Ardent Grey looked down at the old man he had just executed. The blood pooled around his feet and poured down the edge of the stage staining the mud a crimson color.
He looked around at the crowd who's faces blended together in the uproar. He shook his head and started loading the four corpses onto a nearby wheel barrel that was provided for him.
His original black clothes were now red and sticky. He slowly picked up the heads one by one and loaded them into the wheel barrel. Then pushed them away as the next guard led his prisoners up onto the stage.
Ardent didn't look back and approached the side entrance to the prison.
He had been a guard here for 3 years and this was his second execution. He had dropped out of school at 17 and began working part time jobs for a few months before finally applying to join the Coalition.
The pay was good but the mental toll was hard to bear. Ardent hardened his heart and entered the side door arriving in a well lit room. It had a huge table in the center, 5 large furnaces by the wall and another guard waited behind a gate.
Ardent pulled off the black hood, his messy brown hair swayed and his grey eyes narrowed slightly. He began by lifting Patrick's body and lying it on the table with a low thud.
He then approached the wall opposite of the furnaces. On it hung a variety of tools stained with blood and the remains of flesh. He grabbed a pair of goggles and a face mask. He covered himself and put on one of the provided surgeon robes. He then reached for a cleaver, a saw, a mallet, and a scalpel. The steel tools clattered together in his hands.
He had read a few books on biology and anatomy to make the next step easier. He turned around and walked over to the table to look at Patrick's body. The old man's body was growing pale due to the loss of blood.
He started with the head. Setting the tools down except for the steel mallet. Lifting it high and slamming it down to crush the skull. He felt the bones shattering beneath his attack. After the third swing the head caved in and brain matter leaked out. Using the scalpel he examined the inside of the skull, looking for something but came up empty handed. He then tossed the ruined head to the side, it landing in a nearby bin.
This was an important part of the process. He was responsible for examining the corpses thoroughly and locating their Prospect core. The prospect core was formed when one became an awakened Prospect. One of their organs or body parts would solidify into a special organ that granted them special abilities.
When someone awakened for the first time they would awaken as a Tier 1 Prospect ninety-nine percent of the time. These prospects were not too different from normal people. Their abilities granted them only a slight advantage.
Ardent remembered the first time he had saw a Prospect in action. One of his classmates, when he was still in school, had awakened. He was quite popular and eventually let it slip. The whole school was in chaos. Eventually, one evening, this classmate was showing off his powers to a group. He was able to cause objects he touched to become lighter. Everyone watched as he lifted two of his classmates.
Ardent remembered watching this classmate with envy. He coveted this power. Anyone would feel the same. A supernatural power just out of their reach. It was infuriating. But soon Ardent had changed his mind once this classmate vanished one day. Nobody knew what happened. He just disappeared without a trace.
But everyone soon realized what had happened. They were taught about how the Prospects worked in school. It was sick and twisted. A brutal way to attain more strength. Upon consuming the Prospect cores of seven other Prospects of the same level they would be able to evolve to the next level.
It was obvious he had been targeted by someone and was probably already dead by then. They never saw another Prospect appear in their school. Or at least those who had awakened kept it quiet.
During the Era of Awakening people started unlocking mysterious abilities. Nobody was sure why this occurred. The government started doing secret experiments on Prospects and uncovered the Prospect core. In one experiment they found out that separating the Prospect core while the Prospect was still alive would cause them to slowly die unless the core was returned. And if returned in time it would quickly heal as if returning to it's rightful place.
It took awhile before the first level 2 prospects appeared. It was due to the nature of evolution. Only an insane and twisted person would consider eating the prospect cores. Or someone forced to comply by the government. It went slowly but eventually someone managed to consume seven prospect cores and evolved into a level 2 prospect.
Thinking they were untouchable they tried to escape but were shot dead. Eventually news leaked about the evolution method and the government couldn't stop it. Greed overtook humanity as people started hunting each other. Betraying friends and family and consuming them to support their evolution. The world was in chaos as the many governments tried to maintain order.
But soon level 3 and 4 Prospects started appearing. By then they had already formed their own factions and the world erupted in a total war. Everyone was either hunter or prey.
Many eras passed: The Era of Awakening, The Era of Chaos, The Era of Empires, and the current era, The Era of Prospect. Now 6 level 9 Prospects known as the Coalition of Emperors ruled humanity. It was relatively peaceful right now but everyone knew the Emperors were secretly at war with each other to reach the 10th level.
The six emperors each ruled over a part of the planet resulting in 6 major Nations and a 7th nation that was a neutral power. It was called the Coalition of Emperors and on the surface the 6 Empires got along and passed geopolitical laws that everyone had to obey. Such as Code 58 of the Coalition Pact, which outlawed any and all Prospect farms.
Many prisons were set up in the Coalition to punish those who violated these laws. But the prisons in District 16 and 17 were special. They were especially created to hold and execute Prospects. Prison 17 was where the more powerful Prospects were held.
Since they were executing Prospects, the Prospect cores were harvested and obtained by the Coalition.
Ardent moved on to the limbs. Using the cleaver to strip the flesh off the bone and separate them using the Bone saw. After a quick inspection he threw the severed limbs into the nearby bin.
Moving onto the torso he grabbed the scalpel and made an incision right under the sternum. Slicing downward all the way to the nave. He inserted his hands into the incision, feeling the warm flesh. He then used a bit of force and cracked the ribs opening Patrick's chest like a book. His innards exposed to the air.
Ardent finally found what he was looking for. Right next to the heart, Patrick's left lung was pulsating quietly as if it was still alive. Ardent leaned closely with the scalpel and sliced into the muscles and tendons holding the lung in place. The soft flesh parted smoothly.
He lifted the lung into the air so he could get a better view at it. All along the lung he saw small engravings circling it almost appearing like small black hairs. Confirming that he had retrieved Patrick's Prospect core he took out a small bag and placed it inside and sat it to the side. He then lifted mangled torso and tossed it in the bin.
Frowning under the mask he reached into the wheel barrel and lifted Grace's body onto the brightly lit table.
...
After harvesting the Prospect cores from the four prisoners, he gathered the 4 bags and approached the guard behind the gate. He handed the bags to the guard who proceeded to inspect them carefully. After checking he looked up with a smile.
"Seems like everything is in order. Here is your payment. As requested by principle you will get the next two days off."
The guard handed Ardent a ticket. This ticket had the official Coalition stamp on it and could be exchanged for money at the bank. Ardent, who had used a rag to grab the ticket so it wouldn't get blood smeared on it, set it aside on a clean table. He then approached the nearby bins.
He pushed them over to the furnace and quickly shoveled the bodies inside, Pushing them to the back. Quickly they caught fire and started burning. Ardent saw the other bones around the furnace from the other prisoners that came before.
These use to be people. They had a life. They had friends. They had family. And now they were reduced to ashes and bones. He took one last look at the burning prisoners he had watched this past week. He turned and hung the steel tools back on the wall. Took off the mask, goggles, and apron. Then used a nearby sink to rinse the blood and flesh off his hands. But they were still stained red.
Ardent laughed self mockingly and grabbed his ticket as he headed out the door.