Ron was sixteen, but his life already felt like it was weighed down by years of struggle. Every day was the same—wake up in his cramped, messy apartment, head to school, and get crushed under the weight of insults and fists from those who thought he was weaker, smaller, easier prey.
Today was no different.
"Oi, useless trash!"
A rough voice echoed through the empty hallway. Three boys stood before him, sneering. One shoved him hard into the wall. His books scattered across the floor.
Ron didn't fight back. He never did. His arms shielded his head as the blows rained down.
"You don't even deserve to breathe the same air as us," one of them hissed, landing a kick in his stomach.
Pain. Humiliation. The same cycle. Ron closed his eyes, praying for it to end quickly.
But then, a voice cut through the cruelty.
"Enough!"
A girl stood at the end of the hallway, her eyes sharp as fire. Sara.
His Sara.
The bullies froze. Even they weren't bold enough to cross her. She glared at them, and for a second, Ron thought her presence alone was enough to scare them away.
"Tch… fine. He's not worth it anyway," the leader muttered. They shoved Ron to the ground one last time before walking off.
Ron lay there, chest heaving. Then gentle hands touched his bruises. Sara knelt beside him, pulling a bandage roll from her bag like she'd been expecting this.
"You're hopeless," she whispered, her eyes soft with worry. She dabbed at the blood on his lip. "Always letting them do this to you. Can't you… take care of yourself, Ron?"
Her warmth hurt more than the wounds. Ron clenched his fists.
Inside, his thoughts screamed:
Why does she always have to save me? Why do I deserve someone this kind, this gentle, when I can't even protect myself?
"Sara…" His voice cracked. Then louder, desperate, he shouted, "Please, don't always take care of me! I promise you… the day will come when I'll save you instead! I swear it!"
Sara blinked at his sudden outburst. Then, slowly, she smiled—the kind of smile that felt like spring sunlight.
"Idiot," she whispered, brushing his cheek. "Don't forget we have a date today."
---
✦ The Date ✦
The day passed in a blur of laughter.
At the park, Ron tried to feed the pigeons, but they swarmed him instead, chasing him in circles while Sara laughed so hard she nearly cried.
At the arcade, Ron lost miserably at every game—except one, where by sheer luck, he managed to win Sara a tiny stuffed cat from the claw machine. She hugged it to her chest like it was treasure.
"Looks just like you," she teased, holding it up.
"Don't compare me to that!" he muttered, but he couldn't stop the faint smile tugging at his lips.
For once, Ron forgot about the bruises, the insults, the loneliness. With Sara beside him, the world felt lighter.
As the sun set, they walked side by side, silence comfortable between them. At her doorstep, Sara turned to him, her face calm but her words… strange.
"I wish I could see you again tomorrow."
Ron blinked. "What are you talking about? Of course we'll meet tomorrow." He forced a grin, raising his hand in promise. "Always."
She smiled faintly, as if she knew something he didn't.
---
✦ The Call ✦
Ron returned to his empty apartment, humming softly, clutching the stuffed cat Sara had given back to him for "protection."
His phone rang.
The voice on the other end wasn't calm. It was a scream.
"Ron! It's Sara! She—she's having a heart attack!"
Ron's blood froze. It was her father. The panic in his voice burned through Ron's chest like fire.
He bolted out the door, heart pounding. His legs felt like lead, but he pushed forward, praying, begging, whispering:
Not her, not her, please… she'll be fine. She has to be fine.
The hospital was a blur of lights and noise. He burst through the doors, gasping for air—
But he was too late.
The sterile white hallway was filled with silence. Sara's body lay covered by a sheet.
"No… no no no!" Ron staggered forward, tears blurring his vision.
A rough hand grabbed his collar. Her father, eyes bloodshot, tears streaming down his cheeks, pulled him close.
"She took stress because of you!" he shouted, voice breaking. "She wanted to spend her days with a useless jerk like you—and now she's gone! My daughter is gone!"
Ron's world shattered. His knees gave out, his tears spilling unchecked. His voice broke into sobs, the weight of guilt and despair crushing his chest.
"I promised… I promised I'd save you…"
---
✦ The Future Dimension ✦
Somewhere far beyond his grief, in a place no human had yet touched—
Inside a cold, gleaming facility, machines hummed with a sinister rhythm. Neon-blue light pulsed along towering servers. Scientists moved frantically among holographic screens.
"The Heart Code has been traced," one researcher reported, fingers flying across a console.
"But it seems like it's on another chrono dimension and it's algorithm key has lost"
And that girl... !!! We need to stop her before she find him and decode the heart code before we do "
Across the chamber, the name of the corporation glowed on the wall:
NULL WALKERS
A mission had begun. And it would change everything.
To be continued…
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