The Bleak has a reputation of being a place for the lost, broken souls. People are abandoned here, lost to the shuffle of the upper levels. To survive here, you have to be willing to kill or you will be killed. But every now and then, someone comes to try and “improve” the Bleak, make it better. What they don’t understand is that they’re just like lambs to the slaughter. Outsiders who try and force their will upon the Bleak, but the Bleak pushes back.
Violently.
We had a man come to try and improve our lot with his technology, and thought that this would make him accepted into our ranks. He ended up being flayed and crucified on his drones.
Another came preaching peace, believing that his message would spread like wildfire to the hopeless chaos that he felt resided here. He would have his eyes plucked out and be cut in two.
Another came to fight the crime, to be the hero he felt the Bleak needed. But he realized too late that any glimmer of hope is quickly snuffed out here. The Bleak doesn’t need a hero, a symbol of justice. It requires predators, it requires killers. If you aren’t willing to cross that line, you’re just prey for those who crossed it long ago.
The Bleak is nothing but pandemonium. Chaos and violence reign supreme. I’m at the top of the food chain there because I’m willing to do whatever it takes to keep the Bleak safe from those who would abuse it. Many have followed my lead, ensuring the Bleak is a terrifying place for outsiders.
These bodies were left as a warning to outsiders to stay away, but yet they don’t listen. They believe they can be the ones to finally redeem it. To be the champion of the Bleak, and lead it into a bright and shining future.
The chaos and the violence that exist forges one into being a top predator. To be the wolf hunting the sheep. Lambs to the Slaughter will be no different. I’m used to being surrounded by other, hungry, predators. To being surrounded by those who would rather do you harm than help you up. To take what you have and make it their own.
But what the other Titans don’t understand is that the levels they come from, the places they’re from, never made them stronger. They never faced true pain or suffering, the kind that makes you keen to being a survivor in the harshest environments.
Just like the tech entrepreneur, the preacher and the wanna-be hero, everyone in that ring will be my lambs that I will lead to the slaughter, leaving them laying in pain and suffering as I ascend to my rightful place.
To spread the chaos and violence of the Bleak to the rest of Arcadia, to ensure the survival of only the best predators.
It’s on this night, that I will fill the night with your screams, and have my hand raised in victory.