My fist crashed into its face with a thunderous crack.
A shockwave burst outward, compressing the air so violently that the wall behind it shattered. The creature was hurled straight through the stone, debris erupting into a storm of dust and splintered rubble.
Huff.Huff.Huff.
My breathing was ragged. My arms trembled. My entire body felt numb, like it no longer belonged to me.
Still… I had to move.
One step forward.
Don't look back.
Was it arrogance? Desperation? I didn't know anymore. My thoughts were too fractured to care. All I could do was walk. Maybe the path ahead would lead to an exit. Maybe it wouldn't.
Even through the pain, I stepped forward.
Then another.
And another.
I walked blindly, like a man stumbling through fog. The corridor blurred. Time lost shape. I didn't know how long I had left in this form, how much energy remained—but it didn't matter.
If I died here, time would lose meaning anyway.
I just wanted it to be a dream.
A nightmare I could wake up from.
If only it were that simple.
My vision darkened at the edges.
I kept walking.
Until everything went black.
From a high-rise VIP observation deck, Slix Vigma watched with faint curiosity.The human boy staggered through the trial like a dying ember refusing to go out. The flame inside him burned violently—but it was fading.
Slix tilted his head slightly.
He felt… amused.
That unsettled him.
He was a machine. A being of logic and precision. Emotion should have been irrelevant. Yet as he observed the human struggle, something akin to interest flickered in his processors.
It was like watching a worm writhe underfoot.
Pathetic.
And yet—
Unique.
That boy was no different from the countless others taken from their worlds. Just another living organism.
And yet… not quite.
He was a curious chess piece.
Letting him die now, without fully understanding his value, would be inefficient.
"No," Slix murmured quietly to himself.
With a single swipe across the holographic interface, the rising wall in the maze halted. The configuration shifted. A path cleared.The exit opened.The human, barely conscious, staggered through it.
I woke to pain flooding every inch of my body.I couldn't move.My limbs felt like stone. My ribs ached with every shallow breath. I turned my head slightly.
Empty.
That was the first word that came to mind.The room was completely bare. No decoration. No furniture. No warmth. Just smooth walls and silence.
At least I was alive.
Unfortunately, that wasn't mercy.
A circular socket in the ceiling began to open with a mechanical hum. It was about the size of a football. Something orange pooled inside it.
Then it poured down.
Liquid.
It fell like a waterfall, drenching my body.
Panic surged.
I tried to move.
Nothing.The liquid seeped into my wounds, burned for half a second——and then everything faded to black again.When I woke up the second time, I could move.Slowly, I pushed myself upright. Whatever that orange substance was, it had regenerative properties. My injuries were gone. Not even soreness remained.
They wouldn't let us die that easily.
I was still in the same empty room.
Then—
Hiss.
The door slid open.
Light spilled into the chamber.
I followed it.
The corridor led into a large hall where other aliens had already gathered.
I froze.
I was back.
This was the waiting area from before the match—the place where contestants stood before the countdown began.A few of them glanced at me. Their expressions were dry. Indifferent. Some turned away immediately.
No one spoke.
I guess I was the odd one out.
Not that I was better than them.They had been taken from their planets. Maybe they still had homes waiting for them.Even if I returned to Earth…
What would be waiting for me?
Nothing.
No plan. No escape route.
At least not until Ben arrived.
And even then… would anything really change?
Before I could think further—
BZZZZZZT.
A yellow buzzer echoed through the hall.
"Meal time!" someone barked.A side compartment slid open. From above, a mound of purple slop dropped onto my tray with a wet splatter.From what I remembered from the series, it was edible.
That didn't make it appealing.
Around me, the others didn't hesitate. They shoved handfuls into their mouths, eating fast—desperate.
It wasn't a meal.
It was survival.
I grabbed a handful—
—but before it reached my mouth, a massive shadow loomed over me.
Technorg the Champion lunged in and devoured everything on my tray in seconds.
He didn't even look at me.
Nothing remained.
That was my first day.
Hunger didn't hit all at once.
At first, it was dull. Manageable.
But as hours passed, it began gnawing at me from the inside.I was barely strong enough to stand.This place was a meat grinder.Designed to wear you down.And honestly—It wasn't built for someone like me to survive.
Thinking back on today's trial made my head burn with anger. Something inside me was shifting.
And in a sense…
I was right.
The next few days blurred together.
In Zoroark form, I twisted sharply as a massive blade pierced the ground where I had stood a split second earlier.
The impact split the floor open.
I launched forward, a purplish-black aura forming around my hand—shaping into elongated claws.
The mech didn't hesitate.
It swung its massive arm at me.
I leapt, landing on the flat side of its blade, using it as a stepping stone. The metal vibrated beneath my feet.
The machine raised its other arm and fired an energy blast.
I crossed my claws.
"Shadow Claw!"
The blast struck.
The impact forced me backward through the air—but before I lost momentum, I twisted midair and opened my jaws.
A jet of flame erupted forward.
The fire collided with the mech's energy cannon.
BOOM.
The explosion tore through its right side.
Metal shredded.
Its entire arm detonated in a violent blast.
I shoveled handfuls of purple slop into my mouth, not tasting it—just swallowing as fast as I could before Technorg arrived.
It wasn't about dignity anymore.
It was about calories.
Survival.
I lay on the cold floor.
Sleep wouldn't come.
The ceiling above me was empty.
My thoughts were becoming emptier.
Hunger.
Violence.
Fatigue.
Everything was blending together.
I felt… hollow.
A one-eyed alien staggered backward.
He slipped.
Fell.
I was in Urshifu form.
A red aura wrapped around my body.
I was exhausted. My vision had narrowed. The world felt distant, muted.
My body moved on instinct.
I stepped forward.
The first punch landed like a hammer.
His head snapped sideways.
Another punch followed.
Then another.
And another.
Relentless.
Brutal.
Animalistic.
Blue blood splattered across my hands.
I didn't stop.
Not until—
Something inside me shifted.
For the first time since arriving here—
My mind cleared.
I looked down.
My hands were covered in blood.
I stood frozen.
Blank.
"…What…"
My breath hitched.
"What am I doing?!"
The arena felt suddenly silent.
And for the first time—
---------------------------------------------------
to be continued
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