A loud alarm boomed across the complex.

  “Ronin, get up, get out of the cell now!” Marvin shouted.

  Groggily, Ronin pushed himself out of bed, his hands covering his ears in an attempt to dampen the noise.

  Stumbling his way out of the cell, he felt his cuffs begin rising.

  What the?

  The cuffs continued moving upwards and his feet left the ground. All around him, the same thing was happening to the other inmates as well. More than a hundred thousand men rose up above the railing, then out over the central hall below.

  Seeing as it's the cuffs that's moving and not me, this whole complex must have been installed with magnets! Ronin thought in amazement.

  “If not for the cuffs, that black fluid would not lift you up,” grinned his big cellmate. Ronin secretly just called him Bulkster now. It wasn’t his real name, but the big guy hadn’t shared, and it was as good a name as any.

  “Seen it before,” Bulkster continued, his eyes wide in excitement. “The black gunk just ripped itself straight out of the man’s body, there was blood everywhere man!”

  Shaking his head at the vulgar giant, Ronin considered the man's words:

  Something that can heal the body and is attracted by magnetism…That black fluid I was injected with… It has to be nanites!

  The small mechanical machines fit those properties to a tee! Still, he didn’t see what the cuffs did to stop the nanites from being ripped out of his body. Perhaps the handcuffs coagulated the nanites somehow, preventing them from piercing the body? After all, a bigger, flatter thing didn't pierce, it pushed.

  Ronin looked over at his bionic cellmate, seeing the man jerk around in agony.

  “Yeah, it's just as bad as it looks…” he said, noticing Ronin’s gaze. “Every piece of metal tears… ugh!...Think they made these prisons especially for people like us, just to make us hurt.”

  Ronin was about to respond, but noticed himself begin descending. In fact, it wasn't just him, they were all moving towards the ground.

  On his way down, along with the arena, Ronin spotted a great gate spanning tens of meters. What made this gate unique, however, was the singular word written on it:

  “Life,” Ronin muttered, frowning. For what purpose would the prison write such a name there?

  As prisoners began landing though, Ronin soon found his answer. Every single inmate that landed, ran towards the gate at full speed. And as soon as the gate opened a little, the inmates already close to it, attempted to squeeze themselves in. More men reached the floor as shouts and bellows ran through the prison like an eruption. More and more inmates rushed for the gate, but there was a limit to how many could pass. A crowd began forming around the gate and inmates started to fight those ahead in order to get in.

  Whatever was behind that opening, people clearly wanted it, and it had something to do with life.

  Ronin’s feet touched the ground as well and he saw a ceiling begin enclosing the lowermost floor, sealing off everything above.

  There was only one floor now… And one gate.

  What in the world?! Why are they sealing us in like this? He thought before—

  “Come with me!” Marvin shouted.

  Ronin, still not sure what was happening, chose to follow. And with his damaged leg, he ran as far as he could, but there were too many people. The sea of humanity closed in around him, and he started having to push, shove, and squeeze his way further in. Not an easy feat with a laser-burned shoulder. Only able to use his right arm, Ronin started having trouble. The pressure from the surrounding mass of people, made simply breathing difficult.

  “Be careful not to get submerged!” He faintly heard Marvin shout.

  Focusing more and more on getting through the crowd, Ronin began losing his sense of time. The mayhem of human struggle was just so all encompassing, he barely noticed anything anymore.

  There was only the path, the path deeper into the chaos.

  It was at this point, when he was at his most distracted, that a shiv, out of nowhere, venomously struck for his abdomen. Ronin himself didn’t notice the sharp thing, but his instincts did... By some form of alien reinforced subconscious subroutine, he deflected the blade away. And through the corner of his eye, he spotted the shiv dig into a man beside him. Void… that wasn’t me, was it? That was the alien artifact!

  There was no time to think. He pushed on…

  Eventually, the pressure from so many people, all around him, pushing inwards, eased up. Still focused on pressing forward, Ronin didn't notice.

  “This way!” Marvin shouted.

  Was he finally through? Heading towards the voice, Ronin arrived in front of a multitude of empty aisles. Inmates seemed to be running along them, picking something up every now and then.

  There!

  He finally saw his fellow cellmate.

  Grinning wildly, Marvin held up two pieces of gear, one in each hand.

