Every week at the secret organization of Delta Sion, there are new people who are chosen to join. There are only three levels of members-the council, the kranen, and the domestics. The council is the highest position you can get, and isn't often open for new positions. The people of the council serve under the savior, Jae Hwa and help her make new decisions. The next highest rank, kranen, are for people who are still important to Delta Sion, but not important enough to aid in important decisions. Lastly, the domestics are people who have no worth to Delta Sion except to entertain the kranen, the council, as well as perform small tasks. The domestics are mainly made of girls, but there are a few exceptions of men in the domestics for the female council members and kranen.
Today, I was invited to join Delta Sion. I had heard about it before. It was a place where you could find a new beginning, and after multiple breakups, a broken family, and a failed career, that's exactly what I was looking for. Upon arriving at the grounds, I was amazed at how prestigious every building looked. Apart from vast gardens and a fresh atmosphere, all of the architecture of the buildings were immaculate. I felt like I was about to join a kingdom. Most of the buildings looked to be made of a smooth marble. I felt nervous as I made my way to the admissions building and stepped inside, walking up to the desk.
"Hi, how can I help you?" the secretary asked.
"My name is Aecha. I got this invitation last week," I stated, giving her the letter I had received. She took it and looked it over before handing it back.
"Right," she confirmed, "Come follow me Aecha." She got up and I followed after her after we went down a few wide and dimly lit hallways. I looked around at all of the subtle, yet elegant decorations as we walked. "Are you nervous?" I suddenly snapped out of my trance from looking at every beautiful thing surrounding me. I had never been in such a high-class building that I was starting to think this invitation may have been a mistake.
"A little bit," I admitted. I heard the woman let out a light giggle.
"I think most people are when they come here. Our organization is so unknown to most people, that people can't help but feel a little lost, nervous, or even sometimes scared. But don't worry, after the first few weeks, everything is perfect! Oh, here we are!" She stopped in front of a set of wooden double doors. "A council member will be in there to review you and decide your place in our organization."
"Thank you," I thanked her as she turned and walked off. I took a deep breath and knocked on the door.
"Come in," a voice from inside of the room called out. I slowly opened the door and stepped into the dimly lit office. There, sitting at a desk was a man with black hair and minty green eyes. I sat down at the chair across from his desk. "Name," he demanded.
"Aecha," I responded.
"Do you have any close friends or family?" He asked, almost interrogating me. I started to feel a little nervous.
"No."
"Good. Any romantic partners?"
"No."
"If you dropped off the map, do you believe anyone would come looking for you?"
"I highly doubt it."
"Okay. What are you looking to achieve here?"
"Just a place to... belong, I guess."
"I see. You do realize that once you join this organization, there is no getting out, right?"
"Yes..."
"Good. Our organization doesn't deal nicely with people who try to escape."
"Why would people try to escape?"
"That's nothing to concern yourself with. What's important is that you know there are very deadly consequences for going against this organization."
"Deadly?"
"Yes. I will now explain everything to you in detail. Here at Delta Sion, we believe that we can be a paradise for people who feel like they have lost all hope in their lives. You must obey all of those who are above you in class. The highest is our savior, Jae Hwa. Next are the council members. I am one of them. After that, the kranen. Lastly, the domestics. No matter who you are, you must obey everything the savior says, if she demands something of you. If she walks past you, you must bow to her. Do not make eye contact with her. Do not speak to her unless she asks you to. The main rules of this organization are simple-don't go against those above you, don't try to escape, don't attempt to harm anyone above you, and do not try to conspire against the organization. We have more eyes and ears than you think. Other than that, you must serve your purpose or else you will be met with deadly consequences. Do you understand?"
"Are you saying if I stop being valuable, I'll be killed."
"Precisely." I felt my heart start to hammer as I started to feel afraid.
"I'm not sure if I'm ready for this..." I admitted.
"You won't join?"
"Maybe not..."
"Well, that's unfortunate. You know about our organization and where we're located, so we can't afford to just let you leave. If you don't want to join, you'll also unfortunately have to meet a deadly consequence."
"What!"
