Chapter 3 — Step Outside the Cage
Night. The city of Orion.
The flames of the fires were still dancing on the ruins of the Colosseum. People were shouting. The children were crying. The monsters had been dead for a long time—and yet fear hung in the air.
But the Hulk was moving forward.
He was covered in blood—his own, someone else's, a monster's. My body was burning with pain. But in his soul...
— Silence.
For the first time in eight years, he did not hear Taros' voices.
I didn't feel any orders.
He was free.
Every step echoed through the streets. People shied away.
He was a monster. Height — four meters. Skin like a demon's. There are scars from magical brands on his back.
But the eyes…
The eyes were alive.
He didn't know where to go.
He didn't know who he was anymore.
Just the name.
— The Hulk.
The name he was given... and which he took for himself.
⸻
At dawn, he reached the southern gate of Orario. The guards, seeing him, raised the alarm.
—The monster!
— Get the kids out!
— Close the gate!
But he didn't attack.
He stood up. He raised his hands. And...
"I'm not the enemy," he managed. His voice was hoarse, like the rasp of steel.
"I'm... human."
Silence.
Until one of the figures on the wall said:
—Interesting." This... is not just a monster. He has a wound. And very... unusual.
It was the goddess Loki.
In scarlet, with red hair, a grin, and a squint that hid more than it seemed.
"You're an unusual guy, aren't you?" Where did you come from? From hell? — she grinned, jumping down from the tower. She landed next to him. She stared without looking away.
The Hulk was silent. He looked down at her.
She felt the rage in him, but it wasn't boiling. She was throbbing. She was... under control.
"You're strong." Too strong for level 6. Almost like 8..." she muttered.
At that moment, Ais Wallenstein and Finn came out of the gate, ready to stop the threat if necessary. But Loki raised her hand:
- no. He is our guest. While.
⸻
The Hulk was led into the city. For the first time, he saw streets where there were no chains. People who didn't scream in pain. Children who laughed. Food that wasn't eaten from the floor.
He was... stunned.
"So this is... the world?"
— It doesn't look like an arena.
⸻
A few hours later, he was sitting on a stone slab at the headquarters of the Loki Family. He was given clothes—a huge tunic and a steel belt.
He's not used to it. He didn't know how to wear clothes.
Loki returned to him with a glass of wine and sat down opposite him.
"So that's what I think. You're not ordinary. You're... from the Taros Colosseum, aren't you?
He nodded.
"He was a slave. Since I was eight years old. Meat. The car. Monster.
—But I ran away. I killed his guards. His monsters. His chains. I'm... free.
Loki was silent. For the first time, no kidding.
"Do you want to stay in Orario?" "What is it?" she asked.
- yes.
"Then know that you will have to fight. There is peace here, but not without blood. And I won't let you live in a cage.… But even on the outside, you have to be ready for battle.
The Hulk looked up. And for the first time…
He smiled.
— I can fight.
⸻
And so his journey began.
First, as a guest of Loki's last name.
Then the warrior.
And later, the weapons of peace.
But for now…
He was sitting on a stone slab, looking up at the sky and whispering:
"I'm not a beast. I am a human being.