Chapter 6 — Part 1
A New Direction
We were planning to enroll at Stanford University.
At first, I couldn't even remember the name properly. It felt like one of those distant dreams people talked about but never actually reached. Something too far away, too impossible to touch.
Yet somehow, we made it.
We were accepted.
It was 2024. I was around eighteen years old—maybe a little older. At that point, the exact number didn't matter much anymore. Time had started moving too quickly.
On our first day, Lily and I arrived at the university together in the same car.
The morning air was cool against my skin, carrying the faint scent of freshly cut grass and distant city noise. Students moved across the campus in every direction, their conversations blending into a constant hum of excitement and ambition.
For a moment, I simply stood there and looked around.
This was Stanford.
A place I had only imagined before.
A place where people came to build their futures.
The campus seemed endless. Wide pathways stretched between elegant buildings, while groups of students gathered beneath trees, talking about classes, projects, and dreams.
Everyone looked busy.
Everyone looked determined.
And somehow, for the first time in a long while, I felt like I belonged somewhere.
Lily stood beside me, quietly observing everything.
I glanced at her.
There was excitement in her eyes, but something else too.
Something harder to understand.
Maybe nervousness.
Maybe uncertainty.
Or maybe she was thinking the same thing I was.
We actually made it.
We spent the day exploring the campus together.
We met many people.
Some were friendly.
Some were confident.
Some seemed eager to prove how intelligent they were.
But despite all the introductions, none of them stayed long enough to become real friends.
Faces appeared.
Conversations happened.
Then everyone moved on.
In the end, it was still just Lily and me.
Just like always.
Even here, some boys tried to approach us.
I noticed the way they looked at Lily.
Sometimes they looked at me too.
It wasn't surprising.
We weren't children anymore.
The years had changed us.
But neither of us cared much about attention.
We had spent too much of our lives fighting our own battles to become distracted by things like that.
Our goal had always been clear.
We wanted independence.
We wanted freedom.
Most importantly, we wanted a future that belonged to us.
Life had already taken enough choices away from us.
We weren't going to waste this opportunity.
As the weeks passed, university life settled into a routine.
Classes.
Assignments.
Projects.
Late-night study sessions.
The pressure was higher than anything we had experienced before, but strangely enough, I enjoyed it.
For once, my struggles had a purpose.
I wasn't studying because someone forced me to.
I was studying because I wanted to.
Sometimes Lily and I stayed on campus long after our classes ended, discussing ideas and plans for the future.
Other times we sat together in silence, simply enjoying the rare feeling of peace.
During those moments, it almost felt like life was finally becoming normal.
Almost.
One afternoon, we were sitting beneath a large oak tree near the edge of campus.
The sunlight filtered through the leaves above us, creating shifting patterns across the ground.
For a while, neither of us spoke.
Then Lily suddenly broke the silence.
"My whole family is moving to Micronesia Island."
I blinked.
For a moment, I thought I had heard her wrong.
Moving?
The word felt strangely distant.
Unreal.
Lily had always been there.
Tomorrow.
Next week.
Next month.
I had never really imagined a future where she wasn't.
"Micronesia?" I repeated.
She nodded slowly.
"Yeah."
Her fingers twisted nervously around the edge of her sleeve.
"My father got an opportunity to become president of a country called Aurelia."
Aurelia.
The name meant nothing to me.
I had never heard of it before.
Honestly, it sounded more like something from a story than a real place.
For several seconds, neither of us said anything.
Then I asked the only question that mattered.
"So... you're going too?"
Lily immediately shook her head.
"No."
The answer came so quickly that I almost laughed.
A small smile appeared on her face.
"Don't worry. I'm not going."
Without realizing it, I released a breath I had been holding.
"Good."
The word slipped out before I could stop it.
Lily raised an eyebrow.
"Good?"
I looked away.
"A little."
She laughed softly.
The tension between us eased.
"Honestly, I don't even know if Aurelia is a real country," she admitted. "When my father talked about it, he sounded like he was in a hurry. Like someone was constantly calling him about something."
She paused before shrugging.
"Maybe it's some secret project."
"Or maybe you're being scammed."
That earned me an annoyed look.
"Thanks."
"You're welcome."
For a moment, we both laughed.
It felt nice.
Simple.
Normal.
The conversation drifted toward other topics after that.
Plans.
Projects.
Future goals.
The things we always talked about.
And eventually, the subject of Aurelia faded into the background.
