The simulator tower loomed over the training grounds, its smooth, black surface reflecting the sunlight like polished obsidian. For most recruits, the simulator was a symbol of hope, the final step before earning a place on the Monster Control Crew. But to Damian, it was an intimidating monolith. Today, he felt its shadow more than ever. A brisk wind swept through the courtyard, carrying the faint hum of machinery from the tower’s core. Recruits crowded around the platform at its base, each clutching their weapons and murmuring nervously. The tension was thick enough to cut with a spear.
Recruits were slowly approaching the machine, whispering about their expectations, making bets about who would pass and who would not. Everyone looked nervous, except for Tsuyo, the bunny girl looked excited as always, a bright smile on her face. Damian was blankly staring forward, “Don’t overthink it, Damian. We’ve got this.” His best friend had punched him on the shoulder with her usual confidence, but he could tell she was just as nervous as he was, it was obvious to him even from behind her current smiling facade. Both of them were too distracted to notice how everyone was now moving aside, their expressions ones of confusion, some others observed with disgust. Someone advanced slowly toward the simulator machine, seemingly wanting to enter without the Commander's permission. He bumped into Damian, causing him to try to apologize, but the words couldn't leave his mouth. In front of him was a rat, his fur was messy and very dirty, his clothes were hastily mended together, the usual lustrous green of the Training Uniform now a washed-out moss color. "What are you staring at, Princess? Never seen a rat before?" he snarled, "I wasn't staring at you..." said Damian in a low voice, "Sure thing. Move out of the way, rich scum. I have no time to deal with yet another one of momma's boys." Damian didn't move though, he stayed perfectly in place, the rat sighed, "Must be nice to think you can do whatever you want, with every need met before it’s even spoken. Just get out of my way, or things will end badly" he said, putting his hand on Damian's shoulder, "Oh, is that so?" replied the dragon, tightly grasping his spear, "I want to see you try and defeat me" he continued, the rat let out a small laugh "Yeah, like you've ever been in a real fight. Like you've ever fought for anything in your life", the tension was rising, and most recruits were stepping back, fearful of being caught in the crossfire. "What is going on down there?" said someone high up, surprising everybody and making them look at the sky, "Fighting again, Private Damian? I also am very surprised to see you taking part in such barbaric acts, Private Basil" said the eagle woman high above, her wings stretched, she jumped off the top of the Simulator Spire, gliding effortlessly onto the ground. Everyone quickly adopted an organized formation, "Tell me now, what was the situation? Why were you both engaging in a fight outside the designated area and practice time?" she asked, "It was simply a misunderstanding, Commander Sylvie, Sir!" said Damian, adopting a firm pose. "Yes, Sir! Merely a misunderstanding!" continued the rat, sweating and trembling slightly. "Very well. This must not happen again with any recruit present in this training camp. Or there will be very severe consequences" she concluded, as she made her way to the access door of the Simulator Spire. "Listen up! You are all the best of the best, speaking of physical condition and skills in the battlefield. The only ones that made it this far. Today, you will prove Cloud City you can defeat any threat that comes your way. Your last trial begins in exactly thirty-two minutes. You must defeat every simulated threat that we will put you through to earn yourself a place in the one of the Military Units. Until then, you are dismissed. Remember: You all have a reputation to uphold, I expect you all to live up to it." she ended before taking off once again, leaving everyone more nervous than before.
The recruits gathered in the dimly lit waiting area beneath the Simulator Spire, a cavernous room lined with benches and weapon racks. Sat in cold steel benches, everyone awaited patiently for the last trial, some were checking the state of their weapons with extreme dedication to ensure they wouldn't fail, others tried to lighten the mood and spoke to their comrades, but Damian was leaning against the farthest corner, he wanted to be alone and have some time to think. "Only thirty more minutes left for us in this hell, huh? The wait is killing me!" said a slender fox woman, she was smiling at him and her tone was unusually friendly, suddenly snapping Damian out of his self-induced trance, "Don't see it like that, you'll only make it worse. Think of it as the last thing we do before we become heroes. Breathe deeply, and enjoy these brief moments of calm before the storm." replied Damian, returning the smile, "Yeah, you're right. Take care up there, from what I've heard they installed this simulator so we could fight the closest thing to real monsters!" she said, turning around and leaving. Damian sighed and walked up to a small group that had formed so he could relax a bit before his trial, "I am not a hypocrite, what kind of person would I be if I told this lady what to do, but I didn't do it myself?" he thought, after all, being honest is what a real hero would do.
Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, the elevator doors leading up to the simulator suddenly opened, "ATTENTION, ALL ACTIVE PARTICIPANTS: PLEASE HEAD INSIDE WHEN YOUR CODE IS MENTIONED FOR YOUR TRIAL TO BEGIN" roared a mechanical voice coming from the speakers inside. Everyone quickly sprung up from their seats, grasping their weapons, whispers filled the air, people were trying to guess who the first to board was going to be, "CODE 71224, PRIVATE DAMIAN BAKKER, YOUR PRESENCE IS REQUIRED ON THE COMBAT SIMULATOR TRIAL. PLEASE ENTER THE ELEVATOR AND REMAIN STILL UNTIL THE DOORS OPEN ONCE AGAIN" said the mechanical announcer once again, Damian started to walk toward the open doors with a look of determination on his face. He stepped into the elevator, and watched the doors close with the same serious look on his face.
As the elevator doors sealed shut behind Damian with a metallic clang, the last glimpse of his world vanished. Silence pressed in, broken only by the hum of the rising platform and the sound of his own heartbeat. Somewhere above, the tower's simulated challenges waited.
But below—
Far beneath the polished spires and golden cages—
another trial was already underway.
Not of illusions and simulations, but of flesh, blood, and breaking bones.
Far below the city, there were machines. Machines larger than the mightiest of towers. Machines that roared with the power of a hundred suns. A net of platforms connected these behemoths of metal and fire, atop of these webs, men, women and children of many species stumbled past each other, carrying heavy tools, pushing carts full of coal, their expressions depressed and hollow. The rhythmic sound of metal against stone filled the air at every moment, a perpetual presence, a heartbeat just under the sounds of the engines, workers mined away at the stone walls, extracting the precious fuel used to power their suffering, the lifeblood of the hell that hid beneath the perfection of a false heaven. A symphony of steel and blood, a perpetual cycle of endless brutality this place was, an endless cycle of torment. Such place housed unspeakable horrors, never-ending suffering, and yet, it was irrelevant when one is to shift their gaze just slightly and stare at the rotting husk of a civilization where these tormented souls were born. Even further north from Cloud City, a place known to the rich elite as the Distant Lights, an "anomaly" they called it, however, the truth was something not one of them was prepared to hear. This city was called Pecunia, and through its veins poverty ran like blood, suffering fueled its lungs like oxygen. Every creature in this city was drowned in endless debt, amounts of money unthinkable for even the rich, and thus, they were forced to work their life away in any of the jobs the rotting corpse of a city that Pecunia was could offer. The Underground Engines were the best of them, high pay, enough to ensure the Government Police agents would leave their families alone for one more day, but only the strong could work in the Engines, the rest? They had to sweep the unending filth of the streets, perhaps they needed to steal and sell scraps for a few cents, enough to attempt to fill the void in their stomach,they could try and gamble with their time in the rotten rivers, hoping to catch one mutated fish to sell. This place was hidden in plain sight, hidden from those who lived in Cloud City, they never questioned where the energy that kept the city alive came from because, they never needed to, with their lives already solved, they had no need to look past their golden cages. Those who kept this system running thought it would stay that way, working even in near death like an ant possessed by a fungus, but nothing can remain in darkness for long, and the light Pecunia sought with all its might would not take long to shine, bringing hope like a lighthouse to a lost sailor.
Comments
Post a Comment