Chapter 7 The Crucible

I stood by the balcony, zoned out as the maids adjusted my outfit. The morning breeze drifted through the open arches, carrying the scent of wet stone and flowers from the courtyard below, but it did nothing to calm me.

I never knew a man could wear a corset until I was forced into one.

Every strap wrapped around my waist felt wrong. Every buckle tightened made my body feel less like my own. It was as if they were squeezing me into someone else's skin.

The room felt too quiet in the way a forest became quiet before a predator appeared. Like something was waiting for me outside that I didn't understand yet.

One of the maids moved behind me while another adjusted the front of my clothing.

"Breathe in." Ella said as she pulled the straps harder.

My entire body tensed. I could feel my intestines fighting for their lives.

The pressure crushed against my ribs. My lungs protested immediately. I opened my mouth to complain, but no sound came out.

I was exhausted and just wanted to find somewhere to die.

The maids exchanged small laughs behind me, not even trying to hide it. Their eyes moved over me openly.

I could feel them staring and judging. Like I was some strange animal dressed up for a performance.

"One last strap." She said and she pulled harder.

Pain shot through my body. I stumbled sideways and crashed into a nearby chair.

The maids burst into laughter. I saw them laughing and didn't even care, there was no point. Slowly, I pushed myself back up.

Ella stepped forward and adjusted my clothes as if nothing had happened.

"You look handsome than I thought." She commented.

Normally, words like that would have made my rod rise. Right now, I wasn't in the mood. Not even close. Before anyone could say anything else, the door creaked open.

The old man walked inside slowly. In his hand was a Tomahawk. The moment I saw him, the atmosphere changed. The room no longer felt like a room, it felt like a battlefield.

"Your training starts now." He said.

I didn't reply. I simply followed him. The two of us walked through the fortress grounds in silence. We passed the fountain where water danced beneath the morning sunlight. Servants moved about their duties. Guards stood watch along the walls.

Nobody spoke to me, nobody greeted me. They only stared like I was a clown in a circus. I was beginning to get used to it.

The old man led me farther away from the fortress. Past the training grounds. Past the stables and the main arena.

The stone walls ahead curved inward like a giant mouth swallowing the sky.

Then I saw something strange and deeply uncomfortable. Above the massive gates hung a black banner. Carved into it was a giant serpent. The Titanoboa.

The creature's body curled into a perfect circle. Its jaws were locked around its own tail. Swallowing itself and this made my stomach immediately twisted.

The longer I looked, the worse it felt.

"What is that supposed to be..." I muttered under my breath.

The old man didn't look at me.

"Our symbol."

I stared harder. For some reason, it felt alive.

Like it was moving even though it wasn't.

"Disgusting..." I whispered.

The old man simply continued walking. We passed through the gates. Then I saw it.

A massive mud pit. Dozens of boys and girls were inside it, fighting.

Some shoved each other face-first into the mud. Some wrestled, some kicked and some stepped on others trying to climb over them.

The sound hit me first, not their voices but the impact, their bodies colliding, the heavy breathing , grunts mud splashing, the laughter and screams.

"What are they doing?"

"Welcome to The Crucible and this are the Baroness Blades. The backbone to the Barony. You'll also become a Bladder like them, then you can be able to fight and stand by your mother's side." He said.

For a moment, I didn't answer. My eyes remained fixed on the place. Someone got slammed face-first into the mud. The boy stayed down for several seconds before struggling back up. Nobody helped him and nobody cared.

I scoffed.

"Mother my foot."

"As iron becomes steel in fire, a person becomes a weapon in suffering. I hope I'm making sense to you?" He asked

"No you are not." I muttered.

The old man blew a horn. The sound echoed across the pit. Instantly, everyone stopped fighting. Heavy breathing filled the air. Mud dripped from their bodies. The old man led me straight into their midst.

I felt it immediately. Every eye turned toward me, all judging like they had already decided I didn't belong.

The old man blew the horn again. Silence swallowed the whole place. Even the wind seemed to stop.

"Listen carefully. These are the laws of the Crucible."

Nobody moved or spoke.

"Here, there is no name, no title, no family. You are not sons. You are not daughters."

"You are Blades of the Baroness."

Several murmurs passed through the crowd before guards above silenced them with hard stares.

"You fight for survival. You fight for rank. You fight to serve. No swords are allowed unless granted by the overseers. No killing without command. But understand this..."

His voice lowered.

"If you die here, you were never meant to survive the Barony."

The words settled heavily over everyone. Even I felt something shift inside my chest.

Then another horn blast echoed. The old man turned toward me.

"And today, you are no longer a guest. You are one of them." He raised his hand.