At least for a while.
By the end of 2026, everything seemed to be going perfectly.
Without their parents constantly interfering in their lives, both Lily and I had more freedom than ever before.
We spent most of our time studying, working on projects, and discussing ideas late into the night.
Some evenings we talked about technology.
Other nights we talked about business.
And occasionally, when neither of us felt like thinking, we simply sat together and enjoyed the silence.
For the first time in years, life felt stable.
Maybe things will stay like this.
It was a foolish thought.
Life never stayed the same for long.
One afternoon, while we were walking through a crowded street near the university, Lily's phone suddenly rang.
The moment she looked at the screen, something changed.
Her expression tightened.
The color drained slightly from her face.
A strange feeling settled in my chest.
I didn't know why.
But suddenly, I felt nervous too.
Lily answered the call.
"Hello, Father."
Her voice was calm.
His wasn't.
Even from where I stood, I could tell this wasn't a normal conversation.
The call lasted only a few minutes.
But when it ended, Lily remained silent.
The city continued moving around us.
Cars passed.
People talked.
Traffic lights changed.
Yet somehow everything felt quieter.
I looked at her carefully.
"What happened?"
Lily lowered her phone.
For a moment, she simply stared ahead.
Then she sighed.
"My father wants me to come to Aurelia."
I frowned.
"What?"
"He wants me to study there."
The words sounded unreal.
Aurelia again.
That strange country I had almost forgotten about.
Lily shook her head before I could speak.
"I already refused."
There was frustration in her voice.
Real frustration.
"But?"
She looked away.
"But I don't think I'm going to win this argument."
Silence settled between us.
Her little sister had already been enrolled in a school near Elysium City.
The rest of her family was there.
Everything was slowly pulling her toward Aurelia.
Whether she wanted it or not.
And for the first time, I had the uncomfortable feeling that our lives were about to change.
I watched Lily struggle with the news.
At first, she tried to argue with her father. She tried to find reasons to stay. But with every passing day, I could see the fight inside her slowly fading.
The future we had spent years building together suddenly felt fragile.
Like glass.
One push, and everything could shatter.
After some time, I began noticing things Lily tried hard to hide.
The hesitation in her voice.
The way she stared at nothing while thinking.
The small moments when her smile disappeared before she noticed.
She was hurting.
And so was I.
The problem was that neither of us wanted to admit it.
We had no real friends.
Just each other.
For most people, that probably sounded strange.
Maybe even unhealthy.
But it was the truth.
We had grown up together.
Studied together.
Failed together.
Succeeded together.
Somewhere along the way, we had become each other's constant.
The one person who always remained.
And now that constant was being taken away.
A dull ache settled deep inside my chest.
I wanted to tell her not to go.
I wanted to tell her that Aurelia didn't matter.
That university didn't matter.
That nothing mattered more than staying together.
But I couldn't.
That wouldn't be fair.
So instead, I forced myself to smile.
I reached out and gently squeezed her hand.
"We can still talk, even if you go to Aurelia," I said softly.
My voice sounded calmer than I felt.
"Don't worry. Just promise me something."
Lily looked up.
"What?"
"Tell me everything."
A small smile appeared on my face.
"The city. The people. The food. The university. Everything."
I tightened my grip slightly.
"I want daily reports."
For the first time that day, she laughed.
A real laugh.
Not a forced one.
"Daily reports?"
"Yes."
"That's ridiculous."
"I know."
A faint warmth returned to her expression.
Her eyes shimmered slightly, and I knew she was trying not to cry.
"Fine," she said quietly.
"I promise."
For a moment, neither of us spoke.
We simply sat there beneath the tree.
Listening to the wind.
Holding onto the last pieces of normality.
---
Then the day finally arrived.
The day Lily had to leave.
---
Her father had arranged a private aircraft to bring her to Aurelia.
I accompanied her to Los Angeles International Airport.
The terminal was crowded.
People hurried past us in every direction.
Announcements echoed through the building.
Suitcases rolled across polished floors.
The distant roar of departing aircraft vibrated through the glass walls.
Yet somehow, all of it felt distant.
Muted.
As if the world had been pushed far away.
My attention remained fixed on Lily.
She stood beside me holding a small suitcase.
Trying to look calm.
Trying to look brave.
Failing.
I knew because I was doing the exact same thing.
When our eyes met, neither of us said anything.
We simply stepped forward and hugged each other.
