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 Will to Protect—Rumors of the Sky Mage Spread Beyond the Dome
The transfer execution chamber in the upper sector was a sterile, cavernous hall not far from the heart of Dome Valos. Its walls were clad in dull silver alloy panels, and cold white light poured down from the ceiling. Normally used for sorting supplies, today the space served a different purpose.
In the center of the hall stood a single small figure.
Lina Sol. A girl of fourteen. Her light brown hair clung to her forehead with sweat, and her pale face was rigid with fear. Her arms were pinned behind her back by rigid restraints, and shackles were clamped around her slender ankles. Five security soldiers directly under the upper echelon surrounded her. All wore black protective suits, electromagnetic pulse batons gripped in their hands.
"Don't move."
The lead man grabbed Lina's arm roughly.
"No... please, stop... I haven't done anything wrong..."
Lina's voice trembled with tears. Her frail voice was swallowed by the cold air of the hall and vanished.
"Selection Subject Number Forty-Seven, Lina Sol. Resistance testing has resulted in a decision for external transfer. If you resist, heavier punishment will be imposed."
Lina's body jerked and trembled at the soldier's words.
That was when it happened.
The heavy door at the entrance of the hall was blown off its hinges with a thunderous roar.
GAAAAAN!!
The alloy door was ripped away, hinges and all, and slammed onto the floor. Dust billowed up. The security soldiers all spun around at once.
"...Let her go."
From beyond the dust, Hartin Alec stepped forward. His jet-black hair hung untamed. His crystalline blue eyes pierced straight through the soldiers. In his hand, a single security pulse baton he'd secured during the observatory infiltration. At his waist, two old military flash grenades.
"Who the hell are you?!"
One of the soldiers raised his baton and shouted.
Alec didn't answer. He simply took one step, then another, closing in on Lina.
"We are executing the transfer of a Selection Subject under orders from the upper echelon. Interfere, and you're equally guilty!"
"Like I care."
Alec's voice was cold as ice.
"What a pain in the ass. I don't give a damn what you're executing. But if you touch that girl, it's a different story."
Alec's left hand unconsciously reached toward his chest. Through the fabric, the blue light of the Orbita Key leaked faintly.
(If I use it, it's over in an instant.)
(Light falls from the sky and burns them all away.)
(But then I'd be the same.)
(I'd become the one who selects.)
Alec slowly lowered his hand.
The soldiers didn't miss the motion.
"Attack!"
The five soldiers moved as one.
The two in front swung their batons down from left and right, pincering him. The sound of electromagnetic pulses tearing through the air.
Alec dropped low.
The batons grazed his hair and cut through empty space. In the next instant, Alec's right hand had pulled a flash grenade from his coat.
"Close your eyes!"
Alec's voice rang through the hall.
Simultaneously, the flash grenade struck the floor.
BAAAAAN!!!
A blinding white light consumed everything. The soldiers' vision was stolen in an instant.
"Gah! My eyes!"
"I can't see! Where is he?!"
Screams and roars tangled together.
Alec didn't let the opening go to waste.
Staying low, he dove into the first man's guard. He drove the pulse baton into his solar plexus.
Goh.
A dull thud. The soldier's body folded into a V. Alec ripped the baton from the falling man's grip and immediately drove a second strike into another soldier's knee.
"Gahah!"
The sound of a knee shattering. The soldier screamed and crumpled.
The third man rubbed his eyes and swung his baton wildly. A blind, desperate attack. Alec dodged it by a hair's breadth and struck the man's neck.
Doss.
The soldier's eyes rolled back and he collapsed.
Two left. Their vision recovered, the remaining soldiers glared at Alec.
"You... you're protecting a Selection Subject?! You'd destroy the order of the Dome?!"
"Order, selection — I don't give a damn."
Alec regripped his baton.
"The only one I'm protecting is that girl. If you stand in my way, I'll put every last one of you down."
His voice carried an unshakable will.
The two soldiers exchanged a glance for a moment.
"...D-damn it! Call for reinforcements!"
One of them ran toward the communicator on the wall.
Alec didn't allow it.
He hurled the baton with all his strength. It tore through the air and struck the man in the back of the head just as he reached the communicator.
Gah!
The soldier's face slammed into the wall and he went down.
The last one retreated in terror.
"H-hiii...!"
"Can you stand?"
Alec spoke quietly as he removed Lina's restraints.
"...B-big brother... Alec, big brother..."
Large tears spilled from Lina's eyes.
"It's okay now. I'm getting you out of here."
Alec took Lina's hand. Her small hand was cold as ice.
That was when he noticed the figures around the hall.
A large crowd of ordinary residents had gathered around the transfer execution chamber without him realizing. They had been watching Alec's fight with bated breath.
(They were watching.)
(Me fighting with my own hands, without using my power.)
Alec felt the weight of the residents' gazes.
Not fear. Not curiosity. Something deeper dwelled in their eyes.
(This will become a rumor.)
(That the Sky Mage doesn't select.)
Alec led Lina by the hand and left the hall behind.
The residents watched his retreating figure for a long, long time.
---
A corner of the upper sector. In the shadow of an abandoned warehouse.
After hiding Lina in a safe place, Alec summoned two people.
Vain Silas. And Vincent Lana.
Silas stood quietly, rubbing his wrists where the restraint marks remained. His soft brown curls were disheveled, and deep fatigue colored his amber eyes. Yet his bearing was as elegant as ever.
Lana tossed her black hair — shaved on one side — and fixed Alec with her narrow gray eyes. The piercing on her left ear reflected the cold light. Her usual expressionless face, revealing nothing.
