God’s Cube

Time slowed down once more. The boy’s eyes widened in shock, but his face showed no fear, his mouth instead turned into a smile, one of satisfaction. Blood poured from the wound, drenching Thesi’s hand, turning the dirt beneath them a dark shade of red. The child’s small body convulsed, but his smile stayed put, his eyes now fixing Thesi.

"No..." 

Thesi whispered, his voice barely audible. He stared down at the boy, and realization struck, horror followed. The child stood still, he made no attempt to take the knife out. Blood bubbled from his lips, his small body shaking as life drained from him.

Thesi knelt beside him, his hands shaking as he tried to steady the boy’s trembling frame. But there was nothing he could do. The damage was done. 

"I didn’t mean to..." 

Thesi muttered, his voice thick with an emotion he couldn’t understand. His hands were now completely red with blood, the knife was still buried, unmoving, in the boy’s throat, his heartbeat was now approaching a standstill. The child was clearly struggling to breath by now, his chest attempting to raise, but getting stuck halfway through. Finally, the light started fading from his eyes.

He took one final breath, and his body fell still. Thesi remained there, frozen, his hands still wrapped around the boy’s lifeless body. No sound could be heard in the previously shouting forest. He had done it again, he took another innocent life. It was then that a bell rang.

“To make full use of the gift I am about to give, I couldn’t let you bury a part of the tool present in you to use. Nothing can be forgotten, no matter how deep you hide it, it will come out. Burying it is simply a waste of resources. I have done you a favor.”

A dull robotic voice had spoken, Thesi couldn’t divert his gaze but he had heard those words, and with that the world turned white. By the time Thesi regained his sight he was in the Cube once more, he looked around, his expression dulled of any emotion. 

“Trial complete. Congratulations, enhancement initiated.”

Thesi emerged from the Cube. His mind was all over the place, The last images he saw of his trial endlessly replaying in his mind. He tried to bury these memories as well, but the emotions kept replaying as well, this added factor was making it impossible to cast away the memories. He was brought back from his thoughts, by the sound of a door opening.

The door slid open and he stepped out into the square he had left behind when he entered the cube. Waiting for him was an officer in the standard turquoise military outfit of EU officers. There was no warmth in his expression, he was cold, he was professional. They probably chose people that could stomach the outcomes of the cube, some survived just fine, many died, but a good amount also came back twisted in ways sometimes hard to understand. 

"Follow me,"

The officers' words were curt and emotionless.

Thesi nodded wordlessly and followed suit behind him. Thesi's mind was tired, but awake, registering the man's movements, the shape of the building they were approaching and any information at all to put up a barrier against the guilt that still clawed at the corners of his thoughts.

A few minutes later, they stopped in front of a pair of double doors with a sign reading "Registration Waiting Room" the officer directed for Thesi to enter without giving him space to say anything else. This was effectively his first time actually going through the legal process that follows the completion of a Cube trial.

The room was a little smaller compared to the one he had been in prior to his trial. It wasn't as crowded as that one, which had some unintended darker meaning to it. There, however, the air felt more oppressive, here it felt different. Mixed feelings reigned, joy and satisfaction in the eyes of few, emptiness in that of the many. He had heard that for the Red Cube, those that passed tended to be more ecstatic, the Blue, more emotionless, while the yellow, more often than not, were completely altered by the process. 

Thesi swept the room, his eyes locking immediately on two faces he knew. Amina sat near the back, her black eyes staring emotionlessly around the room. Her tanned skin shone dimly under the fluorescent lights, her posture cleanly straightened up as always, her hands clasped tightly in her lap. She caught his gaze, and for a moment, a flicker of relief crossed her face before she turned away quickly, masking any emotion. He hadn’t spoken much with her, but it seemed like she was happy to see someone from her class make it through.

Vasko Rosarik leaned casually against a wall near her, arms crossed over his chest. His long, messy dark hair hung over his broad shoulders, and his deep brown eyes seemed bothered, he seemed to acknowledge the trial, but clearly wasn’t as marked by it by some others present here. Thesi didn’t expect less from him, a son from a family that ruled the Balkan region with an efficiency of ruthlessness. They hadn't spoken much at the High School Gladiatori in the past five years, but they knew each other's silences well enough. Vasko nodded in his direction as Thesi walked in, just about the tiniest acknowledgment but Thesi knew that was a sign of respect.

He walked to an empty chair near the corner of the room, the cold metal a jarring reminder of the sterile environment he had just been in. There was little attention paid to him, aside from the quick glances he exchanged with his classmates, from other people in the room, each wrapped in their own thoughts and experiences. 

Minutes ticked, Thesi not knowing really what to do, then, Amina's name was summoned. She rose, smoothed her uniform, and left the room behind another officer without so much as a backward glance. Several minutes later, Vasko's name was announced, and he shrugged lazily as he strolled out, as though he was off to attend some meeting.

Thesi sat alone for what felt like hours, his mind replaying what happened during the trial, even though he tried hard to suppress it. Something felt off in this trial, the Cube was touching deeper into him than had been usual from the reports he had read and studied in class about the Blue Cube. Finally, his name was called, snapping him out from his thoughts.

He stood and followed the officer down another sterile corridor. His footsteps echoed off the polished floor. They stopped in front of a large door, the officer then turned the handle and pushed the door open.

Inside, the office was spacious, scantily decorated, but the awards and pictures hung on the wall screamed authority. Behind a large metal desk sat a high-ranking officer, his uniform sashed with enough medals and insignias to speak of decades of service. His face was lined with age, his eyes sharp and calculating. 

"Thesi, sit." 

The officer spoke in a calm neutral tone as he gestured to the chair in front of his desk.

Thesi nodded and quietly sat down in the chair.

The officer leaned back in his chair, considering Thesi for a moment before he spoke. 

"You've completed your trial. That is an accomplishment, no matter how you look at it."

Thesi said nothing. He just kept his eyes on the officer's face, waiting for whatever was coming. The latter opened a folder on his desk and glanced inside. 

"You've been recorded as having completed the Blue Cube successfully. From here, of course, it's dependent on which direction you take it. You can pursue more trials if you wish or work at a position within the ranks. A lot will become available to you from now on, regardless of what you wish to accomplish, joining one of the Academies would be greatly beneficial for you." 

Thesi nodded, but was silenced before he could reply in acknowledgement to what was just said. The officer snapped the folder shut, pushing it to the side. 

"You've earned your place, but remember, the Cube doesn’t forget who you are.. It'll always test you, no matter how far you get."

Thesi stood and gave a short, nodding bow in acknowledgement. In more ways than one he engraved the officer’s words, this wasn’t his first trial, the Cube didn’t get easier. He also saw how it had affected him, he knew very well his test didn’t end with his exit of the Cube, the images flashing once more in his mind. However, this conversation was over.

"Dismissed, personally I’d recommend the Mediterranean Academy for the Enhanced, you seem like you’d be a good fit."

That was his concluding remark. He indicated the exit and Thesi took his leave, the officer pressing a button on his desk while staying seated awaiting the next candidate that had finished his trial.