Tightly.
Neither of us wanted to let go.
I felt her arms trembling slightly.
My own hands weren't much steadier.
For several seconds, we just stood there.
Trying to pretend this wasn't happening.
Trying to pretend that in a few minutes she wouldn't disappear behind those gates.
Eventually, we pulled apart.
But neither of us moved away.
Instead, we started talking.
About everything.
And nothing.
Random memories.
Old school stories.
Future plans.
Things we had already discussed a hundred times before.
Anything to delay the inevitable.
Hours seemed to pass in minutes.
Or maybe minutes felt like hours.
I wasn't sure anymore.
All I knew was that I didn't want the conversation to end.
Because once it did, she would leave.
A memory suddenly surfaced in my mind.
The first day we met.
The bullying.
The classrooms.
The endless studying.
The pandemic.
The nights spent talking about impossible dreams.
We had survived all of it together.
And now, for the first time in years, I was being left behind.
The boarding announcement echoed through the terminal.
Both of us froze.
It was time.
Neither of us spoke immediately.
Lily looked down.
Then back at me.
Her eyes glistened.
I swallowed the lump in my throat and forced a smile.
"Take care, Lily."
My voice sounded weaker than I intended.
She nodded.
"You too."
For a moment, she looked as if she wanted to say something else.
Instead, she simply smiled.
"We'll talk every day."
A brief silence followed.
Then she added:
"I promise."
And just like that, she turned and walked toward the gate.
I stood there watching until she disappeared from sight.
Only then did I realize how empty everything suddenly felt.
---
The wait for her call felt endless.
I sat alone in my room, checking my phone every few minutes.
Then every minute.
Then every thirty seconds.
The silence became unbearable.
Why hasn't she called yet?
I checked the flight information again.
According to the schedule, she should have landed already.
So what was taking so long?
I stared at the screen.
Nothing.
No messages.
No missed calls.
No notifications.
The loneliness felt heavier than I expected.
I leaned back in my chair and closed my eyes.
She's fine.
Stop overthinking.
I repeated the words several times.
They didn't help.
I didn't even know what kind of place Aurelia was.
The name still felt unreal.
Like something that belonged in a story instead of the real world.
My thoughts kept drifting back to Lily.
Was she nervous?
Was she scared?
Did she already regret going?
Questions filled my mind endlessly.
Then suddenly—
My phone rang.
I nearly dropped it.
My heart jumped into my throat.
Without even checking the screen, I answered immediately.
"Lily!"
The words exploded out of my mouth.
"How was the flight? Did you land safely? Are you okay?"
A familiar laugh answered me.
Soft.
Gentle.
Relieved.
"Ember."
I immediately relaxed.
"Calm down."
I blinked.
Only then realizing how frantic I sounded.
"Oh."
A smile appeared on her face.
"See?"
"Maybe a little."
"Maybe?"
She laughed again.
The tension in my chest eased almost instantly.
The video call connected fully.
For the first time, I saw Aurelia.
Or at least, I thought I did.
A large city stretched behind her.
Tall buildings.
Bright lights.
Wide roads.
Everything looked clean and modern.
I pointed toward the background.
"Is that Elysium?"
Lily glanced toward the woman standing nearby.
The woman smiled politely before answering.
"No."
She shook her head.
"This is Lonia City."
I frowned.
"Lonia?"
"The second-largest city in Aurelia."
The woman looked toward the skyline.
"It's impressive, but it doesn't compare to Elysium."
I immediately became curious.
There's a city better than this?
The thought felt difficult to imagine.
Meanwhile, Lily continued looking around.
Her fingers nervously played with the edge of her sleeve.
A habit she had whenever she felt uncertain.
Even through the screen, I could tell she was overwhelmed.
Everything was new.
Everything was unfamiliar.
And for the first time, she was truly alone.
A painful feeling settled inside me.
I wanted to be there.
I wanted to experience everything with her.
Just like we always had.
But I couldn't.
My parents would never allow it.
And even if they did, it wouldn't change reality.
For now, there was an entire ocean between us.
So I smiled instead.
And listened carefully as Lily began describing the strange new world she had just entered
Chapter 6 – Part 3
A World Moving Forward
I swallowed hard and forced a small smile.
"You'll be okay," I said softly.
Even through the screen, I could see the uncertainty in Lily's eyes.
"We'll figure this out."
I paused for a moment before adding,
"Together."
