---

Hominium, a renowned Colosseum that had been soaked of death since its construction a millennia ago. Even with age, its uses never flitted. Crowd would gather everyday to watch blood fly with gore.

Violence attracts many, and Hominium provide refuge for their madness. Hosting varied shows of carnage, ranging from intense death matches all the way to one-sided slaughters, the Colosseum represented the media in my previous life. The arena will show anything that people craved to witness.

The blood garnered attention from far and wide. Fighters across the land flock like moths to flames, baited by fame, wealth, and glory that winning came with. The rich gambled against each other, placing astronomical bets upon their favoured fighter in their petty war of pride, while nobilities and plebeians alike occupied the stand in fervor despite the glaring sun and still, humid wind.

In short, everything an individual greeds about was here, overflowing more than any part of the world.

All these, in the name of entertainment.

Standing in the center of it all, was me.

---

Twenty three hours before the first regret in my life:

Wuen teleported us to another forest. Contrary to the salty one above the laboratory, this one smelled wrong. Simply wrong. It was humid, the sun was directly above, and the plants had one foot on their grave. The earth was rock solid, obviously dehydrated, and any rain smelled like fairy tale, something that was too fantastical to happen.

"Where are we going?" I asked again.

"North. Stop asking questions." Just like that, another bomb was dropped on my face.

With his vague words, I wouldn't be able to ask him any questions -and anyone ever again, or else the curse would activate. That was unless he retract his words, something he would never do even if his orders inconvenience him.

Therefore, we walked north in silence. In no time, tall walls peeped above the treetops. Smoke rose beyond it, and I can pick up noise as well.

My heart began to race, and I began to skip with my steps. I was excited. Since the start of my new life, all I had seen were the Orphanage and Laboratory. Neither were pleasant, so when a city finally opens my way, I could only conceal a squeal of anticipation.

The city gates were packed with people. Crowd went in and out, on foot or by carriages, and most of them were not exactly gentlemen. Pushing and shoving, finding my way in was like trying to bypass sets after sets of linebackers.

Being small was both good and bad. Good that it enabled me to needle my way through holes, bad that getting kicked was common because I was too small to be seen.

When I passed through that series of obstacles, one big breath of relief escaped me unconditionally.

"You!" Wuen called out, and followed it with a smack in my head. "What took you so long?"

"But it was so hard to get through..." I reasoned while massaging the lump in my head.

"Whatever, keep up from now on." He bastardly walked on without consideration.

I followed him mindlessly. My eyes were too busy looking around to grumble. If I could make them bulge, then my eyes would be spilling out right now. Everywhere I look was countless new sights. Buildings, made of brick, wood, and stones were assortedly assembled in all directions. The walkway itself was a maze that offered more than left or right. There were occasional tunnels that lead to a mysterious somewhere, or ladders that ascending to building entrances or the continuation of the maze-like journey.

In every open space, a vendor would be there with a flapping mouth. Selling variety of goods, they hawked their products to every passerby with a chorus of unending scripted lines.

While I was eyeing everything curiously, a random vendor suddenly tugged my sleeve. "Hey little miss, isn't it hot with a robe on. Try this refreshment to cool down and-"

"No, thank you" I immediately brushed his hands off and tailed behind Wuen, who gained three metre distance from that short conversation.

I suddenly heard the rude vendor gasp. When I turned, I saw him looking at my wrist, at my 'tali' that indicates my slavery. I rushed off before he reacts even more.

There was a reason why I wore long sleeves in such a hot day, and that was to hide my slave status that 'talis' made obvious.

Wuen headed towards the city's outskirts, and stopped in an Inn. Though I called it that, it was actually just a series or four walls with black cloth as its roof. No matter how I looked at it, the word 'for poor' was written all over it.

