In the Past

  Over the Last Ten Years

  City of Luskrusca – Downtown

  During Late Afternoon

  Young Lulu, only five years old at the time, was about to leave the school where she had earned a scholarship after demonstrating an impressive talent for singing.

  That day's class had been a rehearsal for the school band's choir—what, for her, was the best part of the day after regular academic classes were over.

  Because for her, choir practice was far more fun and exciting than anything else, especially the music lessons alongside her classmates who made up the school band.

  She so clearly loved it—doing it beside her friends, who in turn seemed to be infected by her joyful and playful way of being.

  That music class was held after the regular school hours and was considered an extracurricular activity, taking place once the formal day had ended.

  Lulu would attend it from Monday to Friday, and sometimes even on weekends, when her older brother, Lucian—ten years old—would personally take her to school.

  On those days, he had the chance to witness his little sister singing with joy, smiling, and most of all, having fun.

  Dressed in her white school uniform with black details, she looked so graceful—especially with her long, red hair that made her seem even more beautiful.

  To Lucian's eyes, she was a vision of natural, almost hypnotic beauty—his little sister smiling, glancing at him several times from across the room.

  Sometimes, she'd make faces at him just to tease and play, while he silently watched, smiling back at her from where he stood near her friends.

  They too were laughing and enjoying themselves by her side, while the music echoed with its beautiful melody throughout the room.

  A room filled with finely crafted musical instruments—top quality, expensive, and all handmade in such a unique and refined way.

  Young Lucian, like everyone around his little sister—even if she herself didn't consciously realize it—could feel what she brought into the space.

  It happened so naturally, so effortlessly, whenever she sang during those relaxed yet committed music classes.

  She would smile in a way even more radiant than when she wasn't singing, and her voice, combined with the music echoing through that room,

  had the power to transform the atmosphere—to make it livelier and at the same time lighter, even though what they were doing should have felt hard.

  After all, they were rehearsing for what would be a grand performance before more than two thousand people at the school, with the possibility once again—

  like two years prior—that it would be broadcast across the entire city.

  Back then, the mayor had found the choir's test performance so beautiful that he decided to display it to the whole city

  on several massive holographic screens above the park in the city center, so that everyone could watch—alongside those inside the school.

  The young Lucian and his little sister were not wealthy, but they were able to live a calm and cozy life under the care of their aunt in one of the city's more "humble" neighborhoods.

  Far from the city center, where Lulu's school was located—alongside city hall and the main establishments surrounding the grand park—they led a simple but peaceful life.

  Classes sometimes grew longer every two months, lasting for two continuous weeks, extending from one hour to two.

  During these times, under the attentive guidance of the teachers in the classroom, each student who was part of the school choir trained in a more "focused" manner.

  All of this was in preparation for the school's grand performance, which would be witnessed by all students and their families on the school’s main stage.

  This performance was an annual event, highly renowned throughout the city, as that central school was one of the top three most coveted places to attend and study.

  Being part of this school performance was the greatest dream of young Lulu, who—through her effort and dedication, alongside her classmates and teachers—

  Managed to earn one of the most important roles: being part of the lead trio of singers in the band that would perform before everyone at the school.

  This personal achievement was the greatest not only for young Lulu, but also for the one who had been cheering her on from the "shadows"—her older brother, Lucian.

  So happy and proud to see his little sister achieve, through such dedication, what would be her first personal victory and the fulfillment of her very first dream.

  This opportunity had been a long time coming since the moment her teacher praised her and encouraged her to keep training,

  Ever since she was just three years old, singing for fun and already showing a natural gift for singing.

  But that beautiful future could never be reached, for on that very evening, at the beginning of a quiet, starry night—

  Lucian's life, at just ten years old, would change forever, right after another fencing lesson near his home.

  He was finally about to go pick up his little sister in the city center, where her school was located, so they could walk home together as part of their peaceful routine.

  But beneath the newly fallen night sky over the quiet city, numerous orbs of pure energy began to appear in the sky in a strange manner.

  One by one, after a few moments—eventually numbering in the hundreds—these faintly shimmering orbs began to fall silently to the ground across the city.