The smile she gave me was faint, but it was enough.
After that, we ended the call.
---
Life returned to its routine.
Or at least, it tried to.
I attended university like I always did.
Classes.
Assignments.
Projects.
Exams.
The days passed one after another, yet something felt missing.
I had grown used to seeing Lily almost every day.
Now there was only silence between our calls.
Sometimes I would find myself reaching for my phone without realizing it.
Other times, I would see something interesting on campus and instinctively think:
I should tell Lily about this.
Then I would remember she wasn't there.
The feeling never became easier.
---
Several weeks passed before Lily called again.
This time, something felt different.
The moment her face appeared on the screen, I noticed it.
She looked distracted.
Thoughtful.
As if she had been debating something in her mind before calling.
Before she could say anything, I spoke first.
"Why did it take you so long to call me?"
Lily blinked.
Then she laughed softly.
"You sound angry."
"I am."
"You are not."
"Maybe a little."
That earned me another laugh.
For a brief moment, things felt normal again.
Then her expression changed.
The smile faded.
Something else took its place.
Something uncertain.
"I saw someone today," she said quietly.
I frowned.
"Someone?"
She nodded.
"A man."
I waited for her to continue.
"He came to meet my father."
I immediately relaxed.
"That's all?"
Lily's father was one of the most important people in Aurelia.
People meeting him wasn't unusual.
If anything, it was expected.
But Lily didn't seem convinced.
"No," she said.
"There's something strange about him."
I raised an eyebrow.
"What kind of strange?"
For several seconds, she remained silent.
As if searching for the right words.
Then she finally spoke.
"I don't know how old he is."
I stared at her.
"That's the strange part?"
"No."
Her voice became quieter.
"It's his eyes."
The way she said those words immediately caught my attention.
I leaned slightly closer to the screen.
"What about them?"
Lily swallowed.
For the first time since the call started, I saw genuine fear in her expression.
"His eyes weren't normal."
A chill ran through me.
"What do you mean?"
She looked away briefly before answering.
"Where normal people have white around their eyes..."
Her voice hesitated.
"...he didn't."
I remained silent.
Listening.
"Everything was black."
The image immediately felt wrong in my mind.
Completely wrong.
"Black?"
She nodded slowly.
"Not dark gray."
"Not brown."
"Black."
The fear in her voice deepened.
"As if there was no white at all."
I didn't know what to say.
Even imagining it felt uncomfortable.
Then Lily continued.
"And his irises were red."
My stomach tightened slightly.
"Red?"
"Pure red."
For a moment, neither of us spoke.
The image she described felt impossible.
Like something that belonged in a nightmare rather than reality.
Finally, I broke the silence.
"Is that even possible?"
Lily shook her head.
"I don't know."
Her fingers nervously twisted the edge of her sleeve.
The same habit she always had whenever something bothered her.
"I was scared."
The admission surprised me.
Lily wasn't someone who frightened easily.
But whatever she had seen had clearly left an impression.
"I didn't know what to say."
She looked down briefly.
"Every time he looked at me, it felt like he could see through me."
A strange uneasiness settled in my chest.
Part of me wanted to dismiss the entire story.
Maybe it was a medical condition.
Maybe unusual contact lenses.
Maybe Lily was exaggerating.
Yet something about her expression stopped me from saying any of that.
Instead, I listened.
We talked for a long time after that.
Mostly about ordinary things.
University.
Classes.
Assignments.
But the image of those eyes remained in my mind long after the call ended.
---
Eventually, life in Aurelia began moving forward for Lily.
A few months later, she started preparing for university.
Whenever we talked, she told me about the campus.
The students.
The city.
The differences between Aurelia and the world we grew up in.
I listened carefully to everything.
Partly because I was curious.
Mostly because hearing her voice made the distance feel smaller.
One day, I offered a simple suggestion.
"Try making some friends."
The silence that followed was immediate.
Both of us knew why.
Making friends had never been easy for either of us.
Still, Lily nodded.
"I'll try."
I wasn't sure whether she meant it.
---
A few weeks later, she called again.
This time she looked happier.
Genuinely happier.
The change was obvious.
"What happened?" I asked.
She smiled.
"I made a friend."
For a moment, I simply stared at her.
Then I laughed.
"No way."
"I'm serious."
"What miracle happened?"
Lily rolled her eyes.
"You're rude."
I couldn't help smiling.
"So?"
