Ri made her way through the white-walled corridors of the complex where the boy had been sleeping, and Shed followed her with shy steps.
A multitude of thoughts and worries were pounding in the young man's head, but two in particular kept him from feeling at ease: what had happened to his family? What would become of him?
In the corridors, the two occasionally passed by others who, to Shed, all seemed to be Sleter*, given their cross-shaped eyes and wild hair.
They were mostly dressed in white coats with silver stripes that faintly reflected the ever-present white light.
"Are there others sleeping in here?" Shed asked; he wasn't particularly interested in the matter, but he wanted to talk to release some tension.
"Of course, there are thousands sleeping in here who will soon be sent to the Colosseum…"
The news didn't particularly affect Shed, especially because it was predictable.
Anyway, Ri seemed a bit different from before; In fact, ever since they had left the white room where Shed had woken up, she seemed more relaxed.
Shed looked at her doubtfully, not wanting to ask her more questions.
The long white corridor they were walking down finally ended in a spacious hall with a high ceiling. Ri asked Shed to wait for her for a few minutes while she went to talk to a gentleman, also Sleter, seated behind a white metallic counter.
After a short while, Ri returned to Shed's side.
"Good, we can finally leave this place…" she said in a serious and slightly relieved tone.
"Mmh…" Shed nodded; Ri really did seem different from before.
'Was she acting for some reason earlier?'
Shed watched her with suspicion.
Compared to the fanatical and enthusiastic Ri from earlier, this one seemed calmer, more relaxed, and… almost pleasant.
Ri walked towards a metal wall in the hall, on the opposite side from the corridor they had come through.
That wall had only one special feature: a matte silver triangle positioned at mid-height, and Ri seemed to be heading directly toward it.
That wall had only one particular feature: a matte silver triangle positioned at mid-height, and Ri seemed to be heading directly toward it.
Doubtfully, he followed her a moment later.
A few meters from the wall, a rectangular section of it, large enough for the two to pass through, began to become increasingly transparent until it disappeared, allowing them to walk through.
Shed stood frozen for a few seconds in astonishment until Ri gave him a light tap on the shoulder with a slightly amused expression.
"Come on, let's go…", she then said.
Shed nodded.
Still a bit amazed by what had just happened, Shed stood with his mouth agape at what unfolded before him as they passed through the white wall.
A vast park with alabaster-colored grass and imposing trees with ivory foliage appeared before them. In the center of the park was a large circular pond about ten meters in diameter, but instead of water, it contained a silvery liquid.
Beyond the park, Shed caught a glimpse of a gray sky with luminescent and colorful horizontal stripes, and a multitude of flying vehicles of all shapes and colors soaring in a chaotic yet absurdly ordered manner. At first, Shed stood frozen in wonder at the scene, but then he frowned.
'The sky… has it always been this color?'
Shed looked up slightly; the 'sky' shifted from gray to blue at one point.
'That gray thing… isn't the sky?!'
Instinctively, Shed ran to the opposite edge of the park to get a better look at that gray thing. He quickly reached the park's edge and only then did he realize how high he was above the ground; looking down, it was hard to distinguish the movements on the ground.
A shiver ran down his spine.
Shed looked up again; the gray 'sky' was nothing but an imposing wall of a massive structure, and the luminous and colorful stripes on that gray wall seemed to be made up of various images and writings, which, at that distance, were hard to focus on.
Shed looked down. Tall, ash-colored skyscrapers towered in front of that wall, creating a gray city where other flying vehicles moved agilely.
"That is…"
"The Colosseum."
Ri, who had approached Shed in the meantime, completed his sentence.
"From here that wall doesn't even look curved…"
"Curved?" Shed asked, still astonished by what his eyes were seeing.
"You should know that the Colosseum has an elliptical layout… so it actually doesn't have 'walls' but a single 'curved wall'…"
Shed continued to observe that absurd landscape until Ri spoke again.
"Our bridge is ready, follow me…"
Ri turned, heading towards the silvery pond in the center of the park. Shed turned to her with a confused expression.
"Bridge… what—"
Before the young man could finish his question, the pond began to emit luminescent silver particles.
"Come…." Ri urged.
Ri walked to the center of the silvery pond. Surprisingly, she didn't sink as she walked across it; the silver liquid seemed to harden under her feet, forming a solid surface where Ri placed her step. Shed, now aware that he didn't have enough knowledge to understand everything happening around him, decided to follow her without asking too many questions.
Shed joined Ri at the center of the pond; the silver particles that the pond emitted upwards began to swirl around the two, completely enveloping them in a kind of tornado. After a few moments, Shed and Ri found themselves no longer in the alabaster-colored grass park but in a well-lit room with rough gray metallic walls. Beneath them was still a circular puddle of silver liquid, while in front of them, standing in front of a red holographic door, were two tall figures dressed in midnight blue uniforms, with ebony skin and a military bearing.
"Welcome." they exclaimed in a deep, synchronized tone.
Ri nodded, introducing herself to them as the manager of a new gladiator. The guards nodded and then stared for a moment at the badge that Ri wore on her chest.
"Identity confirmed."
Saying this, the two stepped back, allowing Ri and Shed to pass. The red holographic door faded, letting them through.
'They didn't even give me a glance…' Shed thought to himself.
Ri and Shed hurried through the door, entering a wide corridor decorated on either side with pairs of pilasters that supported pointed arches. The corridor could be divided into bays, each adorned with a ribbed vault that embellished the ceiling. Although the corridor was entirely made of metal, it had been treated to resemble marble.
At the center of each ribbed vault was a glowing white sphere that occasionally dropped luminescent white soot.
"We're about to enter the free zone… designed for you gladiators to live in peace, where fighting is prohibited…"
Even Ri seemed to not fully believe the words she had just said.
"Free zone… huh…"
Shed made an ironic smile, feeling increasingly caged.
Along the way, Ri told him about other behavioral rules to follow in the Colosseum.
Soon after, as Shed looked ahead, he saw the end of the corridor. A warmer light was coming from up ahead.
Exiting the corridor, the two found themselves on a paved road that mimicked cobblestones. It was very crowded with people of all sizes and dressed in a variety of ways.
The thing Shed noticed immediately was that these people were not all human. He saw a massive green, scaly, bipedal creature with an alligator-like head, three meters tall, holding a dark anthracite spear in one hand and dressed in blackened steel armor. A few steps away, another individual caught Shed's attention: a small, skeletal being with honey-colored skin walked on all fours in a jerky manner; it didn't appear to be wearing anything, but at the same time, it didn't look naked either. Shed remained watching that multitude of beings he had never seen before or at least couldn't remember having seen.
Beyond the varied crowd, there was a large glass window that opened into another vast and open space, lower than where they stood, divided into smaller areas that were nothing more than small arenas or rings where various beings were fighting.
Soon after, Ri urged him to continue.
"W-where are we exactly going?" Shed asked.
"Just a tour of your new home…." She said with a amused smile.
"Mmh…"
Shed wanted to ask her more questions, but the various aliens passing by distracted him every time he was about to speak….
A guy in dark Renaissance armor bumped past him, hitting him hard… no… wait…
Shed's eyes widened, then he moved aside, narrowly avoiding the impact.
'What… what just happened?!…'
Shed remained incredulous; he was sure he had just been hit by that guy, yet, a few moments later, he had instead the possibility to dodge him.
'What the hell…'
With the thought of what had just happened still on his mind, and with a vague expression painted on his face, he continued to follow Ri.
[*Sleter to indicate those who belong to the alien race, *Slter to indicate the name of their empire and their planet of origin]