He spent the next few hours inside the first room. He sat on the bed and stared at the lamp's light. Sometimes he looked at his hands and feet, wanting to remove the shackles. The only good thing he could find in all of this was that his feet had some freedom, unlike his hands, which were bound together with no way to separate them—otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to walk at all.
'I'm wasting time… I have to get out of here!'
Despite his determination, he lay back on the bed and stared at the ceiling.
'There isn't a single hole I can slip through. There's ventilation, but…' he thought, glancing toward one of the room's corners. 'I'm way too big to fit through that.'
The ventilation was nothing more than a small opening in the wall; there was no way to escape through it.
'Same thing with the clothes in the locker. They're way too small, like they're meant for a kid… Oh…'
He sighed, finally realizing where he was. The crayons, the sheets of paper, the drawings—only two kinds of people could have used those: someone incredibly bored, or a child.
'What's going to happen to me?'
For now, there was no way to know. Exhausted, he closed his single eye, hoping the situation would somehow improve. At some point, he fell asleep.
Later, something struck the leg of the bed, waking him with a jolt. He shot up in alarm, jumping onto the bed and staring at the source of the noise.
Standing in front of him was a kind of man with greenish skin covered in darker green spots. His eyes were large, round, and yellow, with slit pupils. His nose was nothing more than two holes beneath his eyes… and his green lips stretched toward the sides of his head. He wore a red knitted cap and a black military uniform with polished leather boots.
"You're finally awake," he said in a calm tone. "When they told me there was a Crimson Blood here, I didn't believe it—but here you are. Welcome, unfortunately for you."
Confused, Nova raised his fists, ready to fight. However, that didn't intimidate the Green Man at all.
"Where are we?" he asked.
The Green Man was skeptical. He picked up a few items that hadn't been on the iron table before and handed them to Nova. They were clothes.
"You'll find out soon enough. Now put these on."
Staring at the Aberration's four-fingered hand, Nova frowned. Obviously, he couldn't trust anyone—least of all a monster. He glared at the Green Man while taking a step back on the bed.
"You answered my question… Can you understand what I'm saying?"
The Green Man nodded.
"When you've met a lot of people, you learn many things," he said, waving the clothes in his hand. "Aren't you going to put these on? You'll need them."
Once again, Nova looked at the clothes. They were similar to what the Green Man was wearing. On the table, there was also a pair of eye-catching boots.
'This guy… he must have come in through one of the outer doors.'
An idea formed in his mind: act calm around the Green Man so he'd lower his guard, then, the moment he left the cross-shaped room, attack him from behind and escape like a slippery rat. It was a flawless plan! Carefully, he extended his hand and took the clothes.
As soon as he did, the Aberration picked up the boots and handed them over.
"From now on, you'll have to wait," the Green Man said, adjusting his cap. "An alarm will sound every so often. When that happens, door 4 will open. You'll have five minutes to take whatever you need. Once the five minutes are up, door 5 will open, allowing you access to the platform that will take you to the Arena. If you don't appear on the platform within three minutes, you'll be killed."
Nova clenched his fist, visibly irritated. None of this was his fault, yet he was stuck in this damn place. And what was this about being killed if he refused? It was ridiculous!
"They'll kill me? The doors will open?"
"Sounds like you understand. That's good."
"No, I don't understand anything. Why am I here? When do I get out?"
The Green Man sighed, tired. His expression made it clear he'd answered this question many times before.
"That decision isn't mine to make. The only thing I can recommend is that you survive and prove you're worth something. If you're lucky, one day you might return to your planet."
With those words, the Green Man turned his back on Nova. But as he passed through the door, he added something else, his calm tone unchanged.
"After the first battle, door 2 will open. The Food Room will be ready, and you'll be able to eat until you're full. Eat, train, and rest as much as you can—you'll really need it."
After that, the Green Man left the room.
'This guy talks way too much!'
Ignoring that, Nova moved quietly and followed the Aberration. He hid behind a corner of the wall and peeked out to spy on him. The Green Man stood in front of one of the outer doors, which opened the moment he approached it.
Nova took this as his chance to escape. Without wasting time, he charged toward the Green Man, intending to knock him out. However, the Aberration shook his head and, with a single swift movement of his leg, executed a perfect martial arts spin, striking Nova in the face and sending him flying into the outer door on the other side of the room.
It was something he never saw coming. Not even his heightened senses warned him in time. By the time he realized he'd made a mistake, he was already on the floor. He barely managed to see the Green Man approaching him.
"How many times have I had to deal with this?" the Green Man wondered aloud as he crouched to look at Nova. "Don't think you're the first to try that. Unfortunately, many others came before you."
The Aberration stood up and continued toward the exit. Nova, meanwhile, clenched his fist tightly as he drowned in his own misery.
'Shit… damn it!'
"Oh. I almost forgot," the Green Man said, stopping for a moment. "Door 8 is already open. You can go to the bathroom whenever you want. Goodbye."
Just like that, as quickly as he had appeared, the Green Man passed through the sliding door and disappeared into the darkness of the corridor beyond. Nova closed his eye as the door finished closing. He let out a long sigh and touched his abdomen, where he'd been kicked earlier.
'He was way too strong.'