  It marked the beginning of what would become the cowardly and surprise attack by the forces of the Inanis faction, who, without warning, chose to focus their assault on the city center.

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  Their reach quickly spread beyond the center and its surrounding areas, in a city that spanned 25,000 square kilometers.

  Lucian, like many others who witnessed the orbs of energy striking the ground and causing structures to explode, saw dozens of people perish in an instant.

  He was among the many thrown backward by the explosions erupting throughout the city—explosions that, in just seconds—

  Turned the peaceful night of Oculi’s second-largest city into one of fire, collapsing structures, and horrifying screams.

  A city once so serene was now under merciless attack—first by orders, and then by the soldiers of Inanis themselves,

  Who had infiltrated the city long before, waiting for this exact day to unleash chaos—an act of vengeance against the peaceful choices made by the leadership of the Reginae faction.

  While faced with chaos, the young Lucian was running—not away from it, as everyone else was doing—but directly into it, even as dust, smoke, and flames clung to his body along his path.

  He wasn't running away from the devastation, but rather toward the very heart of the city—toward the epicenter of the catastrophe—through streets littered with debris and lifeless bodies sprawled across the ground.

  Many of those bodies were either covered or partially buried under the remains of collapsed buildings, the aftermath of the initial explosions caused by the radiant orbs of energy.

  Yet, the young Lucian, though breathless and exhausted, kept running with relentless determination, dodging rubble and ignoring the desperate cries of those trying to convince him to leave the city—to flee, like all the others.

  But his direction was the opposite: he was running straight toward the "eye of the storm," the very nucleus of destruction. He was running to protect what he loved most.

  He was willing—even if it meant losing his life—to try and protect it before he, too, might be forced to flee like everyone else already had.

  Lucian's only desire was to find his little sister, Lulu. And at the exact moment he reached the city's main park that night, in the heart of the chaos, he saw it.

  Most of the park was engulfed in flames and intersected by multicolored beams of light that cut through the darkness, the result of Oculi abilities being unleashed.

  The forces of Reginae and Inanis were clashing there—on the ground and in the sky—wielding their powers in a desperate and violent confrontation.

  And then, Lucian saw, with wide, unbelieving eyes, the silhouette of what once was his sister’s school across the park.

  Now cloaked in flames and clearly destroyed, a large portion of the building had collapsed completely.

  It had evidently been caught in the crossfire of an intense and brutal battle—Reginae soldiers fighting to evacuate civilians, while Inanis forces used those same civilians as openings in their strategy.

  As shields. As bait. They sought to eliminate every last Reginae soldier in that area—those who, moments earlier, had been trying to escort people fleeing through the park in pure desperation.

  Some had managed to escape. Others had taken refuge in nearby buildings, hoping the Reginae could push back the assault and end the chaos that had shattered the city so suddenly.

  And thus, one of the many bloody battles of that first day in Luskrusca’s city center came to a close.

  By the time Lucian arrived at the park—just minutes after the chaos began across the entire city—many Reginae soldiers had already died bravely.

  They perished trying to defend innocent lives, unaware that in doing so, they may have indirectly caused the deaths of many others.

  Their Oculi abilities had destroyed nearby buildings, many of which were thought to be empty—but weren’t.

  Lulu’s school was the one most affected. Several energy blades, shaped by pure essence and hurled during combat, had sliced through the park and into the building.

  These attacks, whether from Reginae or Inanis soldiers, tore through the landscape like glowing lances of destruction.

  And in mere minutes, the park was lost—the Inanis forces claiming a decisive and devastating victory.

  Now, all that remained was ruin—unrecognizable to Lucian’s horrified eyes. That moment marked something irreversible for him.

  It was the moment his world lost its color—suddenly and completely—leaving behind only the red of fire.

  Everything else became shades of black and white. No sign of life remained below—only those still battling in the skies above, their essence blades glowing faintly against the darkness of a night thick with black smoke.

  And then Lucian ran again—this time with every last bit of strength he had.

  Despite the exhaustion, he pressed forward, deeper into the smoke and over the still-burning debris strewn across the ruined park.

