Somewhere in a fractured world of pure ivory, where the border between the sky and the glowing sea blurred, only five floating islands undulated over the cream-hued ocean, interconnected by segmented steel bridges.
On the largest and most central island - which was akin to a large airstrip with different sections split by fences and platforms - a group of men in ebony military uniforms and dark combat suits walked around imposingly while they watched over trainees wearing a white shirt and black combat pants as they went about their daily drills and exercises.
Jin glanced around helplessly, taking in the intimidating sight with a gulp as armed men pulled him forward by his arms, his hands cuffed in front of him to render them useless.
The man in scarlet glasses walked backwards ahead of Jin while looking at him with a wide grin, as if enjoying the sight.
"Names don't matter here, but you'll call me Dealer. Heheheh! Look around you! Isn't all this amazing? Look at the my military might, completely organized and efficient! All of them following one unified goal… their own survival. Heh. Dreams, ambitions and whatever else are always fueled by that instinct to exist, whether physically or mentally. Exploit it, and you get yourself an army! People who will burn themselves to line up under you."
The soldiers moved Jin inside of a large warehouse, where about twenty people stood with worried expressions, wearing different clothes ranging from casual t-shirts and shorts to formal business suits and stylish tuxedos.
All of them collectively looked at the newcomers with inquisitive and concerned looks.
The soldiers kicked the back of Jin's knees, forcing him down on them as they trained their sights on his head.
"H-Hey, easy..." Jin lowered his head away from them while moving his hands up meekly.
"But there's always an exception, and those people have no place in my army. What about you? Do you want to live too or was this all a waste?" Dealer pulled out a small glowing cube from his pocket, the size of a soda cap, and handed it to one of the soldiers.
"What…? That's a stupid question, of course I-Agh!" the soldier impaled a thin icepick into Jin's chest, then pulled it out to push the cube in, following the harsh motion again to bury it deeper in.
Jin cried out painfully and tried to move away but the other soldiers held him down. The pain was sharp and his mouth tasted metallic from the blood pouring into his windpipe. A wound like this deep would normally end up killing a man but Jin was still awake through it.
"Yeah? You heard that everyone!? It's a stupid question! Nobody wants to die! But if you do want to die, raise your hand and I'll help you!" Dealer clapped and looked around.
Everyone looked too scared and intimidated to speak.
Dealer snickered and looked back down at Jin.
"But living… It's a complicated thing. And I hate complicated things, so I simplified it for you poor souls," Dealer stepped back and gestured at Jin.
The soldiers unlocked Jin's cuffs with haste then moved away.
Jin rubbed his wrists and looked at them cautiously.
'Why are they moving away…?'
The man snapped his fingers and manifested a cerulean door next to Jin that opened by itself. Inside it was a dank corridor leading to a bright street with cars blaring by and people walking carelessly to their routine destinations.
Jin looked at it with a mix of surprise, his eyes widening longingly.
"See… You can leave. You can go out there to the world and struggle to live. Start it all from scratch," Dealer smiled.
"Everything is intact… The world is fine…?" Jin slowly stood up, unable to look away from the mundane view.
But then the sound of muffled screaming drew his attention to Walter, who walked inside the warehouse without his gas mask, dragging a tied up dark-haired man who squirmed around desperately, the man's drooling mouth gagged with layers of bloodied cloth.
"But you'd be living as prey. As what we like to call… a battery. Like this fellow down here," Dealer squatted down next to the man and patted his head.
The man screamed pointlessly and shook his head repeatedly.
"See, we're all marked with expiration timers and once it reaches zero, it doesn't matter what ability you have, you'll turn to a sticky mass of muck all the same. Even if you wished for eternal life, like this guy," Dealer aimed a finger at the quivering man.
"Bang!" as soon as he mimicked the recoil of a gun, Walter blasted a hole right through the man's skull with his revolver, scattering chunks of gray, pinks and crimson on Dealer's hand and leg.
Jin jumped and almost fell from stumbling backwards, his chest heaving instantly as he stared at the corpse.
Some people screamed, but the soldiers quickly shut them up by waving their weapons in their faces.
"Relax, everyone, relax! This man doesn't die! Look, his wounds are healing."
