(??? Pov)

"ARRGH!!"

The shout came out of my lips but it didn't register in my ears at all. My head was pounding and showed no signs of stopping, sharp pains felt like they pierced my brain at random intervals causing my mind to go blank. Heat like I was in a sauna was focused purely in my skull making me extremely uncomfortable. This was the worst headache I've ever had, or was it a migraine?

Seemingly agitated that I tried to focus on something other than my headache the pain increased once more causing me to clutch my head involuntarily.

My body was on autopilot, I had no control over it as I writhed in place. The loud clanging and jingling of metal followed my every movement but I was too preoccupied to notice.

The heat that enveloped my head started getting hotter, making my breath pick up pace to try and cool myself down to no avail. My eyes were practically glued shut, no amount of force I gave would open them. Hazy images flashed in and out of my mind but I couldn't make them out.

"GHAAAGH!!!!"

Pain unlike any other so far took hold of me and wouldn't let go, my breathing hitched, my body shook, if my body wasn't in panic mode then it was now. My head felt like it was being ripped open by claws, and molten lava was being poured inside. It was too much, my body thrashed around hitting things around me but no pain that I could get on the outside could compare to how I felt at that moment. Solely focused on enduring as much as I could, I never noticed the blood dripping down my head.


(Third Person Pov)

Everyone could hear him, but no one knew why he screamed and thrashed around in such agony. Being in one man cells with walls in between only a limited amount of people across the hallway could see what was happening on the inside of the newest inmate's confines. Hasty footsteps of the guards echoed throughout the hallway of the compound, people in cells jumped at the bars holding them to see what the commotion was all about.

Normally everyone began taunting and ridiculing the guards as they marched by, but today the inmates just wanted to know what was happening. Was it a fight? Who's winning? Thoughts like these ran through the prisoners minds as they waited to see the outcome. The newest prisoner was just brought in a few days ago, and very few people have seen their face yet. Not that they can interact with other inmates anyway, but they were curious nonetheless.

This prison was a huge compound, spanning underground in many levels beneath the Rune Knight base located in Oak Town. There is only one entrance to the prison and it's heavily guarded, no one has escaped from 'The Hole', as criminals and civilians alike have grown to call it. The only way out is by doing your time and being in good behaviour, none have attempted an escape and survived. Instant execution for those that try.

This is a place for criminals that use magic for illicit purposes, many dark mage grunts spend their days rotting away here. The Rune Knight's would never even attempt to go for any of the dark guild's elites however, as none of them stand a chance. Grunts however, they can handle, criminals are also brought in by legal mages after they complete their jobs.

It is a dungeon only lit by torches from fire magic, long hallways that are paved with cobblestone and many twists and turns throughout. Designed like a maze so only the guards knew where they were going. There is no workout room, library, or lunch room. Such scum were deemed unworthy of those liberties by the magic council in its creation. The prisoners never leave the room that they're assigned to until they are free, if they have a short enough sentence that is. Life sentence's are common place here, for dark mages especially.

Rune magic lines every single cell, every single shackle on each and every prisoner to ensure that they can't get out, and can't use magic. If any inmates start causing havoc within their confines and start insulting guards or tearing apart their cell, they can instantly be sedated through the use of the rune magic ingraved in the shackles.

Upon getting to the cell where screaming could be heard the guards immediately froze at what they saw. Clutching his head tightly prisoner 094673 thrashed about the room, bashing head on the walls and floor screaming all the while. It took a second for the Rune Knights to act.

"What the hell is wrong with this guy!?" One of the guards shouted out indignantly.

"I think that he might be having a seizure or something." A guard, completely calm and straight faced spoke out, drawing all eyes to him.

He merely looked back at them and continued, "Well?" a sigh escaped his lips at his fellow guards lack of initiative, "Activate the runes and knock him out already!"

A look of realization crossed their faces and one of the guards got to work, putting magic into the shackles through the bars and effectively knocking him out once the runes activated.

Bringing out a key, they unlocked the door and checked the unconscious man for injuries. Stepping in and getting a closer look they were shocked at what they saw, scratch marks littered his body from how hard he was grabbing onto himself, and dark bruises were forming already due to him thrashing around hitting the ground and floor. Blood leaked down his head, covering his face, at first they thought it was from him scratching himself too hard, but they were wrong. Once more they were surprised to find the blood was coming out of his ears and eyes, showing no signs of stopping.

