The cold cut the skin like a blade, even under that heavy, dark morning sky. The wind howled through the alley, carrying the acidic smell of rust and gunpowder, mixed with smoke from fires that never stopped burning. Kai Ender walked hunched over, hands stuffed in his worn coat, dodging the debris that lined the street. No one looked at him. Or pretended not to see. His head was down, his step hurried, always trying to be smaller than he already was.
The city of Solarius never slept, but what happened there at night hardly resembled life. The cracked concrete, the buildings covered in blue moss glowing in the corners, and the rusty barricades marked the borders between living and dead zones. There wasn't a single wall without bullet holes or claw marks. On the horizon, makeshift towers of scrap metal tried to watch the shadows dancing beyond the spotlights. Inside them, monsters waited, hungry, patient.
Kai dodged a group of scavengers warming their hands over an improvised fire. They laughed when they saw him walk by, but the laughter died quickly. The deformed iridescent core, that strange glow in his chest, served as a warning to keep your distance. He knew he was different, he had always known. Others might pretend pity, but it didn't take long for them to whisper it was bad luck to cross paths with someone like him.
At every corner, torn posters announced rewards for the strongest, for those who brought pure energy stones. The cities needed them to keep the lights on, the engines running, and to keep away the horror crawling outside. But those with a golden or silver core didn't have to take such risks. They were the elite, owners of the best jobs, the weapons, the medicine, and the food. Kai had only his hands, his stained core, and a sister waiting at home.
The air was heavy, humid, filled with that constant fog that turned everything into a bad dream. Kai climbed a rusty metal ladder and crossed an improvised walkway, looking down, down there, the dead zones swallowed anyone who fell on the wrong side. He remembered his mother's warning before she disappeared: "Watch out for the Nexuses, never go alone." But in practice, Kai never had a choice. Work was rare, even more so for a deformed resonant. And Lina needed medicine, needed to eat. He had no time for fear.
He got home just before dawn. The apartment was a cubicle, peeling walls, the smell of something spoiled, and the sound of Lina's irregular breathing. She slept wrapped in thin blankets, pale skin, sunken eyes. Kai sat next to her and listened to the faulty rhythm of his sister's chest. Every breath was a victory. Every night without a crisis, a miracle.
He grabbed one of the gel bottles from under the bed and turned it over in his hands. There was little left. He looked at the crumpled list of medicines pinned to the fridge with a rusty magnet. The price had gone up again. He took a deep breath, trying not to think about all he couldn't control.
Lina woke up, coughing, her eyes wide.
"Kai? What time is it?" Her voice was low, weak. Kai approached, held his sister's cold hand.
"It's still early. I just wanted to see if you were okay. Go back to sleep."
She gave a sideways smile, trying to look stronger than she was. "I saw you on the street yesterday. It was raining hard."
"Rain cleans the city. Brings luck," he lied. He ran his fingers through her dirty, tangled blond hair.
"I dreamed about the machine," Lina whispered, eyes fixed on the ceiling. "The one from Dad's book, remember? It fell from the sky and…"
Kai swallowed hard. Lina's nightmare was the same that haunted his own mind. The meteorite-machine, that thing that had crashed from space centuries ago, was a living presence for everyone in Solarius. The old books spoke of civilizations that vanished overnight, swallowed by impact and radiation. But no one knew what was truth or legend. They only knew about the horror left behind.
"Don't worry. It was just a dream. You're safe here," he lied again.
Lina closed her eyes, but her fingers held her brother's arm tightly.
Kai took advantage of the silence. He prepared a small meal of old rice and nearly expired beans, divided it in two, and left a larger portion for Lina. He didn't touch his own, his stomach twisted by nerves and lack of money. Then, he washed his face with cold tap water, saving every drop, and checked the gear bag—cheap filter mask, rusty hunting knife, a flashlight with almost no charge, and the energy detector that always failed at the worst times.