  “Got one for you too! Breathing masks!” He laughed, handing one over to Ronin.

  As Marvin quickly began putting on the mask, Ronin followed suit and they headed further down the aisles, arriving before another gate. The surrounding inmates did not stand in front of it this time.

  All along the gates side walls, people squeezed in as if seeking shelter. Further back, people stood close to the aisles, some were even laying down.

  “What are they doing?” he asked Marvin.

  “You will see soon. Behind that gate is the equipment we’ll be using today. Essentially, we’re all miners in this prison, that's our job, digging. If you dig enough, you get food. If you don’t, better luck next time.”

  "..."

  As more and more inmates arrived, Ronin soon became surrounded again.

  Marvin also disappeared. Had the old guy snuck away? Why would he do that?

  Inmates began laying down. Figuring they likely knew something he didn’t, Ronin copied them. This was his first day here and if literally everyone around him laid down, there was probably a good reason.

  A revolving warning light, bolted into the roof, turned on and the nearby inmates shook in fear.

  “Again, again I have to do this?” A nearby man muttered. “Why did they put me here?.. Just how could they—”

  A robotic voice then sounded out from speakers along the walls:

  [Initiating gate opening. Pressure is estimated as four times nominal. Brace for impact.]

  The gate rose, and a storm of hot, acid air crashed into the room.

  Men were blasted back, some fought to breathe, some bled from their eyes — many screamed. Ronin's eardrums almost burst from the shift in air pressure. Then it happened. He began struggling to breathe, and what he did breathe, burned.

  It felt like his lungs were on fire!

  This can’t be what's supposed to happen, I have a mask! His eyes began to sting.

  Wait, what if the mask is defective!? Beset by a torrent of coughs, he could barely see now, and his condition was only getting worse by the second.

  Making a snap judgement while he still had some degree of vision, Ronin reached out for the closest inmate he could find.

  He needed another mask!

  “Let go you maniac! Stop it!” The man shouted in fear, grabbing onto his own mask, protecting it.

  This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  What followed were a torrent of kicks, one striking Ronin's left thigh, flaring up the injury. Ronin's left arm was unusable, it was also cuffed to his right, making the mask theft even harder. Ronin decided to change his approach. He needed more leverage. He began crawling over the inmate, jostling for a better position.

  “You have your own mask! Please. Who set you up to this? I’ll double whatever they're paying you, Just... Get… Off!” The prisoner shouted as, with both feet, he kicked Ronin away.

  But it was too late. As inmate 5348 tumbled across the ground, in his hand, was a new breathing apparatus. Hopefully one that worked this time.

  I’m sorry, whoever you are… I will remember this, Ronin thought as he closed his eyes, tore off the defective thing he'd been given by Marvin, then put on the new mask.

  When he’d done something like this before, it had either been accidental, or they’d had it coming. This, however, was different. Regardless of who you were or how you ended up here, we had no grievance, and you didn’t deserve this, not from me at least.

  Ronin made a solemn vow.

  The number on the inmates' uniform was 1437. From now on, he'd be indebted to that number.

  As his breath returned, the burning feeling in his lungs faded and his sight became clearer. With both the nanomachines and his alien regeneration working in tandem, the damage to his face —caused from the few seconds of exposure to the atmosphere — healed up quickly.

  That could not be said for the rest of his body though.

  Ronin's skin burned and began corroding. He rubbed his head and noticed a huge lump of hair fall out.

  I guess I finally have my answer to why everyone here is bald, he thought.

  At least it wasn't due to Eizenshaft radiation. Ronin next felt the hot, sour atmosphere bury itself into his wounds, infecting and widening the damage. Even with a functioning mask, he, along with every other prisoner here, was on a timer.

  I sort of understand why we all get injected with healing nanomachines now. In this type of environment, the accumulating damage to our bodies would make it impossible to work. Every day we’ll need the nanites to heal us from the corrosion of the air. And if we don’t heal fast enough, we fall behind, if we fall behind, we’ll have to work longer for food. Longer hours will cause even more corrosion damage, which in turn will take even longer to heal.

  It was a negative spiral which only got worse and worse until you eventually succumbed. Ronin knew why Exodon was known as the place without sun. Today he learned the other half — why it was called a hellscape.

