“…Stop…please…”

The timid, trembling words came from the pale girl who was in the chamber with him. This caught the attention of the cruel man, but it hardly felt like a respite to him.

Left drooling blood onto himself, he was bruised and battered by the time the lowly criminal walked away.

The bald man set his sights on the girl, stomping towards her as she hid behind her arms out of instinctual fear.

“Huh?! Got somethin’ to say?!”

He could only watch as the man kicked his muddy boot forward, knocking the chained girl back before kicking her in the face far too many times.

Though it pained him to see the girl being hurt, he didn’t dare open his mouth as tears trickled down his cheek.

He was scared. The pain was still fresh throughout his body; he didn’t want to be hurt again.

Compared to the girl who spoke out for him, he was a coward.

There was no remorse or hesitation from that man; he was simply cruel. It didn’t seem to be mostly of sadistic intention, but more so that he simply saw children as “products” more than actual people.

–_.

After such a scene, even the other kidnappers had the man leave the room, leaving just the two kids in there now as it was quiet, save for the own dripping of his blood that he was listening to.

–

He nearly nodded off before the door opened once again some minutes later.

“Hey, how’re you holding up?”

It was a familiar voice, but not one he wanted to hear. There was a frivolity lacing the man’s words that held little place in a dreadful environment like this.

As he looked up, he caught sight of the man who entered into the room:

It’s him…”Rubert”, he recalled.

An anger filled his veins as he saw the man who had lured him back into the dungeon after his attempted escape, but the fear swallowed any part of him that wanted to lash out.

He could still feel the pain from the previous beating ringing through the marrow of his bones.

Rubert knelt down in front of him, his face covered by the shadows of the unlit room, “Wow, he really did a number on you, didn’t he?”

“–“

“Don’t worry, I don’t take joy in kicking down people weaker than me like that guy. I promise, I promise,” Rubet laughed, holding his unmoving smile.

Still, he knew better than to trust anything that spewed from the lips of the criminal. He kept himself tucked close to the wall, averting his gaze.

He could feel the man staring at him silently. Just his eerie presence made him quiver, though it wasn’t that alone that sent chills through his body.

Grrr.

His stomach growled out, rumbling as it had not yet seen sustenance on that day.

Rubert smiled, “You must be hungry.”

“–“

As the noise of the man shuffling his own pocket filled his ears, he looked forward as Rubert retrieved something wrapped in cloth from the pocket of his trousers.

He watched as Rubert slowly unwrapped the cloth, revealing bread that was flavored with a sprinkle of spices on it.

“–“

Just seeing it made his stomach feel like a void, yearning for any scraps possible. It instantly made him salivate as Rubert waved it around in front of his face.

“Want a bite?”

“–“

“I’m trying to be nice here, you know? Come on. Take it as my way of apologizing for having to trick you earlier,” Rubert smiled.

Though he was bitter and spiteful towards the man, he knew he wouldn’t survive long if he neglected to eat.

He swallowed his own contempt, nodding, “…I want it.”

Rubert cupped his ear, leaning forward with a grin, “What was that? Sorry, I didn’t catch what you said.”

“I want it,” he said louder.

“Again. With a bit more energy this time,” Rubert told him.

“I want it!” He yelled out.

As he said that, Rubert looked at him with his smile, which was the sole feature of the man’s face visible past the overbearing shadows.

“Ah…that’s too bad,” Rubert grinned.

Right in front of the face of the hungry child, Rubert bit into the bread with an overdramatic chomp, tearing the loaf apart as its white, fresh grain was on display to his hungry gaze.

“–“

“So yummy,” Rubert teased him, speaking with his mouth full.

“–“

More than ever, he was spiteful, but more so simply defeated as his stomach had yearned for that bread, fully expecting it as once again he was betrayed by the cruel man.

There were no other words exchanged for a solid minute within the dank cell. It was silent save for the sounds of Rubert chewing in full detail to his ears; his saliva swirling, his teeth clamping down on the bread, and swallowing.

He heard it all; his stomach heard it all.

It was one of the greatest joys he had earned in this new life: being able to eat freely, tasting the wondrous dishes of this world with a cleansed palette and healthy body.

Sitting there, chained and humiliated, deceived and beaten, it felt as if he had made no progress on this clean slate.

…This isn’t a game. There’s no way. Something like this couldn’t exist. It couldn’t be made by a person. Only a cruel god could shape a world like this, he thought.

After a few minutes, Rubert finished his taunting lunch, eating all but a few crumbs of the bread as he stood up, taking his leave as he waved the boy off.

“Be good in here, little Dragonheart. Things could be much worse–remember that,” Rubert told him.

With the slam of the metal door, it was once again silent. The girl in the room with him was asleep, or at least that’s what it looked like to him, but she was always quiet anyway.

It felt so familiar.

The walls around him were impervious; blocking the outside world. It was no different than the life he lived previously.

A prisoner. Completely helpless; nothing had changed.

He bided his time silently, though every passing minute crawled on for an eternity as hunger cramps set in and boredom racked at his mind every moment.