The night was heavy, descending over the city as if it were a black curtain smothered in Ashes. The lights hanging in the narrow streets seemed dim, cut off amid industrial fog creeping from giant ventilation pipes. Technology has become like a metal monster that swallows everything, from dilapidated slums to luminous glass towers.
Inside a black armored vehicle, Adam sat silently. He moved only a little, and his small hands rested on his thighs. But his silence was not ordinary, it was a weight that suffocated even the air around him. His black eyes were fixed on the void, as if they were bottomless pits.
Next to him sat Talia. Her features were not from a maid, but from a hired killer preparing for a bloody night. Her back is straight, her fingers are gently pressed to her thigh as if holding an imaginary dagger. Her breath is short but steady, she tries to hide what is happening inside. She never forgot that she was once a commodity at such auctions, and that today her presence next to Adam brings her back to an unhealed wound.
The car shuddered a little when it stopped in front of a huge metal gate fraught with red lights. Masked men lined up next to the gate, their military suits sparkled with black panels, and their eyes behind electronic masks resembled the eyes of monsters.
Someone slowly opened the portal after Adam extended the electronic invitation. As soon as the guard touched it, a glowing logo appeared on the screen of his mask: "authorized entry – top priority."Then the goalkeeper immediately bent at an angle that almost broke his back, giving way.
Talia whispered , her voice low but full of hardness:
- "Sir... Was it necessary to come to this place yourself?""
Adam did not answer. He turned to her with empty eyes, and then returned his gaze forward. Inside him, he knew that what he was looking for could not be obtained by anyone else's mediation. His next resource was the key to his new awakening, an awakening that would make him different from any existing being in this world. And no one understood this vision... Neither Talia nor others.
---
Inside the auction
The corridor leading to the hall looked like the intestines of a giant monster: dark metal walls carved with neon stripes, side doors locked with optical systems. Cameras follow every step, and the air is saturated with mechanical vibrations that make the skin tremble.
As soon as they arrived at the hall, it opened in front of them like a dark cathedral. The seats are arranged in a semicircle, and the black floor is shiny as mirrors. Red lamps were emitting intermittent flickers, as if simulating a lively heartbeat. On the walls there are three-dimensional screens that display Quick images: weapons, medicines, mysterious substances and even bound humans.
The audience was a mixture of wealthy people, merchants and gang leaders. Luxurious masks hide their faces, some are made of gold and Platinum, some have laser-decorated bones. But no matter how different their forms were, there was one thing in common: their deafening silence.
No one dared to speak or even stare directly at the child who entered the Hall. The shiny silver collar around his neck was enough to close everyone. Everyone who lives in this world knows: this is Adam.
The collar was not just an ornament, but an invention of the Society of the world, precisely locating it and preventing any attempt to hide or kill it. The law was both protection and control at the same time. Because of him, he escaped death on the day when the Gervin family was exterminated.
Talia, who was walking next to him, felt that her breath was weighing her down. The scene in front of her brings her back to the night of her sale. The same seats, the same appearance is hidden behind masks, the same shame-laden Air. But now she is not a captive. Now she is walking next to the person with the name that terrifies everyone.
---
Start of the auction
On the podium stood an elegant man, dressed in a white suit trimmed with light threads. His smile is artificial , his voice is melodious:
- "Gentlemen and ladies... We welcome you to the lower auction. Tonight, as every time, we will show what you can't get anywhere else. Forbidden weapons, forbidden medicines, stolen technologies and even... Human life."
Laughter echoed between the seats, but quickly disappeared. The eyes returned to where Adam was sitting.
Talia whispered, a cold smile on her lips:
— "This Fool has not changed... He still thinks of himself as a king."
It was clear that she knew the man on the podium. Perhaps it was he who helped sell it one day. Her eyes sparkled with suppressed anger, but her voice did not tremble.
One of the guards next to him heard her whispers and laughed softly, but suddenly stopped when Adam turned his gaze to him. It was neither a threatening look nor anger, but an absolute emptiness. However, the guard retreated as if he had received a slap from hell.
In the middle of the auction, while rare weapons and mysterious items are on display, the elegant man left the podium and with hesitant steps headed towards the row where Adam is sitting. Every step seemed like it might be the last.
He leaned over a little, said in a laconic voice:
- "Sir... Are You him?""
Adam slowly raised his head. His silence made the question seem even more absurd.
- "Who do you mean?""
The man shuddered, and then uttered the word as if reciting a prophecy:
— "You are... from the lion family, aren't you?""
Talia tilted her head, whispered sharply:
— "If you try to annoy my Master, you will lose not only your manhood... but your life."
The man froze, then bent over and opened a black box in front of them. Inside was a dark black mask, pierced by a Purple Line glowing like a pulsating sweat. It was not just an instrument of fear, but a piece of art imbued with awe.
The man said in a trembling voice:
— "This... is your mask, Sir Adam."
---
Silence
A suffocating silence reigned in the Hall. Even automated scanners have stopped making their usual sounds. Everyone looked at the little one, but no one dared to comment or whisper. In this world, it was known that any misplaced word could be the last word in the life of its owner.
Adam slowly extended his hand. His slender fingers touched the surface of the mask. He was cold as ice, but underneath he was hiding something deeper: a new beginning.
Talia, despite her strength, felt chills seeping into her bones. You've never seen Adam smile before... but now he's smiling. A small smile, mysterious, but enough to announce that something new was born at this moment.
.
---
And so, in the heart of the lower auction, where humans are sold as tools are sold, and where technology mixes with blood, Adam stood silent with the first smile. No one knew what that smile meant, but everyone felt it.
That boy with the collar around his neck... is no longer just a survivor of the past.
It's the beginning of a new chapter of horror.
---