The Council chamber was one of the few spaces in the underground that felt almost grand. Earth mages had carved it from a natural cavern, shaping the stone into smooth walls that curved upward into a domed ceiling. Runic inscriptions covered every surface, glowing with soft blue light that pulsed like a heartbeat. It was beautiful, in its way—a reminder that even in darkness, their people could create something magnificent.
Tadano had only been here twice before. Once when he was ten and had accidentally collapsed part of a training tunnel. Once when he was thirteen and Vivi had set fire to the food storage area. (She'd sworn it was an accident. The scorch marks suggested otherwise.)
Now, on their sixteenth birthday, they stood before the five Council members seated at their curved stone table. Elder Yuki, the head earth mage whose hands had shaped half the tunnels they called home. Master Renjiro, their sword instructor. Lady Akane, who managed their limited resources. Scholar Hiroshi, keeper of their histories. And Captain Takeshi, leader of what passed for their defense force.
What surprised Tadano was that they were all... smiling.
"Tokito Tadano. Hinoka Vivi." Elder Yuki's weathered face creased with genuine warmth. "Sixteen years old today. The same age your parents were when—"
She stopped, glancing at the other Council members. Something passed between them, some unspoken agreement.
"When what?" Vivi asked immediately, leaning forward. Her eyes gleamed with curiosity and barely contained energy. Tadano could practically feel the heat radiating off her.
Elder Yuki's smile widened. "When they performed a great service for our community. But that's not why we called you here." She folded her hands on the table. "There is something we've been waiting to tell you both. Something about the day you were born. About why you—"
A sharp knock interrupted her.
The heavy stone door swung open, and a young runner burst in, breathing hard. "Council! Urgent message from the eastern patrol!"
Captain Takeshi stood immediately. "What is it?"
The runner hesitated, glancing at the twins. "It's... private, sir."
The warmth drained from the chamber like water from a cracked vessel. The Council members exchanged looks—no longer warm, but tense and worried.
"Tadano. Vivi." Elder Yuki's voice was gentle but firm. "We'll have to continue this conversation another time. Please return to your quarters."
"But you were about to tell us something important," Tadano said, stepping forward. "About our birth. About our parents—"
"Another time," Captain Takeshi cut in, his hand already on his sword hilt. "Go. Now."
Vivi's hands clenched into fists, small embers sparking between her fingers. "You can't just—"
"Vivi." Tadano touched her shoulder, felt the heat of her anger burning through her shirt. "Let's go."
She whirled on him, eyes blazing. "They were about to tell us something! Something about mom and dad! And you're just going to—"
"We're leaving." Tadano kept his voice calm, even as his own frustration churned in his gut. "Now."
For a moment, he thought she might actually fight him. But then she shook off his hand and stormed toward the door, flames trailing from her clenched fists like angry fireflies.
The Council members were already huddled around the messenger, speaking in low, urgent tones as the twins left. Tadano caught fragments—"surface patrol" and "Dark movement" and "can't risk"—before the heavy door swung shut behind them.
The corridor outside was empty. Vivi didn't slow down, her footsteps echoing off stone as she stalked through the tunnels. Tadano followed, knowing better than to try to talk to her when she was like this. When Vivi got angry, it was best to let her burn hot and fast rather than trying to smother the flames.
They were halfway back to their quarters when she suddenly veered left, heading deeper into the tunnel system.
"Vivi, our room is the other way."
"I know where our room is, Tadano." She didn't slow down. "We're not going there."
"Then where are we—"
"Just follow me."
He did, because despite everything—despite her recklessness, her rule-breaking, her absolute refusal to think before acting—he trusted her. They wound through passages that grew narrower and less traveled, past storage chambers and abandoned mining shafts, until finally Vivi stopped before a small door marked with a faded "Restricted" sign.
She pushed it open without hesitation.
"Vivi, we're not supposed to—"
"When has that ever stopped me?" She slipped inside.
Tadano sighed and followed.
The room beyond was small and dusty, filled with old mining equipment and forgotten supplies. A single light-stone provided dim illumination. But what caught Tadano's attention was the wall at the far end—or rather, what Vivi had done to it.
The stone was covered in drawings, notes, and diagrams. Maps of the tunnel system, sketches of the surface entrance, patrol schedules, guard rotations. Supply lists. Dates and times marked in Vivi's messy handwriting. It looked like...
"Is this an escape plan?" Tadano asked quietly.
Vivi turned to face him, and for the first time since the Council meeting, she smiled. Not her usual wild grin, but something softer. More genuine.
"I've been working on it for two years," she said. "Ever since I realized they were never going to let us leave."
Tadano stared at the wall, his mind racing. Two years. She'd been planning this for two years, and she'd never said a word to him.
"The Council would never approve this," he said.
"I know."
"The surface is dangerous. The Darks patrol constantly."