  He walked past the gate and into an expansive cave system. Around him there were all kinds of instruments, from massive smelting furnaces reaching tens of meters up, to processing machines, minecarts and handheld excavators. Directed towards the handheld tools, he lumbered his way over. The faster he got this over with, the more he’d get to heal afterwards.

  Ronin picked up one of the jackhammers off to the side, lifted it up into a minecart and moved into one of the tunnels...

  "..."

  “Work you little shits, why are you slowing down!?” A guard shouted.

  Clad in a 3-meters-tall power armor, the guard looked like he was preparing for some sort of military operation. For mere prisoners, this was overkill. That bulky gray warsuit was not something you’d find on the open market. And if you did, you’d get prosecuted. Loaded with shoulder-mounted missile launchers, all kinds of sensory equipment and tons of laser cannons, this was an armament built for pure, unadulterated combat.

  Ronin moved the jackhammer over to another location.

  “If I see any of you slowing down one more time, I'm ending you permanently, right here, right now!” The guard roared again.

  Ronin pressed the jackhammer into the ground, then pushed a red button as it began lasering out a hole into the bedrock. He twisted the jackhammer’s handle, and compressed gas entered the thin opening, expanding. The rock fractured from the pressure, and he picked up the loose mafic rock, filling up the minecart.

  Besides the loud guard, hung a teflon poster depicting a happy miner. Below the image, the poster read:

  "Dig for freedom, dig for Tar, dig for food, dig for salvation! Every fellow man and woman from Tar appreciates you and your efforts. When Exodon becomes habitable, we’ll always remember what you did for us. Future hero, redemption awaits!"

  Ronin scoffed at the ridiculous thing. The only thing true about it was the digging for the food part. And dig he did. He was used to the mind-numbing routine by now. It was his tenth cart today. It would also be his last.

  Ronin grumbled as he kicked a loose rock out of the way. Why did he always end up underground? The cave with the alien rock, the underground city, this place… Was destiny trying to tell him something?

  Transporting the cart back to the smelting furnace, he offloaded the rocks onto a conveyor belt then walked up to a nearby guard.

  “Let’s see… 10 carts in about 8 hours. That’s a bit above the average, but considering this is your first day, you might just make it, Inmate 5348,” the guard said in amusement, handing Ronin a bar of synthpaste. “If you walk straight in and onto your left, there will be an airlock there which will open for you.”

  Ronin quickly found the airlock, removed his mask and inhaled deeply. His whole body itched, his injuries had gotten worse, but with the nanobots helping out... this was all temporary. What was more important, was getting off this damn planet.

  Exiting the airlock, he wolfed down the bar of synthpaste, then headed back up to his cell. With the bottom floor still being sealed up, the prison had a separate passage within the wall for the people who finished up early. There were still no signs of Marvin though.

  Good.

  Ronin didn’t know what he’d do if that guy showed up. The bastard had given him a defective mask then run away. If he’d intentionally given Ronin that mask, knowing it was defective… There would be a reckoning.

  As Ronin entered his cell, he spotted Bulkster and the guy with the CLM tattoo. They seemed to be resting.

  More space for me, he thought, lowering his legs.

  It was time.

  Using his now almost superhuman strength, Ronin tore off the handcuffs, calmed his breathing, then began doing the stances from the Kalvrakian embrace.

  The familiar feeling of molten sap, passed through his body, but it didn't strain him like it normally did. It was easier somehow.

  Without issue, he locked in the third stance, and he felt the strain build. Today, he could do more. Holding the stance, he broke his previous record of 40% completion. Ronin grit his teeth. The dense energy filled more of his body, reaching 60%, then 85%, 100%. Then, with mountainous willpower, he locked it in! The 4th stance!

  POOF

  Ronin felt something within him release as electricity travelled up his spine. Next, he noticed his wounds begin restoring themselves. It happened so fast; he could literally see them heal with the naked eye! Ronin was back! Well, not entirely back, but back enough to fight again. The Potentia Panorama might be dangerous, but its possibilities were endless.

  I went half a stance further in one try, that’s got to be a record. This planet might actually be helping me improve faster! He thought.

