Chapter 2: Scraps and Stars
25 years later...
City: Nova Lumina — The City of Light
Built on sky-platforms above the stars , solar system , Nova Lumina was a beacon of progress — a place where neon dreams floated in the air, and even gravity obeyed man's command.
Skylanes buzzed with flying cars. Holographic ads towered like gods. Artificial moons rotated in perfect rhythm, keeping time with the symphony of civilization.
But even in paradise, shadows existed.
In a crumbling apartment in the Middle Zone — the space between luxury towers and the lower slums — lived two brothers who had once belonged to greatness.
Moon and Kai.
Outcasts of the Alhuwalia Clan.
Forgotten heirs.
---
They never spoke of their past. Not at work. Not at home. To the world, they were just two ordinary nobodies working dead-end jobs.
Moon served tables in a local diner called Stardust Bites, wearing a cracked name tag and hiding the burn scars on his hands with old gloves.
Kai worked in the back kitchen, managing half-broken cookbots and arguing with inventory drones that never listened.
They had only completed Basic-Education Tier 1 — the bare minimum to legally live in Nova Lumina.
But they were alive.
And tonight, they had something to celebrate.
---
> "Shift ends in ten. You coming or what?" Kai asked, wiping grease from his arm as he packed delivery boxes.
> "Yeah, yeah. Don't worry, chef-boy. I'll even let you pick dessert," Moon smirked, tossing his apron aside.
> "It's our birthday, not a honeymoon."
> "Still romantic."
They both laughed — a rare sound these days.
---
The market district glowed like a dream. Neon kanji symbols danced on the glass walls. Robots zipped past with crates of produce. Sky-beasts chained in glass cages growled as vendors yelled in every tongue.
> "Check that out," Moon pointed.
> "Aquatic Beast Meat — from the Shifting Expanse," Kai read. "Planetary class."
A chill ran down both their spines. The Shifting Expanse wasn't just a hunting ground — it was a place of chaos, evolution, and death. A separate dimension where only the strong returned alive.
> "Two pieces," Moon said.
> "That'll burn half our credits."
> "Still worth it."
They bought it. For once, they wanted to taste something beyond survival.
---
But fate wasn't done mocking them.
When they reached their building, they froze.
Their belongings — thrown out. Bags, clothes, datachips... even Moon's childhood gloves — all dumped in the hallway like trash.
Standing above it all was their landlady, Mrs. Talrana, and a heavily tattooed brute beside her with cybernetic arms buzzing faintly.
> "What the hell is this?" Moon asked.
> "Eviction," she replied casually. "Got a better tenant. Pays triple. He also fights in the Blood Arenas."
Kai stepped forward, calm but firm.
> "We paid rent today. You can't just—"
> "I can. I did." She smiled. "Weaklings don't get sympathy in Nova Lumina."
The brute chuckled.
> "Want me to toss 'em out the window?"
Moon stepped up, jaw clenched.
> "Try it."
But Kai grabbed his arm, pulling him back.
> "Not now. Not like this."
Defeated, they gathered what little was left and walked away. No home. No safety. Just the city lights flickering above them, like cold stars.
---
Later, on a bench under a half-broken streetlamp, they sat in silence.
Moon stared at the package of meat in his lap. It felt stupid now — fragile luxury in a world that hated them.
> "So much for birthdays," he muttered.
Kai looked at him.
> "We still have this. And we have each other."
Moon gave a weak smile.
> "You sound like a bad holo-film."
They both looked up at the night sky.
Somewhere beyond those stars… lay the entrance to the Shifting Expanse — a realm of monsters, glory, and secrets. It called to those with nothing to lose.
> "Do you think... Ashok remembers us?" Kai asked quietly.
Moon didn't answer for a while.
Then finally, with a calm he didn't understand, he whispered:
> "No. But he will."
He tightened his fists.
> "We're not weak. We're not nothing. We are... Voidborn."
The word tasted strange — like it didn't belong to him.
Yet it echoed with power.
Like it remembered him, even if he didn't remember it.
---
Somewhere far above, beyond the clouds and planets, the gates to the Shifting Expanse shimmered faintly... waiting.