"What's her name?"
"Aria."
The moment she said the name, I knew she was important.
The way Lily smiled was different.
Softer.
Warmer.
For the next hour, she talked about Aria.
About how kind she was.
How easy she was to talk to.
How comfortable she felt around her.
According to Lily, Aria had long silver hair that reflected light like moonlight.
Her eyes were dark and unusual.
Almost cat-like.
Yet despite her appearance, she was one of the gentlest people Lily had ever met.
Listening to her speak, I felt something strange.
Not jealousy.
Not exactly.
Just...
Distance.
A quiet realization.
Lily was building a life without me.
A new city.
A new university.
New experiences.
And now, a new friend.
I should have felt happy.
Part of me did.
But another part couldn't ignore the ache inside my chest.
She's moving forward.
And I'm still standing here.
The thought lingered longer than I wanted it to.
---
Over time, I began seeing Aria during our video calls.
Only occasionally.
Sometimes she would wave.
Other times she would simply appear in the background before disappearing again.
Lily wasn't exaggerating.
Aria was beautiful.
There was something elegant about her.
Something calm.
Every time I saw her, she seemed strangely different from everyone around her.
Not in a bad way.
Just...
Different.
I couldn't explain it.
---
Then Lily told me something even stranger.
She had become close to the man she had described during our earlier calls.
The man with the unusual eyes.
His name was Jaks.
At first, I didn't think much about it.
People met new people.
That was normal.
Especially after moving to a different country.
But as the months passed, the way Lily talked about him slowly changed.
She spoke about him often.
Sometimes during conversations that had nothing to do with him.
Other times, his name appeared so naturally that it felt like he had become part of her everyday life.
According to Lily, their relationship was similar to that of siblings.
A brother and a sister.
At least, that was how she described it.
Yet every time she talked about him, something felt strange.
Not wrong.
Just difficult to understand.
As if there was something she couldn't properly explain.
Something deeper hidden beneath the surface.
I never mentioned it.
But the feeling remained.
---
After some time, Lily told me she had even visited his house.
That surprised me more than anything else.
The way she described it sounded almost unreal.
The house followed a dark theme.
Black.
Red.
Shadows.
Everything carefully arranged around those colors.
She said Jaks rarely went out.
Most of the time, he stayed inside.
Working.
Thinking.
Existing in his own strange world.
She also mentioned the thorn-shaped chains he wore around his hand.
The unusual clothes.
The atmosphere surrounding him.
Every detail only made him sound more mysterious.
And the more she talked about him, the less I understood.
---
But the strangest thing wasn't Jaks.
It was Lily.
Something about her had started changing.
Not physically.
Emotionally.
The uncertainty she once carried was slowly disappearing.
She seemed more confident.
More comfortable speaking her mind.
More willing to challenge people.
Even her relationship with her parents had improved.
According to Lily, they had started listening to her more.
Taking her opinions seriously.
Respecting her decisions.
It was a small change.
Yet somehow it felt significant.
As if Aurelia itself was changing her.
Or perhaps she was finally becoming the person she had always wanted to be.
I didn't know.
All I knew was that every time we ended a call, the distance between us felt both smaller and larger at the same time.
And with every passing day, Aurelia became less like a place on a map...
And more like the center of a story I hadn't entered yet.
The changes I had noticed in Lily before never truly left my mind.
At first, I told myself I was overthinking.
That I was imagining things.
That moving to a new country, making new friends, and starting a new life would naturally change a person.
But the longer I thought about it, the less convincing those explanations became.
Something felt wrong.
Not obvious.
Not something I could point at and explain.
Just a feeling buried deep inside my chest.
A quiet warning that refused to disappear.
Something isn't right.
I can feel it.
The thought followed me everywhere.
Through lectures.
Through assignments.
Through long nights spent staring at my computer.
No matter how hard I tried to ignore it, the feeling remained.
Eventually, I reached a decision.
I couldn't sit on the other side of the world wondering forever.
If I wanted answers, I had to find them myself.
So I started making plans.
Getting permission from my parents wasn't easy.
Convincing them was even harder.
Money became another problem entirely.
Living in Aurelia—especially near Elysium—wasn't cheap.
For months, I argued, negotiated, and saved every dollar I could.
By the end of 2027, I finally had enough.
I booked my flight.
And for the first time in years, I felt like I was moving toward something instead of waiting for it.
---
The moment I arrived in Aurelia, I went looking for Lily.
