Yuta was an intelligent and kind-hearted young man, tall, with black hair that cascaded over his shoulders. He carried the entire resistance on his shoulders, believing that the humans in the Lower Dimension deserved a better life, and that ambition should not be buried in darkness. With his friend Tairo, years of building and preparation passed until he was twenty-five years old. He led hundreds of armed followers towards the Upper Ladders, chanting in the pitch-black night, their voices a mixture of inaudible yet deafening whispers: "To the top! To freedom!"
Their footsteps trembled on the cold iron. But what seemed strange was that the advanced Automatons, which always guarded the Upper Dimension, were nowhere to be seen. There was no barrier, no resistance. Only a heavy silence that made their hearts pound with anxiety.
Then the catastrophe happened.
From small gaps in the ceiling,fiery openings unleashed a hail of bullets upon the crowd. The bodies of the resistance fighters fell by the dozens, screams of pain echoed in the metallic void, and blood flowed down the steps. Only a few survived… As for Yuta and Tairo, they stood stunned: the bullets hadn't touched them.
Yuta turned to look for his friend, but Tairo had disappeared. His heart clenched. Seconds later, the ceiling opened a circular hatch, and ten massive Automatons descended from it, their metallic bodies reflecting the glare of lights. They didn't hesitate; they attacked Yuta, but they didn't fire lethal shots. Instead, rubber bullets rained down on him until he lost consciousness.
When he opened his eyes, he was shackled to a metal chair in a dark room. In front of him, a giant screen displayed images of the Upper Dimension: green life, laughing children, families walking in blue gardens, pure rivers. Everything he had dreamed of was before him, yet untouchable. He clenched his fist and struck the chair until blood flowed from his shackled wrists.
And suddenly, the screen went dark.
The door opened,and three people entered. The first was Tairo, flanked by two men carrying gleaming torture tools.
Yuta gasped in shock, the sound of his heart drowning out his breath.
–"You betrayed me…", he said in a hoarse voice.
Tairo smiled mockingly and took a step closer:
–"Do you expect me to betray Heaven for the sake of hell's inhabitants?"
Yuta screamed:
–"How long have you been lying to me?"
Tairo replied with deadly calm:
–"From the very beginning. This is my job. No hard feelings, my friend… or perhaps I should call you Mouse. From today, that is your name. Because you will never be the same again. And now… I leave you with my friends to acquaint yourself with the consequences."
The name Mouse fell on Yuta's ears like a stab wound, as if his old identity had been killed in that moment.
The days of hell began.
He was tied every day to a cold iron bed,tools were plunged into his body, leaving scars on his chest and back, while the inhabitants of the Upper Dimension watched his image on screens. It wasn't just torture, but public humiliation: "This is how those who dream of crossing the border die."
His body became a map of scars. And on his neck, an iron-branded tattoo in the shape of a rat was carved, making him a symbol of shame. On the last day of his torment, they gouged out his left eye, and blood streamed down his face. A moment later, his hair began to gradually turn white, as if childhood itself had withdrawn from his soul.
When he was finally released, Yuta no longer existed.
He returned to the Lower Dimension asMouse. He saw in his dreams nothing but his former naivety. He had been childish, dreamy, thinking he could save a people who didn't even know how to save themselves.
So he decided to change.
He decided to be selfish.To play the games of the elite, no matter the cost, because survival alone was the truth.
He spent four years training, learning from the filthy world, arming himself with cunning. And when the time came to select players, he stepped forward without hesitation.
He introduced himself by the name: Mouse.
A tall young man,white hair covering his neck, one dark brown eye, the left one missing. His body was full of scars, each scar a story of betrayal and struggle.
Strangely, the elite accepted him. He didn't expect to be accepted, especially since he was considered a 'rat'.
But Yuta…or rather, Mouse… was an exception.