True to his words, the gaping glistening hole slowly disappeared and the man raised his head back up to continue screaming behind the cloth.
"So if you choose to be a battery, we will let you run free and enjoy some of the time you have left but we will hunt you down like the meaty cattle that you chose to be, we're not going to let your precious go to waste. You can go finish your unfinished business or go on a final killing spree! Live the life you weren't allowed to indulge in until the Shadows grasp your soul! That's us, we're the Shadows."
Dealer pointed at himself then gestured at Walter who pulled out a black serrated knife and impaled the screaming man with practiced precision, slicing and cutting a jagged cubic chunk off, which he carelessly tossed away to rip out the glowing golden sphere.
Walter held it up and showed it off to everyone who watched breathlessly in pure terror.
The man's head slowly fell down and never moved after that. Everyone watched quietly, including Jin who couldn't rip his gaze away from the glowing core. They all waited for him to heal and wake up, but it started to become painfully obvious that he wouldn't.
"But that's no life to live, is it? So forget all about your last wishes, your goals, your dreams, and focus on just surviving. Focus on your basic needs, on your instincts that scream, telling you to live! Become my vicious hounds! Follow me and I will show you how pleasant my hell can be!"
Dealer laughed and snapped his fingers several times, summoning a collection of cerulean doors, one next to each person. They all looked through the doors with gasps or fearful expressions.
A man looked at Dealer then at the door and ran in it screaming.
The rest looked at the escapee then back at Dealer, fear keeping them pinned in their places. Some of them were still looking at the dead man on the ground, as if they were still hoping he'd wake up.
Jin's trembling damp eyes were glued to Dealer's maliciously smirking face.
"Oh... You... What do you choose? Are you a battery or a hound?" Dealer's smile darkened.
Jin swallowed, struggling to from the sheer terror, his knees were ready to buckle and his hands felt like they were sub zero, freezing cold.
"I-I'm not going to die… N-Not yet."
Dealer laughed loudly and elbowed Walter's stomach.
"See? I knew you'd like him, Walter! Take him with you. As for the rest of you sprouts! Follow the soldiers behind you to your living quarters, we'll get you sorted then training starts after your interviews and evaluation."
Jin looked past Dealer, at Walter whose cold careless eyes sent chills down his spine.
"Your training starts now," Walter raised his revolver up and shot Jin right through the head without any warning.
Jin gasped and sat up quickly, his heart beating incredibly fast.
"Ah… He's awake!" the sweet feminine voice of a woman wearing a white nurse uniform tickled Jin's ears, almost helping calm him down.
Jin quickly glanced around to see that he was surrounded by a green fabric or sheet, presumably the inside of a tent, while he sat on an elevated cot. Not only that, but they had changed his clothes to a white shirt and black pants.
"Wh-What happened? Why did he…" before he could finish thinking out loud, Walter walked into the tent and instantly whipped his gun towards Jin's face.
"Huh!? Wait! St-"
The loud sound of Walter's revolver drowned Jin's words as the bullet punctured his head like a watermelon, darkening Jin's world for a split second.
Jin's eyes quickly snapped open to a sharp dull pain in his stomach and he cried out in response, squeezing himself to ease the pain. Jin noticed that he was outside on a cold gray floor.
'When did I get moved out here? The world just changes when I die… It's so disorienting... and my stomach, why does it hurt…'
"Did you really have to kick him?" Dealer spoke with an amused smile then nibbled on an orange brick of military rations.
Walter glared at Jin then looked back at Dealer with a softer and more dignified expression.
"He didn't wake up the first twenty times I kicked him. The first time he perished, it took him a day to wake up. But I assume it only took him three hours to completely heal, therefore-"
"As long as he's done healing he'd wake up quicker? Oh, then why not go grab that girl who uhh…"
"Understood," Walter nodded and walked away.
Jin watched the definition of "fine as old wine" walking away while shivering fearfully.
"You're an exception to how we do things around here, Sprout. You smell… unique… It's actually how I managed to find you the first time around, so I'm going to utilize you properly. That's why you won't go through normal training, Walter will take care of you instead," Dealer walked closer to Jin and shoved the half eaten nutrient bar into his mouth.
