THE FOUR SKY
Prologue The Iron Bridge
They call it the Iron Bridge.
A train that runs across the sky, cutting through the smog and rust of the divided world.
It moves every twenty-four hours, day and night, from Zone 4 to Zone 1, carrying the living proof of separation.
Once, the world was whole.
Now, it is divided into four zones and one place that isn't even considered part of the world anymore.
Zone 1: The realm of nobles. The king himself resides here, far above the dirt and the cries of the poor.
Zone 2: For those who live closest to luxury. Servants of nobles, merchants, and officersthe "almost blessed."
Zone 3: The adventurers' district. Mercenaries, bounty hunters, and guardsmen and women who live by their blades and die by their jobs.
Zone 4: The slums. Beggars, orphans, and those abandoned by fortune.
And beneath them all—
the Wasteland, or Zone Zero.
A pit where the unwanted are thrown, forced to fight and survive. A place where law ends and survival begins.
My name is Total.
At least, that's what they call me. I never knew my parents.
Sixteen years old just old enough to dream, and just poor enough to know dreams don't come true here.
In the world of the Four Sky, everyone is ranked.
Not by heart, or strength, or kindness.
By zone.
By power.
By money.
You can't even walk into another zone without a permit.
The only passage between them is the Iron Bridge the moving fortress they call a train.
It runs once a day, guarded by police and machines, and only those with special approval or rank can ride it.
But not everyone obeys the law.
Some people ride it without permission.
And some never return.
The Adventurer Guild
They say adventurers can travel anywhere.
That's why I want to become one.
Not because I want glory but because it's the only way to change something.
There are ranks, of course:
S Rank: Untouchable. You can order police, move between zones freely. Usually nobles, or the King's family.
A Rank: Powerful and respected. Can travel the train walkway and receive royal summons.
B Rank: Escorts and guards. Often stationed between Zone 2 and Zone 3 to control fights or riots.
C Rank: Local enforcers sometimes treated like police. They take odd jobs, from catching thieves to finding lost pets.
D Rank: Errand runners. Housekeepers for nobles. Barely adventurers at all.
E Rank: The broken. The failures. Beaten, sold, or discarded like toys for nobles' amusement.
And me?
I'm not ranked at all because I'm too young to register.
But one day, I'll get there.
One day, I'll rise high enough to destroy the ladder that kept us all crawling.
The Hidden Hand The King's Ponds
In the shadows, there are five people who rule each zone.
They're called the King's Ponds, like pieces on a chessboard.
Everyone believes the King controls them, but the truth… nobody knows.
Even the Wasteland has its own Pond a ruler among the ruins.
Some say they were thrown there as punishment. Others whisper that they chose it.
And above them all, the King plays his game, moving his pieces, controlling the world with invisible strings.
The X Hunters
The police aren't the real enforcers of the law.
Not anymore.
There's another group hidden, unseen called the X Hunters.
Assassins. Spies. Shadows that move beneath the police.
They're the ones who truly keep the Four Sky under control.
They kill, erase, and silence.
Most of Zone 4 knows about them, because we're the ones they hunt when nobody's looking.
The Streets of Zone 4
Zone 4 doesn't sleep.
It screams, it begs, it starves.
Bodies line the corners every morning most of them women, stolen from their homes, used, and thrown away.
So, the boys formed groups to protect their sisters.
We fight with sticks and broken bottles.
Not because we're heroes, but because we have no choice.
Here, the police don't come.
The nobles don't care.
And the sky never changes.
My Dream
They call me foolish.
A dreamer.
A boy who wants to break the walls and make all zones equal.
But I've seen what happens when people try.
They vanish.
The Iron Bridge keeps moving.
The King keeps smiling.
Still… I can't give up.
Because someone has to fight.
Because if we don't no one ever will.
Narrator's Note
Welcome, reader.
This is the Mother Train.
Once you board, there's no getting off.
Follow me, as I tell you the story of a boy with no powers, no magic, and no destiny.
Just will, blood, and a dream to change a world built on money, lies, and fear.
And remember
you don't have to be the bad guy to do good.
But sometimes, to protect what you love,
you'll have to become the villain.