15 Cooking and Dining Area

[10.29 pm. You felt a chill in your heart when you heard this sound and couldn't help but feel anger as well. What kind of damned creature could arrogantly act like it would have absolutely been able to devour you if given the chance? Knowing that your path to power had begun, you looked forward to the day where you could kill it.]

[10.30 pm. You finally focused on your location and noticed that you were in a rather large hall with five sets of long tables that stretched almost from one end to the other. Benches were placed beside the table for prisoners to sit on while the table was decorated with plates and cutlery.]

[10.30 pm. The plates were empty and the room was well-lit. You immediately spotted the high table for the guards to also eat while watching the prisoners near the farthest point of the room, as well as the kitchen and serving area to the right. Above the serving area was a sign that stated 'serve yourself'.]

[10.31 pm. You walked over to the serving area and saw a line of foods in various pots and pans that preserved their heat. Unlike what you expected, none were rotten or disgusting, rather looking fresh and delectable. Your stomach rumbled, but your common sense told you that this might be an illusion, and what you were seeing might not be what it was.]

[10.31 pm. It was entirely possible that all this food was filled with mold and maggots, but even as you told yourself that, your drained state did not allow for you to hesitate too much. You had already burned a lot of energy in training, and the last bit of strength you had left was wasted sprinting across the courtyard. If you didn't consume something now, you wouldn't have to worry about consuming something ever again.]

[10.32 pm. As such, you bit the bullet and served yourself, filling up two plates and then sitting down to scarf them down. To your surprise, your stomach seemed to have either expanded or become faster at breaking down stuff because despite eating more than your body weight worth of food, you were only just sated.]

[10.35 pm. Despite being comfortable here, you did not dare to linger lest some anomaly manifest itself and take your life. As such, you got up and rushed towards the exit of the dining area, wanting to leave asap.]

[10.36 pm. You already expected it, but how could things be so simple? The moment you reached the door and are about to leave, you realized that it does not open no matter how you try to work it.]

[10.36 pm. Fearing death and danger, you used Blink to try to leave, but a strange force descended and prevented you from using this ability. You did not know this, but such was the domain of the anomaly, a zone of absolute control where it rewrote the laws of heaven and earth.]

[10.36 pm. You felt trepidation and did not want to turn around lest you be faced with danger, but this anomaly did not care for your antics. You heard a mature female voice full of boisterous energy speak out.]

[10.37 pm. "Oh, you naughty child, how could you eat after dining time! Now I'm going to have to cook all of that again!"]

[10.37 pm. Surprised and knowing you could not avoid the inevitable, you turned around to see what anomaly this was. To your surprise, the place did not become darker or eerier. Instead, it was a large woman with an extremely plump body wearing a coarse white linen cloth along with a stained apron glancing at you with a kindly smile.]

[10.38 pm. "Well now, what should I do with you? Eating past dinner time is a serious crime in this prison, you know?" She asked you while sizing you up and down, her arms on her hips.]

[10.38 pm. You were not fooled by her kindly outlook and disposition. You knew that there was no escaping death, so you sought to acquire more information. You lowered your head to her respectfully and apologized for eating ahead of dinner time then asked when the various eating times were.]

[10.39 pm. The anomaly looked at you strangely. Clearly, she thought that for a person who was about to suffer under the effect of her rules, you were asking the wrong questions. But the rules were the rules and she had to answer, so she told you.]

[10.39 pm. "Dearie, the eating times are 7 to 7.30 in the morning for breakfast, 3 to 3.30 in the afternoon for lunch and 9 to 9.30 in the evening for dinner. Make sure to remember next time, okay?" she said gently before walking towards you.]

[10.40 pm. You couldn't help but try to blink away or even run, knowing that death was coming. However, you could not move even up until the moment she stood over you and reached out towards your head.]

[10.40 pm. She placed her large hand on your head and your consciousness blurred. You did not see it happen, but the moment she touched you, you had turned into a chicken.]

[10.45 pm. Your consciousness returned as you found yourself in a boiling pot, being steamed as your feathers were plucked one by one. You clucked and cawed in agony, but the anomaly's firm grip prevented you from running away.]

[10.50 pm. You were skinned, butchered and then marinated by the anomaly, all the while being somehow alive enough to experience it all. Your consciousness had gone blurry from pain and madness, but the anomaly simply chuckled and threw you in a frying pan to cook.]

[11 pm. You were prepared and served on the tray, your various body parts displayed attractively for the next cultivator or prisoner who made their way here to devour you, the only way you will be able to achieve the sweet release of death.]

[11.25 pm. You still lay on the tray, eagerly waiting for someone to end your suffering.]

[An hour has passed, the simulation comes to an end.]

Dalvin's expression became extremely cold as he read up to here. He felt a surge of hatred towards this particular anomaly that was not helped by his hungry state. A hungry man was an angry man they said, and that was definitely true.

However, it was not just this. It was also the fact that this anomaly was the most cruel he had experienced yet. None of the others tormented him for a long period of time, to the point where he actually did not die before the end of the simulation.

Most either killed or devoured him on the spot. Only this one saw fit to turn him into a live animal and then take him through the entire preparation process before placing him on a plate to wait day and night for the next fool to come during either the right or wrong time and specifically choose him.

Dalvin calmed himself down and checked the details once more. The next 'safe' meal time was at 7 am in the morning, and he had unfortunately just slept through dinner time. He would have to make do for more than 9 hours in this state, a task that felt herculean.