City

The children froze when they heard Aru's words.

Breaking legs.

Falling from the sky!

Being thrown off a cliff!

Aru dished out more equally outlandish punishments, trying to decide what Dal should face.

Dal's body trembled as he listened.

"What do you think? Pick any one of these, and we can go our separate ways," Aru finally added after some thought.

He knew no sane person would choose any of those punishments. Aru was indirectly telling Dal to go die. And even if they decided to accept the said punishment, he wouldn't actually make them go through with it.

This was a test of his to see their reaction when they were met with an impossible choice. 

"I..." Dal couldn't find the strength to speak.

He was willing to accept the punishment, but when he thought about his family, he faltered. 

For the first time, he understood what it felt like to be truly suppressed by someone stronger.

"No, you can't do it, boss."