'I-it hurts.'
'It hurts…'
'It hurts!'
'W-what is this pain?'
'Why is it so dark…'
'Where am I…'
"WEEEEEELLLLLCCOOOOOOOOOOOOME!"
A irritating screeching noise ripped through the air and assailed the ears of all who heard it. The pain that gripped and ate at the boy's heart slowly dissipated, and his vision gradually returned.
The handsome boy, with dark hair that had hints of cherry red, shakily raised his head and looked around through foggy eyes.
Red, he saw red felted seats with plastic bottoms. Then he saw gold. A gold that lined the walls and floor that stretched to the ceiling above. He also saw people… people who sat in the red seats, which seemed to stretch infinitely in either direction. They wore a school uniform just like him. Then, finally, there was a stage. On that stage was a monster.
He was in a theater of despair watching a monster's act.
Fear gripped and caressed the handsome boy. He wanted to run, but just like everyone else around him… he was tied to the seat with a thick layer of tape covering his mouth that barely allowed for a muffled scream.
The anophthalmic monster stood tall in a suit that hung off its wiry frame, arms outstretched like crooked branches. Its fingers ended in wicked nails, each nearly a dozen centimeters long, glinting like polished steel. A wide, toothy, and bloody grin split its face that was constantly shifting, melting, and folding in on itself like wax in fire. Its entire body was forged from living shadow, writhing and rippling as if the darkness itself were alive, playing and whispering among itself.
The handsome boy could feel a cold chill caress his shaky arms as if the monster was feeling all over his body. The boy thought to himself:
'W-we're not on Mesial anymore, a-are we?'
Then, the monster screamed in a zingy voice:
"You've all been chosen to be enrolled here at Oathhhhh... Or otherwise known as Restriction A-cuh-cuh-caaadeemmyyyy!"
The monster danced around on stage, glaring at each human strapped to a chair before it. Then it stopped and gave a devious smile.
"Now, now, children. Don't give me that look of fear. I'm not going to kill you… again…"
'Again?!'
The boy couldn't make sense of anything.
What the hell did the monster mean by 'again'? Where the hell was he? How did he get here?
But, no matter how desperate he was for an answer, the handsome boy remained chained and strapped to the red chair.
The monster began to snicker, which only served to raise the angst and confusion of those around the boy, who thrashed their heads around with groans of pain and muffled moans.
"Hey, don't give me those looks! I didn't kill you the first time either!"
The monster was thrown into a fit of laughter, then continued after finally calming down:
"You all died and now find yourselves in the realm of Below. I may look scaaaaaary, but if it weren't for me, you'd all be tormented and suffering for eternity. So, please, try not to look at me like I'm some soooort of heinous, ugly, thieving, vile muh-muh-monster!"
The handsome boy wanted to claim this monster a fraud. Expose just how it had kidnapped him and all the others against their will… but a slight feeling welled up inside of him. He felt it. He didn't know how, but he could feel his soul… but not his body.
"Of course, that may still be your faaaaaate, but that's not for me to deciiide. I'm just your handsome, sexyyyyy, loving principal. You can call me: Princ-Yeh-Pal."
He couldn't see if the monster even had eyes, but the boy felt like he saw it wink. Not only that, he felt the wink was directed at him!
"Now, now. Thrashing around is how you hurt yourseeeeeeelf. We wouldn't want that now, would we?"
The monster stomped, and a cascade of shadows shot out from under what appeared to be its foot and covered the stage. The shadows soon spilled off the stage and started claiming the ground under the bound human's feet. Then, hands shot out from the shadows and groped the handsome boy's body all over.
"Just listen and things will make sense soooooon. Capiche?"
The hands found their way up to the boy's head, but the second he moved a little, he got slapped. The slap didn't hurt, but it wounded his pride. However, pride didn't really matter in a situation like this.
"Down here in Below, monsters called Oath Breakers roam… Hey, stop giving me those looks, I'm not one of them!"
The boy didn't see it happen, but he heard the sound of a few slaps.
He tried some more, but the handsome boy found it impossible to loosen his restraint even slightly. The monster, of course, didn't care for his or anyone else's escape attempts. It was more concerned with the looks the humans gave it.
Either way, the monster, Princ-Yeh-Pal, cleared its throat and continued:
"Ahem… anyway. Here at Oath, we train Oathbound, fighters capable of combating the Oooath Breakers! Some of you may have guessed from the name… but, our puh-puh-powers derive from Restrictions we set upon ourselves… Well, the Above sets the restrictions, but we are forced to folllloww them. In any case, the moment you died and your souls were thrown into the Below, you gained your first restriction."
The monster smiled. A smile so devious it sent shivers down their souls.
"Each and every one of you has a rule you must follow, break that rule and you will be exxxxpeeellled… technically… actually, the Above will punish you. Simply speaking, think of it as death."
'Punish… death… are we not already dead?'
The handsome boy couldn't make sense of anything. Not that anything was meant to make sense in the first place. The monster before him had already performed some spectacular feats that showed he was either dead or dreaming, and something told him it was the former.
Though… he didn't remember how or why he died. It even felt like some key memories were missing.
The monster, well, Princ-Yeh-Pal, coughed again. Then, after clearing its throat, it threw its head up and thrust its hand out, causing the shadows on its skin to splinter, cackle, and flare. Then it continued:
"Do not fret! For every Restriction placed upon you, you gain an opposite Privilege. In other words, a suuuperpowaaahhh!"
'Super…power?'
The boy didn't care much for a power like that. He didn't really have a need for one. Using his good looks, skill, and some manipulative tendencies he may or may not have, he knew he could get what he wanted without making too many enemies.
"However… there is another way to be expelled. If anyone finds out your Restriction, they can write it down or speak it aloud to accuse you. If they are wrong, they will be expelled; if they are right, you will be expelled."
'Oh!'
Fear and uncertainty rippled throughout the theater. Many wanted to scream and cry. Nobody could see another's face, but it was obvious… this place was going to be a battle royal—one where only the strong would survive.
However, the handsome boy wasn't afraid. Instead, he wished he could smile.
This was his perfect environment.
Forever, back when he was alive on Mesial, the boy felt the people around him were lacking and always holding him back from reaching his fullest potential. Well, quite literally too, he was a slave after all…
Now, he didn't know for sure yet, but he felt like he was about to be unleashed. He was about to be free from his life of slavery. He could give everyone around him hell without restriction!
"Now, why would anyone do something so… soooo horrible. Well, for Merits of courseeee!"
Princ-Yeh-Pal smiled a toothy, bloody grin, then added:
"Merits are a cuuuuuuurrency us Oathbound use to gain power as well as buy new Restrictionssss or Reputatiooon."
Then he began inspecting his nails while saying:
"Your FYE leader will help you learn moreee, but for now that is all."
Then he looked up as if remembering something, then added:
"And, yes… All the teachers and I have our own Restrictions… but don't worry, you lot wouldn't satiate our hunger… Toodle-oo!"
The monster smiled and snapped its grimy, shadowy fingers, and in a moment, the shadows retreated, and the boy's perception began to wobble and morph in on itself. It was becoming increasingly difficult to keep his eyes open.
"Oh, waiiit! Before you go… Once again..."
As the boy was just about to succumb to this dizzy spell, the last thing he saw was a shadowy face greeting him.
"Welcome to Restriction Academy."