"ATTENTION - applicant 0078, report immediately to the regulation office.
Reason: Theft of property."
As the announcement echoed through the hall, everyone reacted differently. Some were shocked, some confused, some a little afraid, while others seemed excited to see what would happen next.
Ren, a little shocked and confused, glanced at Elara's excited face.
As everyone looked toward the hall entrance, a young boy appeared. His long hair, messy and brownish with dust, hid part of his eyes. In his hand, he held a small ball covered with old signs, a red throbbing gem set in the middle. He looked far from wealthy, quite opposite.
Ren tried to look more closely squeezed a little. Suddenly, a chill ran down his spine. He caught a glimpse of the boy's eyes — dead, with no life, no light in those pale blue irises.
Suddenly, a hand touched Ren's back. It was Elara.
"What's wrong, do you know him?" she asked, a little concerned.
"No! But I've seen him somewhere before," Ren replied, his face afraid, sweat beading on his temple. His eyes were shadowed with thoughts of someone.
Seeing Ren's face, Elara tried to change the mood.
"Ren! You live in the Ariella region, right?"
Ren's expression softened a little, snapping in reality.
"Yes! I live here in Hemsworth."
"Excellent! I'm new in Ariella. Do you know any exciting places?" Her eyes lit up, sparkling with curiosity.
Suddenly, a sound like thunder rumbled through the hall. Ren, startled, realized it wasn't another calamity, but the roaring of a hungry stomach.
He looked at Elara, who stood there embarrassed with flustered cheeks, her stomach growling.
Ren smiled, thinking for a moment.
Suddenly, a place came to mind.
"You want to eat some delicious food? I know a place-a place with food no machine can recreate."
Elara's curiosity grew. She nodded eagerly.
They caught the Lev-Bus from the bus stop after leaving the university, heading toward the broken heart of Ariella.
—————
At a stop near a downtown area called Turo, the Lev-bus hovered down gently. The AI voice echoed, announcing the area:
"Current Area: Downtown Turo, next coming Maro."
Ren and Elara stepped down. Elara looked startled by the crowds of hundreds. Ren smiled at her reaction.
"When I was a child, before this place was fully becomes a tech-hub , my father used to bring me and my brother — hiding from Mom because she would get mad."
He walked down an alley. As Elara followed, the atmosphere shifted. With signs of technology vanishing with each steps.
They approached the broken heart of Ariella: the slums. Elara was shocked, but she was not afraid.
Broken buildings, old technologies, people in torned clothings, children running barefoot on rocky solid concrete — the roads were filled with rotten waste. Hundreds of People lined up for rations standing in the scorching sun for hours, some homeless slept on the cracked roadsides, where weeds grew.
Broken lamp-posts flickered dimly, and crowded apartments hung with laundry. The people looked dead and starving everywhere.
Elara was confused why Ren had brought her here, but she felt a little remorse looking at all.
Ren smiled, not brightly, but with a touch of sadness.
"This isn't the same place it was twelve years ago, until that day arrived. Come on, there's an old Japanese shop."
Understanding the heavyness in his words, Elara said nothing and followed.
They walked through a road untouched by technological advancement. People stared at them with tired, confused eyes.
They reached a small shop with a sign above:
"Tenji Cuisine."
The sign was tilted, some lights didn't work inside flickering dimly, and the glass door was cracked.
Ren opened the door. Inside, a few men sat in the corner eating sushi with soy sauce and wasabi. The place was a little better than outside.
Behind the counter stood a big man with a clean-shaven head, wearing a traditional Japanese sushi kimono.
He smiled gently, rice in hand, making sushi with mesmerizing technique. He looked at Ren, the fine young man in a suit, and greeted him with a strong yet surprised voice.
"Ren! You've gotten much bigger. How is Rigge?"
"still lazy as ever," Ren replied with a big smile.
Tenji, the owner, laughed heartily, then looked at Elara with a smirk and shouted,
"Welcome, young pretty lady! Are you his girlfriend?"
Ren, embarrassed, shout back,
"She's just a classmate, we just met today, you old bald head!"
The man kept laughing.
"You still haven't changed, sharp as ever. Respect your elders, little brat!," he said, feigning offense.
Ren grinned.
"Old man, we're a little hungry. Can you make the special?"
The old man grinned.
"Special! You both won't be able to finish it."
Elara looked confused but full of excitement.
The old man asked them to wait for a minute. He went to the counter, opened a locked drawer, and took out a sky-blue bandana with green splashes. He tied it on his bald head and began making his special sushi: Maguro (Bluefin tuna) spicy roll.
His cooking was nothing like the machines precision. As he cut the tuna smoothly, marinated the rice, the aroma of rice filled the room. Elara watched, mesmerized.
The first plate of sushi arrived, looking delicious. Elara dug in; Ren smiled and joined her. Both were knocked out by the taste — getting jucier with each bite, rice tastier than any they'd had, and a spiciness that kicked in after a moment.
As they finished, a second plate arrived: Maguro nigiri, tuna with traditional rice and wasabi.
The taste was more incredible. Both Ren and Elara's eyes turned red from the spiciness, but the juicy, seasoned tuna and sweet, mild rice with rich wasabi made it otherworldly.
They ate like they'd never eaten before, stuffing their mouths. As the last sushi remained, Ren tried to sneak it with his chopsticks, but Elara grabbed and ate it first.
Ren watched her, thinking of the last sushi's taste. Elara, almost crying from the heat, smiled at him.
After eating, Ren went to the owner, thanking him and offering 50 korp. Elara also expressed her gratitude. As they stepped out, Ren remembered something and turned back.
"Old man, where's the young boy who worked here?"
The old man's smile faded.
"He left almost a week before, to get money. I heard he got into stealing."
Ren was confused.
