Beyond Human

Chapter 4: True Monster

When Hiro regained consciousness, he found himself lying on a bed, his eyes covered. Hiro tried to move, but he felt weak and disoriented. He looked down at his hands and saw that they were covered in strange, metallic gloves. He felt a wave of panic wash over him as he realized that he was no longer in control of his own body. And he suddenly remembered what he saw before falling unconscious. It was the Neandarthals who he always wanted to meet and he knew one couldn't travel back in time because no one can physically travel back in time because it would create a paradox if he changed something. Hiro being a genius of his generation, he was well versed in physics and the concept of time travel too but couldn't match the level of his friend. And he heard the sound of opening the door, there was utter silence that he could hear his breathing. The masked neandarthal to whom he lost came out of the door and opened his blindfold. He was dumbstruck by what he saw. The masked one spoke in a language he couldn't understand and gave him a serum. After taking it, the babbling of the masked one started to make sense.

The masked one asked the other neandarthal in coat who seemed like a doctor, "Is the serum working? It seems like he can't understand." To which Hiro replied, "I can." The neandarthal said, "Listen, human. The council has passed a judgement on you for trespassing our territory and you shall fight for your freedom against our kind. If you win, you live. If you lose, you die."

The following day, Hiro was taken to a stadium where the duel was about to take place. He was blindfolded again and transported there, his heart racing with anticipation. When his blindfold was opened, he saw the Neanderthals circling him, taunting him with their weapons. Despite the odds stacked against him, Hiro remained calm and composed.

As the fight to the death was about to begin, a commentator who was a Neanderthal welcomed everyone to the arena and announced Hiro's entry. Hiro was given simple protective gear which would be useless against the advanced technology of the Neanderthals. To make matters worse, he was only given a small sword as a weapon, making it seem like they wanted him to lose.

Hiro entered the stadium despite his disadvantage and was met with a barrage of rotten vegetables and fruits thrown by the partially mechanized Neanderthals, who seemed to act like monkeys. Following Hiro's entry, the commentator Neanderthal announced, "The one who is about to fight this puny human is 'The Sin of Greed'". The Sin of Greed entered the stadium wearing a red mask identical to the one that had defeated Hiro before.Hiro took a deep breath, readying himself for the fight of his life. He knew that the stakes were high, and he had to fight with all his might to survive.

The commentator declared, "Let the fight commence!" Hiro charged towards the greed with the intention of taking him down. However, to his surprise, the greed didn't budge an inch. Hiro leaped into the air and swung his dagger at the greed, but to no avail. The greed calmly lifted his sword and swiftly sliced both of Hiro's arms, causing him to scream in agony as he bled to death. As Hiro lay there, he heard the greed speak in a moment of eerie silence, "What happened, human? You haven't moved from your place, yet you are sweating profusely." Hiro looked down and realized that both of his arms were still attached to his body and hadn't been severed. He wondered if what he experienced was an illusion, a premonition, or perhaps a glimpse of a possible future if he charged recklessly into the greed's defenses. Hiro's hope began to wane as his attempts to charge towards the greed were met with repeated amputations of his arms, head, or legs in quick succession. Hiro found himself immobilized, unable to move from his current position. The Greed taunted him, proclaiming that he was not even worthy of being an opponent, given his inability to move.