In the middle of darkness.
He heard voices—too many voices.
A chaotic mix, overlapping and clashing, as if hundreds upon hundreds were talking at the same time.
Those voices... they were confused, angry, resentful, pleading, and lost.
He couldn't make much sense of what they were saying.
Gil couldn't even tell where he was.
As he tried to decipher the noise, he jolted awake.
It was still dark.
Confused and lost, he tried to stand, but pain flared from every corner of his body—his arms, his ribs, and his stomach. His stomach grumbled loudly; he was empty.
It seemed he hadn't eaten for a long while.
Clearing his thoughts a bit, he remembered.
The last thing he recalled was the beating he took from Hector.
Hector !
he thought hatefully, taking a breath and forcing the anger aside... for now.
He looked around him. As far as his eyes could see, everything was plunged in darkness.
Vaguely, through the obscurity, he could discern silhouettes.
Some, like him, were looking around—lost, afraid, or wary.
Others still lay unconscious on the bare ground.
But, as if by a tacit understanding, nobody spoke a word.
They exchanged glances and gestures, but no one dared to speak aloud.
It was as if something hidden in the dark would spring up and devour anyone daring to break the silence.
Somehow, this silence seemed strange to Gil. But thinking about it, there was nothing unusual about the conduct of his fellow captives. In an unknown place, being cautious and silent was the sensible thing to do.
Taking a page from their book, he too stayed quiet and took stock of his situation.
First, just as he expected, he had been captured, not killed.
Though he suspected his last words to Hector had almost cost him his life, he knew that but given the chance, he would have acted the same way again.
He smirked slightly, then rearranged his thoughts.
Secondly, he wasn't the only one they had taken. It was unknown if all of them had been caught by Hector and his companion; if not, it meant there were more than just those two. Gil's face turned somber at the thought of a group possessing Hector's prowess.
"—!"
Then—it struck him.
The odd feeling he had been having since he woke up.
The unease that the silence was causing him.
If it was silent all around him now, and if it had been silent before he woke up...
All the hair on his body stood on end.
Then... whose voices was I hearing earlier ?
Just as the thought took hold, light flooded from above, blinding everyone in the pit.
A strong, mean voice resounded, echoing off the cold walls.
"Rise and shine, everyone... and welcome to Hell !"
At the sudden voice and light assaulting them, the captives broke their silence.
A flurry of hustle and movement followed.
Some, still unconscious until then, were jolted awake and looked around, confused and panicked.
Many squinted in the direction of the voice, but they couldn't make out more than dark silhouettes against the blinding backlight.
Others scanned their surroundings, searching for a way out, but in vain.
They were trapped in a rectangular hall hundreds of meters long, with no exit in sight.
Gil, meanwhile, was observing his companions in misfortune, trying to figure out why they were there and what they had in common. But the more he looked, the deeper his unease ran.
First—the math didn't add up.
The number of voices.
Did I dream it?
Gil questioned himself, uneasy.
There were little more than a hundred people there—far fewer than the numbers of voices he had heard in his sleep.
Secondly—the captives.
Something about them was bothering him. Not any individual in particular, but the group as a whole, himself included.
They were all young men and women.
Some looked a bit battered like him, but aside from that, they all seemed to be in good health. More than just good health, some were in excellent condition.
Even the women were not to be underestimated.
With one similarity found, others became easier to spot: cheap, worn-out clothes; calloused hands; scars here and there.
Most of them, though initially panicked, calmed down quickly and began to whisper among themselves.
They were no greenhouse flowers.
They were resilient.
Sharp.
They, like Gil, were survivors.
His eyes sharpened at this thought.
Seeing that the commotion below didn't cease, the man above seemed to lose his patience.
"Quiet," he said.
From above, a fleeting, overwhelming pressure crashed down.
The crowd was rendered silent, not daring to even breathe too loudly.
Though the pressure appeared only for an instant, its effect was potent.
Many paled visibly; some collapsed on the ground, trembling.
Gil wasn't spared either.
Sweating heavily, he staggered but stayed standing.
Barely.
Satisfied with the silence, the man above continued.
"Now, that's better. Where was I ? Oh yes, welcome to Hell, kids." He paused. "From tomorrow on, you will be tested. Either you prove your worth or, hehehe..."
Leaving the rest to their imagination, he laughed ominously.
A young man, gathering his courage, shouted back: "You won't get away with kidnapping so many of us! Law enforcement will crack down on you!"
Those below didn't dare to comment, but a bit of hope could be seen in some eyes.
Silence returned as the man stayed quiet for a moment, his silhouette trembling slightly. His silence emboldened some of the youths below.
They thought they had frightened him.
Alas, their expectations were shattered by a sound.
The sound of laughter.
"Pfft... Hahahahahaha!"
The man laughed so hard he almost fell, but he didn't stop.
Though he said nothing, the chilling disdain and mockery in his laugh sent the hearts of many below into an icy abyss.
Observing all of this, Gil and many others arrived at a grim conclusion: no one was coming for them.
Gil was now sure of it.
Hector and his crew, no matter what they wanted, did not fear being found.
Or at least not by the law enforcement department of the union.
He had a guess as to why, and the next words from the man cemented it.
"Oof, that joke never get old." After managing to stop his laughter, the man's tone dropped. "In your stead, I wouldn't count on them. After all, you guys don't matter much to them... do you?"