Part of me had been afraid.
Afraid that I would find someone completely different.
Afraid that the person I knew would be gone.
But when I finally saw her, all those fears disappeared.
She smiled the moment she recognized me.
The same smile.
The same Lily.
For the first time in a long while, I felt myself relax.
Maybe everything would be okay after all.
The following weeks passed quickly.
We spent countless hours together.
Talking.
Laughing.
Exploring places around the city.
Catching up on all the moments we had missed while living apart.
Sometimes it felt as though no time had passed at all.
Other times, it felt like we had both become entirely different people.
Life had moved forward while we weren't looking.
---
It was during that time that I finally met Aria in person.
For years, I had only seen her through a phone screen.
The real Aria somehow felt different.
More real.
More human.
And somehow even more beautiful.
Her silver hair reflected light softly whenever she moved.
Her dark eyes carried a quiet mystery that was difficult to explain.
Yet despite her unusual appearance, being around her felt strangely comfortable.
Natural.
There was a warmth in the way she spoke.
A kindness that never felt forced.
For the first time, I truly understood why Lily trusted her.
And why she had become such an important part of Lily's life.
The more time I spent with Aria, the more convinced I became that she was exactly the kind of friend Lily needed.
---
I still wanted to meet Jaks.
The mysterious person Lily talked about so often.
The man with the strange eyes.
The person who seemed connected to so many of the changes happening around her.
Part of me hoped meeting him would finally answer some of my questions.
Unfortunately, nothing came from it.
Not that day.
Not that week.
And eventually, life became busy enough that I stopped actively searching for an opportunity.
At least for a while.
---
Before long, I enrolled at the same university as Lily and Aria.
That alone felt strange.
I had arrived nearly a year later, yet somehow we ended up attending many of the same classes.
At first, I assumed it was coincidence.
Then I stopped trying to understand it.
The university itself was unlike any school I had attended before.
One rule stood out immediately.
Family names weren't used.
Only first names mattered.
No one explained why.
Everyone simply accepted it.
Like it was completely normal.
Maybe it was.
Or maybe Aurelia just had different priorities.
---
During my time there, I kept hearing the same name.
Asad.
At first, it appeared only occasionally.
A passing comment.
A random conversation.
A story told by older students.
But over time, the name became impossible to ignore.
People spoke about him with an almost unbelievable level of admiration.
Some described him as a genius.
Others described him as perfect.
There were even rumors that he had created EMP and still owned a significant portion of it despite leaving the university.
I remembered seeing his face on large displays throughout the city.
A familiar face.
Yet every time I thought about looking deeper into it, I stopped myself.
That isn't important.
Lily is important.
I hadn't come to Aurelia because of Asad.
I hadn't come because of EMP.
I had come because something felt wrong.
And because I couldn't abandon Lily.
---
Time passed.
Faster than I expected.
I focused on my studies and eventually completed my degree in a single year.
It should have felt like an achievement.
Instead, I felt strangely empty.
Because despite everything I had done, I still didn't have answers.
Nothing had changed.
The questions remained.
The feeling remained.
And the uneasiness inside me refused to disappear.
---
The strangest part was Aria.
She seemed completely unaware of the concerns that kept me awake at night.
Whenever I tried observing her, searching for answers, I found nothing.
She laughed.
Studied.
Worked.
Lived her life normally.
If there was something unusual happening around us, she didn't seem to notice it.
Or perhaps she simply didn't see it the way I did.
Either way, she never gave me a reason to be suspicious of her.
---
Eventually, the three of us drifted away from the rest of university life.
Not intentionally.
It just happened.
Lily and Aria found jobs at a coffee shop.
I searched for work in my own field.
For the first time, I wanted to prove something to myself.
That I could survive independently.
That I could build a future without relying on anyone else.
It took time, but eventually I found a position and started working.
Not long after that, we moved into an apartment together.
The arrangement made sense financially.
And honestly...
It was nice.
For the first time in years, I felt like I belonged somewhere again.
---
Life settled into a routine.
Work.
Home.
Conversations.
Ordinary days.
Everything looked normal.
Everything felt normal.
Yet the feeling inside me never disappeared.
No matter how much time passed.
No matter how many explanations I created.
No matter how peaceful life became.
Something still felt wrong.
A question without an answer.
A shadow I couldn't quite see.
And every time I thought about giving up, the same thought returned.
Something is still wrong.
