The embodiment of nothing, that's what Flugel was seeing through his eyes. His body felt dull and stiff, almost as if his body denied moving according to his will.

  "What have I done..."

  His mouth refused to speak, and his tongue refused to move. He could only think.

  The infinite void of nothing consumed each part and limb of his body, like a devouring beast.

  "What have I done..."

  One could only feel one sensation: guilt. Guilt of his sin, murdering the one who raised him for years and years. Taking away her right to see the world and her right to travel the world, even her right of living.

  The same thought occurred in his mind, drowning into the limitless void of nothing: "How could I?"

  However, he also wondered how long it has been since he was stuck in this endless void. That question stuck in his mind for the past... God knows how long.

  No matter how much he tried flinching and twitching, his body refused to move a muscle.

  "Take care."

  As he felt a female voice whispering in his ear, although the voice felt unfamiliar and unclear, it sent a sensation of warmth into his heart.

  Surprisely, he felt his muscles finally start obeying his orders as he successfully raised his hand with an open palm outward with a smooth motion.

  Only then, he lifted up his eyelids only to be hit with a ray of brightness directly in his eye.

  "Ugh.. where am I...?"

  Blinded, he raised his hands, examining the area around him, trying to make some sense of the said environment. He felt something touching his hand, the touch of human skin.

  "Flugel..."

  He heard an unclear voice calling his name. He couldn't even tell if it was a man or a woman, just a human voice.

  "Flugel, wake up, man!"

  Flugel felt a hand slap his cheeks back and forth, with an increasing force each time.

  After his eyes finally adjusted to the sudden exposure of the bright environment he was in, his vision became clear and well.

  In front of Flugel's face was none other than his dear friend and teacher, the one whom he believed he had left behind in his village.

  Flugel said in a low voice, filled with despair as the memories couldn't leave his mind:

  "Willinham...?"

  Willinham responded with worry and perplexity:

  "Flugel! What the hell is wrong with you?!"

  Flugel rubbed his eyes with a gentle motion just to find himself lying on a hard floor that made him feel very uncomfortable.

  As he sat up to ease the uncomfortable sensation and find out his location, Willinham watched over him while sat on his knees.

  He then turned his head left and right, examining and scanning the area around him. Only to see an army of villagers, familiar and unfamiliar ones.

  Ones he knew his whole life, and ones he hadn't seen in his entire life. But that was merely the first thing he noticed.

  Giant walls made of hard unbreakable concrete, covered in light blue paint. An endless roof made of glass revealing the sky of the day, the sunlight barely able to pass through the glass as the angle of the walls were just enough to make the sunlight hit the walls, making the place just a little bit dark, seemingly like a cage.

  The air around Flugel was a little bit freezing, yet warm enough for him to stay comfortably standing while wearing his tunic— NO! He was lost in so much confusion and perplexity that he hadn't realized that he, Willinham and everyone else were wearing some type of black pocket-less track suits, each suit having a certain number written on a white plastic plate on their right forearm, which was quite a bizzare scenery for Flugel; being a peasant.

  The inside of the giant "cage" was totally bizzare and strange as well, some sort of greenish half-spheres that were scattered around, not to mention everyone was standing on one of them as well. A blue floor separated each sphere from the other.

  As Flugel was still trying to escape and leave his half-awake state, Willinham was just a little bit pleased and relieved that Flugel was alive.

  Yet, doubt grew its roots in Willinham's mind and heart, trying to decipher what is going on in this giant "cage" and where the heck were they.

  With no clues to have the slightest idea of their location, he could only guess and ask around, holding onto hope.

  Willinham started thinking to himself:

  "Green spheres... a blue floor..."

  He lifted his head up to check the roof.

  "Glass roof... could they be mimicking a river?"

  After giving it some thought, the objects did look like hills surrounding a smooth moving river, but it is still a bizarre thing to build.

  The people around them looked worried and anxious. He could only guess they were kidnapped by Remenis as well.

  Willinham put his hand over his mouth and started pondering and drowning in thoughts as he stepped forward a few steps.

  "Why would they build something like this... huh, what is that?" He thought.

  In the corner of his eye, he noticed a wide glass window, yet it seemed to be painted black, making the inside invisible.

  "Weird..." He thought.

  After some pondering, Willinham turned around, walked up to Flugel, and looked at him.

  "Flugel, do you have a single idea why are we here? or where are we?"

  Strangely, Flugel refused to answer. To be precise, he ignored Willinham. Flugel was watching his own hands, admiring them yet in a shocked state.

  Flugel's eyes were wide open, and his breathing became heavy as his body trembled.

  Willinham thought:

  "Wait... Flugel and the others escaped, why are they here...?"

  That's when he realized:

  "I see, Remenis got to them before me. But..."

