I don't remember the last time I saw the light of the sun. I don't remember the last time I heard the laughter of children playing in the streets of Piltover. I don't remember the texture of the leaves on the bushes or the taste of the humble food from the slums of Zaun. There are so many things I'm forgetting…
"What did I look like before all this?" I whispered, too tired to scream; too empty to cry.
The only thing my eyes can see is the long, battered black hair falling over my forehead and covering my face. I can feel the cold stone beneath my bare feet and see the bars of the dungeon like a small window in the thick wooden door that separates me from freedom.
I can also hear voices lamenting, screaming with murderous intent and a thirst for blood. All those voices belong to the experiments imprisoned here, and I'm no exception. However, unlike the other subjects, I'm the only one who has managed to keep most of my sanity. Although sometimes I see and hear things that probably aren't there.
Huh… I want to stretch out my fingers and reach the light, but my hands are locked inside some kind of strange box that suppresses the power the people of that faction—whose name I dare not speak—gave me.
When I look at the inhibitor, I see that my hands are stained with the blood of many people, and when I realize that, all I can do is mourn the families of every one of them.
"I was never meant for this." I bit my lip, letting out a small drop of nearly dried blood.
The smell of blood drove all the prisoners mad. They began pounding the bars and screaming without rest.
I can't cover my ears to block them out because my hands are trapped in the box.
I don't even know why I'm still alive. It would be better to die. Someone should kill me right now. Anyone. Someone should look for someone to kill.
"I want to die…"
Death would be better than anything inside this cell.
However…
"Hey, have you ever wondered what gromps taste like? I think their meat must be soft and slimy, but the flavor has to be pretty strong. They live in swamps, so their taste must be quite exotic."
It's the prisoner in the cell next to mine. I can't see her, but I can hear her strange voice echoing off all the walls. Out of everyone here—aside from me—she seems to be the most sane. Although I heard she's the worst of them all.
"I don't know…" I answered in a whisper. She heard me.
"When we get out of here, let's go eat some gromps together. Maybe if we're lucky, we can eat some Void crabs too. I can't wait anymore."
This person exhausts me. She's always talking about her desire to eat anything that crosses her path. Once I heard the guards say she only causes problems whenever the seal is opened. According to them, this strange female-voiced creature doesn't distinguish between friend and foe and attacks everyone equally, devouring them like candy.
Being close to something like that isn't good. My blood runs cold thinking about what she might do if she's released, but when I think about it…
I can't help laughing.
I'm the same…
***
She was a weapon created by the Black Rose, some kind of supersoldier made of magic and blood. Perhaps the most mystical thing in this world—the arcane itself—flows through her twisted veins.
She has been imprisoned long enough to reflect on her own life. She hears the voices of the other experiments begging for blood and flesh, all of them mad from the uncontrollable hunger gnawing at them. She's no exception. She's the same as them. And yet, she thinks about it.
"It's like my hunger is talking to me all the time. I never understand what it says, but I know it's never happy. Doesn't that happen to you too?" she said, asking the man in the neighboring cell.
From the shadows of her cell, deep in the darkness behind the metal bars of the thick wooden door, her strange—but terrifyingly charming—smile of sharp teeth widened as she spoke to him.
The man, as always, didn't give a long response. Just a simple, "Yeah. Uh-huh," echoed back. The man was very distant from the other experiments. Among them all, he seemed the saddest. Sometimes she could hear him crying and lamenting between sobs and whispers.
He was one of the reasons she often thought about her own life. As the only two experiments who hadn't yet gone mad from hunger, it was natural for her to try talking so she wouldn't lose her mind completely.
"Leaving that aside, I'm really strong, you know? I don't understand why I'm still locked up here. We should make an escape plan. Let's explore Noxus and then run far away. As my only friend, it's your job to support me, right? Together we could figure out how to get out of here."
As if he were tired of hearing the voice of Miss "Contained Hunger," the man let out a long, weary sigh.
"I don't have friends. You're not my friend."
"Don't be so cruel," she said in a very cheerful tone. "You're my friend. The one and only."
"You've been here much longer than I have. All this time you've been talking to yourself. Leave me alone."
With that sharp response, the man seemed to fall asleep.
A little disappointed by her friend's coldness, she bumped her head against the wall and closed her eyes. In that very fraction of a second, the strange sound of a jewel bouncing against something metallic rang out.
In the darkness, she looked up at the seal that inhibited her real power—and, consequently, her bloodthirsty personality.
That very night, she had an idea…
***
Morning came once again to this world.
Covered in black metal armor, a Noxian soldier gripped his spear tightly as he descended the stairs to guard the prison where the Black Rose's failed experiments were kept.
It was a day like any other, with nothing unusual happening, so the soldier felt fairly relaxed as he patrolled the cells. This was his first time working in this section of the prison, and although he had been warned about the horrible things hidden in this place, he walked past the doors as if it were nothing.
As a Noxian soldier, fear does not exist—only loyalty to the nation.
At that moment, a voice was heard.
"Hey, want to hear a joke?"
It was a girl's voice. Curious, the soldier approached the cell, and from the back of it, a pair of large bright eyes—white irises with violet sclera—stared at him.
"What did the vampire say to the night?"
Leaning a little too close, the soldier asked, "What did he say?"
And then…
"I'm hungry!"
Boom!
The door exploded into pieces and the soldier fell backward as the thick wood slammed into him. His eyes widened when he saw a set of sharp teeth approaching his neck. After that, the man stopped thinking. Blood began pouring from his throat, his mind quickly faded, and he bled to death in only a few seconds.
