The Lord of Rot

Did he truly have escape in mind? Well, it existed at the very back of his neck. A probing feeling that he simply had to be free. It was the same kind of feeling he had had back at the facility. It wasn't that the underground arena was unpleasant, or at the very least, it wasn't that he hated the place. 

It was uncomfortable, but a growing monotony forced him out of it. The repetitive motion of waking, being dragged to an arena and fighting with various monstrosities, only to repeat it the next day without a sense of progress. The feeling was the same, no matter the day. Once more, he felt that his existence was out of order. 

This culminated into the fantastical planning of an escape. Though it wasn't really fantastical. Rather, it was calculated nonsense, as many things are. He didn't have a specific time in mind, he only knew that the cage is what kept him locked up. That was his first opponent.

Like a battle, he remembered the way he defeated previous opponents. Perhaps this is what made him fall to the trickery of these people, but Konrad would not have a plan in mind, merely he would strike until it was rendered useless. Then he would change his approach. He discovered everything, and had no sense of a future. He very well believed something else would keep track of that. 

Now, Konrad had recently been let back into his cage. Viktor sat near the limestone wall on the furthest side, looking tired. He expected the heaviness around his neck to arrive very soon. But before that happened, Konrad would jump at the first opportunity... 

The cage began to close with speed, and the heaviness approached his neck. The weight would have rendered him useless, but this plan didn't need him to move. He fell towards the opening--a moment's inattention could cost him his life, but he fell to the floor, the metal band around his neck which bound him to the underground arena seamlessly between Konrad and the metal door closing upon him.

"Yes!" 

It effectively blocked the door. 'I can finally escape!' 

Then Viktor said, "You idiot!"

"What do you mean?"

"How you gonna get out?" 

"I'll just..." 

This might have allowed Viktor to get out, if the opening wasn't the width of a human neck. With strength Konrad tried to get out of the gap, but he failed. He wasn't dead, but was he living? 

Viktor began to laugh. 

"Shut it!" 

Konrad began to shake his fist in the air with anger. It took a few minutes before he realised this was going to be how he spent his next day. 'Damn...' 

"Well, that's what you get for trying to escape, you know..." Said Viktor 

"It's not like you've tried anything, I'll have to do something."

"Yes, and I'm saying its not worth it, you can't do anything about this..."

Then Viktor would laugh a bit more, and continue:

"Especially not like this." 

"Damn it! Damn it!" Konrad would yell. "I don't want to stay here. Damn it!" 

"Well, it's not like its going to get better by getting angry." 

"Yes it is!"

"Look, Konrad was it? You have a metal band around your neck that prohibits all movement with the weight of a fully grown and fat man. Around you is reinforced metal bars with steel and titanium. Behind you is limestone, which is quite easy to mine through - we however, lack any kind of tool to do so. Outside is almost a hundred people, all of them either stronger than yourself, or in possession of terrible monstrosities. Admit it, its futile."

"Yes, yes. It's always been futile! Everyone keeps telling me that. I don't know what that means. I don't know what you mean, Viktor." 

He wasn't sad by the futility of the situation, more like he was frustrated by his own powerlessness. He wished for a guiding voice, a guiding light. Something that told him his escape was near, something that gave him direction again.

He didn't see the solution, but he heard a voice. 

[ 94 / 100 ] 

'Wait, really? I've cleansed 94 souls? That's a lot.' 

He felt around his body, the best he could acknowledging the position he was in. He didn't feel a single thing different, perhaps he had gotten used to it as well. But he didn't feel that he was any different.

'If I'm not changing, then I'm immune to the rot, aren't I?' 

'Was it the Contract of Aphaim - Aphaim that bastard! That gave me this immunity? It must have been, but why would he lure me here just to not kill me?' 

It was a cold place. But he didn't realise that it was cold before it got hotter. 

Some approaching footsteps shook the place up, and he saw something he hadn't before.

People that were in the fighter's quarters, who weren't fighters themselves. 

These people didn't have chains around their necks. They didn't look to be fighters, but, their aura was so frightening, that even Konrad couldn't look at them.

"Look what we have here..." said one of them, pointing to the man stuck in the door. 

"Open the cage." 

The cage opened. 

"We'll forgive your attempt if you do something for us..." He said. This man seemed to have a great voice, if Konrad could see him, he'd share the same respect as he had for the Church Lords--not that he ever respected them too much to begin with. But he could see their faces, so he couldn't do anything but imagine. 

But as soon as the cage opened, he saw the face of the man who had spared him. He was dressed in fancy clothes, something that looked like a suit. It looked both modern and antique. It was a mixture of tweed and wool. The suit looked to sport a monocle, but he didn't 

He had a moustache which he twirled. Then he said: "I've chosen to promote you, project of rot. Ugh, get up. You disgust me. However, I've seen your prowess, many of our patrons enjoy you, so I'll give them something to enjoy even more..."

"You won't get any rest, you're being promoted. A bigger and better battle awaits, come on... fight..." 

...