In the Kingdom of Neon.
In the Slums, a region dense with crumbling apartment complexes.
An old woman stood barefoot on the cracked stone of a sidewalk, staring at the nearby Advanced Human Evaluation Center where a screen displayed the Kingdom of Neon ascending into the skies.
Her fingers trembled as she leaned on her cane, eyes lifted to the glowing heavens.
For decades, the Slums had stolen everything from her- her husband, her children- all devoured by Leyline Fractures and the nightmares they unleashed.
She remembered the screams, the fires, the nights spent praying for peace that never came. But now, as the Kingdom of Neon rose wrapped in purple and gold light, she wept- not from sorrow, but from a joy so sharp it hurt.
It hadn't come in time for her family. But it had come, so others might live.
She smiled through the pain.
"We're free," she whispered, voice trembling. "They're watching from above... and we've finally risen to meet them."
Her voice was old.
