In Newber-City, a brown-haired, average-looking girl walked down the busy street with a skip in her step and a wide smile spread across her face.
Today was a beautiful day. She just aced an important exam at the Academy, and now she headed home.
Her glimmering eyes glanced around her magnificent city. She stopped for a moment to gaze upon the cloudless blue sky. And in that moment, a single thought appeared in her mind...
'Today is such a perfect day! Nothing could ruin it!'
While walking down the street, she passed her favorite bakery and stopped dead in her step, nearly tripping other pedestrians.
"Watch it, girl!" Shouted an especially rude individual. He seemed to be in a rush somewhere.
Of course, the girl hadn't noticed him. She just turned around and went into the bakery.
There weren't many customers at this hour, since the afternoon rush hadn't started yet. She stepped into the short line and waited about five minutes until it was finally her turn to order.
"Good afternoon, Mrs. June," called the girl while grinning.
"Hi Sera, what can I get for you today?" answered Mrs. June with a genuine smile.
"Can I get half a dozen doughnuts, three cupcakes and an apple pie?"
She was already salivating just imagining all the tasty sweets she would devour soon!
The baker looked at her with surprise.
"Are you celebrating something? This is a lot of food. "
"I'm in fact celebrating. I just passed one of my final exams. Two more to go and I can leave the Academy to join the workforce!" said Sera, her voice full of pride.
The women smiled and said: "Oh, then allow me to congratulate you first. But are you sure about this order? There is a lot of sugar and other nasty stuff in these pastries. If you don't want to look like me, I suggest eating fewer desserts. "
She said while chuckling and pointing at herself.
Mrs. June wasn't very overweight. She could've definitely lost a couple of kilos, but with her baking doesn't allow such luxury. But even looking like this, she managed to score a good husband and a happy family.
Now that she thought about it, the entire family looked in need of some exercise...
"Don't worry, I'm not eating all of them myself; I'm going to leave some for my parents as well," she said with a light chuckle.
"Speaking of your parents, how are they doing?"
"They're doing well, just the usual, always busy with work... especially now," Sera made sure the last part was barely audible.
"Well, they're doing very important work for the upkeep of Newber, so cut them some slack."
Sera breathed a sigh of relief.
'She didn't hear the last part thankfully... mother would've killed me otherwise.'
"Yes, I know, and I'm not mad about it at all. It's just wishful thinking that in a perfect world we could spend more time together." She said with a bit of longing.
Her parents were actually quite crucial to the city's inner workings.
Her father was a lead electrical engineer, responsible for the power grid on the north side of the city. And her mother was one of the chief civilian officers, responsible for the wellbeing of Newber's citizens.
So yes, her parents were important. And with important jobs comes very little free time to spend with their daughter.
Noticing the sadness in her voice, June said with a very gentle tone: "They're going to be very proud of you when they hear the result of your exam."
"Of course they will be!" She declared with a proud grin.
That got a laugh out of Mrs. June, and she started packing together Sera's order.
While waiting, Sera eavesdropped on the other people in the bakery.
"Have you heard the news?" asked an unassuming man wearing factory clothes.
"What news?" asked the other similarly dressed man sitting on the opposite side.
The first man looked around and answered in a fearful, hushed tone...
"Copen is lost, destroyed by a Realm Gate Opening." He trembled in his seat as he spoke.
"How is that possible? Weren't the Evolved prepared! This should be their specialty."
Grumbled the other man. He didn't seem too heartbroken about the rumor and the immense loss of life.
"It was a Class 3 Gate, and their Transcended, who could've fought it off, was out of the city for the Opening."
'So the rumors are already spreading,' thought Sera.
Copen was one of the closest cities to Newber, so the panic is understandable. However, while Copen had only a single Transcended, Newber had multiple and even a Stellar, who could protect the city. A mere Class 3 Gate could never destroy the city.
Still, it filled Sera's heart with sadness. Only a few survivors escaped the destruction. Most of them Evolved. Sera couldn't imagine how awful it must've been, seeing their city collapse before their eyes.
'I wonder when they'll realize that the rumors are true. My mother and the other officials are already preparing for the future panicking citizens.'
As she was eavesdropping on the conversation, Sera saw that Mrs. June was done with the order.
She went back to the counter and picked up the hefty pack. She quickly paid, said goodbye and continued heading home.
Sera tried to hold back her urges, but she lost that fight fairly fast, and soon she continued walking while munching on a glazed doughnut.
While chewing on the sugary pastry, she glanced around the busy cityscape with a wide smile.
'Today was a beautiful day indeed,' she thought and tried to walk, but she immediately bumped into another pedestrian.
Sera wanted to apologize when she noticed everyone stopping dead in their tracks. In the next moment, the entire city started shaking, and the building next to Sera disintegrated.