The air inside the cage was damp, heavy with the scent of rust and rot. My back pressed against the cold steel bars, the rough, scratchy fabric of my tunic doing nothing to keep the chill from sinking into my bones. It wasn't much of a tunic, just a patchwork of torn cloth stitched together by unsteady hands. It hung loosely on my frame, frayed edges,unable to cover my body, keep me away from this unbearable cold. My stomach growled, a familiar ache I'd learned to live with,how long has it been since I've first eaten?Was it since the first day I was brought here,my cursed memory.

Hunger was as constant as the darkness here. Complaints? I didn't have any. Not because there wasn't anything to complain about,there was plenty. But to complain, you needed something to compare your suffering against. A memory of something better. Something worth longing for.

I had none.The last thing I remember was...how I got here.I remember my vision was blurry,the sound of rocks falling and the dim feeling in my back hitting those rocks for a long time.My arms were immobile for a bit,my legs bloody from all the scratched caused by the large amount of weird shaped rocks I had to forcefully move from.I rolled my eyes to the side and caught a glimpse of a enormous figure,no face,just a mysterious mask covered in shadows.

That's all I can remember.Anyway,the moon is shining very brightly today.

The cage floor was uneven, splinters poking through the wood where the planks had rotted away. My fingers traced the grooves absent mindedly, familiarizing themselves with every crack, every splinter, every imperfection existing. It was funny, in a way. The cage was meant to trap me, to confine me. Yet somehow, it had become the closest thing I had to comfort. The scrape of metal, the creak of rusted hinges, the muffled murmurs of the other slaves all of it had become my world.

Above us, the village hummed with quiet desperation. Built deep inside the labyrinthine tunnels, it sprawled like a network of veins beneath the frozen surface. It was said that Earth had been consumed by ice, the once vibrant planet buried beneath endless snow and frost. Up there, the world was a frozen wasteland, inhospitable and deadly. Ice creatures and mutated beasts roamed freely, reigning over the icy plains. Survival wasn't just difficult,it was a gamble.

Life in this nightmarish place made me realise that,now in this world,there are no winners or losers...only survivors.

The village's economy also reflected that gamble. Bartering had replaced currency, but there was little to trade beyond scraps of food, scavenged materials, and broken tools. Those brave or desperate enough to venture outside rarely returned. The ones who did were often maimed or frostbitten, their spoils hardly worth the cost of their suffering.

For slaves like me, even that grim gamble was out of reach. I wasn't even worth the risk.

I shifted slightly, my gaze drawn to the faint beam of moonlight that filtered through the cracks in the tunnel ceiling. It spilled into the cavern like liquid silver, painting the walls in a soft glow. It was a rare thing to see the moon from down here. Most nights, the darkness swallowed everything. But tonight, it felt different. The light seemed almost defiant, piercing through the gloom like it's trying to remind us that something existed beyond this hollow,meaningless existence.

Yet, even under its serene glow, the village was a empty place.

The man who ruled this pit of misery was savage, his power absolute. Fear was his currency, and cruelty was his law. He took what he wanted, whenever he wanted young women torn from their families, men slaughtered without hesitation if they dared to mutter a single world against him. Those who survived were enslaved, stripped of their dignity and shackled to his will.

I'd seen the aftermath of his rule. A man once stood up to him, daring to speak out against his tyranny. His screams echoed through the tunnels for hours before silence claimed him. His wife disappeared that same night, and their child a boy no older than me was thrown into a cage just like this one.Thrown without an ounce of hesitation.

Despite these unfortunate

circumstances,children of the village has made it a tradition,to go outside the moment secret news of the king falling asleep in his castle.Gather in a cycle while holding tightly their soft and tiny hands, and start dancing while laughing until they get tired.They didn't seem like they had any intention,they just did it,every single day for no reason.What goes through their mind?

The creak of approaching footsteps broke my thoughts. Heavy, deliberate steps, accompanied by labored breathing. I didn't need to look up to know who it was.

The fat old man...

He emerged from the shadows, his bulk moving with an awkward waddle. Sweat dripped from his brow, his stained shirt clinging to his round belly. He was muttering under his breath, curses and complaints tumbling out in a steady stream.

"Useless. Damn boy," he spat, his voice as thick as the stench that followed him. He stopped in front of my cage, glaring down at me with beady eyes. "I can't sell you. Not a single buyer wants anything to do with you."

I didn't move. Didn't speak.Nor could I breathe from this horrible and deadly stench coming from him.

He kicked the cage door with a frustrated grunt, rattling the chains that bound me. "You hear me, boy? You're worthless. A waste of space."

"Worthless?" I asked, my voice calm,im curious as to why is he attacking me.

He froze for a moment, caught off guard by my response. Then he leaned closer, his face twisting into an ugly sneer. "You don't even know, do you? It's your eyes."

"My eyes?" I asked,my voice in an disrespectful tone.The stench is getting worse,he sells slaves for a living,can't he at least get a shower?

"Yeah," he growled. "Those cursed things. Black where they should be white, white where they should be black. No pupils. You look like a freak of nature.No human has eyes like that."

Ah. Of course. My eyes.

I'd never seen them myself,there weren't any mirrors down here but I'd heard the whispers. The fear. The disgust. It didn't bother me, not really. I didn't have memories of a time when they were different, so I had nothing to mourn.I simply did not care.

The fat man stepped back, wiping his brow with a greasy hand. "You know what? I'm tired of this. You don't even deserve a name. You're nothing. Nothing at all."

"Then call me nothing," I said, meeting his gaze.

His grin widened, yellowed teeth glinting in the moonlight. "Fine. You want a name, boy? I'll give you one. Null. That's what you are. A void. No value, no purpose. Just a waste of breath."

"Null," I repeated softly. The word felt strange, like trying on a coat that didn't quite fit but was warm enough to keep.

The fat man laughed, a harsh, grating sound. "Perfect. Null it is. And you know what, Null? I've got a job for you. The next hunt is in two days. You're going to be bait. We'll send you out first, let the beasts chase you while the others grab what they can. If you're lucky, you'll die quick. If not, well... no one will miss you."

Bait.Wait.Bait?

He waddled away, still chuckling to himself. The cage door slammed shut behind him, the echo reverberating through the cavern.

I watched him go, his bulky figure disappearing in the shadows of darkness.The odd disgusting smell remaining around me.

In the silence that followed, I turned my attention back to the moonlight. It seemed brighter now, its glow cutting through the darkness like a blade.

"Null," I whispered to myself, the name carrying a strange feeling.What is it?

It was a name given in mockery, yet it felt... right.

For a moment, I closed my eyes, letting the world fade away. The cold steel beneath me, the gnawing hunger that was accumulated over the passing days, the weight of the heavy rusty but unbreakable chains, all of it disappeared.

In the dark void of my mind, something stirred.Deeply spreading it's roots.

It was strange.

Something I couldn't name.

Not yet it seems.