"Blood… Blood! It's so delicious!" she began laughing in ecstasy at the sweet, warm, metallic taste of blood. She rubbed her face and licked her hands, feasting on the soldier's corpse.
After that, she let out a long, satisfied sigh.
"And… I'm still hungry."
Somewhat disappointed, she looked at the door next to her cell. Without thinking about anything other than her friend, she walked toward it.
***
I heard things again. I'm sure of it.
Sometimes they're the voices of children happily chasing one another. Sometimes they're the everyday conversations the people of Piltover used to have in the mornings. There were even distant howls and screams, along with the sounds of random objects.
This time I'm certain I heard something break with a loud crash.
However, while I curled up in the corner of my prison, the manic laughter of that strange being who speaks to me every day echoed through the walls.
That was the moment I realized this wasn't a trick of my mind.
When I opened my eyes through the curtain of my hair, the door in front of me exploded into pieces and a pair of horrible, large eyes stared at me. A strange jewel atop a metallic, extremely sharp pillory glowed with the color of blood, and a smile of yellowish, razor-sharp teeth widened in the darkness.
"It's time to go, friend!"
It was her.
I was seeing her for the first time…
When I used to hear her voice through the wall, I never imagined what this mysterious creature would look like. Hearing her voice always made me picture some kind of horrible monster created by the wicked hands of those people.
But surprisingly, that wasn't the case.
She looked like a young girl with pale gray skin and white hair stained with blood. At first glance, she even looked friendly.
But…
"Now that I see you again, I remember the first time I saw you through the metal bars. You were really tiny and skinny. You've grown… and you're still skinny."
While she said those words in a friendly tone, all I could see in front of me was a killer covered in blood.
Suddenly, the voices of the prison sentinels were heard, and the girl looked toward the door.
"There'll be time to talk later. It's time to eat! I mean… it's time to run!"
I didn't even react.
Before I could process what I had just seen, the strange girl ran out of the cell, leaving me staring at the broken door like an idiot.
"Light…" I whispered. It had been so long since I'd seen any light.
A faint glow stretched through the corridor as if it came from another world. With fear, I extended the tip of my toe, and when I felt the warmth, I understood that this was an opportunity.
If I can't escape, someone will kill me. If I think about it that way, it would be a double victory for me—and that would be the best thing that could happen to me in years.
My body rose on its own and stood up.
I'm still weak. Stretching my legs hurts, and putting my full weight on my feet hurts too. But the moment I felt the warmth of the light, something inside me woke up after so long.
Survival instinct…
Even if it hurts. Even if I feel like I'm going to cry, I placed one foot in front of the other and ran with all my strength.
As I ran down the corridor whose walls were filled with cells, I saw myself reflected in a corner of one of them. I saw the young boy who had become a man while imprisoned within those four walls.
The voices of the monsters roared as they tried to break their doors, but I reached the exit of the section just seconds later. My face felt overwhelmed, my eyes were struck by the light stretching into the distance.
But I stopped halfway.
Because she was there.
Dozens of soldiers attacked her with sharp blades, but she—no matter how wounded she became—laughed vigorously as the pillory on her shoulders split in two. When that happened, the face of the young girl I had seen twisted into a gaze of bloody flames that would annihilate everything in its path.
"Food! Food! More! Give me more blood!"
She went after the soldiers, who suddenly began running for their lives—but escaping her was impossible.
I froze watching her, but then a chill ran down my spine and my trembling legs moved once more.
"She's the worst of all these monsters."
"A waste of resources."
"A weapon stupid enough to attack its allies is useless."
"No one can control her hunger. She'll stay like this forever."
The voices of the guards who once said those things echoed in my mind.
As I ran, I heard the sound of metal hitting the ground and the murderous breathing of that girl.
I looked over my shoulder—only to see that she was chasing me with the same bloodthirsty stare.
She kept repeating the same word endlessly.
Blood…
Driven by a mysterious force deep within my mind, I used everything my thin body had to offer and ran like I had never run before.
Behind me the guards were still attacking and shouting, but I never looked back again.
I'm surprised I managed to endure so much, but I was already approaching that great door. Years have passed, but I still remember the first time they brought me here—and where I needed to go to leave.
Soon I reached a gigantic door that was closed.
Behind me the girl's voice shouted, and for a fraction of a second, I gave up. This was the door that took you out of hell—but ironically, it was closed to this poor devil.
An overwhelming force slammed me against the door, causing the entrance to burst open.
She fell on top of me, with that terrifying gaze. She opened her fanged jaw ready to eat me—but stopped the moment that strange red gem floated over her back, sealing the pillory shut once again.
"Hehehe. That was fun."
And the same cheerful voice was heard again.
"We finally made it out, friend. Now the feast is just beginning."
A deep silence settled.
When I realized I was outside the cell… when I understood I wasn't going to die…
I… I rested my head on the ground and sighed.
Seeing the sunlight above me, the blue sky so clear it looked like a dream—
"Sniff… Ah…"
Finally, I broke.
Crying and screaming while the girl watched me.
"Ahhhhhhhh!"
I was free. I couldn't believe it.
"And why are you crying now? You should be happy! This is our freedom!"
I didn't say anything to her. I just swallowed my sobs and sat on the ground.
"Say something at least. Oh, I know. People have names. I have a name and you don't know it. Hi, I'm Briar! What's your name, friend?"
It was a simple question, but I had never thought about it.
The monster who shattered the door of my cell had a name.
Her name was Briar.
"My name…" I whispered, trying to remember.
When the words appeared in my mind, I spoke them without hesitation.
"My name is Midas."
And the girl smiled with her sharp teeth.