And one day, I'm going to find out what it is.
Something Wrong in the Air
By the time I left the apartment, it was already dark.
At least, it should have been.
The city was still filled with light.
Towering buildings illuminated the streets below, storefronts glowed with colorful signs, and countless vehicles moved through the roads like streams of flowing stars.
For the first time in a long while, all three of us finally had a free evening.
Lily.
Aria.
And me.
We had been busy with work lately, barely finding time to sit down together.
So I decided to buy something special for dinner.
Normally, we ordered food online.
It was easier.
Faster.
But tonight, I wanted an excuse to walk.
To clear my head.
To enjoy the city a little.
I slipped my phone into my pocket and continued down the familiar streets of Elysium.
The air felt slightly warmer than usual.
Not enough to be uncomfortable.
Just noticeable.
I loosened my collar slightly.
Maybe the weather changed.
The thought didn't seem important.
Aurelia's climate could be strange sometimes.
As I continued walking, a faint smell drifted through the air.
I slowed slightly.
The scent disappeared almost immediately.
I couldn't identify it.
Not smoke.
Not food.
Not rain.
Just... unfamiliar.
I frowned for a moment before continuing.
Strange.
After living in Aurelia for quite some time, I had become familiar with most of the city.
Yet I couldn't remember ever smelling something like that before.
Still, it was so faint that I quickly forgot about it.
The market wasn't far away.
As usual, it was crowded.
People moved between aisles, comparing prices, discussing dinner plans, and filling carts with groceries.
Everything seemed normal.
I picked up fresh vegetables.
Some meat.
A few ingredients Lily liked.
A few snacks Aria secretly enjoyed even though she pretended otherwise.
By the time I finished shopping, my mood had improved considerably.
For a while, life felt ordinary again.
Then I stepped outside.
The warm air hit me immediately.
I paused.
The temperature had definitely increased.
Not dramatically.
But enough that I noticed.
The strange smell returned as well.
This time it lingered longer.
My eyes narrowed slightly.
That's odd.
I reached for my phone.
Curiosity was beginning to win over common sense.
After a few quick searches, I checked the weather.
The temperature displayed on the screen made me blink.
That couldn't be right.
It was far higher than it should have been.
I refreshed the page.
The number didn't change.
For several seconds, I stared at the screen.
Then I laughed quietly to myself.
Maybe the application is broken.
Technology wasn't perfect.
Mistakes happened.
That explanation felt much easier to accept.
While holding my phone, I noticed the time.
It was almost evening closing hours.
Lily and Aria would probably finish work soon.
The thought made me smile.
Maybe I should head back.
Instead, I decided to walk a little longer.
Just a few more minutes.
The city looked beautiful at night.
The further I walked, the stronger the strange smell became.
Not stronger enough to identify.
Just stronger enough to notice.
The air itself felt heavier.
I took a deeper breath.
Immediately regretted it.
A dull burning sensation spread through my chest.
I stopped walking.
Only for a second.
Then continued forward.
Maybe I'm getting sick.
The explanation sounded reasonable enough.
Yet something felt wrong.
Very wrong.
My legs felt heavier than before.
Not tired.
Heavy.
As if something invisible had been added to them.
I looked around.
Several people nearby had slowed their pace as well.
One man loosened his tie while breathing heavily.
A woman leaned against a wall.
Another person sat down on a bench with a confused expression.
Everyone seemed uncomfortable.
Nobody seemed to understand why.
The atmosphere had changed.
I couldn't explain it.
But I could feel it.
The strange smell.
The heat.
The pressure.
All of it was becoming harder to ignore.
Suddenly, a worrying thought crossed my mind.
Lily.
Aria.
If I was feeling this way...
Were they feeling it too?
I immediately pulled out my phone.
Lily's contact appeared on the screen.
I pressed call.
The signal icon flickered.
The call never connected.
I frowned and tried again.
Nothing.
I called Aria next.
The result was exactly the same.
No connection.
A cold feeling settled inside my stomach.
For the first time that night, I stopped thinking about the weather.
Something was wrong.
And whatever it was...
It wasn't only happening to me.
A cold feeling settled deep inside my chest.
Something was wrong.
Not just with me.
With everyone.
I tightened my grip around the grocery bags and forced myself forward.
My legs felt heavier with every step.
Each movement demanded more effort than the last.
Yet I kept walking.
Lily.
The thought repeated endlessly inside my head.
