17 The idea

As I savored the soup that had gotten cold, I noticed another piece of knowledge that the cauldron hinted at. 

The lighting around the cauldron, although barely noticeable, was starting to get dim. Looking up to see why, I saw that the source of light was no longer a mix of bright white and yellow, but a changing orange to red.

To this, I was about to make up a reason why the light might be changing colors, but stopped right away, due to having realized that there was a high chance of me getting the answer eventually. 

I didn't need to rely on my imagination in moments like these; the hint was already clearly written. I just had to wait for it to become as obvious as possible.

I was right about what the light could obviously be! It was the outside world, and what I had been staring at for probably an hour was the sky!

"How beautiful," I mumbled emotionally, a tear rolling down from my eye.

I stared at the sky while lavishing on a bowl of cold soup, and watched as the day broke into the night. It was truly a beautiful experience to think about, knowing that it's been a while since I last saw the sunset, and knowing that I'll soon be fighting for a life where I could roam freely under the setting sun!

With a few tears still in my eyes, I sat down before lying on the cold and hard ground. Gradually, my eyes closed, and it didn't take long for me to drift into sleep.

…

"Hey, wake up!" I heard a familiar voice. 

"Um…"

"We've been waiting for you to wake up for a while already…" A familiar voice successfully awakened me from my dream. 

That short dark hair, hazel eyes, and those freckles on top of the light chocolate skin filled a significant part of my vision when I opened my eyes. It was the little girl with whom I've had the most conversations in this world, and she was the one who woke me up.

For someone like me who had a disciplined routine on earth, it wasn't a challenge to wake up immediately. I did have difficulty accepting a sleep schedule of less than seven hours though. For me, sleep was very important. 

However, for the first time in six years, I decided to accept that changes would be necessary. That didn't mean that I would no longer have routines. It's just that I'll have to make a new one and one that can be easily modified since anything can happen in this life of mine. 

'A routine is important. It is essential to build discipline and discipline builds success! Hah… It's been a while since I made a schedule for myself. This is gonna suck!'

*Clap* *Clap* 

I called for everyone's attention. 

When everyone turned to look at me, I went on to tell them about the plans that I had in mind for them. I told them how it would be necessary for them to condition their bodies so they could have the ability to protect themselves against their enemies and if necessary to run away from danger. After all, a successful escape also depends on how fast one can run!

 I continued this conversation by adding the problem that I was facing with this plan. The fact that they had uncontrollable hunger and unknown abilities that might awaken randomly when too hungry, was all revealed to them, which they responded to with an agreeing nod. 

There was no reason for them to disagree on how annoying their sense of hunger was actually, as they had all personality experienced this terrifying sense of hunger and had probably seen, heard, or even suffered from the outcome.

"Uhm, can I say something?" One of them who seemed to be in their early twenties asked.

"Yes, you with the cauliflower hair. Go ahead." I responded without thinking much but the man seemed to not understand my reference and took a moment to speak. 

"I think we have enough food, don't we?" He said, unsure of his opinion.

"In terms of food, we have none." I simply replied before I continued with an explanation that was necessary for them to understand why.

"If you're relying on this miracle cauldron, you're just playing into the hands of those who are keeping us here. It's an unreliable source of food, especially when we don't even know if it will be the same later. Also, the amount of food from the cauldron won't be sufficient if we start training. We need something to support us in case our hunger becomes more abnormal than expected. We don't want us eating each other after all…" 

That is what I explained to the guy that looked like cauliflower with its top rotten black.

After my explanation, another young adult had something to say. He shared his experience of encountering various insects on his way to the center after leaving the prison area. 

"Can't we eat them? I did eat some kind of insect in my cell, it did satisfy my hunger…" He added, basically suggesting that there are plenty of insects around that can be used as a source of food.

"That's it!" I was elated to hear such a suggestion. It was the exact answer that I needed but didn't have enough time and clues to think of!

"Good thought... Uhm, strawberry-looking guy. The plan is settled then. Our first task is to gather information about the nests of these insects and to gather some of those insects while on it. Once we have emergency food, we then begin our training." I informed everyone.

Hearing my words, everyone looked enthusiastic. It was the first time they would do something and that would give them a purpose in life. So naturally they felt excited to start their given task immediately. 

Especially that guy with skin so red and pale and hair so fluffy and long, just like a strawberry… He seemed to be the most excited out of everyone, which is most likely because of how proud he was to have suggested something useful.

Seeing everyone run off to search the city without me even having to specifically tell them to, I couldn't help myself from releasing a sigh. At that moment, I felt like a satisfied master who was ready to see his disciples become the next generation of masters…