5 Chapter 5: Zenis (2)

Perseus POV

I then made my way to the small armory, I selected a set of armor, not the finest or most formidable, but sturdy enough to offer some measure of protection. We can select the stronger ones, but none of them are picked by the adults, only by the other new kids.

I'm assuming that it's because we're going to sink or have a harder time swimming. Perhaps it was because they knew something we didn't, that the heavier armor would weigh us down, make us sink, or hinder our ability to swim. They're probably not telling us because they want us to learn it the hard way.

I got myself a modest sword and a small dagger and then headed for Harold, who's our instructor. He's currently telling the others the story and why we're here, though the story itself is a bit...well, lighter compared to the version he told me.

The kids were complaining about it and asking why we were supposed to work, and they told Harold off before blabbering about the goods and achievements of the empire, the propaganda taught to us in the lab.

One tried snitching about it to one of the guards, but it didn't go so well. The adults tried to stop him, but the kid only got a backhand from the guard and a lash to his fallen back.

"So what?!" The guard spat, "You'd think that I'm here to help a slave? Get back to your elders before I lash you again, be thankful that I'm merciful today, you dirty shit."

The adults didn't say anything and can only look at the kid with pity. The kid tried to scramble back, but the guard lashed him again and asked for the kid's 'thank you' before he could.

[Is any of the stubborn kids a hero?]

[A: No, if the hero is nearby, I will inform you.]

[Can't you ask him to come help me?]

[A: No, I cannot, after all, he's not supposed to know that you exist.]

[What do you mean?]

[A: The hero does not know of your existence, you are to serve him in secrecy, from the shadows, and to replace him if he meets his death.]

[A: As his potential replacement, you must not give the world any hints of you being an assistant hero as the world may target you. You can decide to attract any attention you want, however, just give no hints to you being an assistant hero, whose role to Terra is just as vital as the hero's.]

[Is there a way for me to escape here through the system? Alone or otherwise?]

[A: That is your role to figure out the solution.]

When the kid got back in tears, the adults just applied some salve on the wound while comforting the child, and didn't blame him one bit. But it does get me questioning, why teach us about the empire's deeds if you're just going to do that to us anyway?

I get that we're strays, kids abandoned by our parents and we were raised in the lab till now...but wouldn't it have been better to just chuck us to some adults or something?

Maybe it's a trick. They want us to feel hopeful, so they can crush it later and make us feel hopeless. That way, we won't even try to stand up to them. It's like they're playing with our emotions, making us feel one way and then another, just to keep us obedient and scared.

The empire may believe that by subjecting the children to this emotional rollercoaster of hope and despair, they can manipulate their behavior and keep them in line.

However, I think that this despair caused by the sudden revelation of the empire's true nature may make the children more prone to disobedience and rebellion, as they feel betrayed and seek to assert their autonomy in the face of oppression.

But...at this point, ain't no way they're letting such a story flow around so easily.

A rebellion or uprising probably happened once before, and the result was obvious if it did because we're still here.

*****

I hesitated at the edge of the cliff, my heart pounding in my chest. Taking a deep breath, I plunged into the cool embrace of the water below. To my surprise, my vision was crystal clear, it was as if I had been granted the ability to see through the depths with perfect sight.

I don't know what I've been born into, but it seems like this body is a bit of a blessing. As I swam deeper, the pressure of the water pressing in on me, I could hear the voices of my instructors very clearly, it's weird, maybe that Sam Wyatt guy is a half-merman or something.

However, as I dived deeper, my skin started to get irritated.

[Status: Poisoned]

"Um, are we being poisoned?" 

"Yeah, glimmerites emit poison when it's in purest form" Harold explained, "For now, we'll stay around this level for you to eventually build up poison resistance, and to slowly get you kids all used to the pressure as the deeper you are, the higher the pressure."

*****

We got back on land after a while, I lasted longer than everyone else, so I was the last kid to get back up. I went to rest and was offered some soup and toasted bread, I wasn't complaining. At least it was warm and was pretty well-seasoned.

I brought the fight to eat inside the cave near my quarters, where I ate alone and separated from the other kids. Zenis then came to sit next to me and handed me some grapes after I finished my food.

"Are you a child of one of the empire's guards?"

"What makes you say that?" she asked

"You don't really look like the rest of us."

"Well...you're wrong."

"I see."

"...Are you not curious?"

"I am, but I respect your privacy."

"I'll tell you anyway then." she chuckled, "I was born into an ordinary family of the empire but I fell in love with one of you, a really sweet miner who delivered a package of glimmerite to us when my mother was sick...eventually, well, I got pregnant...and I was tossed in here when my son was born."

"Where's your son and lover?"

"Both executed." she answered

"Sorry."

"Don't be...it's been years now, and I've been accepted by most as one of you, even the guards treat me the same way."

"...Did you regret it?"

"A bit." she answered honestly, "I tried my best to ask them to spare my son, to take me instead...but...here I am."