Chapter 1 — The Boy Fate Forgot
Rain hammered the city like it was trying to drown it.
Neon lights flickered across flooded streets while towering skyscrapers disappeared into black clouds above. The lower districts of New Carthage smelled of rust, smoke, oil, and desperation — the kind of place where people stopped dreaming before they turned fifteen.
Jeyson Kandhor walked through it alone.
Hands in his hoodie pockets. Head lowered. Bruises hidden beneath fingerless gloves and wet sleeves.
Nobody looked at him twice.
That was normal.
People learned early in District Nine not to notice suffering unless it entertained them.
A police drone buzzed overhead, scanning civilians with cold blue lights.
"Curfew begins in one hour. Unauthorized movement will be punished."
Nobody reacted.
Not the addicts slumped beside alleyways. Not the children sleeping beneath broken vending machines. Not the corpse covered with cardboard near the train stairs.
This city was alive.
But only technically.
Jeyson stepped over a puddle and stopped outside a convenience store glowing red beneath a cracked sign.
Inside, a television played footage of heroes.
The Sentinels.
Humanity's protectors.
The screen showed them standing over the body of a massive biomechanical creature while reporters praised them like gods.
"Another victory for Sentinel Division Zero—"
Jeyson looked away before the broadcast finished.
He hated them.
Not because they were powerful.
Because they pretended the world was fixed.
They saved the rich districts. Protected the upper towers. Stopped disasters where cameras could see them.
Meanwhile people like him starved quietly in the dark.
The automatic store door opened.
"Hey."
Jeyson froze.
Three boys stood outside beneath the rain.
Local gang trash.
Too weak to survive honestly. Too cruel to die early.
The tallest cracked his knuckles.
"You got our money?"
Jeyson sighed softly.
"I told you already. I don't have it."
The second boy laughed.
"That's crazy because interest went up."
Jeyson tried walking past them.
The punch hit him across the jaw instantly.
Pain exploded through his skull as he slammed into the store window hard enough to crack it.
Nobody inside reacted.
The cashier kept scrolling his phone.
A woman grabbing noodles looked away.
Normal.
Jeyson wiped blood from his lip slowly.
The tallest grabbed his hoodie.
"You think you're better than us because you read books and stay quiet?"
Another punch.
Then another.
Jeyson hit the wet pavement.
Boots slammed into his ribs.
His stomach.
His spine.
He curled instinctively, rain mixing with blood while laughter echoed above him.
Something inside him cracked.
Not a bone.
Something deeper.
A lifetime of swallowing pain. Of being powerless. Of surviving instead of living.
The leader crouched beside him.
"You know what your problem is, Jeyson?"
He grabbed his hair and forced his face upward.
"You were born wrong."
Then headlights flooded the street.
A massive black vehicle rolled to a stop nearby.
The boys immediately backed away.
Even gang idiots recognized government armor.
The vehicle doors opened.
White armored figures stepped out.
Sentinels.
Real ones.
The crowd suddenly cared.
Phones came out. People stared.
Hope appeared like magic.
Jeyson stayed on the ground.
One Sentinel approached the gang members.
"You three. Leave."
That was it.
No arrests. No punishment. No justice.
Because heroes didn't care about people like Jeyson.
The gang scattered immediately.
Another Sentinel walked toward him.
A woman.
Tall. Cold. Mechanical eyes glowing faintly blue beneath her helmet.
She looked down at him like she was scanning garbage.
"Injury assessment complete," she said emotionlessly. "Non-fatal."
Jeyson laughed bitterly despite the blood in his mouth.
"Thanks."
She ignored the sarcasm.
Then suddenly—
Every light in the district died.
The city went black.
People panicked instantly.
The air changed.
The rain stopped mid-fall.
Not slowed.
Stopped.
Frozen droplets hung motionless in the air.
Everyone stared upward.
Something was in the sky.
Something enormous.
The clouds twisted violently around a spiral of silver lightning, forming a massive glowing circle directly above District Nine.
Every Sentinel immediately went on alert.
"Unknown energy signature detected."
"This isn't human."
"All units prepare for impact—"
The voice never finished.
Because the sky split open.
And lightning came down.
Straight toward Jeyson.