Chaos Cycle: The Eye of Genesis

Shin yelped in pain as the second fist struck his gut. He was about to get better of the assailant when the third one followed right after. Shin tried to creep away, struggling, but he felt an overwhelming pressure over his body. The assailant mugged against his body, hammering, jabbing, hacking at his fist like professional boxing. The fists dug into his stomach, bringing out the painful whimper as well as the food he had eaten before sleeping. 

Grasping, panting, coughing, and crying, he finds a little lucidity of mind.

Last time, he remembered he slept early last night, as he had to be in top form for the incoming trial in two days. Like a few of his friends and classmates, even in his first year he got the chance to take part in the trial and was looking forward to it. He was supposed to be going to the trial, what was happening now? 

Was it the upperclassmen Elior, and he made fun of a few days back? Taking revenge when they still can? Do they have the gall to do something like this in the academy? Beating their own junior within the academy? Whoever it was, he was not a bit merciful. 

'What's happening?' he questioned. Shin tried to shield his head with his arms protectively, though the hammering punches never stopped.

'This is a drill, right?' his mind rang in pain and alert. He is finally tried to draw in mana from his system and found out all of his mana were sealed and with the little physical strength, he had cultivated overpowering this man who was beating him almost impossible.

But he still tried.

Taking in quick deep breaths, Shin caught one of the arms that came towards his face, curling it around his body. He ran his other knuckle in a jab against the jaw of the assailant. At least that's what he intended, but the results were entirely different.

Shin felt a hard knee against his stomach, as a sharp cry ran out of his mouth. His jab missed where he intended to strike and an arm caught it instantly, still assaulting with the knees. The legs were too violent to be off any upperclassmen, certainly, they would not use heavy-handed for just some insult. Or will they be?

It was all dark inside the room, and with the repeated strike Shin's sight became pitch dark, as he started into a fit of coughing. 'Was the academy under attack?' he thought, and let the man beat him. 'That all seems too easy. What I am supposed to do? And what is this assailant trying to do, keeping on beating me? If he wants to kill me, he can do it easily, or make me unconscious. There were easier ways that won't need me getting beaten.'

That was all directed to one thing. This is a lesson. A damn agonizing one at that.

Whenever he resisted, the hammering knee got harder, so Shin only let him do as he pleased. It all seemed too convenient for him, so why beat him if they wanted to make him unconscious? Just use a fucking sedative, mother—

Just then Shin felt a numbing sensation on his head, and the beating stopped. That did not mean his pain stopped, though. All the fists and knees he got assaulted his mind together, and he felt something thrown over his head. A sack perhaps.

Shin tried to take advantage of the situations, and stark uptightly, but the pains and the paranoia in his head did not let him. He felt another kick in his gut, as the assailant packed him into the sack.

"Know your place," A cold stoic voice said to his head and Shin felt like he saw a masked face just before him, but with the looming darkness, and his mind busy registering the pain, he could not even make out what the mask appeared to be. "Slave."

The taunting voice stopped and tightened the mouth of the sack before dragging it against the floor. At that time, his face was already blood enough, throbbing with teh aching pain all over. 

Shin almost vomited inside the sack, but kept it all inside as it would dirty only himself there. Not only was this sack small, curling his body with little air, but it also had a crazy smell like rotten potatoes were carried with that. Or something worse. A rotten corpse?

His mind wailed, and he felt he was dragged against the cold floor. 'Brother, save me,' he tried to yell, but no voice came out of his mouth. All his muscles, even the ones needed for the vocal, throbbed in aches. Without considering anything, this was the worst treatment of his life.

The throbbing pain never ceased but after some time, his mind came to a somewhat harmony with it. His mind was still a mess, all reasonably thought strayed away from his mind, and a deep-rooted survival instinct loomed a fear inside his brain. His mind froze, and so did his body—not that he had any ways to bring out strength that was.

Shin felt the sack was lifted up and then it was lurched away towards somewhere. He cursed in his head again, but when he came down, he only felt a little pain. He hit something soft. No, it was not something, but someone.

He heard a little moaning under him, as he heard the engine of a regular van crept to start. Shin started struggling again, and the one he was over moaned further.

"Bastard."                                                                         

There seemed no way out of it. Was he really kidnapped and made into slaves?

That was the last complete thought he could come up with before his mind went unconscious.

. . .

After an unknown time, Shin woke up in between his agonizing pain, and found he was bound with a bag covering his head, disabling him of sight, smell.

They started struggling the very instant. The mana was still sealed, but that did not stop him from using everything he had. He bellowed and wrestled everything with the pole he was bound to, but it did not budge even a little.

"Anyone here?" he shouted. "Please."

There was no reply for a few seconds and Shin yelled again, crying for help.

"Shin?" a voice cried out from the right side of his. He was not listening, but he could tell it was no longer than a couple of strides away.

"Ileana, is that you?" he asked instantly, finding a little hope inside him.

"Shin," the voice cried again. He could make out it was Ileana's voicem, but it did not have her sunny personality, it was an agonizing, pitiful voice. Well, Considering what he had been through if Ileana was beaten even one-tenth of that, she would be broken like this.

"Ileana, are you alright?" Shin asked, biting his lips.

"I . . ." the pitiful girl said. "They beat me, Shin. They slapped me dozens of times, punched me . . . I tried to stop them . . . but . . ."

"But your mana is sealed."

"Yes," Ileana cried in her pitiful voice. "They said they will be sold me as slave, before dragging me away pulling my hair."

Shin gritted his teeth, hearing all these. The treatment Ileana was through seemed no less than his, and she was a girl. Was this really a drill? His mind already eliminated most hope in that, and her experience only made him sure about it.

"Shin?" he heard the cry again. Ileana cried again, hearing no reply. "Shin."

"Yes."

"I am frightened," she wailed. "I don't want to be slave, I don't want to be a slave."

"You don't have to be one, Ileana," Shin said, his fingernails drugged into his palm. He felt weak inside with his mana—the primal energy of life sealed away. Even mustering the courage came hard. "We don't have to be slaves. I'll find a way." Even though he did not know what he was promising, it was better to linger with hope.

"I will find a way." He whispered. "We are together. We will find a way."

Ileana replied nothing, and then another voice came.

"Thank god, I am saved." It was a mocking voice, with evident scorn overflowing from it. "This happens when you make a fresh chick ride on the violent current. You two never should have attempted to take part in the first place. Look at your state now."

"What?" Shin yelled. He found this voice familiar, but he could not make out who it was. Not a friendly person, he reckoned. "Who? Who are you?" 

"I can answer you if you start begging now," the voice said again. "I can even save both of you if you find some time to kneel and—"

"Stop," a fourth voice said. These words were spoken in general English, but the accent was rather difficult to understand. Shin reckoned it was not a native speaker.

But the other person did not seem to put his words in mind, kept on with his arrogant blabbering.

Then they heard a heavy metal door opening.