"Why was he so desperate? Why doesn't he just work downtown or somewhere else?"
The old man looked at Ren and smiled sadly.
"We slum dogs don't have the luxury to match the rich. They don't want a lowly scumbag at their front door-it degrades their reputation."
Ren and Elara both looked remorseful and regretful.
Elara jumped in,
"But why? Why is there such a difference between lives?"
The old man's tone grew serious.
"His name is Nelse Dwen."
"When he first came to me, he was young, just hitting puberty. His blue eyes were full of burden, but he was strong, both in mind and heart."
He pointed to a rundown apartment.
"He lives in that small block, with his mother and five siblings. He's the oldest, and the only one earning. His mother is weak."
Looking at the apartment, his eyes grew wet.
"They all sleep in a small bunker-his mom at the bottom, the others above. Some sleep on an old, foul mattress. Sometimes he slept in my shop".
" But just days ago, his mother died of heart failure. Now, every burden is on his head."
The old man sat down.
"You know, the rent was 60 korp, but to make it lower, he doesn't use electricity-in a world where machines are like another body part. It means living without it is equal to live without your limbs.
"That brings his housing cost to 25 korp a month. Add food and survival expenses, and it's almost 200 korp a month."
He lit a cigarette.
"He barely earns enough. Sometimes he skips meals to save money."
Looking at Ren, he said,
"The Self-Declared Gods, who have the power to change, divided us into five classes."
He pointed to a table, writing names and symbols:
Feoh (wealth) - The rulers, royals, billionaires
Giefu (Gift) -Geniuses, gifted talents
Pynn (Joy) - The rich, businessmen, upper group
Nyd (Need) -The middle class, runners, lower group
Yr (Bow) -The beggars, the forgotten, the slums.
Ren and Elara looked confused-they'd never heard of this.
The old man coughed.
"You young minds are our last hope, to defeat the self-declared gods."
Ren felt a chill, confused; Elara's expression was unreadable at the complexity.
Not knowing what to say, they decide to bid farewell and left as the two suns set and night approached.
As they approached the bus stop upwards in downtown, Ren asked.
"Elara! Where are you from, and where do you live now?"
Elara smiled, covering her thoughts.
"I'm from Feril, and I'm staying in the portable houses at the Outer Boundary."
Upon hearing Ren was shocked.
"FERIL! That's a beautiful, tech-rich place. Why come to Ariella University?"
"Because that's where my dad studied," Elara replied.
Ren, feeling some regret, said softly,
"Oh! That's really good."
A Lev-Bus heading south arrived.
"Looks like your bus is here," Ren said, feeling something he couldn't understand.
"Hm..." Elara replied, the same unknown feeling in her heart.
"See you tomorrow," she said, smiling warmly.
As the bus doors closed and it levitated away, Ren and Elara watched each other until the bus disappeared into the sky.
A little while later, another bus arrived, and Ren board it.
—————
Upon arriving home, tired from all the walking and full from sushi, Ren skipped dinner.
After a warm shower, he lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, lost in thoughts — about the boy who got caught, about Nelse, about WR-1, about the people of the slums.
But in the midst of all these thoughts, one face made him feel something different: Elara.
Elara, also tired, went to sleep without working on her project. In her bed, beside a family photo, she thought about the children in the slums, the university, the old man's words. But in her thoughts, too, Ren's face always appeared.
She looked at her family photo, remembering how she and her dad used to eat like madmen and fight over the last bite.
—————
At the university, a boy was kept in a small room with walls of hard metal. At the front was a wooden door with a black label above it.
The door opened. A man entered, his face blurred by darkness. His voice was sharp and heavy.
"Applicant 0078, Nelse Dwen. Children these days get into theft."
His voice grew heavier.
"How do you know about the potent reactor? Who sent you to steal it?"
The boy, scared but unable to cry, replied,
"I don't know anything else! He was a tall man. He met me in front of a graveyard. He gave me some money and asked me to do a little work."
The man didn't ask more. He turned, whispered something to the guard, and left.
The guard grabbed the boy and struck his neck, making him unconscious. He carried the body out and threw him outside the university.
—————
As night passed and the suns rose above the horizon, both Ren and Elara woke in their bed, getting ready for their first day at Ariella University.
A notification appeared on their bands. Opening it, they saw their university student IDs — a silver card with a metallic blue line at the top, their inauguration photo and details below, and their 'rank' at the bottom.
The email listed compulsory rules to follow. After seen it, they both started to get ready for their first day.
—————
As the Hemsworth's Lev-Bus arrived at the university.
Ren stepped down, wearing —
abrown frilled shirt and matching pants with a polished, classy texture. Over it, he wore a classic blue tie with a metallic sheen, his university ID hanging around his neck. On his feet were blue Jordan-like shoes with a white stripe. On his right hand was a sleek black band, and on his left, a classy watch. His hair looked floppy after a steam wash.
Another Lev-Bus arrived at front of Ren. From which Elara stepped down —
her hair tied in a single strand. She wore a purple t-shirt with a cross-like mecha sign, a long skirt blending with the purple, white sneakers with a blue stripe, and long white socks. On her hand was a white band. She wore her ID as well.
They greeted each other with a "Good morning" and stepped into the university.
In the way of heading to their first class, they saw many students who had early access through special letters or permission.
At the Artificial Magic Sector, they saw a time-chart and a small cylindrical machine with a blue light.In the board written some instruction them to calibrate their bands using the machine kept in front.
Ren and Elara submitted their bands. After a beep, calibration was complete. As they put their bands back on, a notification arrived — a hologram projected their class schedule.
They saw they were in the same classes.
Elara smiled.
"We're in the same class!"
Ren smiled back.
"Yeah."
Looking at the chart
First class: Artificial Magic: Elemental.
As the door to class opened, the journey of something big also started.