The stone door slowly rolled open, and flas cast their glow through the gap. Lucina lay in the stifling stone chamber, groggily opening her eyes.
A Gray Man stood at the doorway, yelling at Lucina and gesturing for her to get up quickly and follow it.
She had been captured by this group of Gray n for so ti. They stripped her of her clothes and locked her in this oppressive cell, providing her with food four tis a day and forcing her to engage in high-intensity physical training twice daily.
Using the twice-daily training sessions and sleeping periods as a reference, Lucina carved marks on the wall with small stones for each cycle. She had made more than thirty marks so far.
This place wasn’t Asgard, of that Lucina was certain. The physique of these Gray n was robust, their bodies made of rock, yet their appearance was very similar to humans. Perhaps, this was the Fla Kingdom, Muspelheim, as described in mythology.
The Gray Man urged once more, and Lucina slowly rose, dragging the chains tightly fastened to her hands and feet, walking towards the door.
After the last round of nearly self-destructive training, even she was struggling. The fitness regins developed by these stone n could easily outmatch any known equipnt workout on Earth.
She originally thought that the stone n captured her because they believed she was a spy from Asgard, expecting cruel torture and interrogation. But instead, they imprisoned her and forced her to undergo high-intensity training.
All of this must co at a price.
As Lucina reached the door, the Gray Man lifted the chain hanging from her neck’s stone collar and, like leading a pet, took her away.
The stone corridor wasn’t spacious, with torches mounted on the walls. In the torchlight, she could see her surroundings clearly. The stone corridor had a circular stone door every ten or so steps, indicating this was their centralized detention area for prisoners.
Lucina was now only covering her upper body with a dirty white cloth wrap across her chest and wearing a thick rope tied around her waist. Two ragged strips hung in the front and back, reaching her knees, barely covering her lower body.
The stifling underground environnt coated her skin with a layer of oily sweat. The orange-red firelight made her skin shine, casting complex shadows from her muscular contours, making Lucina resemble a statue of an Ancient Greek heroine.
"Pa kong la ji wa la wa re! Kong ha qi!" the Gray Man said, turning his head to Lucina.
Lucina couldn’t understand a word they had spoken to her over these days. Initially, she replied with curses and spit, but after a painful beating with stone fists, she decided to stop doing foolish things... even though she was a Witch now, the Gray Man’s punches could still hurt for days.
The stone collar on her neck restricted her Magic Power, not completely but enough to prevent her from fighting too many Gray n. In a one-on-one fight, Lucina was confident, but the Gray n clearly lacked any sense of chivalry. A group of two-ter-tall stone hulks would swarm, and Lucina would end up on the receiving end.
She shot a sideways glance at the Gray Man and ignored it, letting the Gray Man speak to itself.
After walking through the stone corridor for a long ti, they finally began to ascend the stairs, heading towards the ground. But the closer to the exit they got, the more Lucina could hear the deafening shouts from outside.
What is going on? Lucina was curious. As she climbed the stairs and exited the passage, she realized she was standing in an even larger stone chamber.
Moreover, she saw other humans.
"Pa kong ji! Lu Cabu!" The Gray Man smiled, unchaining Lucina except for the stone collar on her neck. Then it turned and re-entered the passage.
"Hey, wait up, you bastard!" Lucina turned back, wanting to ask a question, but a large hand grabbed her arm.
"Hey, new here? I heard they captured a woman recently, so it might be you," a steady voice sounded in her ear. Lucina shook off the hand, looking at him warily.
This person was about the sa height as Chen Ke, but much more muscular. He had a shaved head and a brown beard. He wore simple clothes with a leather shoulder guard and held a stone axe in his left hand.
Here, everyone t each other so "honestly," which made Lucina uncomfortable.
"Who the hell are you?! Don’t touch !" Lucina snapped.
"Oh, I an no harm. Hmm... quite the temper, and you’re pretty sturdy. Well, that makes sense. An ordinary woman couldn’t survive here. I’m Eivor. What’s your na?" the man asked.
"I’m... Amara. What’s going on... I’ve been locked up here for so long, I never knew there were so many people here," Lucina said, hands on her hips, looking around.
This was a simple gym. Many people were lifting weights, so practicing combat techniques. The air was filled with the sll of sweat, which made Lucina feel slightly more at ease.
"We all saw when they dragged you in. You got beaten badly. I thought you wouldn’t make it through that night," Eivor said.
"I’m tough as nails! That’s nothing!" Lucina retorted.
"Calm down, Amara. If you’re as tough as you say, you’ll have quite a ti ahead," Eivor said, with a sigh.
"What are they running a gym here for?" Lucina asked.
As soon as she finished speaking, a wailing sound ca from the other end of the stone chamber. Two Gray n carried out a robust man who was writhing in pain, his body covered in blood. Sothing had torn a huge gash in his waist, leaving half his intestines hanging out, cradled in the stretcher.
They passed by Lucina, taking him back to the passage she had erged from earlier.
"That is..." Lucina’s eyes widened.
"You see, that’s our future fate," Eivor shook his head.
"You can’t tell ... it’s like that," a trace of despair tinged Lucina’s voice.
"Yes, we’re their slave gladiators. They capture us, train us, and then throw us into the arena to fight against all sorts of creatures... until death, or until our injuries are deed too severe to justify healing," Eivor said.
"Damn them... I don’t want to be a slave gladiator!" Lucina was both furious and afraid.
Back in 2000, she watched ’Gladiator’ with her father. As a young girl, she admired the muscular, armor-clad warriors, wishing foolishly that one day she’d be a fierce female gladiator like them.
And today, her wish had co true...
"Fuck... fuck them! We’re not their playthings! I don’t want to be a gladiator! Absolutely not!" Lucina cursed as she paced back and forth, emotions a twisted mix of depression, fear, anger, and confusion.
"Girl... listen to , none of us here want that, but we need to survive now so we can plan for the future, you understand? You’re pretty sturdy, and it’s clear you have so skills. We’re working on an escape plan, and you’re going to be part of it, won’t you? You don’t have a choice anymore, do you?" Eivor said.
"How do we escape?" Lucina asked.
Eivor quickly made a "shush" gesture, then pulled her aside and whispered, "We’ll find a way, but first we need to survive. Our numbers are dwindling, and you’re the only new recruit in quite so ti, so... I need to first tell you about the kinds of opponents you’ll face in the arena, to ensure you survive." Eivor explained.
Lucina nodded. Even if Eivor had a plan, they couldn’t act right away; she was sure she would need to participate in a few more fights in the arena first.
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