(Yumi's Perspective)

  Year 4995

  The darkness in the Gu clan's prison cell was a living thing. It breathed the cold of the damp stone, fed on the silence, and exhaled the stench of despair and rotted feces. Yumi sat in her corner, as she always did, in a state of quiet numbness, her soul floating in a distant place where pain could not touch it.

  Suddenly, the door was thrown open, and a body was hurled inside. It hit the stone floor with a muffled thud, then began to cough and spit. He was a short, strong man with a long, thick beard. He spat on the floor again and shouted into the darkness, "You bastards! When I get out of here, I'll show you!"

  It was the first real, angry life force she had seen in this tomb in a very long time.

  "What you're doing is useless," Yumi said in a quiet voice from her corner.

  The man jumped to his feet and turned toward the source of the sound. "It seems I'm not alone.

  " He approached until the faint torchlight could reveal her face. "A fox-girl... What's your name? I'm Akira."

  "Yumi."

  "Yumi... you're right," he said, examining the walls and the bars. "How long have you been here?"

  "Two years."

  Akira froze, the anger in his eyes turning to pure shock.

  "Damn it! Two years?! And you look like a child! Those bastards..."

  "Fool," Yumi said. "I've never seen a bigger fool than you."

  "Because I'm a fool, I won't be staying here long!"

  In that moment, their demon returned. Ling Gu entered, an amused smile on his face as he looked at the newcomer. "It seems you two have gotten acquainted."

  He went straight for Akira, who stood in a desperate fighting stance. Akira fought like a madman. He bit, kicked, and screamed curses. And the more he fought, the wider Ling Gu's smile grew, his amusement turning to ecstasy.

  The beating was recreational, chaotic, a party of violence in which Ling Gu vented his boredom. "You need to be restructured," he said, laughing.

  "You're the one who needs restructuring, you son of a bitch!" Akira screamed, and paid for his words with another blow that nearly knocked him unconscious.

  After satisfying his desire, Ling Gu dragged the barely-breathing Akira and chained him to rusty shackles fixed to the wall. "You'll have to be patient. It's not your day."

  Then he turned slowly and looked at Yumi.

  The chaotic smile vanished, replaced by a calm, focused, artistic gaze. He approached her like an artist approaching his canvas. This was not rage; it was creation.

  He began his "art." It was not a random beating. Every touch was precisely calculated to produce the highest degree of pain. He grabbed her fox ears forcefully, and she felt a sharp pain tear through her, but she no longer screamed.

  She had learned that screaming prolonged his pleasure.

  And there, as her body received the pain, her soul escaped to its secret place and began to write its letter in her mind.

  "To my mother and father... I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I am your daughter, a disobedient daughter who brought shame upon you. If you are asking how I am, it's not the best, really. But I got married; his name is Ling Gu.

  Yes, he's very kind, so much so that he brings me new friends all the time. Today he brought me an old man. What a wonderful husband. I think he's better than Father. Although they don't have my experience and knowledge in the 'Blood Game'... but it's strange,

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  most of them kill themselves after a month or two. I think this one will be like them. Why doesn't everyone appreciate the value of life? I appreciate it very much. Life is precious, isn't it? Oh, right, Mother, is it right for me to do this every day with my husband? And also, shouldn't I get angry with him, like you get angry with Father when he's late?

  So why does my husband leave me in a cell underground and give me bad food? Ah... he touched me there... it seems we will begin to mate now... I'll go now."

  Every sarcastic word in her mind was an invisible shield protecting the last remnants of her soul. He was painting on her body with pain, and she was painting on his soul with silent mockery. Then, after he had finished his "painting," it was time for the final signature.

  He mated with her, as if it were the artist's final touch.

  Through it all, Akira was screaming from his chains, his voice hoarse with pain and rage. "Leave her alone, you son of a bitch! Leave her alone! LEAVE HER ALONE!"

  When Ling Gu was finished, he stood up and brushed the dust from his clothes. He looked at Yumi, lying on the floor like a broken doll, and a strange smile crossed his face.

  "Every time I come down here," he said softly, "I am afraid you will be dead like the others.

  But I always see you breathing, and I feel overjoyed." He bent down, and his fingers gently brushed her cheek. "I don't even feel this way toward my mother and father. Feel proud, Yumi. Your face brings Ling Gu happiness."

  He straightened up, unchained Akira as an afterthought, and then walked out of the cell, leaving behind two broken bodies and a heavy silence.

  A long time passed before Akira could crawl across the cold floor. He reached Yumi, who was still curled in on herself, staring into the void.

  "What do I know about you?" he said, his anger directed at himself, the words coming out like an internal bleed.

  "Nothing! But I know that you are strong! This is the Yumi I know! Who could stay alive in this hell for two years? I've been here an hour, and I've only fought back my tears to look strong in front of you! How can a grown man cry when a child does not?

  Do you understand now? Please... to at least save you, you must help me. Do you know where this palace you spoke of is?"

  This honest confession of his weakness broke something inside her. She slowly turned and looked at him. "When they brought me in," she said in a faint voice, "they didn't cover my eyes. I saw strong, black walls, rising toward the sky.

  And I saw a long stone bridge..."

  Akira's eyes widened in horror. "Don't tell me... we are in the Gu clan's palace?"

  "Damn it! They're insane!" Akira shouted, then began to laugh. "And I was wondering where they put their prisoners! I

  was wondering why there was that giant room under the palace! It was a prison! But what Ling Gu doesn't know is that beneath us are old tunnels, used as an emergency exit. My foolish father had a blueprint of the palace because he helped with its maintenance, and I memorized that blueprint.

  But the question is... how do we dig through the floor?"

  Yumi looked at him, and for the first time in two years, a glimmer of hope flashed in her eyes. "My tail... it can dig through stone. It is one of the abilities of the fox-people."

  Akira suddenly hugged her with all his might. "See?! When you try, you can do it!"

  "Don't hug me! I don't like being hugged!"

  "Shut up, kid! You need more than a thousand hugs! Now, start here, in this exact corner!"

  She began to dig. Her tail was weak and worn, and every movement caused her sharp pain. She continued for five straight hours, her sweat mixing with her silent tears. It was pain with a purpose. Pain for freedom.

  Thank God there are no guards inside the prison while I dig.

  Finally, the last stone crumbled, and a dark opening appeared. "Jump, quickly!"

  They crawled through the narrow, suffocating tunnel. She held his hand in the darkness, drawing strength from the warmth of his touch. After what felt like an eternity,

  they reached the end. Akira pushed a large stone, and light burst into their faces.

  Sunlight.

  Yumi crawled outside and felt the warm sun on her skin for the first time in two years. The light was painful, but it was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. Then, all her defenses shattered. She wept.

  She had not cried in a long, long time.

  "I don't want to die," she said between sobs. "I want to live. I want to see the sun and the moon."

  She was reborn in the sunlight.