Aetheridge was never quiet.
Music leaked out of store doors, neon screens flickered day and night, and giant digital billboards competed for attention above the streets. Bands, tournaments, game highlights — the city didn't just like entertainment. It lived off it.
Raxian walked through it all holding his mom's hand.
He was five, small enough that the crowd felt like a moving wall around him. His hoodie was plain black, sleeves slightly too long. His dark hair kept falling into his eyes, and every few steps he had to blink it away. His golden eyes were bright, always watching something — a passing drone, a glowing storefront, a street performer with a portable speaker blasting a remix from Neon Static.
His mom, Lillian, walked beside him with a grocery bag on her arm and a patient expression she wore almost all the time. She matched her steps to his, weaving gently through the crowd.
They were just another pair in the moving river of people.
Until Raxian stopped.
Not suddenly — just enough that her arm felt the pause.
She looked down first.
Then up.
Across the street, a massive billboard flickered black, then burst into color.
Two figures appeared — one wreathed in bright, fiery light, the other glowing with cool, star-like energy. A ring of light spun between them as music rose, familiar and powerful.
ENTER THE SIGNAL
EGO.uni
Raxian didn't move.
He had seen this trailer before. On his mom's phone. Again and again, sitting cross-legged on the living room floor. But this was different. Bigger. Louder. It felt like the sky itself had opened just for him.
The colors reflected in his eyes.
Lillian followed his gaze and sighed softly with a thoughtful glance.
She already knew.
Raxian slowly looked up at her, hope written all over his face. He didn't even ask right away. He just looked, like maybe if he waited long enough, she'd say yes without him having to.
She brushed a strand of hair from his forehead.
"We can talk to Dad about it," she said gently.
The hope disappeared.
His shoulders sank a little, and he looked back at the billboard just as the ad ended and switched to something else.
He tightened his grip on her hand.
"…Dad will never agree to me playing EGO," he muttered.
Lillian didn't answer.
The city kept moving around them, lights flashing, music playing — and Raxian walked on, already feeling like the world he wanted was just out of reach.