"Who is the peanut head." One of the Bladders whispered.

Laughter exploded instantly. Everyone laughed.

Everyone except one boy standing at the far corner. He was completely clean and had no mud or bruises on his skin. He just stood there watching carefully.

Our eyes met briefly and I found something strange about him. He was just so calm, I didn't think much to it and just broke the contact.

The place became quiet again.

"Meet your new Member. I want you to make him feel welcomed and safe." The old man said.

The moment those words left his mouth, several people snorted.

"Why is he dressed in gold and a corset and we are dressed in sac." The same boy, Enzo said.

The laughter returned, this time it felt sharper like I was been mocked..

"Shut up Enzo." A lady screamed out.

Then she stepped forward. Confidence rolled off her like heat.

"I'll love to challenge him, show him how things are done." She said.

The crowd immediately reacted. Excitement spread through them. I just stood there like a statue.

The old man nodded. Before I could react,

SMACK!

Her hand landed hard on my butt. The sound echoed, it was so loud I was sure the people in the fortress would hear that.

The entire pit erupted into laughter. My body froze and heat rushed into my face.

Not due to pain but pure humiliation. For a second my brain stopped working. I could hear hundreds of people laughing at me.

"Come get some." Gabi said.

"Go ahead show us what you got son." The old man said with a smile.

"Gabi! Gabi! Gabi!" The crowd screamed.

The chant grew louder and faster like they needed blood or just simple entertainment or maybe both.

Something snapped inside me. I won't tolerate such humiliation, I was pissed, I wanted her to pay for what she did.

For a brief second, I thought I had her. My fist moved faster, my anger pushing me forward.

I screamed and charged toward Gabi.

Gabi didn't react like someone surprised. She reacted like someone bored. She tilted her head slightly, dodged without effort, and my punch cut through empty air.

The moment I missed, I felt it, something was wrong. Before I could recover,

BAM!

Her fist slammed into my face. Pain exploded across my nose. My vision blurred for a few seconds but the crowd still cheered.

Another punch landed on my tummy, another, another and another. I couldn't keep up. Every time I tried to hit her, she moved.

She wasn't attacking me seriously anymore.

She was guiding me. Controlling where I fell, where I moved, like I was already trapped inside her rhythm.

Every time I tried to recover, she was already there. Every time she moved, I got hit. The mud beneath my feet made everything worse.

I slipped. She kicked my legs out from under me. I crashed into the mud again.

My vision blurred again, not just from pain, but from frustration.

I couldn't find a single opening.

Then I made a mistake, I rushed forward again, she punched me back down again and again. By now my face felt swollen.

My pride felt worse. Then suddenly she jumped forward.

The next thing I knew, she was sitting directly on my head. The entire arena exploded with laughter and screams. Cheering and mocking me.

I was trapped beneath someone's butt begging for my life. The laughter didn't stop, it only grew louder. Every second stretched forever. Every laugh felt like a knife.

I wanted the ground to swallow me. I wanted to disappear. Anything would be better than this. Especially because I was being beaten by a girl in front of everyone.

Under her butt, I noticed the quiet guy wasn’t watching the fight like others. He was studying it, like everything here was a calculation.

"1! 2! 3!" The Bladders kept counting.

Finally, she stood up. Fresh air hit my face. i rolled over coughing and holding my chest.

Enzo grabbed her hand and raised it high. She had won and I lay there helpless, covered in mud and shame.

Anger burned inside me so fiercely it hurt. I wish I could do something but I couldn't.

Then suddenly, I heard something.

RRRIP!

A loud tearing sound echoed. For a moment, I thought somebody had farted then I realized it was my corset.

The stupid thing had finally torn apart. The pressure vanished instantly. Air rushed into my lungs. Real air.

For the first time all day, I could breathe properly. I sucked in a deep breath before a tear escaped my eye.

The relief was perfect.

The old man shook his head in disappointment and approached me.

"If you survive this place, maybe one day they'll follow you." He whispered into my ears then he walked away.

Follow me? I stared at the crowd.

The laughing, the violence and the cruelty I got from this people. This is horrible. How can I lead this pain in the ass humans?

I moved to the side and tried fixing the torn corset. It wasn't working. The seamstress was definitely a quack. It was nothing compared to the ones I wore at home and we don't wear corset. Those are for women. I kept trying to adjust it. Nothing worked.

Then I realized something, the Bladders weren't done with me.

I was still holding my jaw when a powerful kick hit my side. I crashed into the dirt again. When I looked up, Enzo was standing there smiling and feeling fulfilled.

