Ashbourne District had become a crossroads for the desperate. Survivors whispered in hushed tones about the factions consolidating power, each claiming territories, each hunting the awakened and humans alike.
Hope moved through the crowded remnants of the marketplace, his twin daggers hidden but always within reach. Rumors reached him:
The Universe was expanding aggressively in the north, absorbing smaller factions with brute force and unmatched power.
Blade was training a new cadre of elite swordsmen, rumored to rival any martial fighter in existence.
Beast controlled entire forests, twisting creatures into loyal killing machines.
Illumination and The Future experimented with combining powers with technology and light.
Whispers also spoke of Pandora, the enigmatic faction whose leader had suddenly announced he would sacrifice himself to create the Pandora Race, leaving his power in a box for a successor.
"He's mad," a scavenger muttered to Hope as he passed. "Who gives up that much? Who would dare challenge the world and give it all to… some outsider?"
Hope's mind calculated. The Pandora Box… Whoever claims it becomes leader. But there will be resistance. Executives won't just accept a random successor.
Indeed, the first signs of discord were already rippling through the faction. Some high-ranking Pandora executives—fierce, calculating, and ambitious—planned to seize the box themselves, fearing that a stranger would command their loyalty.
And someone… is watching. Someone prepared to step into chaos when the opportunity arises, Hope thought, his golden eyes scanning the crowd.
Even now, in the ruins of humanity's collapse, power was the only law.