The Earth was completely in ruins, and people lived in a few round, dome-like cities.
Alec Hartin, 19 years old, was the genius leader who fixed the broken machines in his dome. Everyone relied on him, and he was confident in his talents. His only emotional support was Silas Vane, his best friend since childhood.
But one day, while repairing a crucial life-support machine, Alec fell into a terrible trap. The dome's air leaked, an explosion occurred, and when he came to, he had been cast out a
The Question Blooming on the Star of Ash - The Valley of Selection — The Collapse of Trust and the Will to Protect
The air in the upper sector was heavy and stagnant.
Hartin Alec walked through the dim corridor, following behind Graver Hans. Their footsteps echoed unnaturally loud. Half the lights embedded in the walls were flickering out, casting unreliable shadows that swayed across the floor.
（Silas is here.）
Something cold and hard tightened in his chest.
Hans stopped in front of a heavy metal door at the end of the corridor. He turned, fixing Alec with sharp green eyes.
"He's inside. We're going in."
"Yeah."
Hans held his hand over the authentication panel beside the door. The thick steel door—built with technology from the old era—groaned as it opened.
Light spilled out.
Alec squinted for a moment.
It had once been a conference room. A long table in the center. Old-era maps hung on the walls. But the room was no longer a place for meetings.
In the center, a man sat bound to a chair, his hands restrained behind his back.
Soft brown curls. Deep amber eyes.
It was Vain Silas.
His face was marked with bruises, as though he'd been beaten. Dried blood clung to the corner of his mouth. But his eyes—those hadn't been extinguished. Looking at Alec, they held a faint glimmer of light.
"...You came, Alec."
Silas's voice was hoarse. Even so, his tone was as gentle as it had always been.
Alec didn't answer.
Instead, he looked to the other side of the room.
Vincent Lana stood there.
Black hair shaved close on one side. Narrow gray eyes. The row of piercings along her left ear reflected the cold light. Before her stood three upper-sector technicians, electromagnetic pulse batons in hand, threatening her.
"...You're late."
Lana glanced at Alec. Her voice was as flat as ever. But a faint sheen of sweat traced her cheek.
"What happened?"
"This man infiltrated the upper sector to protect you. The upper brass caught on. That's all."
One of the technicians pointed his baton at Lana.
"Shut up! You're just as guilty! You've been secretly freeing Selection targets!"
Alec's fingers moved unconsciously toward the Orbita Key at his chest.
Blue light leaked through the fabric.
（Don't use it.）
（Not yet.）
Alec slowly lowered his hand.
Hans stepped up beside Alec, his hand resting on the weapon at his hip. He glared at the three technicians with sharp eyes.
"Nobody move. Our business is with those two."
Hans's low voice resonated through the room.
The technicians exchanged glances for a moment. But overwhelmed by Hans's build and the killing intent in the air, they backed off.
"...Tch. Just until the council members arrive. Do what you want till then."
The technicians withdrew to a corner of the room, batons still raised.
Alec walked toward Silas.
His bound best friend. The man he had once trusted above all others. The man who had betrayed him and exiled him from the Dome. And who, in truth, had taken on the role of villain to protect him from the Selection.
"Silas."
"...Your eyes are as steady as ever. I'm relieved."
Silas tried to sit up despite the pain, wincing slightly.
"Can you stand?"
"...That might be a little difficult. I think I've got a broken rib."
Alec moved to untie him. But Silas stopped his hand.
"Wait. Listen to me first."
Silas's eyes looked straight into Alec's.
"I infiltrated the upper sector to protect you. When I learned the Selection system was being activated, I knew I had to be somewhere with the highest authority, or I'd never be able to stop it."
Alec listened in silence.
"That explosion was an exile disguised as an accident. A desperate measure to remove your name from the Selection list. ...I used you. Under the pretense of protecting you, I hurt you."
Silas's voice was trembling.
"I can't imagine how much you suffered out in the wasteland. But it was the only way. Your technical skills were too valuable to the Dome. The upper brass intended to keep you locked away forever in exchange for removing you from the Selection."
A cold thorn pierced Alec's chest.
It wasn't anger. It wasn't sorrow either.
（Was I someone worth protecting?）
（To keep me alive, Silas made himself the villain?）
（Did my existence drive him this far?）
Alec looked at his own hands.
Rough, calloused hands of a repair engineer.
Could these hands save Silas?
"...You're an idiot."
Alec's voice was hoarser than he expected.
"...Yeah, I really am. I used you without telling you anything. The worst best friend."
Silas laughed, mocking himself.
That smile looked the same as always, and yet somehow, it was cracked.
"...Lana."
Alec turned toward Lana.
Lana leaned against the wall, arms crossed. Her gray eyes, as always, gave nothing away.
"You used me too. Me and the Orbita Key—as the tool to stop the Selection."
"...Yeah. That's right."
Lana admitted it without hesitation.
"I was once the upper sector's Deputy Director of Information Control. I learned of the contradictions in the Selection system and opposed it. But I didn't have the power. So I left the Dome. When I met you in the wasteland, I thought—this man might be able to stop the Selection."
"I won't deny that I used you. I don't intend to apologize either. I gave you information and advice to protect you from the Selection. That's a fact."
Lana's voice was matter-of-fact.
But deep in her eyes, something wavered for just a moment.
"...There is one thing I kept from you, though."
Lana pulled an envelope from inside her jacket.
An envelope she had received the night before, during a secret meeting with someone from the upper sector.
"Look at this."
Lana held the envelope out to Alec.
Alec took it and pulled out the contents.
It was a list.
But it was different from the Selection roster he'd seen at the observatory.
This list had dates and locations written beside each name.
"...What is this?"
"A list of people removed from the Selection roster. I bribed upper-sector officials and ran a quiet operation to smuggle Selection targets out. This is the record."
