POV: Koi
Darkness. That's all I could see. At first, I thought I was dreaming—but then the cold hit me. A damp, hard floor beneath my back. My eyes fluttered open, squinting against the dim torchlight glowing from outside the iron bars in front of me.
I sat up slowly, body aching, mind foggy.
A cell.
My breath caught in my throat. The events of the night before rushed back like a crashing wave. The blood. The screams. My dad…my mom…
I shut my eyes tight. It hurt too much.
"You're awake."
My eyes snapped open, heart racing. A girl with red hair and glowing purple eyes sat on the opposite wall of the cell, her voice quiet but clear.
"I'm Raya. Raya Uzumaki."
Next to her, a boy with black hair and violet eyes nodded at me. "I'm Reto. Reto Chinoike."
The third kid had brown hair and matching brown eyes, arms crossed. "Troy. No last name."
They all looked like they were around my age. Six, maybe. Just like me.
"…Koi," I said after a pause. "Koi Uchiha."
They all looked at me carefully. None of us asked how the others got here. None of us wanted to talk about it.
We sat in silence. Minutes passed. Hours maybe. I don't know. Eventually, we heard the clanking of metal—chains maybe—followed by footsteps.
The cell door creaked open. A figure in black armor and a blank white mask stood there. Wordlessly, he gestured.
We walked out.
There were more cells. More kids. Hundreds of them. All of us shuffled down a long, rocky tunnel, led by several masked adults until we emerged into a massive underground cavern. The ceiling was so high I could barely see it, and the ground was carved smooth and flat like a training field.
Troy whispered, "We're underground…"
I nodded. "Yeah."
At the far end of the space, a raised platform held several more masked figures—adults, each one with an intense aura that made my skin crawl.
Then…it hit.
Killing intent.
Heavy and suffocating, like a weight pressing down on my chest. Around me, kids were dropping like flies, eyes rolling back as they passed out in fear.
But I stayed standing.
Everyone who remained was silent, staring up at the figures.
Then one of them stepped forward and spoke in a low, cold voice. "Welcome, children. You have been chosen. You are the future weapons of Mercury."
No emotion. Just words filled with steel.
"You will be trained. Molded. Hardened. And every six months, you will be tested. Those who fail…will die."
Not a single kid moved. Not after that.
The masked figures began dividing us. Groups of five. I looked around as names were shouted. I was placed in Group 1. Raya, surprisingly, was called into the same group.
Not Troy. Not Reto. They were split off into other groups—Group 4 and 2. I looked back at them, but we were already being separated, each group herded into separate cave hallways.
Raya stepped up beside me. "Guess we're teammates."
I just nodded. "Yeah."
Group 1 was led into a dimly lit cave with jagged rock walls and no comfort of any kind. Our instructor stood in front of us—a tall, shirtless man with a massive scar across his chest and a large cleaver on his back. His eyes were dead. Cold.
"No time for questions," he barked. "Run."
We stood there, confused.
Then one kid, a boy with freckles and short black hair, raised his hand.
"I…I don't want to do this. I want to go home—"
His head fell off before I could blink.
Blood sprayed the ground as everyone screamed. The instructor stood there, sword in hand, face blank.
"Run."
No one hesitated this time. We ran. Hard.
I was near the front with Raya beside me, our footsteps echoing through the caves. Time blurred together. The cave twisted and looped endlessly, but we just kept going. My legs burned. My lungs screamed.
One hour passed.
Two hours.
Three.
Five.
Bodies were dropping. Some kids vomited, others collapsed and never got up.
I was the only one left running.
My legs felt like they'd split open at any second. My vision was blurred, but I kept pushing. My mom's face flashed in my mind. Then my dad's. I gritted my teeth.
The instructor finally said, "Stop."
I collapsed.
The world spun around me as I gasped for air. My body felt like it was on fire.
"Get up," he barked.
I did. Somehow.
"Pathetic," he muttered, eyeing the rest of the group. "Most of you didn't last an hour. Weak."
He stepped forward. "Next: push-ups. One thousand. Now."
Everyone dropped to the ground, still gasping for breath. I could barely feel my arms, but I dropped too.
"Down!"
"Up! One!"
"Down!"
"Up! Two!"
The count echoed through the cave. One by one, kids collapsed.
400… 600… 790…
Only I was left.
"1000!" I shouted with a cracked voice, arms trembling, eyes stinging with sweat.
The instructor stood over me.
"Not bad," he said quietly. "Get up. It's time for the sparring."
Each kid had to fight the instructor.
One by one, they were picked off in seconds. Brutal punches, bone-snapping kicks, slams into the walls. Some kids cried, others went silent after being knocked out.
Then it was my turn.
I stood up, bruised, legs wobbling. But I raised my fists anyway.
"Begin."
He came at me like lightning.
I blocked the first strike. Dodged the second. He smiled.
For a minute, I held my ground. I didn't land a hit, but I stayed standing.
Then—CRACK.
A kick to the chest launched me back. I flew through the air and slammed into the wall, my body folding like paper.
Everything went dark.