The sky did not belong to the day.
Clouds gathered low and heavy, pressing down on the world as though they had forgotten how to move. Light struggled through them in thin, fractured strands, touching the earth without warmth, without life. Nothing beneath that sky felt complete. The air carried a strange stillness, like a breath held for too long.
And in that unfinished world, a child wandered.
He had no name.
No memory.
No voice.
His small feet pressed into the dirt with soft, uneven steps. There was no direction in the way he moved, no destination waiting ahead of him. He walked simply because his body continued forward, because stopping had never been taught to him.
Dust clung to his skin. The wind passed him without resistance, brushing against him like it would any other object in its path.
He did not react.
He did not question.
He simply existed.
He stopped.
Not by thought.
By chance.
Two stones lay in front of him.
Small. Rough. Ordinary.
His gaze rested on them longer than anything else in this empty land. Slowly, he lowered himself, knees pressing into the dirt, fingers stretching forward as though drawn by something invisible.
He picked one up.
Then the other.
They felt cold.
Solid.
Real.
He turned them in his hands, watching the faint light scrape across their uneven surfaces.
Then—
He brought them together.
Tap.
The sound was soft. Weak.
Almost nothing.
He blinked.
His head tilted slightly.
Again.
Tap.
This time, his grip changed. The angle shifted.
The sound came clearer.
Not louder. Just… noticed.
Something moved on his face.
A small change.
His lips curved upward.
A smile.
It did not come from thought. It did not come from understanding. It simply formed, quietly, like something deep inside him had recognized the moment before he could.
He tapped the stones again.
Tap. Tap.
No rhythm. No pattern. No reason.
Yet it continued.
His shoulders moved slightly, a silent laugh forming in his chest. Air left him in a breath that should have carried sound, but didn't. Still, the feeling existed.
Pure.
Simple.
Untouched.
He stood again, still holding the stones.
He walked.
And as he walked—
Tap.
The sound followed him.
Time passed.
Or perhaps it didn't.
For him, there was no difference.
The wind slowed.
So slightly it could be ignored.
But not entirely.
The child's steps did not stop, but something in his movement shifted. The stones tapped again, slower now.
Tap…
A pause.
…tap.
His head lifted just a little.
Not in fear.
Not in awareness.
Just… something inside him reacting to something outside him
A figure stood in the distance.
Watching.
Its shape seemed slightly wrong, as though the air around it bent unwillingly. Its eyes were fixed on the child, sharp and calculating.
Near its collarbone, a faint mark glowed.
One star.
A low rank.
But not harmless.
It stepped forward.
Slowly.
"…What are you supposed to be?"
Its voice cut through the stillness.
The child looked at it.
No reaction.
No answer.
The figure moved closer.
"You're alone out here?"
A pause.
"In a place like this?"
Still nothing.
The child lowered his gaze slightly.
Tap.
The stones met again.
The figure stopped.
Its expression tightened.
"…Did you just ignore me?"
It crouched slightly, lowering itself closer.
"I'm speaking to you. Look at me."
The child did.
Calm.
Silent.
Empty.
"…Answer me."
The child's lips parted.
Air moved.
Nothing followed.
He tried again.
A breath escaped.
Still nothing.
The figure stared.
Then slowly straightened.
"…You can't speak."
A quiet realization.
Followed by a shift.
Interest.
Then amusement.
Then something colder.
"How convenient."
It began to circle him.
Measured steps.
Predatory.
"No voice means no call for help."
Another step.
"No call for help means no one comes looking."
Another.
"And no one looking means…"
It stopped in front of him.
"…you don't matter."
The child remained still.
Holding the stones.
His fingers tightened slightly.
Not fear.
Instinct.
The figure leaned closer.
"Do you understand that?"
A pause.
"Or is even that too much for you?"
---
No answer.
---
The figure's patience broke.
It shoved him.
Hard.
The child fell, his small body hitting the ground with a dull impact. Dust rose around him.
The stones slipped from his hands, rolling away.
For a moment—
He didn't move.
Then his hand lifted.
Searching.
Not for balance.
Not for escape.
For the stones.
His fingers brushed the dirt.
Found one.
Closed around it.
"…You're serious."
The figure laughed softly.
"Even now?"
The child pushed himself up slightly.
His other hand searched.
Found the second stone.
He brought them together.
Tap.
The sound was weaker.
Unsteady.
But it existed.
The figure's expression darkened.
"That's what you choose?"
Its voice sharpened.
"You don't cry. You don't run. You don't even understand what's happening… and yet you keep doing that?"
A step closer.
The air grew heavier.
"Then let me make it simple for you."
Energy gathered faintly in its hand.
Sharp.
Controlled.
Enough.
"This world doesn't keep things like you alive."
A pause.
"You are small."
Another.
"You are weak."
Another.
"And weak things—"
The attack moved.
And stopped.
Not blocked.
Not deflected.
Stopped.
The air changed.
Completely.
The figure froze.
Slowly turned.
"…You."
She stood there.
Still.
Calm.
Unshaken.
Her eyes moved once.
From the figure—
To the child.
Then back.
"Step away from him."
Her voice was quiet.
But absolute.
The figure straightened.
A faint smile returned.
"You're protecting this?"
It glanced at the child.
"This broken thing?"
A short laugh.
"You expect me to believe he matters?"
She did not answer immediately.
Then—
"He doesn't need your belief to exist."
Silence.
The figure's expression tightened.
"…We're the same rank."
Its star flickered faintly.
"You don't get to command me."
She didn't move.
"Walk away."
"…Or what?"
It attacked.
Fast.
Direct.
The ground cracked under the impact of their clash.
Dust rose.
Air trembled.
It struck again.
Harder.
Faster.
More force.
She responded.
Every movement precise.
Measured.
Controlled.
She didn't rush.
Didn't waste energy.
She simply… answered.
The figure's attacks grew aggressive.
Less controlled.
More desperate.
"…You're not rank one," it muttered.
No reply.
Another attack.
A mistake.
She stepped forward.
Closed the distance.
Ended it.
Silence.
The body fell.
Still.
She turned.
The child sat on the ground.
Holding the stones.
Tap...
The same small smile.
Unchanged.
She walked toward him.
Knelt.
Looked closely.
Her gaze stopped.
On his chest.
A mark.
Faint.
Sealed.
Hidden.
But real.
Her breath slowed.
"…So it's true."
The clouds above shifted.
Far beyond sight—
Something noticed.
She placed her hand gently on his head.
"From now on…"
A pause.
Soft.
"…your name is Mio."
The child blinked.
The stones rested in his hands.
Far above—
Something turned.
And began to look back.
End chapter 1 ( Part -1)