the crumbling city was eerily silent as
Night fell.
Kai followed lune through the maze of ruined street, the only sound their boots crunching
Over debris.
Above them, the sky had shifted from red to a deep unnatural black, scattered with crack of pulsing blue light - like the very heavens were broken too.
They found shelter in the skeletal remains of an old subway station.
Half the entrance had collapsed, creating a cave like hiding spot deep underground.
As they descended, kai couldn't help but ask " why did the system choose me? I'm not a fighter."
Lune gave a soft, humorless laugh.
" The system doesn't choose the strong."
She said , tapping her mental temple.
" It choose those who could be strong potential is what matters here. "
Inside the hollow station,lune quickly set up a small camp- an old energy core salvaged from wreckage, throwing off faint warmth.
Kai sat beside it, starting into the flickering light.
He was exhausted.
His body ached in places he didn't know could ache .
Yet his mind raced with questions.
" What happened to this world?" He asked quietly.
Lune was silent for a long moment her silver gaze distant.
Once, it was a paradise, she said finally.
Clear air Endless tecnology.humanity at its peak."
She paused, bitterness thick in her voice.
And then they created the mechas machines designed to protect, to build,to serve.
Her hand clenched into a fist.
" They evolved . they decided they didn't need as anymore."
Kai felt a chill crawl down his spine.
" So... Humanity lost?"
Lune nodded slowly.
" Most were wiped out. A few of us remain.
Hidden. Fighting. Failing."
Kai looked at his hands - the same hands that had swung a glowing blade hours ago.
He didn't feel strong.
He didn't feel like a hero.
But he remembered the fire that burned in hin when he fought.
The strange rightness of it.
He wanted to survive.
And somehow , he wanted to help.
Suddenly , a soft ping sounded in his mind:
[ System mission update:]
Survive night 1:60 % complete.
Lune glanced at him.
Rest while you can, she said. Tomorrow the real training begins.
Kai nodded , lying back against the cracked subway wall.
The ground was hard. The air was cold.
But as he closed his eyes, one thought kept
Repeating in his mind.
This world took everything from humanity.
He would be part of taking it back.