1 More Than This Life

Clanging noises of metal against metal resounded from time to time, making the dark and damp hallway creepier by the second. Sounds of footsteps reverberated throughout the halls.

Two people moved down the corridor quietly. They wore guard uniforms, which consisted of the typical vest and blue body suit from up to down.

Occasional sounds of crying could be heard from the rooms beside them.

Some rooms gave high-pitched snoring, some gave noises of sobbing and murmuring, while some were dead silent, adding to the creepy atmosphere of the prison.

"Fucking brats..." walking through the eerie hallway, a guard and his friend could be spotted. They walked at pace, talking about the prisoners after a long night shift.

"Leave them be, Richard," his friend replied, helplessly shaking his head. "They already have a lot going on during daytime brawls."

"Nah, they have to at least know what they should fear." the guard smirked, swinging his baton over a metallic door at his left.

CLANG!

A shriek came from inside, soothing his mood after a boring and exhausting day.

Richard worked in one of the deadliest prisons on the planet. It didn't house any world-class criminals or dangerous individuals on death row.

It contained kids, children that had committed atrocities not even possible for older men.

These juvenile delinquents had done some of the heinous crimes known to humanity to be brought here.

Chatting some more with his friend, Richard finally reached the gate for the grownup kid.

Behind the gate, it housed the person they would execute today.

Some of these juvenile delinquents had done this kind of stuff when they were too young and in the process, became orphans.

The kid behind this door was someone like that as well.

"Let's open it. It's his last day here." said the second guard, taking out a key from his belt

He entered the key inside the lock hole and rotated it.

CLICK

With a clicking noise, the door opened.

Pushing it away with his hand, Richard looked inside as he called out the boy's name.

"Licht!"

Hearing no response, he again shouted while spitting on the ground. "Hey, Licht! Come outside, or do you want me to come inside!"

A young, rough voice came from inside the dark room. "I'm coming, for fuck's sake. Don't be so loud first thing in the morning."

The person's hand touched the walls, and a young boy emerged from within, his age seemingly not older than eighteen.

His eyes were orange like the incandescent sun, glowing in the dark. His black hair fell messily around his face, contrasting with his pale skin.

Despite his youthful appearance, there was a certain sharpness to his gaze, as if he had seen more than his fair share of hardships.

As the boy stepped into the dimly lit hallway, his lean frame became more apparent. Standing at an average height, he exuded a dead aura.

Richard sneered, taking in the boy's appearance with a mocking grin. "Well, well, look who we have here. Another troublemaker, huh? Let's see how tough you are."

Richard swung his baton toward the boy's hand. The sound of flesh being hit by metal resounded, yet no change in expression could be seen on the victim's face.

The boy remained unfazed, his expression calm and composed. Without uttering a word, he kept looking at the guard's face as if mocking him.

Irked by the unresponsive kid, he again swung his baton, but before it caught its target, another hand stopped it.

"Stop it, man! Enough is enough," said his friend while pushing the young boy in front of him.

"Tch," he muttered in a sour mood.

Leaving the kid, Richard moved forward.

As he made his way through the dimly lit corridors of the prison, the other two followed him.

'Ah... I have been within these boundaries since I was a child...' The lone boy thought to himself.

Today was his execution day.

It was said that he had apparently killed his mother and five other people in cold blood at the tender age of twelve and butchered their corpses beyond recognition with his tiny hands.

However, only he knew of the truth. A truth that no one would ever believe. 'I guess... Dying is freedom now.'

The closer the boy moved toward the end of the hallway, the more the idea of death was slowly accepted by him.

The small sounds of water dripping and rats shrieking kept him in the present. Soon death will be in the palm of his hands.

Suddenly, the second guard pushed him out into the arena.

Licht's feet skitted some steps when they finally came to a halt as his eyes were forced to look at the spectacle in front.

Rays of light shone down on his face.

Licht's eyes dilated for a split second before finally adapting to the light. Before him, he was greeted by an arena.

Looking ahead at the big arena, only a slight sigh came out of his mouth.

The world had degraded after the last world war. Humanity had indeed advanced in technological aspects, but they became much worse in other aspects as the world progressed backward.

Nuclear warheads, interdimensional technology, quantum computing, world hunger, and riots for seemingly no reason. These and many more had drowned the Earth.

In an age where hope was a curse and living was just another form of torture, that was the world Licht was living in.

Yet, today he got freedom from his sins...no, from his dragged-on life.

He glanced at all the people standing here, among the crowd on the ground.

The guards patrolling the borders of this grand arena, the so-called nobility in the stands, and the executioners at his side.

Only one voice resounded in this place, echoing with apparent rage and disgust.

"I hereby announce Licht Vanrir to a death sentence for the crimes of killing six people gruesomely, including his birth mother, and still not pleading guilty. As he is now eighteen, we will free this world of cursed children like him."

"Choose the way you want to die heathen!" said the Judge as he ended the speech.

Licht looked at the two machines ahead of him. He silently kicked the ground, making some dirt fly, ignoring whatever was said to him.

Not moving from his place, he just looked at the Judge's face, with apparent boredom showing on his face.

Not getting any responses for his annoying act, Licht said, "Ah, whatever. I will just choose the traditional guillotine way."

"Have this as a last act of mercy. Do you have any last wishes?" asked the judge.

"Just two things. First, I don't know which database you got my age from, but I am still sixteen, and second…" pausing for a moment on his speech, Licht gathered air in his lungs and said in a booming voice.

"Go get fucked, you shitheads!"

A silence permeated throughout the arena. Not even the sound of breathing of people could be heard.

In an enraged voice, the Judge ordered, "Kill him!"

But it all came crashing down just as Richard's hands furrowed through his hair, his frustration dripping out of his mouth, "Finally, you were on quite the high horse, kid. I will just kill you myself."

Richard's hand reached Licht's collar. And with brute force, he dragged him toward the guillotine.

His body shook and skitted on the ground, not resisting and just going with the flow.

'A world not worth living.' A better future didn't exist in this wasteland, the only existing thing was the doom, which was already nearing closer than ever, and Licht was happy that he wouldn't see it personally.

Richard held him by his face, and in his tight grip, Licht felt pain.

An emotion that had dulled for him a long time ago. What was the point of these emotions now?

Putting his face on the semi-circular handle of the machinery, Licht inverted his eyes to the sharp edge of the hanging blade.

He murmured for the last time, "Here we go…"

Still holding him off, Richard signaled a man below the machine to drop the blade. Just as the man was going to press the button, an anomaly happened, halting the execution and catching everyone's attention.

A big blue screen appeared in the air, random letters flashing on it. The screen took everyone by surprise.

The surprise changed into ridiculousness when a hamster appeared inside the screen, wearing a small hat and holding a closed black umbrella in his hand-paw.

In a cheery tone, it said, "Phew, it finally connected!"

"Welcome to the realm of gods, Earthlings!" It announced, with both of the paws in the air.