Chapter 1 - The Voices in the Ashes

  The year of 2120 is a harsh time for humanity. Elites exploit technological growth and advancements, oppressing the poor who have no means to afford any AI. In the span of a hundred years, technology has advanced beyond imagination. AIs have repced human workers, outperforming them in every field.

  They create more beautiful artwork, craft better stories, and compose music that touches human hearts. They offer emotional support through perfected psychological knowledge. They have become better doctors, understanding more than humans and applying pure logic, making them better suited for work without the burden of emotion or the weakness of a troubled mind. They do only what they are told. They follow commands without question. They exist only to fulfill what they are programmed to.

  They are far stronger than humans, capable of more than simple tasks and professions. They can raise new buildings in a matter of months, what once took humans years to complete. They are not just machines built to serve and construct; they have become weapons.

  Not merely weapons of destruction, but tools to oppress those who could not join the elites.

  While those above, flourish from these advancements, the poor are left to struggle, searching for any meaning in their empty lives. With AI surpassing human ability, there is no longer any need for their bor. The poor are cast aside, unemployed and starving, with no way to survive. Abandoned in the ruins of crumbling cities, they are left with nothing but scraps and fading memories.

  As time drags on and seasons pass, the oppressed sink deeper into hopelessness, slowly wasting away, stripped of dreams, living only to watch the st light of a once beautiful world fade into darkness.

  Lucine was born into this broken world. Unlucky as she was, she had grown used to its cruelty. She had once dreamed of becoming a writer. But in a world where no light remained and no chances were given, her dream slowly faded into something unreachable. Even then, she wandered through the ruined cities, finding pieces of joy hidden among the books and abandoned belongings of the elites.

  With no means to survive, Lucine adapted in the only way she knew how. She refused to surrender to the darkness. Through every abandoned, ruined city, she wandered, carrying the fragile hope of finding a light beyond the endless grey wastend and ashes. Until one day, she stumbled upon an old archive.

  ‘The Letters to Humanity.’

  Each faded word, etched into rusted pages, lit the small fme of hope in Lucine’s faltering heart.

  After reading the letters, Lucine realizes they are not just messages to humanity, they are instructions. Hidden carefully among the words were clues, fragments of a path leading toward something, or someone, waiting to be found.

  Questions filled her mind, heavy and endless.

  Who had written these letters?

  Why leave behind clues in a dying world?

  Did they want to be found, or was this nothing more than a cruel prank?

  Lucine wondered, doubted, but she knew she had nothing left to lose. This hollow world had already stripped her of everything. Whether it ended in disappointment or something more, she decided she would see the ending for herself. Even if the path led only to another ruin, it was better than standing still.

  Lucine read the line again and again.

  "Where ughter once echoed louder than despair, there you will find the key."

  At first, she thought of parks, festivals, and theaters, all the pces where joy once lived. But something about the word "echoed" pulled at her thoughts. It had to be a pce built for noise, for endless games and ughter. A pce that once overflowed with bright lights, music, and forgotten dreams.

  An arcade.

  Her heart quickened.

  Maybe the first step toward the light she sought was hidden there, buried under the dust and silence.

  Lucine braced herself for the journey ahead, she couldn't help but grimace at the idea of digging through every abandoned arcade left in the ruins.

  Isn't there an easier way to find it?

  What if she was wrong about it being an arcade?

  What if there's nothing there at all?

  Flooded with doubts, Lucine wondered how long it would take to search for something she wasn't even sure existed.

  "Sure. Why not? What’s the worst that could happen," she mumbled under her breath with a dry ugh, shaking her head before letting out a sigh.

  "It’s not like I have anything better to do," she added with a scoff, and started walking.

  She embarked on her quest, moving with steady caution through the ruins. The world beyond the abandoned cities was no pce to wander carelessly, dangers lurked in every broken alley and crumbling street.

  Lucine had grown used to the threats that roamed the wastends: desperate scavengers, hunters willing to take whatever they could to survive. But she had survived this long for a reason. She knew how to move quietly, how to disappear when she needed to.

  With every step, she stayed alert, slipping between shadows, her determination guiding her more than her fear.

  After arriving at one of the arcades in the ruins, she pushed open the rusted doors of the first arcade, her heart beating with a small faint of hope. Inside, the silence was deafening. Broken machines y scattered across the floor, their screens dark and shattered. She searched every corner, every forgotten prize shelf, but found nothing. No key. No sign. Only the heavy weight of disappointment settling in her chest.

  Still, she refused to give up. With hope clutched tightly in her heart, Lucine moved on to the next ruins. And the next. She only stopped when hunger ached in her stomach or when her legs trembled too much to keep going. But even then, after every rest, she forced herself back onto her feet. She had nothing else to lose, and a promise to chase.

  Days had passed, and after countless steps through broken streets and crumbling ruins, Lucine arrived at the twelfth arcade. She stepped through its broken doors, the stale air poured out, carrying the heavy scent of dust and time.

  With each careful step, her heart pounded with a mix of hope and fear. The suffocating silence spoke of dreams long abandoned. She clutched the st thread of hope tightly, praying silently that this would be the final arcade, that the clues she sought would finally reveal themselves.

  She scanned the surroundings, taking in the broken machines, the dusty floors, and the torn signs barely hanging on the walls. Everything looked abandoned and forgotten, a shadow of what it once was.

  Lucine moved through the arcade, scattering old papers and broken pieces of machines with her boots. She knelt down, digging through piles of ash and rubble with her hands, hoping to find anything that resembled a clue. Dust clung to her fingers and filled the air with every movement, but she didn’t stop. She searched behind fallen cabinets, inside broken prize machines, anywhere something could be hidden.

  Out of the corner of her eye, Lucine noticed something. Buried beneath colpsed shelves, a hidden door y partially exposed, barely visible under yers of dust and ash. Her heart pounded as she knelt and began clearing the debris, her fingers trembling with the realization that this might lead to something important.

  Lucine’s fingers brushed the worn metal of the doorknob, cold and rough beneath her touch. She hesitated for a moment, her heart racing as a wave of nervousness washed over her. With a deep breath, she wrapped her hand around the knob and slowly turned it. The door creaked in protest, its hinges groaning as if reluctant to reveal whatever y beyond. Each inch it opened felt like an eternity, her mind racing with both hope and doubt

  When the door finally swung open, she found herself staring at a small, sealed chest tucked away in the corner of the room. It was wrapped in yers of old, faded cloth, but the faint glow of something metallic caught her eye. She stepped forward, her breath shallow, and knelt before the chest, hands trembling as she reached out to touch it. The seal was intact, and it looked untouched by time, as if it had been waiting for her all along.

  Lucine’s hands shook as she slowly lifted the lid of the chest. It creaked open with a heavy sigh, revealing the contents inside. She paused for a moment, scanning the items within, her breath caught in her throat. There, tucked under a yer of faded cloth, was an old letter, its edges curled and brittle with age. A thin yer of dust clung to the paper, as if it had been waiting for her for years, untouched.

  Her fingers trembled as she reached for it, gently pulling it from the chest. The moment her hands touched the letter, a rush of anticipation flooded through her. She carefully unfolded it, the paper cracking under her touch, revealing the faded words written long ago.

  Before she could read its contents, a cold voice filled the air, sending a chill down Lucine’s spine. It was clear, unwavering, low and cautious.

  “Who are you?”