"Hey, new guy. Where did you get the corset from? Did you spend the night with some rich women?" He said.

Everyone laughed again. Why do they keep laughing? It's annoying and stupid.

I didn't even care anymore. I stood up and tried walking away. These people were disgusting anyway.

"I'm talking to you." Enzo screamed.

Before I could react, he grabbed a wooden plank from the ground then threw it. The plank hit my head. I fell to the ground hard due to the impact and warm blood immediately trickled down my face.

That was the moment everything changed. The Crucible didn't feel like a joke anymore. It felt like it had teeth, like it would consume me and finally end me.

"My bad." Enzo mocked. "I asked a question." He added.

I slowly wiped blood from my forehead. Then stared at him. I didn't break contact, I passed all my anger and frustration into the stare.

"Oh, corset boy is mad. What are you going to do, kill me?"

Something inside me snapped. Rage consumed me. I ran towards him like a wild animal. The moment I reached him, I jammed my fingers straight toward his eyes.

I had learned some self-defense growing up.

This wasn't a game anymore. This was bullying. Something I had never experienced before. Other kids went through it but my parents always protected me.

Today they weren't here to defend me so I have to do that myself. I have to take responsibility at such a young age.

My fingers dug into his eyes. He screamed. The Crucible exploded with gasps, shouts and excitement wanting to know what would be next.

Enzo shoved me away violently. Then his fist smashed into my face. He kept hitting me and stars filled my vision. Suddenly he pulled out a pocket knife. My heart stopped immediately I saw it. He positioned it towards my throat.

The moment the knife appeared, the laughter stopped. Even Gabi stepped forward but didn't do a thing. Several Bladders exchanged nervous looks.

The rules of the Crucibles were clear. Weapons were forbidden without a Master. Enzo had crossed a line but still they did nothing.

Instinct took over, I grabbed the knife and tried to stop him but unfortunately, the blade stabbed directly into my palm. Blood poured out.

Nobody moved, no one helped. They just stood still enjoying my pains.

Enzo didn't stop right there, I was terrified. The knife moved closer toward my face, I felt it was the end.

Luckily, someone crashed into Enzo. A body slammed into him from the side. The impact knocked him away and his knife accidentally slashed across my face.

The pain was intense and blood gushed down my cheek. I turned to look at my helper.

It was the quiet boy, the one without mud on him, who just stood there watching everyone.

He stood between us and for the first time his calm expression was gone.

He extended his hand.

"Are you okay?" he said offering a hand.

I stared at him then slapped his hand away.

I didn't need help. I didn't want help.

I was angry, humiliated and exhausted. I tore off the corset completely and threw it away.

The crowd gasped as my abs were fully exposed. I didn't care. I walked away.

I wasn’t thinking about this place. I wasn’t thinking about rules or survival or anything they wanted from me.

I was only thinking one thing.

Power.

I needed enough power to kill Chen.

I headed toward the fortress. When I entered the council hall, Baroness Kome sat on her throne while maids attended to her.

"Widen." She called.

I ignored her and kept walking.

"Widen."

She screamed. I finally stopped, still boiling in anger.

"What are you doing walking half naked in my council room?" She raised her brows.

"Now, I'm not Sluther. I'm Widen." I scoffed.

Then I raised my head. Her eyes immediately landed on the fresh scar across my face. Her expression changed.

"What happened to your face?" She said touching it.

I stepped away avoiding her hand.

"Is it at the Crucible?

I didn't reply. I only rolled my eyes.

"It doesn’t matter who did it,” Baroness Kome said calmly, her fingers still hovering near his face. “Only that someone thought they could touch what belongs to me.”

"Find out who did his to his face." She said to one of her men.

I stayed silent, hissed under my breath and walked back to the balcony.

Not long after, screams echoed through the fortress. I was just curious and I rushed downstairs.

The scene waiting for me froze me in place.

Enzo was tied up. Several men beat him mercilessly. Blood covered his face. His body shook with every strike.

"What is going on?" I asked.

"We found the boy who did this to your face."

Enzo immediately looked at me. Fear filled his eyes. No more confidence. No more laughter. Mo more arrogance.

"I am so sorry, I had no idea you were the baroness son. I apologize for my stupidity My Lord." His voice trembled.

"How dare you cut my son in the face not only that you threw a plank on his head and stabbed his palm. That's too much to ignore Enzo."

"I didn't know he was your son Baroness. I would never hurt your blood."

A powerful slap sent him crashing sideways then silence followed. Kome stepped forward. She pulled out a dagger and threw it at my feet.

The dagger landed with a metallic clang. Everywhere became silent.

"Take out his eyes." She muttered.