The Cypress Asylum

<div style="text-align: center;"><strong>A.D. 2075</strong><!--center--></div> Twenty years ago, a grave incident caused a radiation shockwave to go around the Earth's surface. As a result to this, gentic mutations have begun to appear in various people - aside from the great number of victims that dropped dead when they came in contact with the ray. These people have been noted to posses paranormal powers that range from simple abilities such as telepathy to abilities like the control of matter at subatomic level. In all tested cases, a heightened physical prowess has been noted. The individuals, aptly named <em>espers</em>, show a more durable skeleton, a much more resistent metabolysim, immunity to various poisonous chemicals, enhanced speed, strength and endurance. Coupled with their strange powers, they have the qualification to be ranked as the next step in the evolution chain. However. The silent war between the great powers of the world - US, Russia, China, Japan - has seen a possibility in this "evolution". They have seen the opportunity to seize <em>human weapons</em>. Recruiting for special units formed exclusively of espers has been ordered by all four nations with the utmost secrecy. Still... These government fools weren't the only ones that saw an opportunity. The apparition of espers and their new kind of power has taken underground fighting to a whole new level. The Black Market's top have taken the opportunity to make an Esper league of illegal matches. A special, artificial island, named Eyren, has been constructed and launched on ocean water in 2070. Here, built amidst cypress trees, a large ultra-techno institution has been build and put into function. The most interesting cases of "new humans" were taken by force and brought to the Asylum's grounds. Here, they have been implanted with a microscopic supervising device that, if needed, will make them suffer into submission (or kill them on the spot). Thrown against one another, they are forced to fight to death while making a show-off of their power. The price of staying alive after losing? Creative, creative torture... The winner is allowed to continue living. That is his or her only prize. Yearly, a tournament is held. The winner of each "season" is afterward sold to the highest bidder. Each match is seen through a real-time recording by the world's richest and most influential people...the clientele is built and the esper is sold; bets are made and money is won or lost. The new humans die, killed by their own kin...Meanwhile, the rest of the world believes that this is only the highest-security confinement for the world's most demented. <div style="text-align: center;">In a sense, that's not far from the truth.<!--center--></div> <div style="text-align: right;"><strong><em>Welcome to the Cypress Asylum.</em></strong><!--right--></div>