On the way to the Union terminal, the streets slowly came to life. Groups of scavengers, drug dealers, Union soldiers, and children who looked like ghosts in the shadows. Nobody trusted anyone. It was everyone for themselves. Those without a strong core had to learn to disappear or accept others' contempt.
At the gate of the Resonants' Union, lines formed early. Men and women in blue uniforms controlled access, turning a blind eye for those who paid bribes. Kai tried to go unnoticed, but soon felt the stares. A supervisor, a resonant with a bright blue core, blocked his way.
"This isn't a place for anomalies. No spot for trash today."
Kai didn't reply. He just kept his gaze down, trying not to tremble. It was always like that.
"Trying to cause trouble, Ender?" The supervisor spat on the ground and walked away.
Kai waited off to the side, waiting for the line to thin out. A woman with an orange core approached, shuffling papers.
"Need people for Nexus sixteen? I have experience," he said, almost whispering.
She looked Kai up and down, her eyes stopping on his chest. "We only take people who have no choice, right?" She signed the paper grudgingly, handed him a temporary scavenger badge. "You have to sign here. If you die in there, don't blame me."
Kai signed. It wasn't his first time.
The walk to the Nexus terminal was tight, dark, smelling of mold and sea air. He passed other scavengers already gathered, most silent, others quietly mocking the new "loser" on the team. One veteran pointed at Kai and called out:
"Look, the weird-core boy is back! Gonna bring us luck?"
The laughter echoed, cutting the tense silence.
Kai kept his posture. He didn't have time to be offended. He knew that to them, he was just another pawn to risk. Fewer people to split the pay.
While he waited for authorization, he remembered Lina and the promise he'd made: "I always come home, no matter what happens." He wasn't sure he could keep it.
The whistle sounded, calling the scavengers for the expedition. The group lined up, walking towards the Nexus portal, a metal arch covered in wires, blinking lights, and ancient symbols painted by hand. Union guards did the final gear check, inspecting every detail.
Kai felt his core vibrate in his chest, a strange chill running through his body. He'd felt that before, always before crossing the portal. As if something inside already knew his name.
The last thing he saw before crossing was the horizon swallowed by fog and blue lights dancing among the ruins. A bad omen, maybe. The kind of sign you learned to ignore.
Inside, the world changed. The air got thick, the walls throbbed lightly under the cold lights. It was like entering the lungs of a living creature, with corridors that breathed, moss dripping from the cracks, and a silence broken only by hurried footsteps and the rustle of invisible creatures. Everything there was hostile. Everything there wanted to survive.
The day's task was simple: collect level-one energy stones, the most common, scattered around the Nexus. Low yield, even higher risk. Kai grabbed his tool and went to the outer areas, far from the center where the stronger resonants searched for more valuable stones. The strange core in his chest glowed faintly, almost off, as if it didn't want to draw attention.
In the distance, he heard muffled explosions. Probably some creature attacking another group. Life inside the Nexus was like that: unpredictable, short, cruel. Time there seemed to stretch, the hours melting in a never-ending limbo.
Kai knelt to pick up a stone, feeling the heat and vibration pulsing through his glove. For a second, he imagined what it would be like to have a golden core, the easy life of the chosen, access to whatever he wanted. But he quickly pushed the thought away. That would never be his.
The radio crackled. "Team 2, return to the evacuation point. Tremors detected. I repeat, tremors detected." It was the expedition leader, his voice tense, almost shouting.
Kai dropped the stone, ran down the corridor, dodging creatures lurking in the shadows. On the way, he heard another crash. The ground shook beneath his feet, dust falling from the ceiling. Someone shouted his name, but he didn't look back.
The group gathered at the evacuation point, all breathless, eyes wide with fear. The leader, sweating, did the head count. "Missing one. Where's the weird-core boy ?"
Kai raised his hand, catching his breath. "Here."
The siren sounded. Doors slammed shut with a bang. The entire Nexus seemed to tremble. In Kai's chest, the iridescent core glowed a bit brighter for an instant, as if it sensed something nobody else could see.