  His face was etched with anguish, his eyes spilling silent tears.

  He wished, with everything he had left inside him, that his little sister was still alive somewhere in that wreckage—even if everything around her had been reduced to ash and ruin.

  At last, Lucian reached the remains of the school. He began digging through the rubble, piece by piece, starting with the lighter ones.

  He shouted his sister’s name again and again until his voice grew raw.

  And for nearly six hours he continued, uninterrupted, even as distant explosions echoed throughout the city—evidence of ongoing clashes between Reginae and Inanis elsewhere.

  His hands became bloodied and torn from the sharp edges of debris. His clothes were covered in dust, ash, and the grime of destruction. And then—finally—he found something.

  Among the shattered remains, he saw something that had once belonged to Lulu: her favorite hat. The one she always took to school.

  It was the same hat they had decorated together only a few weeks before, adorning it with cheap but beautiful little crystals.

  They weren’t worth much, but to Lulu, they were treasures—gifts from her brother, each one a symbol of affection.

  She had kept every crystal in a small chest in her room, painted delicately in red with soft pink hues.

  This hat was her most cherished possession—because it was made with the help of the one she loved most: her brother.

  She had planned to wear it for her musical performance—a recital she had been practicing for over several months. A dream that, perhaps, would now never come true.

  The young Lucian, even at only ten years old, held tightly in that moment the beautiful hat, vibrant in its white and red colors.

  Now covered in dust and filth, he began to widen his eyes gradually, more and more, as he heard the once-deafening noise that had shaken the entire city.

  The sounds were becoming increasingly muffled and distant, as if fading away in the face of his obsessive urge to keep digging, advancing with a frantic desperation.

  He removed more and more debris, a growing chill creeping across his skin, while in his heart, a tightening anguish kept building stronger and stronger.

  He no longer seemed to care about the wounds between his fingers or the torn skin on his palms, cut open in several places.

  He hadn’t stopped for even a single minute in the past two hours, until finally, with great effort, he managed to move what seemed to be part of a wall.

  And there, in the black-and-white world that had taken over his vision, he saw a detail in red among the lighter rubble and dust before him.

  It was in that exact moment that he found the body of his little sister—without any visibly grave injuries, right there before his terrified eyes.

  Her body was evidently coated in dust and dirt from the surrounding wreckage, and her long red hair and clothes were just as filthy.

  Tears began to fall uncontrollably from his eyes as he tried to wake her, thinking she was simply asleep, having lost consciousness.

  But she didn’t respond to his shaking, nor to the touch of his hands on her face, or when he clasped her hands tightly, calling out to her with desperate hope.

  Gradually, he began to realize that she was no longer breathing, and that perhaps she had run out of air beneath the rubble.

  And so, she had simply fallen asleep for the last time before he could reach her through the debris, prompting him to embrace her immediately.

  A look of total psychological devastation took over his face, and into the silence of that moment echoed the scream of extreme pain from young Lucian.

  Still holding tightly his dear little sister, now lifeless, he was utterly shattered inside, crying with a suffocating pressure weighing on his heart.

  It became so unbearable and agonizing that he finally understood—her body was colder than any living person’s should ever be.

  After two relentless hours searching the ruins, he had finally reached her, almost five meters deep beneath the rubble.

  As he sobbed, holding her close, he tried to beg her to wake up and stop playing around—as she so often did.

  She had loved to scare him in countless ways, daily, and now all of this around him felt like the worst nightmare imaginable—one he desperately wished wasn’t real.

  And yet, after a few minutes crying, he finally understood: it was real, and his world had died that day beneath the rubble.

  One could see him kneeling before the remains of the school, surrounded by small fires flickering around him in that moment.

  His gaze turned upward, still lovingly cradling his dear little five-year-old sister, Lulu.

  His eyes burned with a searing desire for justice—against both the Reginae faction and the Inanis.

  Then, he cried out her name with a voice so broken, so unbearably wounded—

  A voice that only someone who had lost their most precious "treasure" could ever summon with such painfully raw authenticity.