"Unless you want to die, behave yourself and don't cause any problems. But don't worry! It's not all gloom and doom here! After training hours, we have recreational facilities where you can indulge in all manners of things. Brothels, baseball centers, tennis courts and an amazing pool! You might even make a friend or two there. Not that I recommend getting mushy with other soldiers, you might end up killing them in the future," Dealer smiled at Jin warmly.
Jin slowly bit down on the ration but then he grimaced and spat it out.
"This is disgusting…"
"It's like coffee, you'll like it the more you drink… Oh, we also have a canteen with different types of food based on how well you perform. So trust me, living here isn't too bad if you can afford the cost. My twisted heaven for the price of hell, you could say," Dealer chuckled and walked away waving his hand.
Jin watched him leave then sighed deeply and gripped his head in a pointless attempt at stopping his headache.
'I jumped from a lousy job that tied a leash around my neck to another one… But this one feels even more annoying, especially with that old man shooting me every chance he gets… It hurts so much… Even after I wake up, I feel the bullet inside of me…'
Jin stroked his head then looked up to see Walter walking to him with his revolver drawn, death in his eyes.
Jin gasped and quickly ran away from him, he didn't care where he was running, only that he had to escape.
Jin heard the ear-shattering blast and then suddenly found himself on the ground with a throbbing headache. There was no pause between his death and when he woke up so he still felt like he was in danger.
A young girl in a dark green beret and military uniform pressed a strip of tape against Jin's head and stroked it to squeeze the air bubbles out.
Jin gasped and tried to crawl away but she easily pressed him back down.
"Relax, I'm trying to patch you up," she said then swiftly tugged the tape, ripping it off.
"Sss! Ahh..." Jin winced but then furrowed his brow when he felt a strange rejuvenating effect calming his nerves and senses. His muscles relaxed with a pleasant tingle running through him.
Jin sighed deeply, able to relax thanks to the healing effect. He slowly sat up and noticed Walter standing in front of him.
Jin instantly screamed and fell back down, crawling away desperately on his back.
Walter just stared at him without displaying any emotions.
A blond man wearing a similar uniform to the small girl walked next to Jin and helped him up.
"Easy there, alright? Calm down."
Jin snapped his head to the man but then glared back at Walter.
"H-He's going to kill me… Why are you trying to kill me!?"
Walter stared at him wordlessly and slowly lifted his weapon towards Jin.
"Wait! Let me go! He's going to shoot!" Jin shouted and struggled in the man's grasp.
"Hey, relax! He's not trying to kill you! If he did, you wouldn't be here right now!" the man held Jin's arms back.
The short woman walked up to Jin and tugged at his shirt.
"Th-This is part of your training… You need to dodge the bullets."
"Dodge bullets!? Are you hearing yourself!? You can't dodge bull-"
Bang! The reverberating sound of Walter's revolver had become too familiar as it pierced through the air with an echoing clap.
Jin woke up gasping and looked up at Walter aiming the same barrel at him with the same bored expression.
Jin quickly rolled to the side but the sound of gunfire reset him back to the ground, with Walter in the same position as earlier.
Jin tried to run away again but no matter how he moved, how he tried to dodge, even when he tried to rush closer to attack, it always ended the same way; with a loud bang and him back on the ground.
Without a sun to mark the time, he didn't even know how long he was there collecting bullets in the messed up torture session dubbed as training.
Jin woke up again, feeling like it was his millionth time repeating the same miserable scene. He instantly jumped up and ran to the right but then cleverly twirled around and swiftly cartwheeled onto his back.
Jin panted and rolled on the ground but then he gasped.
'I'm on the ground! I died again!'
Jin desperately repositioned his body to run from a crouching position and crawled around on all fours like an unhinged human beast, but his brain was so overworked that he slammed his face down onto the ground when he tried to propel himself even further.
"No, no! Don't shoot me! Not again! -hic- I didn't mean to fall!" Jin sobbed and covered his head to protect it while shaking uncontrollably.
The blond man stared at Jin with a sympathetic look while the girl next to him covered her mouth while her eyes overflowed with tears.
The man sighed and walked closer to Jin.