Please answer.
I tried calling her again.
Nothing.
The signal flickered for a brief moment before disappearing completely.
I immediately called Aria.
The result was the same.
No answer.
No connection.
My heart sank.
The atmosphere around me continued changing.
The strange smell lingered in the air.
The temperature kept rising.
Every breath felt hotter than the one before.
The pressure pressing against my body became harder to ignore.
It felt as if the entire city had suddenly become heavier.
Not physically.
Just enough to make every movement exhausting.
I looked around.
People were stopping.
Some sat on nearby benches.
Others leaned against walls.
A few collapsed where they stood.
Yet surprisingly, nobody panicked.
Most looked confused rather than afraid.
They checked their phones.
Looked around.
Tried to understand what was happening.
Just like me.
I took another step.
Then another.
The burning sensation inside my chest intensified.
My lungs felt raw.
Every breath seemed to steal more energy than it gave back.
A sharp pain spread behind my eyes.
My head felt strangely heavy.
Thinking became difficult.
As though something inside my mind was fighting against an invisible pressure.
I swallowed hard.
Even that simple action felt exhausting.
The city no longer felt familiar.
The bright streets of Elysium suddenly seemed distant.
Unreal.
The strange smell.
The heat.
The pressure.
Everything felt wrong.
For a brief moment, I wondered if I was dreaming.
Then my legs finally gave out.
I stumbled.
The grocery bags slipped from my hands.
Vegetables scattered across the pavement.
A moment later, I collapsed beside them.
The impact wasn't painful.
At least, not at first.
I simply didn't have enough strength left to care.
The ground beneath me felt strangely warm.
Almost hot.
I rolled slightly onto my side and struggled to push myself back up.
Nothing happened.
My body refused to listen.
Around me, countless others lay on the streets as well.
Some were unconscious.
Some were still moving.
A few desperately held onto nearby railings, signs, or walls as if refusing to surrender.
Vehicles had stopped throughout the road.
Many drivers had pulled over safely.
Others hadn't been fast enough.
The city was slowly grinding to a halt.
A faint trembling passed through the ground.
I frowned.
At least, I tried to.
My vision had become blurry.
The edges of the world seemed distant and unfocused.
I blinked several times.
The effort alone felt exhausting.
The trembling came again.
Stronger this time.
Then—
THUMP.
A heavy impact echoed somewhere nearby.
My eyes forced themselves open.
For a brief moment, I saw something crash onto the pavement not far from me.
Glass.
A massive shard of glass.
It had fallen from somewhere above.
My body reacted instinctively.
I tried to move.
Tried to crawl away.
Tried to do anything.
Nothing happened.
I was too weak.
Far too weak.
My eyes slowly closed again.
The sounds continued.
Glass shattering.
Metal groaning.
People screaming.
Somewhere nearby, something large collapsed.
The noise sent a chill through my entire body.
I wanted to look.
Wanted to understand what was happening.
But my thoughts kept slipping away.
The world felt distant.
My lungs burned.
My heart pounded wildly inside my chest.
The heat from the pavement seeped through my clothes.
Everything hurt.
Everything felt wrong.
Time lost meaning.
Seconds.
Minutes.
I couldn't tell the difference anymore.
Then suddenly—
Pain.
A sharp, unbearable pain exploded through my body.
My eyes snapped open.
For one terrible moment, I couldn't even breathe.
It felt as though something sharp had torn into my abdomen.
The pain spread through my entire body like fire.
My fingers twitched weakly against the pavement.
I wanted to scream.
No sound came out.
Warmth slowly spread beneath me.
I didn't need to look to understand what it was.
Blood.
The realization barely registered.
My thoughts were fading too quickly.
The sounds around me became distant.
Muffled.
As though I were sinking beneath deep water.
Glass continued breaking somewhere above.
Buildings groaned.
People screamed.
Yet all of it felt farther away with every passing second.
Then, through the chaos, I heard something else.
Footsteps.
Faint.
Unsteady.
Approaching.
At first, I thought I had imagined them.
But they came closer.
Step.
Step.
Step.
Somewhere beyond the noise and confusion, I thought I heard a voice.
Familiar.
Desperate.
Calling my name.
I tried to focus.
Tried to listen.
Tried to answer.
But I couldn't.
Everything was becoming dark.
The voice called again.
Closer this time.
Then the darkness finally swallowed everything.
---
End of Chapter 6