Greedy Cave

GREEDY CAVE

It was already the third time that Von looked up to observe the sky.

Von tapped Eli, "It looks like it'll rain. Let's first find a place where we can take shelter"

Eli neighs as he agreed with Von. Eli gallops as he search for a place to hide.

But before they could even find a place, the rain already caught up on them. They still continued their search until they found a cave. They went inside and dried their body.

A moment later, Von noticed that some other people might've lived inside that cave. Due to curiosity, Von and Eli decided to look further inside the cave.

When they walked inside, they realized that the place was actually constructed in modern facility. It seemed like it was some kind of a secret hideout or something, since when you looked at it outside it only appears like a normal cave.

They searched inside the rooms but there were no hint of any people around. It looked like an abandoned facility.

Then…

Eli and Von heard a loud sound. Both of them looked at the direction where it came from but there was no one in there.

"Eli, look where that sound---" Von stopped from speaking when she realized that they are already trapped inside a barrier.

Eli tried to destroy the barrier but it was just too strong. Von also tried everything but she can't destroy it. Von thought that the barrier is much more steadier than the barrier the 2nd prince could make. The barrier is on a different level.

"It's no use. You can't escape my barrier" said by an unknown voice.

Both of them tried to locate where it come from but they can't find it.

"If you're looking for me, I'm the barrier itself"

Von and Eli got stunned from what they heard.

•••

Brim struggles to break free from its shackles. He glared at the men who kidnapped him but they only ignored him.

There are four men who were tasked to guard them. There also four children other than Brim who were also tied up, but neither of them are complaining.

Brim frowned when another child joined them. It looked like she was also kidnapped by those men. Unlike the other kids, the new child who joined also struggles to break free. She was even crying.

As time pass by, the number of kids in there are also increasing.

What's more surprising is that the girl who was crying earlier has already calmed down.

When Brim got injected by a masked woman, he realized why the other kids were so calm. There he also found out that he was actually being taken to a laboratory to be a guinea pig or test subject for a certain project. The project is being led by a noble.

The scientists injects them a lot and different kinds of fluids and let them do several other things. Brim could not comprehend what was going in. After a couple more experiments, he could already feel and tell that something is already different inside him. He knew that the experiments that those scientists doing on them are supposed to be painful but he could no longer feel anything. Sometimes, he found himself that he have already fainted. He was asleep but his consciousness was wide awake. He could feel all movements of the people around him and could hear their voices clearly.

The experiment lasts for months, and during those times he noticed that the kids in the laboratory that came with him was slowly decreasing. He don't know where those kids are currently at or where those bastards put them.

One day, he just found himself with the kids that he's trying to search before. It ended up that those kids was already dead. He was not that surprise. What bothers him was why he was in that place. Is the experiment to him is already done?

There was no magician nor scientist around the facility anymore. The kids with him is already, which means he was the only person alive in there.

"It's a failed experiment. No one from the test subjects survived. Yes. I got it. I'll tell my team to look for teenagers and we will start the experiment immediately." Brim heard outside the cave the voice a of a woman talking to someone using a pebble.

"They also thought I was dead, huh?" Brim whispered emotionlessly while staring at the dead body of the other kids.

"They didn't even tried to clean this place." Brim commented before trying to stand up but failed since he was too exhausted. There was no energy left in his body.

Brim didn't tried to stand up anymore after he fell once. He just stare into nothingness and he did this for months.

He didn't even bother to budge from his place. He haven't also slept or ate anything. But he was still alive and was still perfectly fine. Brim couldn't understand why.

Finally, he decided to stand up again. He tour around the whole facility. While he was scanning his eyes through the area, he also slowly learning what kind of project that those scientist and magician was doing.

They want to make a magical weapon and merge it into a person.

His memory on how he ended up as a guinea pig for that project is also gradually coming back to him. The memory on how they kidnapped him and stole his rights to live as a human.

"Doing all of this for a selfish reason." he whispered.

"I'll kill them." he said in determination even if his eyes didn't show any tinge of emotion on it.

That's when Brim trained to control his new acquired power, and the cave facility became his hideout.

•••

Von frowned when it finally registered to her of what she have just heard. "How's that possible?"

"This is a facility used by a group of scientist and magicians led by a noble. The purpose of this place is to create something like me. A human but a magical weapon" the unknown voice explained.

Both of the adventurer's eyes widened in shock.

"T-that's supposed to be forbidden!"

Von and Eli heard a laugh that sounded like a robot, it didn't sound like it was a laugh from joy nor a sarcastic one. They couldn't figure out what kind of laugh that was.

"They're doing this because they want to own everything. They want to own the world."

Von hold her chin as if she was thinking. "Own the world, huh?" She whispered.

She smirked and shook her head. "They can own the land but they can't own everything. They can't get everything." Von commented.

"So, what do the both of you doing in this place? I doubt that you are affiliated with them. I don't have any memories of you and I can't sense something familiar from you two to them." It asked, ignoring what Von said.

"We are just waiting for the rain to stop." Eli honestly answered.

"By the way, who was the people behind all of this?" Von asked.

A few seconds have passed before they heard answer.

"Its that greedy noble! I don't know his name yet and have no information about them. But I know that he's a monster! I swear that I'll kill those monsters!" this time, the voice somehow become how a normal angered human speak.

Von analyzed his answer before she sighed. "What's your name?"

"Brim"

Von stared at the barrier for a minute before she spoke, "I won't stop you for killing those people who puts you in this kind of situation. I also agree that those people are too greedy"

Von stopped and looked at the ground, giving a thought about what she heard earlier from his words. It was not meant from them but it made her think deeply about it.

"It's just that, it makes me wonder..." Von said in a low voice but it was enough for Eli and Brim to hear it.

Von returned her gaze to the barrier and decided to confront Brim about something due to her pure curiosity, "Does that make every human being a monster? Then will you kill me too? I'm a human. I'm also just like that greedy noble you mentioned."

Eli couldn't believe what Von just asked. How does she even come up a question like that? Brim was obviously talking about a different thing.

On the other hand, Brim was left speechless.

Von noticed that the barrier was slowly fading, and Brim was slowly transforming into his human form.

"Just leave." Brim said in a low voice without looking in either of them.