"Hey… That man… He walked away five minutes ago… You're safe now, okay?" the man crouched down and touched Jin's arm.
"Don't hurt me!" Jin kicked the man away and crawled back with a pitiful look. He quickly looked around for Walter so he'd know where to run.
The man gripped his stomach but raised his palm disarmingly towards Jin.
"H-Hey, relax. You're good, alright? Take a deep breath."
But Jin couldn't, his breath was too rapid. If his chest was a balloon it would've popped by now.
"L-Let me put some duct tape on him…" the girl walked closer, pulling out another roll.
***
Jin sat against a wired fence with an exhausted and crestfallen look, his face and shoulders covered in strips of duct tape.
The blond man stared at Jin then back at the girl.
"It's really messed up... They're using your healing tapes and my transportation Wish to kill this guy over and over again…"
"D-Don't say it like that…"
"It got me away from those damned missions, so I'm not complaining... but this guy doesn't seem like he'd last long."
The blond man spoke casually as if Jin wasn't even there.
The girl walked closer to Jin then looked up at the man.
"Training is over now, right? Should we take him to his dorm?"
"Oh, right. He lives with the rest of the Number trainees… Yeah, let's take him. Want to grab a meal after that?"
"No, I lost my appetite…"
"Oh. Okay, " the blond man nodded with a sigh, then walked to Jin and pulled him up against his will, but Jin didn't even have the energy to protest or resist.
***
Jin stared at an ebony building made of some metallic alloy, it looked like a crude storage unit more than a housing complex.
Jin plodded into the "dorm" with labored steps, and looked around listlessly.
It wasn't a dorm at all, it was barely a house, closer to an oversized room with several bunk beds and an open door leading to a plain-looking bathroom. There were some wardrobes and furnishings around but Jin didn't care too much about them and went straight to the bathroom to wash the dry tears, blood and dirt off his face. He didn't even bother to turn on the lights inside the restroom.
'Is this what it means to live? Did I make the wrong call? No, they were gonna hunt me down and kill me… As long as I live, I can turn it all around someday… I need to power through it for now and wait...'
The abrupt sound of the front door opening caused Jin's spine to tingle with terror as he quickly glanced back with wide eyes.
'Is he still coming after me!? I need to run-'
The sound of laughter and several footsteps racing in still didn't ease his heart, he had to confirm it wasn't Walter.
Jin watched a group of people wearing white shirts and black pants walking into his line of sight, five in total.
They sat down on the lower beds while some stood leaning against it to talk.
"Those rubber bullets hurt so much... They really expect us to dodge them?" a short blond man with youthful features groaned.
"At least you're not the size of a mountain..." a muscular well-built woman with long flowing hair frowned at them.
"Oh, you guys should've seen Raven. I think she learned how to dodge them in three days!" a bulky framed bald man grinned at them brightly.
"She's nothing special. It's because she used to race in those really fast sports cars…" a bald man with a scarred face scoffed.
"You'll get the hang of it," a dark haired woman smiled softly at the blond man.
Jin stared at them from the dark as they conversed, they didn't seem to notice him or look directly in his direction.
'They called this place a dorm... So I'll be sharing my room with them? They seem so carefree...'
Jin turned back to the mirror and saw Walter aiming the revolver at him. He screamed and leaped back on the ground, moving his hands in front of his face.
"Don't shoot!"
Everyone looked at Jin while he slowly crawled away from the bathroom then back into the bathroom for any signs of danger.
"Hey, are you okay?" the raven-haired woman asked worriedly, but Jin ignored her and instantly dashed outside.
'I need to run away, I need to avoid his bullets, I need to avoid him!'
Jin ran and exerted his legs heavily. Despite his open eyes he was still running like a headless chicken, directionless.
He suddenly stopped near the segmented bridge and panted heavily. People walked around him, giving him confused or annoyed stares.
'I need to get out of…'
Jin looked to his side at the pure white bottomless abyss.
'...No, that might kill me forever…'
Jin gulped and turned around, but Walter was already there, his barrel trained on Jin's head.
"Training starts."
Walter's bullet pierced the air, whizzing towards Jin's face.
"No, wait!" Jin's eyes widened, his body too slow to react.