Tower of Paradise

I had to cover my mouth to prevent screaming while feeling a wave of trembling. I felt goosebumps rising from my feet to my head, my skin tingling like needles.

This can't be happening.

My eyes opened so wide that I could see every detail even better, and from that point, nausea rose to my throat, burning the walls of my organs.

What was happening?

All the air trapped inside my lungs came out as a frozen vapor. A trembling hand forcefully covered my mouth to contain the scream that froze on my lips. And no matter how much I tried to break away from this image, I couldn't.

My eyes, covered in wild horror, stared fixedly at the body hanging in the container that the monster was carrying.

—Don't move.

I told myself, trying to prevent my heart from bursting out of my chest.

I didn't even realize how I started trembling feverishly. My lips trembled while I felt everything freezing with horror, feeling the void that was slowly sinking me. My hands began to shake violently and my teeth started chattering slightly.

—Children are not my favorite dish.

The monster's voice awakened all my senses.

—Idiot, carry the container carefully. That girl is valuable merchandise, not something to eat

I heard another say.

What were they talking about? I brought both hands to my face trying to understand what was behind their words.

—The human flesh from this shelter is for the conservation of our species

One of them continued.

—That's right, leave everything in our hands.

Emilia's voice, my mother, seriously frightened me when my body shuddered.

A sharp sword pierced my brain as I began to understand....

My God, it wasn't possible…

My skin bristled and shivered, and I felt my spirit split in two…

Then…

An unexpected change fell like lightning, a strange sensation that everyone felt. This sensation rose across my skin. It was hard to describe, but something in it felt… twisted.

I felt this sinister unknown feeling shaking my body. The same happened to the monsters, who suddenly knelt, facing the circular hole in the sky.

The figure descending from the circular hole had a much more humanoid silhouette than these monsters, was two meters tall, wore an elegant black armor, had blood-red eyes, and had a sharp and piercing tail. Its pale gray skin with black scales blended with the cloudy sky in the background.

Standing there, barely keeping myself upright, I felt like a simple spark against the wind, completely vulnerable.

I felt desperation.

The mysterious figure exerted a suffocating pressure throughout the cavern when it landed on the ground.

After a few seconds, I gathered the courage to look down again.

—M-Mr. Cylrit?

The muscular monster greeted while remaining kneeled next to my mother, confused.

—Where is Emilia?@@novelbin@@

The man asked coldly, confronting one of the monsters that had frightened me so much.

—I am here, my lord.

My mother responded, still kneeling, lifting her head.

—Very well. Listen carefully. Within two years, prepare the three with the maximum score for their imminent harvest. The rulers desire new offspring

His soft voice spread like a cold breeze, causing chills down my back despite the distance separating us.

—Understood, my lord.

My mother responded, visibly relaxing her shoulders.

I felt the paralysis of an electrifying terror. Had I heard correctly?

My heart sank into my stomach, and I knew I had to get out of here as soon as possible.

I fled as fast as possible when, suddenly, the man looked over his shoulder.

For a fraction of a second, his gaze passed through the tunnel where I was running. I felt that his gaze finally overlooked me, but in that fugitive instant, his cold eyes fixed on my back with the attention of a predator, when my body visibly shrank while running desperately.

There was no doubt about it: he knew I was there.

Exiting the tunnel, what I received was the always pleasant breath of earth's wind.

However, after a mile of rapid running, my body had succumbed to a bout of chills.

I escaped, running through earth and debris as fast as my small legs allowed me until they finally gave way and I fell to my knees, hunched over myself and breathing heavily between sobs.

What did I just witness?

These monsters were worse than I could have imagined.

All the adopted children... were dead.

Were we food?

Did we live just to be eaten?

No, that didn't seem to be the case. The monsters' way of speaking didn't seem to talk about simple food. They seemed to give us a much more important role.

Were we raised and killed for pleasure?

No, that makes no sense. They called us "merchandise", so our bodies clearly had value... But what?

I didn't understand.

I suppressed a sob and rubbed my face with a sleeve to dry the tears falling... I had been desperately trying not to cry about this disturbing reality all this time.

But now it was practically impossible.

I couldn't lie to myself and continue as if everything was fine until my turn. I couldn't let my other companions go to their death without knowing.

We had to get out of here. Flee as far away as possible.

Rage, anguish, helplessness, and betrayal invaded me when remembering everything. My body shivered as I began to sob.

No... Mom.

Faced with the crushing truth, tears began to run down my face like a torrent that finally broke the containment wall.

My face turned pale and my entire body trembled while I lost my voice in a heartbreaking cry of pain.

Gritting my teeth and holding back the sobs forming in my chest, the tears wouldn't stop. My hands were trembling and I was breathing intermittently.

I began to cry from rage, from sadness. I felt humiliated for having believed I finally had a mother I could trust.

I opened my hands forcefully when a heartbreaking scream escaped from my dry throat. Rage fought against the pain in my heart for a long time while I lamented everything.

I cried and cursed the whole time, refusing to believe that all of this was real. As a sister, as a companion, I just wanted to protect my family, the few people who were important to me, let them be happy and healthy.

I was prisoner to an immense, indescribable anger, more terrible than I had ever felt in my life.