Dark Soul Empire

The eerie and twisted sky appeared even more terrifying at this moment.Gray was the dominant color in this world—the towering gray buildings, the gray alloyed ground, the gray vehicles, the gray sky, and the three enormous gray spheres hanging in the sky.A once-dead metallic world.This must be a ruin, I thought. But unlike the typical ruins in my mind, everything here showed no signs of destruction. At least on the surface, the cold steel had no trace of damage. They didn't seem abandoned due to severe destruction but rather as if they had entered a dormant state—sleeping behemoths. This was the term I thought most fitting.The silence in this dormant world was so profound that the only sound was the echo of my own footsteps. After walking for an uncertain amount of time, I grew weary and found a place that seemed to be a platform for some kind of flying vehicle. I sat down.As I had some time before leaving, I began to gaze again at the three immense metal spheres in the sky. They were so massive that they almost occupied a third of the sky. On their surface, I could vaguely make out sharp protrusions and grid-like patterns, giving the impression of a gigantic planetary fortress, akin to something out of a sci-fi movie—honestly, everything in this world seemed more sci-fi than anything I'd ever seen on screen.Bored, I continued to stare at the massive metal spheres until the pressure they radiated forced me to look away.I felt as though they had drawn closer to the ground.In fact, they were indeed getting closer. When I first arrived here, they were mere small black dots hanging high in the sky, but each time I entered this world, they would move closer, sometimes by a lot, other times by just a slight, almost imperceptible shift. But I knew they were steadily descending, perhaps one day they might touch the ground. Would this world change then? I found myself oddly anticipating that moment.Suddenly, a voice rang out across the sky, breaking the silence. The entire world began to shake violently—time to leave.※※※Ding ding ding...The shrill sound of an alarm clock pulled me from a deep slumber. I struggled to open my eyes, shaking my head, trying to clear the fog in my mind. It took a while for my vision to stabilize, and even longer to fully awaken from the bizarre dream I had spent the entire night immersed in.A strange dream...I didn't know when it started, but I had been having this same odd dream—walking alone in a silent metallic world, surrounded by a future-like landscape. The desolation of the apocalypse was the dominant tone of this world. Despite the oppressive atmosphere around me, I never felt panic in the dream, as if everything was already a familiar scene. Every time the dream ended, a voice would echo, expressing a sense of disappointment: "Still not found..."The whole experience felt like a poorly constructed, never-ending riddle, where the disconnected fragments made no sense. Even now, I couldn't figure out the meaning of that dream.What was that voice searching for? Or was it hoping that I would search for something?Unfortunately, the answer was never found in the dream.This was a secret I had never shared with anyone. Although I didn't understand the dream's meaning, I had an instinctive feeling that it carried unusual significance. I feared that revealing it would bring about great trouble."Monday already..." I mumbled, reluctantly crawling out from under the warm covers. The early winter air made me shiver, but I resisted the pull of the cozy bed. If I didn't hurry, I would be late for class.I am CJ, a senior in high school. Orphaned at a young age, I was adopted by a couple of merchants. After they passed away, I had only my older sister—five years my senior and unrelated by blood—to rely on. Life was as bland as a glass of plain water. The only solace was that my sister and I inherited a considerable fortune from our adoptive parents, so we were more fortunate than many orphans. My sister, who had been managing the family business since a young age, was kind to me, and at least I could feel warmth in our home.While still reflecting on the strange dream, I heard my sister's voice from outside the door: "CJ, are you up? Time's running out!""Coming right out!" I called back, quickly dressing and opening the door to find my sister, Erin, standing there. She was a beautiful girl with long hair—seemingly fragile, yet remarkably strong. Though only five years older than me, she gave off a warmth that always made me feel at home."Is something on my face, CJ?" she blushed slightly, a little flustered by my gaze."No, it's nothing. Just lost in thought... I'm off to school!""Hey—wait, you haven't had breakfast!""Can't afford the time, I'm running late!"Canglan Private High School, the renowned elite institution, with its exorbitant fees and top-tier education, stood across the street from my own school. For the wealthy and elite, it was the place to be. It was the very definition of a prestigious school, while my own school, K City's Second High, was the epitome of ordinariness.It couldn't be more different from the lavish Canglan—our school was as common as they come, populated by students who could barely even name the brands of uniforms worn by those at Canglan.I was one of those ordinary students. While my sister and I were comfortable, we were still far from the wealthy elite."CJ!" A familiar voice called from behind.Turning, I saw a petite girl with short hair running towards me.Lina. She was one of my closest friends—a childhood friend who had grown up with me, even sharing childhood baths. After she moved to another area for middle school, we saw each other less, but once we both ended up at this school, it was like picking up right where we left off.In a typical romance story, a childhood friend would likely become a lover, and indeed, we both thought so. But somehow, we remained stuck in a friendship that was more than friends, yet less than lovers. Perhaps it was because we were just too familiar with each other."CJ, what are you thinking about?" Lina asked, waving her hand in front of my face."Oh, I'm just introducing you to my readers..."...That last part can be ignored...Just then, a gathering crowd in the distance caught my attention.