"You both heard what happened."
Alec's voice was hard.
"The second phase of the Selection has begun. The upper echelon won't stop now."
Lana spoke flatly.
"...You won't forgive us. That's fine. But you need us. Isn't that right?"
Silas's voice was soft. But his eyes were serious.
Alec looked between the two of them.
(I don't intend to forgive them.)
(But I won't cast them aside either.)
(These two have things only they can do.)
Alec drew a deep breath.
"Silas. You stay in the upper echelon."
Silas's eyes widened slightly.
"Destroy the Selection system from within. If you're on the High Council, you should be able to do it."
"...You're sending me back to the upper echelon. To the place where I exiled you."
"That's right. You end the meaning of what you did — with your own hands."
Silas stared into Alec's eyes for a while.
Then he smiled quietly.
"...You haven't forgiven me. But whether you trust me — that's a separate matter, isn't it."
Alec gave no answer to that.
(I haven't forgiven him.)
(And yet, I trust him.)
(It's contradictory.)
(But that's fine.)
Alec turned to Lana.
"Lana. You secure a route to transfer the people removed from the registry to the Bottom Camp."
Lana's gray eyes wavered slightly.
"...Are you serious? The Bottom Camp is at the bottom of the Last Crevasse. The path there runs straight through the middle of the Deadlands. There's no guarantee anyone makes it."
"Still better than here. If the alternative is being selected, let them choose a life outside."
Lana was silent for a while.
Then she let out a small sigh.
"...Well, no helping it. If that's your decision, I'll do it."
"I'm counting on you."
Alec looked Lana straight in the eye.
"Those envelopes you were receiving at your secret meetings. They were lists of people removed from the Selection registry, weren't they."
Lana lowered her eyes for a moment.
"...Yeah. I've known the truth about the Selection since my days in the upper echelon. So I tried to save as many people as I could, even if only a few. That's why I used you, too."
"I know."
Alec's voice was quiet.
"That's why I'm leaving it to you. Think of it as your atonement. See it through."
Lana raised her head.
For the first time, a faint trace of emotion surfaced in her gray eyes.
"...Understood. I'll secure the route, no matter what."
Silas stepped forward.
"Then I'll return to the upper echelon. I don't know if I can live up to your expectations... but I'll do my utmost."
"Yeah."
Silas turned his back on Alec and began walking.
Alec watched him go.
(He's going back to that place.)
(This time, to destroy the Selection.)
(I haven't forgiven him.)
(But I've decided to trust him.)
Lana turned on her heel as well.
"I'll make contact with the Bottom Camp. When preparations are ready, I'll notify your hideout."
"Please."
Lana looked back once.
"...Alec. You've changed. You're a different person from the man I met in the wasteland."
With that, Lana disappeared into the depths of the upper sector.
Alec stood alone in the shadow of the warehouse.
(Changed, huh.)
(I can't really tell myself.)
(But I'm definitely not the same as I was in the wasteland.)
(I have something I want to protect now.)
Alec touched the Orbita Key at his chest.
The blue light illuminated his fingertips.
(This power isn't for being feared anymore.)
(It's for protecting.)
---
Night.
The abandoned sector of the mid-level. Alec's hideout.
Lina lay wrapped in a coarse blanket, breathing softly in sleep.
Alec sat with his back against the wall, watching her sleeping face.
(I protected her.)
(With my own hands.)
(Without relying on my power — by my own will.)
A quiet satisfaction settled in his chest.
But at the same time, another thought surfaced.
(Where is this girl going to live from now on?)
(If she stays in the Dome, she'll be selected again.)
(If she goes outside, toxic atmosphere and military drones await.)
(The Bottom Camp is the only hope.)
(But its safety isn't guaranteed.)
Alec bit his lip.
To protect someone isn't to finish the fight. It's to carry the unending anxiety that comes with it.
He understood that weight now, for the first time.
"...Alec."
Hans appeared at the entrance of the hideout. His cropped blond hair was dirtied with sand, and his sharp green eyes looked tired somehow.
"Hans. What is it?"
"I intercepted something from an upper echelon radio. You need to hear this."
Hans placed the radio he was carrying in front of Alec.
"A Dustwalker clan outside the Dome — Ghost Trail — is approaching Valos."
Alec's expression tightened.
"Ghost Trail... the trading clan that moves across the Tessa Plains. They're supposed to be moderates."
"Yeah. But they're chasing rumors of the Sky Mage. Your rumors."
Alec fell silent.
(My rumors are spreading through the wasteland.)
(The Sky Mage. The man who burns his enemies with the power of the satellite.)
(The rumor meant to make me feared is now bringing the outside world to my door.)
"That's not all."
Hans fiddled with the radio as he continued.
"When I went out on reconnaissance, I spotted multiple fires on the western horizon."
"Fires?"
"Yeah. Burning. Something's burning. The direction is... Zephira Dome."
Alec was speechless.
Zephira Dome. Sixty years of lost communication. A dome city of roughly five thousand people, four hundred kilometers to the northwest.
(Zephira is moving.)
(Breaking sixty years of silence.)
(What are those flames?)
(War? Collapse? Or—)
"...Seems the world's been moving without us knowing."
Hans's voice was heavy.
Alec stood up.
He looked outside through the hideout's small window.
Beyond the Dome's outer wall, darkness spread. And beyond that, the western horizon.
(The outline of what I must protect is expanding.)
(From inside the Dome, to outside.)
(From one girl, to the world.)
Alec gri
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