Creak.
The hatch opened.
The guards shouted.
"Move!"
Clang.
Slaves rose. Chains scraped across wood.
The line moved toward the ladder.
I stood still at the window.
Watching the land for a moment longer.
I heard the guards name it.
'Drakoria.'
The biggest continent of Terros.
Home to the Dragonkins.
The guard's voice broke my thoughts.
"Hurry up!"
I turned away from the window.
The others had already left.
The last ones were climbing the ladder.
I took a breath.
Haah.
The stench of blood and rot clung to my nose.
I started to walk.
Splash.
Red puddles of blood and water soaked the wood.
Splash.
Children leaned against walls. Limbs thin as sticks.
Eyes open but empty.
Splash.
Women lay in the corners, some naked, some with cuts along their forearms. Some hung from a rope, swaying slightly with the waves.
Stella hung among them.
Splash.
Men lay on the floor with hollow ribs and torn limbs.
Killed for food.
Step.
The pools thinned.
Step.
The room would remember what humans did to humans.
Step.
With each step, a face rose.
Step.
Anton.
Step.
Favian.
Step.
Selene.
Step.
The Empire.
Step.
I will remember.
Step.
All of it.
Step.
Hell.
Step.
What brought me here.
Step.
And what hell left behind.
Step.
I stopped as I reached the ladder and looked at myself.
Clothes torn. Thin limbs. Only mana kept me upright.
A shout broke my thoughts.
"Faster!"
I climbed up.
Step.
My arms trembled as I held the railings.
Step.
My feet swayed as if they might crumble beneath me.
Step.
But I climbed.
A guard shoved me forward.
"Get in line."
I didn't need to look up.
I followed the trail of blood and waited in line.
Lines of slaves descended the planks.
Clang.
Their shackles clanged with every step.
Hundreds of wagons waited at the port. Slaves filled them one after another.
I turned my head to the side. The sea breeze brushed through my hair.
There weren't three ships.
Nine.
Nine ships docked at the port, their planks lined with slaves leading toward the wagons.
The guards shouted.
"Move!"
Clang.
The line moved.
Clang.
I observed the other ships' lines.
Their clothes were torn but wearable.
Their bodies were thin but not sticks. Skin darkened by dirt and grime, not blood.
Their lines were far longer than ours.
My gaze returned to my own line.
Limbs thin as sticks. Clothes torn to pieces. Skin painted red by blood.
'It was only our ship.'
That's when I realized.
'Only our ship became hell.'
Then—
Movement caught my eye.
I looked left.
A man broke from his line and ran toward the forest ahead.
His chains clanged with every step.
I blinked.
He fell.
His body lay in the snow.
His head rolled away as blood spilled from his neck.
A guard stood beside the corpse.
His sword had moved faster than my eyes could see.
A thought settled at that moment.
'There was no chance of escape.'
Only death.
I was too weak.
I would die before taking ten steps.
I turned forward again.
His death didn't affect me.
Not like the elf.
Not like the child.
He just died.
That was all.
Another thought came.
'I wonder how strong the guards are.'
Step.
The line moved until I reached a wagon.
It was already full.
I climbed in last.
I sat in the corner near the door.
Thud.
The door shut.
The horses groaned as the wagon began to move.
***
Time passed inside the wagon.
They gave us hard bread and meat. Water, too. Enough to drink your fill.
No one fought.
No one died.
My body ached.
My broken bones hadn't healed completely, but it was manageable.
Winter was in full swing.
Cold lingered, but sunlight warmed my hands through the gaps in the wood.
Somehow, I felt better.
I wondered why.
I was chained.
Sold again.
Bruised and broken.
I didn't know why I felt like that.
***
Time passed quickly.
The wagon slowed.
The smell of grilled meat filled the air. Laughter and noise followed.
A city.
We passed through its gates.
Toward the outskirts, where noise faded, and rot returned.
Screech.
The wagons stopped.
Click.
A guard opened the doors.
"Out!"
I stepped down.
My legs felt heavy after being still for so long.
Clang.
Chains rattled as slaves filled the place.
Clang.
A warehouse stood before us, its metal doors wide open.
Guards guided us toward it.
More guards waited inside.
They flanked us as we walked between them.
Some were human.
Most were not.
They still looked human.
But they had horns.
I already knew what they were.
Dragonkins.
Their stares made me flinch—not out of fear, but something else.
Instinct.
"Move!"
We were shoved forward.
I saw him in the corner of my eye.
A man in a fur coat stood facing a Dragonkin cloaked in black.
Papers changed hands.
Chests were opened. Black coins gleamed inside.
'Fortis.'
The currency of this world.
Black coins.
It's unknown how they were produced, as they are older than history itself.
The man nooded, took the chests, and left.
'Payment.'
Our lives had changed hands.
"Move!"
We were pushed toward descending stairs.
The air grew damp. Light dimmed.
A corridor stretched wide and long. Massive cells lined the walls.
"Halt!"
We stopped.
A side door opened.
Heat spilled out.
"Form a line! Enter one by one!"
I already knew what it was.
Branding.
Again.
Screams echoed as slaves entered.
I went next.
The smithy was large.
Metal tables filled with tools. Furnaces stood at the back. A line of chairs near the entrance.
Two dragonkins forced me into a chair. Leather straps bound my chest and arms.
A smith approached with a glowing iron rod.
He examined my arm, then pressed the brand above my old brand on my left arm.
Hiss.
Metal burned flesh.
"Argh!"
A hiss of pain left me as I watched the metal burn into my skin.
He lifted the metal and pressed a wet cloth down.
It stung.
A knife followed.
Slrrsh.
Cold steel cut through the old brand on my right arm.
"Agh."
Pain flared up.
"Next!"
The guards loosened the straps.
My eyes drifted across the room as they worked.
A woman sat in the chair next to me.
The brand on her left arm vanished after a green liquid was poured over it.
New skin formed instantly.
'A healing potion?'
I was yanked up before I could see more.
The guards pushed me out of the smithy.
"Hurry up!"
"Move!"
We moved down the corridor again.
Cells lined the walls.
They were big.
Enough space for a hundred.
Step.
The last cell door stood open.
I was shoved inside.
Men. Woman. Children. Beastkin. Dwarves. Elves.
The cell was already filled.
Some stared blankly. Others sobbed.
I sat near the door, leaning against the wall.
It didn't take long for the cell to fill.
Thud.
The door closed.
Time passed.
Screams echoed.
Footsteps came and went.
I found a way to pass the time.
Mana.
My shackles weren't suppressing my mana.
They only punished resistance.
I could use mana freely.
It was useless against the guards—but useful for practice.
I enhanced my fingers, toes, hands, and feet.
The enhancement broke when my focus slipped, but each attempt lasted longer.
Click.
The door opened.
Guards brought crates and a barrel.
Thud.
"Line up! No pushing! Everyone gets something!"
We lined up.
Bread, meat, and water.
I ate.
That was enough.
The other slaves stared at me as they passed. Fear flickered in their gazes.
I was the only one.
The only one covered in blood.
I ignored them.
They weren't from my ship.
They didn't know.
I leaned back.
My eyes closed.
Her face appeared.
Lisa.
I slept.