"If you try to leave, you will be killed. So, do you want to join or would you rather die?" I felt my body start to perspire as I began to feel even more terrified.
"I... I... I guess I'll join, since death is the only other option..."
"Wonderful. I have already reviewed your file. You will be a domestic. Your purpose here is to become a pet to a kranen or a council member. The savior will decide who will be your first owner. If they don't like you, you may get passed on to a different owner until someone wants to keep you, or you may meet a deadly consequence, depending on the reason that your owner doesn't like you."
"A pet? You mean, I'll have to serve someone here?" I was getting more confused by the minute.
"Yes, in a way. You will do whatever they say and entertain them as they see fit. Now..." The man got out a piece of paper and slid it over to me with a pen. "Read over this if you want. Sign and date it. It's a pledge to obey the orders of Delta Sion and do your best to serve your purpose." I only scanned over it before signing and dating. Even if I didn't want to agree, it wouldn't matter because I would be killed. I slid the paper and pen back over. "Excellent. I'll file this later. For now, I'll take you to your training quarters."
"Training quarters?"
"Of course. You can't just start right away. You need to be properly trained, just like a real pet." I reluctantly got up and followed the man out of the room. We descended what seemed to be like a hundred different staircases. The basement of the admissions building was ice cold and everything looked much more creepy and dingy than the upper-level. It didn't even look like I was in the same building anymore. At the end of a long corridor, the man finally stopped at a wooden door, opening it. "This will be your training room. You will be trained here until the savior sees you fit to start your new life here."
I walked in and instantly felt like I would have a heart attack. It had the appearance of a dungeon, being that it was cold, dark, only lit by candle light, and many tortuous devices hung around on the walls. My eyes widened in shock at every foreign object I rested my eyes upon. What kind of training was this? I had no idea that this organization was so dark. Were they going to torture me until they could shape and mold my mind however they wanted? I started to fear for my life and felt my body launch into a fight or flight response as the man stepped in, his footsteps echoing off the wall. I felt him grab my arm and the next second, I felt a needle puncture me.
I screamed out as an intense pain coursed through me, starting from the point of entrance of the needle until it reached every part of my being. I felt my body start to convulse from the shock of the pain and I couldn't breathe. I almost fell down, but the man held me steady as he injected the rest of the liquid into me before taking it out. I continued to scream as the pain started to ignite a fire-like pain. I felt like I was burning alive and I had no control of my muscles. As soon as the man let go of me, I fell to the floor.
"This is an elixir. It will help with your training immensely. Someone will give you a shot of it everyday until you are ready. Today, you can rest since your body isn't used to the elixir yet. Starting tomorrow, someone will train you. I hope that this place can be a new home for you soon." With that, the man turned and left, closing the door behind him and locking it. Just like that, on the ice cold ground, I finally lost consciousness, going into shock.
≻───── ⋆✩⋆ ─────≺
Over the next few weeks, with my "training" and elixir, I could feel my brain mold into something new, but I couldn't stop it. When I resisted, I only got hurt more. I realized that it was better to listen to my trainer than to disobey them. There were many times when I felt like I was on the verge of death, but in the end it would be worth it, because I was in paradise now. Today is the day I am formally meeting with the savior to discuss my next step and to see if I'm ready to start living in my new paradise. All I wanted to do now was make my master happy. I would do anything he said, even if it hurt me. I would maybe even let him kill me if it entertained him. What was the point in my existence if I couldn't make my master happy?
I felt warm air as I was escorted upstairs for the first time in weeks. I had almost forgotten how comforting heat can be, so I relished in it as I was led inside of a room. I was blindfolded, so I had no idea where I was going or how the savior looked as I was pushed down to kneel. I bowed completely, almost touching the floor with my nose. Even though this floor was cold, it was nothing compared to the ground of my training room. The air even seemed more clear. I hoped that I could prove worthy to her so that I wouldn't have to go back and be trained more.
"What is your name?" I heard her clear voice ring out.
"My savior, my name is Aecha. It's an honor to finally be in your presence," I answered. I heard her giggle a little.
"You did well with this one," she complimented my trainer. "What do you want with your new life here?"
"I want to please whomever my master may be, no matter what!"