A bountiful lady rushed forward and graciously exposed her bounty. Tilting her head forty five degrees and chest forward like a string was dragging her sternum to the ceiling, her try-hard attempt to be seductive was a picture of hippopotamus while sunbathing. Basically, the she looked like drowning. "Welcome to the cheapest Inn of Manara! One room costs ten copper coins, add me in for a deal of twenty! That's for a limited time only. Also-"

"One room. Go away." Wuen answered frankly and entered a random room without care.

The look on the lady's face was priceless. At first, she froze, then thawed with fire on her nose, then went pale and deflated to some other corner of the city maze.

I giggled for a bit, then followed Wuen in. The size of this room was a stuffy two metre wide and one metre long. One folded blanket was rolled in the corner, and that was all the room has to offer. No windows, no bed, nothing but a pile of rag.

"We are sleeping here?" I asked dumbfounded, and immediately grimaced as the slave curse rung in my head. I forgot, no questions allowed.

"Hmph, I rather go back to my lab and sleep on a table."

"Okay." I sat in a corner and tried to fan myself, waiting him to continue whatever he has to say.

"Not gonna ask where you'll sleep?" He teased.

"Mmm." Was all I could reply.

The old man laughed at my predicament. He really had severe mood swings. A minute ago he was pissed, minute after he was in his own bliss.

After he was done making fun of me, he finally started talking. "Tomorrow, a free-for-all tournament will start and would last a week. You are participating."

Huh?

"What- what- uhhg. Fine!" This was a really annoying order. I want to bombard him questions, but I couldn't even begin to ask.

"Last as long as you can, stand out as much as you can, make them curious so their attention stay locked on you."

"Keep their attention on me so you can creep as much as you love. Understood." I kept my voice dripping with malice.

"Kukuku, just imagine the number of people going. There are even royalties coming! Ah, you think they brought royal treasures with them? Perhaps, some royal heirloom passed down for generations? One of those would fetch bars and bars of gold!" He got lost in his greed and started fantasizing shiny things. Wuen, a mad scientist and part-timer thief. He was such a hard working fellow.

"Oh, before I forget. Here." He handed me a slab of wood. There were numbers inscripted to it. '100'. "That is your proof of registration... Actually, just go there now. You sleep there, by the way."

He kicked me out of the room and left me with nothing except my ID to hell. Plus, I didn't even know where 'there' was.

-

Pretending to be a lost kid was an amazing way to find your way without having to ask. Just telling a random noble lady my parents were watching the tournament, she generously offered to escort me towards the Colosseum.

Along the way, she babbled a lot.

"My name is Pina, what is yours?"

"Teresa."

"Why do you keep hiding in your hood?"

"I'm scared."

"Aww, there is no need to fear me, little girl. This lady here will definitely help you reunite with your parents. Oh, I know! Are you hungry?"

I nodded. I'm always hungry.

The trip was slow and filling. I kept lying in every question, and she kept me well-fed throughout the ride. When we neared the Colosseum, I bolted. She was screaming at my back, but with my speed, her voice was soon drowned by the city's noise. I felt a little guilty, but I would soon make trouble so acquainting with strangers would not be smart.

When I arrived at the entrance, bulky men were surrounding me. Their eyes were sharp, and weapons of all kind were strapped at their backs or waists. They didn't pay me attention, but finding my way through them was very unnerving.

There were three entrance clerks. On top of each desks were written banners: 'Contestants', 'Nobles', 'Commoners'.

I immediately went for the contestant line, but an armed guy stopped me from my tracks.

"Brat, this is no place for you." A fully armored guard stood in my way.

I held out my ID number plate that Wuen gave.

The guard frowned, "You picked that up? Here, give it and go back to your parents."

"No. This is mine." I shamefully tucked my sleeve and showed my 'tali'. "My master ordered me to participate."

The crowd around me paused. Then, with a snap, murmurs erupted like volcano. This was how to stand out wasn't it? Be unusual.

"...Fine." The guard backed off with pity in his eyes.