Alec's fingers clenched around the list.
The paper crinkled.
"I used you. But at the same time, I was trying to save as many Selection targets as I could. I couldn't tell you that. Because I didn't want to drag you in."
（I was used.）
（I was protected.）
Both truths pierced Alec's chest at once.
Silas. And Lana.
Both of them had protected Alec while using him.
（What am I?）
（Was I born to be protected, to be used?）
Alec bit his lip.
The taste of iron spread through his mouth.
"...You people are selfish."
Alec's voice was low, trembling.
"Protect me. Use me. It's all about what you want. Where's my will in any of this?"
Silas's face twisted with pain.
Lana simply watched Alec quietly.
"...But I understand. You were both trying to stop the Selection. That part is true."
"...Yeah."
"...That's right."
Alec drew a deep breath.
Then slowly exhaled.
"...Then I'll choose too."
That was when it happened.
Countless footsteps echoed from outside the room.
Metal boots striking the corridor.
And then a cold voice, amplified through a loudspeaker.
"Selection Phase Two will now be executed. Residents listed on the roster are to be transported immediately. I repeat. Selection Phase Two will now be executed."
Alec's body went rigid.
"...It's started."
For the first time, the color drained from Lana's face.
Hans ran to the door and checked outside.
"Guard troops are heading for the residential block. A lot of them."
"Liina."
"I don't know. But from the looks of it, they're planning to round everyone up at once."
Alec untied Silas.
"Can you stand?"
"...Yeah. I'm fine."
Silas pushed through the pain and rose to his feet.
"Hans, Lana. We're going. We're stopping the Selection."
"Yeah."
"...Understood."
The four of them burst out of the conference room.
The corridor was in chaos.
Technicians ran back and forth, communicating over wireless.
"Hey, you lot! Stop right there!"
A technician blocked their path.
"Out of the way."
Alec dodged the technician's baton and grabbed his wrist, twisting it up.
"Guaah!"
The technician screamed.
"Sorry, but I don't have time."
Alec drove his knee into the technician's gut.
The man's eyes rolled back, and he crumpled to the floor.
"Not bad."
"Tinkering with machines gives you a strong grip."
The four of them sprinted down the corridor.
They descended the connecting stairway to the mid-sector in one rush.
The lower they went, the louder the screams and shouts became.
They burst into the residential block.
It was hell.
Guard troops were grabbing residents by the arms and dragging them out.
"Stop! Let me go!"
"Don't resist! This is the council's decision!"
Children crying. Adults shouting. The sound of things breaking.
Alec stared at the scene for a moment, stunned.
（This is the Selection.）
（This is how the upper sector does things.）
"...Where's Liina?"
Alec searched desperately through the crowd.
Lana tugged at his sleeve.
"This way. Her house is in the next block."
The four ran again.
They came to a stop in front of a small dwelling.
The door was open.
Sounds came from inside.
"No! I don't want to go!"
"Shut up! You're a Selection target! Do as you're told!"
Something inside Alec snapped.
"Liina!"
Alec kicked the door open.
Inside, two guards were gripping Liina's thin arms.
Her face was a mess of tears as she struggled desperately.
"Let go of her! Now!"
Alec rammed one of the guards with his shoulder.
"Gwah!"
The guard slammed into the wall and collapsed.
The other guard raised his baton.
"You traitor!"
Alec took the baton hit on his arm.
A dull pain shot through him.
（It hurts.）
（But like hell I'm letting go.）
Alec grabbed the guard by the collar and pulled him close.
"Traitor suits me fine. I'm protecting this girl."
Alec headbutted the guard in the face.
"Gueh!"
The guard fell backward, blood streaming from his nose.
Alec ran to Liina's side.
"Liina, are you okay?"
Liina clung to Alec's chest.
"Alec... I was so scared..."
Her small body was trembling.
"It's okay now. I'll protect you."
Alec gently stroked her head.
That was when multiple footsteps approached from outside the house.
"Alec, we're surrounded."
Hans had been watching the door.
"At least ten of them. Reinforcements."
Lana stood beside Alec.
"What do we do?"
Silas too, dragging his injured body, stepped forward.
"...Alec. I'll follow your lead."
Alec touched the Orbita Key at his chest.
Blue light spilled from his fingertips.
（If I use it, this ends in an instant.）
（A Helios Net discharge. I could neutralize every guard in the upper sector.）
（But that would be Selection by force.）
（I'd become the one doing the selecting.）
Alec removed his hand from the Orbita Key.
"...I won't use it."
Alec said it clearly.
"I'll stop the Selection with my own judgment—not with a satellite's power."
Hans gave a small laugh.
"You really do make everything a hassle. But that's who you are."
Silas nodded.
"...Yeah. That's the man you are. I know better than anyone."
Lana said nothing, but picked up a baton.
"Silas. You stay in the upper sector. Destroy the system from within."
"...Understood. As the High Councilor, I'll stop the Selection. No more hesitation."
"Lana. You secure a place to take in the people who've been Selected. Build a safe haven in the wasteland."
"...Got it. With my information network, I can have a base ready in a few days."
"Hans. You come with me. We protect Liina."
"Yeah. Leave it to me."
Alec lifted Liina into his arms.
"Hold on tight."
Liina nodded and wrapped her arms around his neck.
"Let's go."
The four burst out of the dwelling.
Outside, guards blocked the passage.
"Don't move! All of you are under arrest!"
Still carrying Liina, Alec kicked one of the guards.
"Get out of my way!"
Hans swung his baton, felling two guards.
"Clear the path!"
Lana slid low to the ground, sweeping a guard's legs out from under him.
"Stop resisting. You'll only get hurt."
Silas shouted at the guards one last time.
"All of yo
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