  He turned around and scanned the people around him.

  "I probably shouldn't ask him about it. He looks miserable."

  Willinham just stood there, observing the area and waiting for something significant to happen.

  On the other hand, Flugel was in a state of confusion, devastation, and loss. He did notice a name written on his forearm— "Lutum", which was quite strange because everyone else had a number instead of a name.

  His mind was full of random scattered memories and thoughts, trying to decipher and explain what had happened.

  Willinham was no exception to the strange names. His forearm had "Regium" written on it.

  That's when a loud voice could be heard from the walls. The voice was a little cracked and high-pitched, yet it was familiar.

  "Ahm, ahm... Welcome, peasants!"

  Everyone in the "cage" turned around, searching for the source of the voice but with no results. They assumed the person was hiding somewhere except Willinham.

  Willinham thought:

  "I see, All of these people must be from various villages across the Filth Realm. They must not know what loudspeakers are."

  Only Willinham noticed the exotic looking cones sticked and scattered around the walls. Others did, in fact, point out the cones, but none of them could figure out their use.

  "I'm sure you're all confused due to why I've gathered you here today, but worry not! For I, Remenis Fedesis, will clear everything!"

  That sentence struck a nerve in Flugel's mind as the name "Remenis" went through his ears like lightning.

  With no second thought and rage igniting in his eyes, Flugel stood up with a rapid and careless motion and went on to yell with a serious tone:

  "Remenis, come out and face me, you coward!"

  "I see you've woken up, Flugel! With some spirit, indeed... Yet, you'll never reach me, not at my level!"

  This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  "YOU WILL PAY!"

  Remenis stayed silent for a mere moment, then he started giggling and laughing as if Flugel's claims were mere bluffing. His laughs could be heard by everyone, sending a sensation of anxiety through them.

  "Peasants, welcome to The Modesty Games!"

  Flugel shouted with frustration:

  "Are you ignoring me?!"

  At that point, everyone was staring at Flugel with a mixed feeling of confusion and pity.

  Willinham approached Flugel with a rapid motion and put his hands on Flugel's shoulders, and said:

  "Dude, calm it—"

  Flugel was annoyed.

  "Get off me!"

  Flugel resisted Willinham's grip on his shoulders as he pushed forward.

  Willinham yelled:

  "Calm down! What is wrong with you?! What happened in that carriage?!"

  Flugel's eyes became wide open as he stared down at his feet.

  "I—..."

  Flugel's heart kept on sinking lower and lower each time the memory of his mother's final words played in his mind. As Willinham sensed that Flugel had calmed down, he put his hands down and looked at Flugel with pity and worry.

  Willinham thought to himself:

  "I see. My worries and thoughts were correct. I've looked around before Flugel had woken up and searched through the people here. There is no trace of Flugel's mother, meaning..."

  Willinham watched Flugel get back on his knees, and then Flugel sat down and hugged his legs as his face faced the ground.

  "She's most likely dead."

  Willinham turned around to face the strange black window on the wall and thought to himself:

  "Remenis is most likely there, I'm sure of it. But how am I going to get there when..."

  Willinham turned around to face not Flugel, but what was behind him. After Flugel was a giant humongous gate, around 6 meters in height and 2 meters in width, as if the gate was designed for a large quantity of people to go through.

  But the true purpose of the gate was obvious. The gate was guarded by two Tenegians from Garn's race, yet these ones seemed larger and more muscular than Garn, wearing large cloaks made of wolf fur and sturdy hide boots, with an intimidating gaze, as well as holding giant axes made of steel.

  Although Willinham was quite powerful for a human due to his authority, he realized he wasn't up to the challenge and wasn't risking it.

  He looked down at Flugel while waiting to hear the rest of Remenis's speech.

  "Let me explain, peasants. Basically..."

  Slowly and surprisingly, the ground started shaking. Then, before everyone, a small area in the middle of the hall opened and separated in half, leaving a small square pit in the middle of the floor.

  Then, something emerged from that pit. It wasn't that visible at first, but after it rose and emerged fully, it was visible to everyone.

  Remenis continued:

  "In front of you, there's a table. On top of that table, there are three glass jars. And inside of those jars, as you see, there are paper shreds with all of your identities written on them!"

  After the last word, behind everyone, the gate opened. Everyone turned around in shock and anxiety due to the mystery.

  Behind the gate, emerged darkness and shadows, as if the gate was a path to the absolute void.

  From the shadows, a creature emerged, approaching them step after step. As the light hit against it, its features were revealed.

  A face covered in white fur, eyes sharp as a bullet, ears pointy like a knife, as well as wearing a dark colored cloak covered in what seemed to be wolf fur, just like the tenegians.