I lined up with other contestants. Eyes occasionally wandered to me, but no one really knew what to do with the kid forced to die like a bad joke in a supposedly prestigious competition. Even though my existence there was discomforting, they knew a slave that moves without will was not the one to blame, so they just grimaced in my direction.

I smiled bitterly. At least, most of them were rational enough to not suddenly beat me up impulsively for tainting the place. These kind of events usually had some of those hot-blooded ones.

When I reached the clerk, a stubby man with long moustache, he gave me basic information. All participants, a total of 5000 and counting, would be divided into four groups. Named creatively as one, two, three, and four, everyone in that group would fight one another until the last ten were left standing in their designated day.

I was in group one, which was day one.

That night, I slept in a barracks full of muscled men. Their snores kept me awake, not that I could sleep even if I tried. Tomorrow, I would be surrounded by blood, again.

Red, the color I hated the most. It was harsh on my eyes, and reminded of aggression, of the monster inside me that craves that color. It was the color of blood. And I would most likely bathed in it tomorrow. Just thinking about it made me scared and sick. I silently crunched on the wall and drowned my mind to a world of nightmares.

---

Present

When the gong was sounded, waves of violence immediately swept through the arena. Besides the classic swords and what-not, there apparently quite a few number of mages. They stood out like a sore thumb as their spells colored the battlefield more than just the crimson of blood.

Thunder showers rained down and induced many screams. Hell fires were summoned from nether reaches and burnt many into charcoal crisp. There were even illusion magic that froze the weak-willed on the spot, making them an easy picking for the survivors. Though the mages were powerful by their own right, joining a tournament like this one was a suicide. There were smart warriors that simply waited for their mana to run out, and immediately pounce on the fragile spell casters when the chance arises.

The crowd was roaring in delight. As they had wanted, it was the carnage they had been waiting for. Blood from countless bodies seeped into the sandy ground.

In this sea of blood, a kid was standing despite the innumerable adults around her. Adults that were mostly incapacitated, dead, or bent on creating more chaos.

At first they ignored my existence, not wanting to be labelled as 'someone who killed a kid'. However, one shout of recognition dramatically changed my silent treatment. The illusion Wuen casted on me was somehow broken. Someone saw my face and screamed in fright. I saw what was reflected in his eyes, a kid with glowing golden eyes. The eyes of the race that forced more than twenty nations to band together just to destroy.

And that kid moved with an absolute grace, flawlessly evading all attacks that was aimed with intention to kill. I was immediately seen as a threat, even though I never harmed anyone. All the spilled blood was something other fellow participants caused. Not me. Yet, when just one person had seen my eyes, he screamed loud enough to gather numerous attention. I was reflected in their eyes, and what they saw was a monster in a human guise. Just like that, everyone became my enemy and rushed to claim my head.

With eyes full of fear, hostilities were directed my way. I grinned. They looked no more than a bunch of fools, provoking someone they knew far superior than them. They should let a sleeping lion lie, for waking it up never turned out good.

I made an example to the first one to attack. Grabbing a sword from the ground, for the first time, I killed something not for survival. They were far weaker than any prey I had eaten, so I should had been able to dismiss any attempt on my life. But still, I retaliated with blood thirst.

My movements were fast and sure as I brandished the sword taller than me like it was part of my arm. I intercepted the first offence, leaping onto his outstretched hands then simply let my blade meet his neck. Slicing through skin and bones was not a new experience. I was both a hunter and cook, after all. However, performing the same task to a human being felt different. It was grating.

His head flew without resistance. Others stopped, cautioned by what they had seen. Too late, my innocence was already gone. All hesitation had been severed when that head flew off.

I begin to slaughter anything that remotely move. Coldly dismembering when necessary, I left piles of disembodied corpses in my wake.

When nothing moved anymore, I stopped. Looking around, I noticed that the entire stadium was so silent I could hear the soft blow of the wind. Also, the noon heat was unnoticeable because instead, I felt cold shudders rising in my throat.

What in the world had I done.

Again.

---

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