Acting quickly, a guard sprung to his feet and started to pick the unconscious prisoner up.

"Help me bring him to the med bay!"

But the other guards however didn't move from their spots. Dull blank looks were all that met the guard who attempted to help the prisoner.

"Why would we do that?" Frost was practically forming on his mouth from how cold he spoke.

"He's in here for a reason you know." Another guard chimed in.

"Besides, if we did that then I'd have to fill out a report," the calm guard from before drawled, "does it really matter one crimial dies in his cell? No it doesn't."

"Criminals die here all the time, who cares if one more stain is removed from the world. If anything, this guy did us a favour by having a breakdown and wounding himself so badly."

Words wouldn't come out of the kind guard's mouth if he tried, he knows that these people are bad, that they deserve to be here. But that doesn't change the fact that it felt wrong to not help someone in need. This prisoner was only supposed to be here for 4 months for having a tattoo that linked him to a small dark guild, as well as petty theft. In comparison to the other criminals who are dark mages, that's nothing.

"Bu-"

"Let's go boys." The calm guard cut him off without care, already turning around and walking off.

Looking back one last time, the kind hearted guard swallowed his emotions and trailed after the others.

The door was once again locked, and without a second glance the guards continued their patrol, ignoring the weary glances the prisoners gave them having heard their conversation.

Now trapped in a deep sleep, prisoner 094673 who's name is Kon, lays in a pool of blood that slowly circled around his head.

Once again alone in his cell, the only movement to be seen was from small, steady breaths that slightly lifted his chest. Not one person realized that the guards didn't deactivate the Rune magic that placed him in his forced slumber. And if anyone did, they wouldn't dare admit it.


It was the end of the month, and that meant only one thing in this prison: body collection/disposal day. It wasn't a day any of the guards looked forward to, and if they did, well, they didn't show it.

Room by room, floor by floor the guards patrolled the dungeon to see if any of the prisoners have died. Masks and gloves adournded the knights so that they don't come in direct contact with rotting bodies. Some die of old age having done their life sentence, and others give up and stop eating the meals given to them each day. That is, if gruel counts as a meal.

There have been months where not a single body had to be disposed of, the guards alway hope for months like that, after all, if they find it then they have to get rid of it.

This month was especially bad for dead bodies however, and the guards were extremely irritated. There are 13 new cells now available for new occupants and they've only searched the first three floors.

With only two more floors to check the guards rushed about to get the day over with. There are more floors but anything below the fifth floor was unoccupied or one had to get authorization to access.

On the fourth floor in a cell in the corner lay a man who hasn't moved an inch in half a month. A dried up pool of blood circled around his head, frizzy mid length brown hair stuck to the ground having dried along with the blood. Tattered clothes with rips and tears along the seams clung to his skinny, dehydrated body. Partially covered by dried blood and hair, a black tattoo of a closed eye with three eyelashes layed dormant on his forehead, a telltale sign of being in the the dark guild 'Triclops eye'. The guard, seeing that the inmate was unresponsive unlocked the door and began to pick the body off of the floor. It proved to be a difficult task however as the body's head and clothes were stuck to the ground.

"Gruuuh!" With a grunt of effort the body was pealed off of the ground, the sound of tearing flesh and ripping clothing echoed throughout the small room. Strands of hair that were torn out of the limp man's head littered the ground as the dried blood never ceased its hold.

"Yuck." The man spat out, not hiding his disgust as he quickly dropped the man back onto the floor before he lost his balance and fell.

Getting prepared to transport the body he got his cart in position. Thanking the Gods that he's wearing gloves, he crouched down and lifted the body onto the cart. Normally, rune magic is used to transport the corpses, but this month those with rune magic were sent on an important mission to be body guards for the royal family as they are having a meeting and want absolutely no one to interfere. Rune magic can ensure the royal families safety if used correctly so despite how they have their own body guards, so they 'requested' everyone with access to the magic to assist them.

Reaching for a teleportation lacrima that all the guards were given for this occasion, he poured magic inside and activated it. Shining brightly, the magic activated and the guard, and cart were brought to the outside of the prison, right into the main training grounds.

