The Opening of the Gates
Chapter One: June 13th, 2095
Narrated by Nathaniel Anthem
June 13th, 2095, began like every other ordinary lie the world told itself.
The sun rose clean and warm above Solves Central City, reflecting off glass towers and school windows, pretending that nothing was wrong. At school, laughter filled the corridors. Friends argued over trivial things. Teachers complained about deadlines. Somewhere down the hall, someone was being bullied, their pain swallowed by noise and indifference.
It was beautiful.
That should have been the warning.
I remember sitting by the classroom window, watching clouds drift like they had all the time in the universe. I was thinking about nothing important—homework, maybe, or whether Orion would tease me again for being distracted. Olivia sat a few rows ahead of me, focused as always. Seth sat beside the wall, quiet, distant, his eyes unfixed on anything I could see.