  The next day would be a cakewalk at this rate, and if he continued to improve... He might be able to escape... A dangerous thought, but if nobody helped him get out of here, he'd rather die than give up on his dream. All of those planets out there, all that freedom... He'd do anything to travel the stars.

  Time passed as Ronin put the handcuffs back on and, finally, Marvin arrived.

  “Oh, hello there Ronin, I see you're doing well? That’s a good sign!” The older man smiled.

  “Yeah, sure,” Ronin grunted.

  Marvin showed no signs of nervousness or anything that could be interpreted as guilt.

  Was the defective mask he gave me truly a mistake? Ronin wondered.

  He wouldn’t act yet. If Marvin was aiming to take his life, sooner or later he was bound to reveal himself. For what Ronin was planning to do, he needed to be sure…

  "..."

  When the bottom floor finally opened up, a second enclosure was revealed. The arena had been shielded from the corrosive air outside as well, and it became clear as to why when the cover retracted.

  "This is going to be good!" Bulkster chuckled. "Saw 3 people down there myself. They couldn’t get to the gate in time, so they ran into the cage."

  Down inside the arena were 7 people, each of them acting nervously. As the cover around the cage fully lifted, speakers, mounted onto the walls of the complex, began announcing:

  [We’ve got ourselves a grand battle today fellow hard-working men of Tar! Seven men has chosen life through combat, but only one can claim the right! Let's get these patriots something worthy of their choice!]

  Magnetic fields lowered metal batons and swords into the arena, but before they could reach the waiting men, one of the larger inmates — attacked!

  The large man ran forward, readying up his arm for a punch, then suddenly jerked to a stop. Black and red mist burst out from the man’s back, and he let out a deep, harrowing scream. Ronin saw the terror in his eyes.

  He’s dying…

  The large man's eyes grew vacant, and he dropped to the ground, forming a pool of blood.

  “Got a little antsy that one! Did you see Ronin? Did you see? The black gunk just burst out!” Bulkster once again laughed, seeming oddly happy with the entire thing.

  Ronin nodded back absentmindedly, thinking:

  So that's what happens when they use magnetism to remove the nanites. If that happened to me, would I have survived?

  The now 6 contenders picked up their weapons and a new, dark, bass-like voice filled the prison:

  [Combatants prepare…]

  An air of quiet anticipation spread throughout the complex…

  [Ready, steady… Combatants, Fight!]

  The whole prison erupted into fervor as the men clashed!

  Ronin spotted 4 inmates teaming up, forcing the other two to team up as well. One of the two, he noticed, fought with surprising grace. Only dodging by a hair's breadth, he fought conservatively. And though he seemed to be losing ground, it also felt calculated somehow, as if he was doing it on purpose.

  In the team of two, the less agile one of them fell first. It should've been a 1 vs. 4 at this point, but a man from the larger team, apparently couldn't hold himself back any longer, and swung his sword at a teammate.

  [Fatality!] The speakers bellowed as a decapitated head rolled across the arena.

  The three men now left in the larger team, turned on each other, and the battle became chaotic. Blades and batons struck for anyone and anything in the way. Batons broke bones, swords cut deep, and before long, there were only two men left in the arena.

  On the left, was the graceful fighter, previously in the two-man team. On the right, was the backstabber. Ronin could see that the skilled fighter, who’d been previously holding back, was hurt. He didn’t seem to be faking ineptitude anymore. He was on the back foot, struggling to defend himself.

  There was a brief pause in the battle as the two combatants disengaged. Then, as the injured man faltered, with a powerful roar, the other man — the team killer — threw away all hesitation and rushed forward with his sword held high.

  It was time for the coup de grace.

  Right as he was upon the injured man however, with surprising nimbleness, the injured man dropped down, using the team killers' own momentum as well as his own bodyweight to plunge the sword straight through the charging man's heart. The team killer then flew over the crouched competitor, crashing down hard.

  [Winner…. Inmate 20001!] The speakers boomed out as cheers and shouts rang through the crowd. Ronin could even see some of the prison guards cheering, caught up in the atmosphere.

  “Now that's what I'm talking about! This place ain’t so bad after all ain’t it, Fish!?” Bulkster roared as he grinned at Ronin.

  Ronin, on the other hand, just inwardly shook his head. This guy was a lost cause. Getting this happy, over such violence? That was not a sign of a healthy mind.