Bringing the cart to where the rest of the bodies were, the knight quickly went to where the rest of the guards stood. A Rune Knight captain stood in front of the other knights, confidence radiating off them. Captain Tracy, one of the few female Rune Knight's looked around at everyone who completed their rounds.

"Alright!" Tracy shouted stoicly, "That is everyone, we are now ready to begin."

"This time, due to complaints about stench, we will not be burning these corpses," She continued as she paced in front of her underlings, "so instead we are to dispose of them in a different location."

"Our orders are to bring them to the outskirts of Oak Town and dispose of them in an organized and orderly fashion."

"A small team of three will bring the carriage loaded with these bodies to the remote location written in this letter." She said as she pulled it out of her pocket and showed it to everyone.

Picking out who would be going on this endeavour, Captain Tracy sent them off as soon as the bodies were all loaded up into the carriage that was always used for this specific task, after the shackles were removed and set aside. The cart was very old, creaking and groaning under the weight of it's load each time one of its cargo was placed on it.

The stench of the bodies was too much to handle all together, so the cart had lacrima's embedded into the sides that create a barrier to trap everything inside apon activation. One couldn't see inside the carriage, or smell anything, everything one could possibly sense was trapped in.

The magic council decided long ago that the bodies of criminals and dark mages alike didn't deserve respect, and don't care about how the bodies are treated as long as they are dealt with. The Rune Knight's were given free reign on how they disposed of the criminals.

After an hour ride to get a reasonable distance away from the town, they reached the location that the letter stated, a clearing that is right next to a river that leads straight out to the ocean. Getting out of the carriage and situating themselves they prepared to get this over with.

The Knights had magic, but they wanted to figure out exactly what they would do first. They could easily burn them, or even open a hole in the ground and close it without the ground looking any different due to two of the three having fire magic and earth magic.

"Why don't we just throw them in the river?" One knight spoke up after a few minutes.

Seeing the confused glances of his peers the knight elaborated, "We would be able to save most of our magic, and if we threw them in there they would just get eaten by fish or whatever."

Giving no resistance, the tired knights just wanted to save as much energy as possible and go home

Lining the back of the carriage to the edge of the river, they pushed each body into the river in one fell swoop by lifting the back of the carriage with a pillar of ground from a knights earth magic. Stepping back and deactivating the barrier, the bodies fell out into the river on their own with minimal effort on the knights part. Without any care or acknowledgment of the fact they were once people too, they merrily set off once again after they freed the carriage and lowered it back down.

They were going to get piss drunk when they got back to Oak Town and they could barely contain themselves.


(??? Pov)

Lucid images, dreams, were all that played in my mind for so long that I nearly forgot there was anything else. What I saw wasn't regular dreams however, it seemed almost as if I was looking through someone else's eyes, and had no control over anything.

If I could focus and get a clear look at everything I was being shown it would be perfect but I couldn't retain what I was shown.

That excruciating pain I felt before faded for the most part, and my head was much clearer than before. Except now it felt as if I was trapped in hazy state but I couldn't make sense of it. I just can't focus.

Why?

That thought crossed my mind so many times I couldn't keep track of it. It probably a good thing too, with how much I forget what I think and repeat myself in this hazy state I must seem like an insane person.

Why

I don't know how long I can take this semi conscious state.

Lucid images, dreams, were all that played in my mind-


THUMP*

It felt as if a weight was pressing down on me the moment my head cleared up. Once whatever veil over my mind was taken off something felt as if it was thrown over top of me.

Then more weight was pressed on top of me, each time bringing a silent gasp out of me, not a sound would come of of my mouth no matter how I tried.

My eyes were glued shut, my ears plugged, and my body unresponsive. I've lost all control over my body ever since I woke up to that agonizing headache, I hate it so fucking much.

'I want to do something, I want to move!'

I tried to scream out but a revolting stench that invaded my now working nostrils instantly made my body lurch in place because I was unable to move. It was the most horrid smell that I've ever smelt and it felt as if my nose was slowly dying just from being in the presence of such a putrid stench.

My mind faded in and out, unable to take the over stimulation of my unused senses.

Erupting in pain that I didn't think possible by stomach spasmed, curling in on itself and churning from hunger.

I couldn't take any more, and promptly blacked out.