  To Flugel and everyone else, the creature looked strange and unknown, but to Willinham, he knew what that was.

  Willinham thought with a calm mind:

  "A luxien? What is a luxien doing here...?"

  The luxien kept on walking forward towards Flugel and Willinham's direction. Flugel didn't have much of a reaction, but Willinham stood in a defensive stand— staying on guard, ready to counter any incoming attack.

  As the luxien was a few steps away, the two, he seemed to avoid eye contact with them as he passed right by them.

  Willinham was relieved as he sighed and stood back normally once again, yet Flugel was just as he was before, sitting alone.

  The luxien approached the table, each step planting more confusion in the people's hearts. When the luxien finally stood before the table, Remenis announced:

  "My dear comrade, Albein, will divide you people to groups. Each group will be assigned an activity. He'll be yelling your numbers so you can know what group you belong to."

  As the luxien, Albein, put his hand inside the jar on the left and grabbed out a paper shred, he yelled:

  "Nawm— Number 45!"

  And then pointed towards his right with his finger. Everyone checked their forearms for their numbers until the said "Number 45" emerged from the crowd, approaching Albein, and then heading towards the direction Albein pointed at.

  "Number 45" wasn't more than a forty year old man with short brown hair, walking anxiously towards an unknown destination.

  Albein kept shouting the numbers in the jars, group growing with each paper shreds picked up. Willinham waited for his name to be yelled as he watched Flugel sitting on the ground, hugging his legs for the past ten minutes.

  Willinham watched the crowd he was in decrease in quantity over time, and numbers rose up to 400. Weirdly, the crowd was getting so little that he started to suspect that his name wasn't going to be yelled.

  He looked down at Flugel's forearm and noticed he had a name instead of a number as well.

  He thought:

  "Are they going to call us yet? Only me and Flugel are left..."

  He lifted his head up and realized, in front of him, was one person. The crowd had already gone into groups, and there were merely three people left in their side.

  As Willinham looked at that person, he acknowledged and scanned their features.

  The person was a woman who looked to be around 20 to 23 years old. She looked like she was as old as Willinham. Her outfit wasn't any different than Willinham's, as everybody was wearing the same black track suit.

  She had blonde hair with a "chobby bob" cut. Some of her hair covered her left eye. Her height was around 175 centimeters, and most noticeably, she suffered complete Heterochromia. Her left eye was pictone blue, and her right eye was tortilla brown.

  Although everything about her seemed natural, there was a feature that anyone who'd pass by her would notice. The skin on her left cheek and a part of her neck was covered in some type of dry soil that looked like it was about to collapse at any second.

  Her eyes had a strong gaze, as if she knew what she was doing or what she was going to do. She wasn't making eye contact with anyone except Albein.

  Willinham thought:

  "Maybe she has a name instead of a number as well..."

  Albein went on to announce with a sharp voice:

  "Lutum, regium and abutens. Each one of you head to your respected destination."

  The groups stared at the three with confusion and perplexity, as those three had names instead of the usual numbers.

  A wide grin formed on Remenis's face as he heard those words.

  Willinham thought in conclusion:

  "My thoughts were correct. We three are the only ones with a name. But what could that imply..."

  That woman from before, which Willinham concluded was called "Abutens" according to her plate, started walking forward slowly, approaching Albein and waiting for his instructions.

  Willinham was about to approach his group as well, but he quickly remembered his dear friend.

  Willinham turned around, looked down at Flugel, and said:

  "Flugel, come on, man. We should get going now."

  Flugel wasn't answering as he was stuck in his own mind, reading and thinking the exact same words over and over again.

  "I'll kill him I'll kill him I'll kill him I'll kill him I'll kill him I'll kill him I'll kill him I'll kill him I'll kill him I'll kill him I'll kill him I'll kill him"

  Albein shouted:

  "Head to your groups, now!"

  Willinham was annoyed and decided to yell and push Flugel a little:

  "Flugel!"

  "Huh?"

  Flugel lifted his head up and looked into Willinham's eyes as tears rolled down Flugel's eyes.

  Willinham said:

  "If you're going to keep up doing that, I might just leave you behind in this place!"

  Willinham reached out his hand to Flugel, signaling that he wanted to help him. Even though Flugel was in a state of disbelief and denial, that moment made him see Willinham as a light of hope in the darkness.

  Flugel wiped the tears off his face with his palm and then held onto Willinham's hand to stand up.

  Willinham said:

  "Are you alright?"

  Flugel shrugged.

  "Yeah, I guess... what is going on...?"

  Willinham sighed.

  "As you can, we've been split into groups. You should get going to yours now."

  Flugel was perplexed.

  "Groups...? Are we going to separate?"

  Willinham shrugged.

