According to his previous history classes, the Roman Colosseum used to be distributed by social class. On the upper levels, away from the main arena, sat the poor and the women.
Being closer to the arena allowed you to see the fights better. Hence, the closer you get to the first row, the higher your status. Except, if you were fighting in the arena, of course.
With that knowledge, Perse knew that the currently empty golden chair that stood alone in the middle of the front row had to be the emperor's seat. However, the vacant throne was not what caught his attention earlier.
Earlier, he had seen a breathtaking beauty. The woman resembled a goddess with blonde hair that seemed like gold, pearl white skin, and deep red eyes. Perse was surprised to discover that the woman was chained. The end of the chain held by one of the people seated on the marble seats.
He noticed small status windows in the different sections, sharing information about the individual fights for those with higher status to see. Perse realized they divided into a dozen small fighting quadrants surrounding the pit.
He looked around and noticed that she wasn't the only chained woman between the main seats. She did seem to be the only one in a better condition, though.
In the front row, that beautiful woman poured a glass of bubbly blue alcohol to the people sitting there. Although they weren't exactly 'people.' At first, he had naively thought they were aliens.
A total of 4 robbed silhouette were observing the arena. All of them wore masks of different styles and representative figures. Perse could only distinguish the shape of a monkey and a cat before shifting his attention to one of the ongoing battles.
Even so, he was able to see the skeletal hand holding the chains, the dark, empty eye sockets of the things behind the masks, and the tiny moving body of an indistinguishable something inside the drink.
While serving the drinks, the woman didn't pay attention to any battles. She stood calmly in front of the four, focusing on the task. The man holding the chain yanked it to rush her.
Feeling the shackle around her neck pulled back, the woman let out a strangled breath and stumbled back a few steps.
"Bring it." The one closer to the throne with a dark green mask said.
The robbed silhouettes were paying close attention to the battle Perse had seen before. The longsword still perched through the guy's chest. None of them seemed surprised.
"Tch. When is the next encounter?" Said the one with the cat mask, a feminine voice coming from behind it.
"Why so fast?" Answered the one on the far left. "He can still fight."
"His arm just fell off. Oh, there goes his head."
"I think he will fight until his torso gets separated from the rest of his body." The one in the monkey mask intervened. "Oh, wait, never mind. He's eating his arm. I think he gave up."
"That's the problem with zombies." Said the dark green mask. "Pure energy but zero durability."
The one on the far left got up suddenly. "You're a bunch of bones! What are you so afraid of? Keep fighting!"
In the arena, the man got escorted out by the twins. Three other people in the same attire picked up his still moving remains.
"Bah! All that muscle, and yet he's still succumbing to hunger."
"Isn't that what they all do?" Asked the one in the monkey mask amusingly.
"Do they?" He asked, gazing at the man holding the chains.
"Kukuku. Bet on the vampire next time. Now pay." Said the only woman between the four.
While the cat mask and the most faraway silhouette fought, the golden-haired woman brought the drinks over to them in a hurry. Her hair fluttered with the movement, allowing to reveal her long, pointed ears for a fragment of a second.
She went straight to the man holding the chain and gave him one glass before distributing the other drinks. Not even once did she look directly at them.
Once the woman finished the task, she went back to her place, kneeling beside the man in the green mask. The conversation didn't stop this whole time. The cat and monkey masks still discussed the next battle to place their bets.
"What about the 3-0D?" Said the woman silhouette, signaling the numbers of the individual fighters.
"Do you see that ghost winning?"
"11-4G?"
"Still a ghost."
"Do you have something against ghosts?"
"I don't know. Do you have something with ghosts?"
"Excuse me? My great-great-grandfather is one!"
"Yes? As is everyone else's?"
"Besides," said the one in the left, his spirit recovering after losing money. "I've met your grandfather. He wouldn't win against a shadow."
"You two-!"
-Crash!
The three turned at the throne, only to find the man holding the chains standing up, grabbing the golden-haired woman by the neck and the glass pieces on the floor. Under the marble sits, a worm twisted its body to get away from the crystals.
"You dare put that in my drink?" He said, slowly and menacingly.
"I... did... not... please!" The woman said with tears in her eyes, moving her hands and feet frantically. The woman shifted her gaze towards the three spectators. "Please!"
"..."
"..."
"... So, what about 7-1J?" Said the monkey, immediately returning them to the previous conversation.
The woman cried more, feeling helpless. Before, she saw the man with the monkey mask look at her with pity. But now, he was the first one to turn his back on her.
"You! Low birth bastard!" The man said and held his fist in the air, ready to land.
Before he could even hit the woman, a giant window appeared above the arena, causing everyone in the terraces to go silent.
[GENERAL INFORMATION:
A [[F I G H T E R]] HAS CHALLENGED THE PIT OF BEASTS]
"What?!" The dark green mask said, dumbfounded. He released the woman's neck.
The word broke the silence, and soon the Colosseum was filled with a sea of shouts and cheers.
...
Although he had unknowingly helped prevent a terrible situation from happening, Perse didn't have the time to think about anything heroic. He just wanted to get back to his cold place under a restaurant's front entrance in the streets. Anything would have been better than this.
Not only did the place freak him out. But also the fact that despite all the blood and body parts scattered on the floor, none of the "people" in the arena seemed to die.
No, to be precise, all of them were already dead, all except him.
Perse felt nausea climbing his throat. He had come here trying to run away from being eaten by a laser but, what would happen to him? What if Perse had to fight? What if they found out he wasn't dead?
He had planned on going back to the darkroom with the spooky fire. Unfortunately, that didn't work out. Instead, he painfully landed in a two meters mountain of fecal waste.
He remembered how he had been curious and excited before, thinking that he would be able to discover something unbelievable.
'Idiot! Stupid! Fool!'
'Shit. Shit. Shit.'
Hearing the sound of a hundred thousand dead people roaring and screaming in excitement, Perse saw a toast notification appear in the corner of his eye. He turned around to see it floating in the air, bright red. Unlike before, it didn't look like a lava lamp but rather like fresh blood after a hunt.
After reading it, the last part of the message gave him goosebumps.
[FIGHTER INFORMATION:
YOUR MASTER HAS GIVEN THE ORDER.
YOUR ORDER IS [[S U R V I V E. UwU.]]
OBEY UNTIL THE END.]
"The end?" He murmured, the sound drowned by the hysteria of the crowd.
"Kukukukukukukukukuku."
"Ha. Ha. Ha. Ha. Ha."
He remembered that the twins spoke to him without moving their mouths. And how he felt their breath in his neck despite being so far away from each other. The way they answered his questions.
What he felt right now was pretty similar.
Only that, this time, Perse had the feeling as if everyone around him was looking somewhere above him while snickering. In a way he couldn't know, that he wasn't allowed to know.
Like a puppet, he could even feel the light threats tied in his arms. The words [[S U R V I V E.]] were engraved in Perse's eyes as a reddish tear traveled down his cheek.
His eyes burned, and veins were visible on his neck. Perse looked up at the crowd. He was sure now that this wasn't his planet. It wasn't even his world.
'This is hell.'
Looking at the thousands of immortals and undead cheering, Perse knew he was right. He read the message over and over again, searching for a loophole only to disappoint himself.
Finally, he looked down at his hands and then at the big locked doors in front of him, hearing the growls of whatever was behind it.
"... UwU?" He said, laughing bitterly. His eyes, with the same look he had on his face the day before when he decided to die in the alley.
The only difference was the new color in his eye's blue iris, with a faint red light that resembled fire and bubbles.