"I know."
"We could die up there."
"I know, Tadano!" She stepped closer, and her eyes were fierce but not angry. Determined. "I know all of that. But I also know that I can't spend the rest of my life hiding in a hole in the ground. I can't live my whole life never seeing the sun. Never feeling real wind. Never—" Her voice cracked slightly. "Never being free."
Tadano looked at his sister—really looked at her. At sixteen, she was already as tall as their mother had been, all lean muscle and barely contained energy. Her amber eyes reflected the dim light-stone glow, making them seem almost to glow from within. She'd spent her entire life underground, breathing recycled air, living in artificial light, training to fight an enemy she'd never seen.
And she was right. This wasn't living. This was just... existing.
"What's the plan?" he asked.
Vivi's face split into the biggest smile he'd ever seen. "Really? You're not going to try to talk me out of it?"
"Would it work if I did?"
"Not even a little bit."
"Then tell me the plan."
She practically bounced over to the wall, pointing at different sections of her notes. "Okay, so the main entrance has two guards at all times, rotating every six hours. But there's a secondary ventilation shaft here—" she tapped a crude map, "—that leads almost to the surface. It's too small for adults, but we can fit."
"Almost to the surface isn't on the surface," Tadano pointed out.
"Right, so we'd have to dig through about two meters of earth and rock. But—" she held up a finger, "—I've been practicing. I can superheat the soil enough to make it brittle, and you can break through with your sword."
"That will make noise."
"Which is why we do it during the shift change at midnight, when the guards are distracted and there's the most chaos at the main entrance." She moved to another section of notes. "We'll need supplies. Food, water, weapons. I've been stashing things here for months." She pointed to a corner where Tadano now noticed several packs hidden under old tarps.
He walked over and opened one. Inside was dried food, water skins, a fire-starting kit, rope, and what looked like a stolen map of the surface region.
"You stole a map from the Council archives," he said flatly.
"Borrowed."
"Vivi."
"Fine, yes, I stole it. Are you going to lecture me or are you going to help me escape?"
Tadano closed the pack and turned to face her. "When?"
"Tonight."
"Tonight?" His voice came out sharper than he intended. "Vivi, that's insane. We need more time to prepare, to—"
"We've been preparing our whole lives, Tadano." She grabbed his shoulders, forcing him to meet her eyes. "Every training session. Every sparring match. Every time Master Renjiro taught us to push past our limits. We're ready. And after what just happened in the Council chamber..." Her grip tightened. "What if whatever that messenger said means they're going to lock down the tunnels? What if they decide it's too dangerous and we lose our chance?"
"You're being paranoid."
"Maybe. Or maybe I'm being smart." She released him and stepped back. "Look, I know this is sudden. I was going to ease you into it, show you the plan over a few weeks, let you get used to the idea. But that meeting changed things. They were about to tell us something important, Tadano. Something about our birth, about our parents. And then they just... shut us out. Again. Like they always do."
She wasn't wrong. Their entire lives had been filled with half-answers and redirected questions whenever they asked about their parents. About the day of the invasion. About why they specifically seemed to be kept even more sheltered than other children their age.
"What if they're trying to protect us?" Tadano asked quietly.
"From what? The truth?" Vivi shook her head. "I'm tired of being protected. I'm tired of being treated like I'm going to break if I know too much. I want answers, Tadano. And I want freedom. And I'm not going to find either of those things down here."
Tadano looked at the wall again, at his sister's meticulous planning, at two years of work and hope and determination scratched into stone. He thought about spending the rest of his life in these tunnels. Growing old in the dark. Dying without ever having lived.
He thought about the stories Elder Yuki told of the surface world. Of forests and oceans and cities that touched the sky. Of a universe so vast that entire galaxies were just specks in the distance. All of it conquered by the Darks, yes. All of it dangerous.
But all of it real.
"Midnight," he said. "We leave at midnight."
Vivi let out a whoop of joy and threw her arms around him, nearly knocking him over. "Yes! Yes yes yes! Oh, this is going to be amazing! We're going to see the stars, Tadano! Actual stars!"
He hugged her back, even as doubt churned in his gut. "This is crazy."
"The best things always are." She pulled back, grinning. "Now come on. We've got six hours to prepare, and I need to show you the ventilation shaft route."
As Vivi launched into an explanation of her escape route, detailing every turn and obstacle, Tadano found himself wondering what Master Renjiro would think. What the Council would do when they discovered them gone. Whether his parents, whoever they had been, would be proud or horrified.
But mostly he wondered what the sky looked like.
Six hours until midnight.
Six hours until they either found freedom or died trying.
Tadano gripped the hilt of his practice sword and decided that, for once in his life, he was going to be as reckless as his sister.
"Alright," he said. "Show me everything."
Vivi's smile could have lit up the entire underground.