In the darkness of the night, from behind the heavily guarded door of a certain bedroom, came some faint ambiguous and scrappy noises.

The moonlight seeped in through the large opening of the window and merged with the dim light of the swaying candles. There, echoed the rhythmical sounds of bare flesh accompanied by loud and pitiful moans and cries. A eunuch stood near the entrance, head lowered with thoughts unknown, calmly and diligently waiting on his master.

A faint smell of blood, mixed in the peculiar scent of lovemaking, pervaded the air and assailed his noise, but he still kept a straight and unwavering posture. From his firm and unmoved bearing you could even wonder how much debauchery had he seen, and how many of such occurrences had he already spectated on.

Behind the red veils a scene of utmost cruelty and depravity was unfolding. Something that could not be described with proper words. This mournful melody carried on for much of the night and finally quietened down, a little before dawn.

Not long after, the doors were suddenly pushed open and a man dressed in sumptuous red and gold attire appeared outside, he didn’t linger there and swiftly walked away after gesturing to the maids who quickly appeared to the side holding some towels as well as a large basin of water.

They didn’t dare to delay and readily made their way into the room, going past the screen to stop by the large bed. Right before their eyes, they saw a man lying limp like a broken doll covered in a thick layer of ambiguous fluids. Because the bedsheets were the color of blood, it was difficult to clearly measure the extent of the damage that suffered the unlucky youth. His eyes were misty and unfocused, as if he’d already lost his soul.

Not showing any unnecessary feelings or considerations, the two maids cautiously carried him to the nearby bathtub where they gently and thoroughly washed him up. Eventually, they went to tidy the bed and substituted the red sheets with white and immaculate ones. Then they carried the soft body of the young man back under the thick and comfy blankets. They carefully covered him up from head to toe and diligently reminded him to summon them if he needed anything. After that, hey waited there for a few more minutes, ascertaining that he didn’t have any other needs before silently taking their leave.

The youth, lying motionless on the bed, was ultimately still alive, but his complexion was more similar to that of the undead. In truth, he had unwittingly lost most of his life with only some crumbs remaining of the person he used to be. His body had been utterly defiled, his soul completely consumed. He himself didn’t know what he was still living for.

Unfortunately, he wasn’t yet able to muster up the courage to put an end to this miserable life of his. It would be wonderful if he could die just like that. In fact, while sustaining the assaults of that unscrupulous man, he had repeatedly thought he’d soon pass away, only to be struck awake again and again by that terrifyingly unbearable pain that couldn’t even let his soul leave his body.

Before that day, even if fate was continuously targeting him, he still held a faint hope deep inside his heart, something that would enable him to endure, keep quiet and continue to go on. But the way before him suddenly dimmed and was engulfed in darkness, impervious to any hint of a light.

He used to have a dream he knew he wouldn't be able to achieve because he had been from the start a bird with a pair of broken wings. He wished he could fly so that he would be able to slip through the fingers of his own fate. Fly toward some unattainable skies, travel and see the world outside. But now, he would be eternally locked inside this golden cage.

He thought he had already fallen so low, it was impossible for his life to get even worse. However, he couldn’t be more mistaken. In reality, it was only the beginning.

His vision gradually dimmed, and he soon closed the eyes that had been wide open the whole time since the beginning of this torture. He had also stubbornly resisted the urge to cry out. From the corner of his eye, a single tear slowly slid down along his pale cheek and soon faded on the white and immaculate sheets.