd one after another and slowly advanced towards the burning pyre beneath the floating skull.
TBC...