  "I guess so. But importantly, we need to get out of this place. I doubt that they're going to do anything normal to us."

  Flugel looked down.

  "Right..."

  But deep in Flugel's mind, escaping wasn't his objective in the slightest. His goal was that bastard's head, Remenis's head with tears rolling down his eyes. Just to achieve vengeance for his dear murdered family.

  Albein yelled:

  "If you two are going to stay there, I might just kill the both of you!"

  Willinham said back nervously:

  "W-we're coming, we're coming!"

  As Willinham sprinted towards the group he was assigned to, Flugel followed him like a lost dog, as if Flugel was taking cover with Willinham.

  When Willinham was going to enter his group, following the direction Albein gave, Albein noticed Flugel following Willinham and yelled:

  "A- A- A-! Your group is there!"

  That's what Albein said as he pointed outward at another group. Flugel hesitated because that meant separating from Willinham. He looked back and forth, wondering what to do now.

  Willinham noticed Flugel anxious actions and said:

  "Hey, hey, Flugel!"

  Willinham approached him yet again and put his hand on his shoulder.

  "Don't worry, man. Nothing is going to happen if we get separated for a little while, trust me."

  "Y-yeah... I guess you're right on that. It's not really a problem, but"

  That's when Willinham span Flugel around until Flugel's back faced him. And then, with a strong motion, he slapped Flugel's back with both of his hands.

  Willinham said with a determined and confident voice:

  "Come on, get going!"

  Flugel was pushed away a little, and when he looked back at Willinham, he formed a little smile on his face. No other words were spoken as Willinham walked back to his group. That's when Flugel finally lifted his head up with a little mark of confidence as he walked, approaching his group.

  When Flugel finally got into his group, walking through the crowd in it, he started to notice familiar faces, as villagers from his village were with him.

  One man from the group, who seemed to know Flugel from before, approached and said with a worried voice:

  "Flugel!"

  When Flugel turned to face that man, he immediately recognized him.

  "O-oh! Uncle Fern!"

  Fern stood with his arms crossed as he said:

  "Have you seen Herkil?! I've been running around the place for an hour now! There are no signs of Herkil! If our village chief is gone, we're doomed!"

  "Oh... I..."

  Flugel didn't know how to deliver the message of the news. Although Herkil's death did have some impact on him, it wasn't as bad as his mother's or brother's. Yet, death is still an overwhelming and horrendous event to witness in the first seats.

  Words failed Flugel, and his tongue refused to speak. Yet, in the end, his tongue finally gave up to him and obeyed him.

  "Herkil... has died."

  Fern was bewildered, and his eyes became wide open as he stepped back. Once Flugel announced Herkil's death, everyone around him that knew of Herkil and turned around to face Flugel.

  Fern said with a low voice in despair:

  "I see... thank you, Flugel. Have you confirmed his death?"

  "Y-yeah..."

  "How did he die?"

  "He..."

  Weirdly enough, he did remember Herkil sacrificing his life to save his mother, but only realized that Herkil's sacrifice was for nothing, as Flugel killed his mother with his own hands. Herkil had died for nothing.

  "Herkil... saved me..."

  Flugel couldn't get himself to say the words in his mind, so he made up a new way of death for Herkil.

  Fern said with a relieved voice:

  "I see... but hey."

  Fern put his hand on Flugel's hair and rubbed it with a smooth motion, making Flugel itch a little, although the feeling was quite tingling yet comforting a little.

  "Fern died for a reason, and that is you. Even though our village chief is gone, we're all alive thanks to him, and you are as well."

  Flugel was quite comforted but still felt guilty.

  "I know, I owe him my life. "

  "What is he going to do with your life? He's dead!"

  Fern tried to cheer Flugel with a small joke but obviously failed miserably... He went on to add:

  "I see you're feeling quite down, aren't you? Don't worry about it, Flugel."

  Flugel appreciated the little comfort Fern was offering and smiled.

  "I get it, thank you, Uncle Fern."

  Fern smiled back.

  "I hope both you and your family stay safe."

  Flugel's eyes became wide-open at the mention of his family, and he begged that Fern doesn't question anything about their disappearance. He didn't want anyone to question it or ask about them. He merely wanted to stay alone and drown in guilt.

  "Thank you, Uncle Fern. Is your family alright?"

  Fern's smile quickly turned into a frown as he said:

  "As you see, everyone from the village was kidnapped, well, almost everyone."

  Flugel was puzzled as he thought that Fern was hinting at something.

  "What do you mean? I think everyone is here?"

  "He noticed..." Flugel thought.

  Fern went on to ask:

  "Flugel."

  Flugel looked at him with questioning eyes.

  "Yes?"

  Fern asked with an anxious voice:

  "Where is your family?"