"Are you ready to get this over with?" David asked, flashing a mischievous grin that made Theo instantly suspicious.
Theo blinked, caught off guard. "Ready for what?"
David slung an arm around him, his voice dropping to a whisper. "You know what." His glasses glinted as he smirked knowingly.
Theo's heart skipped a beat. For a brief second, his mind wandered somewhere… complicated. But then reality snapped back like a rubber band.
"Wait... the exam... Isn't the exam next week?" He turned to Dawn, hoping for confirmation.
But David was already chuckling at his expense.
"No," Dawn said, her tone light but honest. "It's today. You just have a bad memory."
Theo groaned and slowed his pace, dragging his feet in defeat. "What's the point of going to school if I'm just gonna fail again?"
"Then let's not go," Dawn said casually.
A shaft of sunlight filtered through the clouds, landing squarely on her as she spoke. Her smile was serene, radiant—like she'd been born to defy expectations.
Theo stared at her, momentarily hypnotized. He didn't even hear what she said.
"You heard her! We're skipping school!" David declared, throwing his arms into the air like he'd just won something.
"Wait—what about the exam?" Theo said, his brain finally rebooting.
"It's a professional advancement test," David said, waving it off. "Basically, a fancy way of saying, 'Here's how your life's gonna suck after graduation.' Besides, we can take it tomorrow."
"It's still required to pass," Dawn reminded them. "So don't get comfortable."
"But it's your birthday," she added, giving Theo a look that left no room for argument.
Theo scratched the back of his neck. "Yeah, but... I don't know."
David raised a brow. "You've never hesitated before. What's with the sudden change?"
Theo hesitated, then sighed. "Maybe we shouldn't skip so much."
That drew a quick laugh from Dawn. "Another lecture from your dad?"
Theo nodded. "Yeah. But this one felt... different. Like it stuck."
"Come on, when was the last time you actually took one of those seriously?" David asked.
"I'm serious," Theo said. "It just... hit me."
"Don't overthink it," Dawn said, her voice softening. "It's your day."
Their feet kicked up dust as they moved down the winding dirt path, surrounded by fields bursting with wildflowers in bloom. Pinks, yellows, blues—it was a painter's dream.
Theo glanced around at the scenery. The calm felt earned, as if the town itself was enjoying a moment of peace before life returned to routine.
He wondered how many more days like this they'd get—just the three of them, walking and joking and not worrying about anything. Time was moving faster lately. He could still remember turning ten like it was yesterday—and now, somehow, he was fifteen.
Soon, the town square of Artimia came into view, its modest rooftops peeking above the trees.
"So where are we headed?" Theo asked, finally giving in.
David grinned. "Where do you think?"
"Looks like you're it, birthday boy!" Dawn laughed as she and David took off running.
"Wait—no fair!" Theo shouted, bolting after them.
He caught up to Dawn and tapped her shoulder. "Ha! You're it!"
She smiled, then fell behind as Theo sprinted ahead, weaving through the marketplace.
The town square was alive with color and noise. Vendors shouted over one another, children darted between stalls, and the scent of roasted meat and baked bread hung in the air.
Theo dodged through a merchant's tent, barely missing a display.
CRASH.
A vase shattered behind him.
"My vase!" the merchant howled.
"Sorry! I'll pay for it later! Promise!"
The chase continued until Dawn leaped from a rooftop edge, tagging Theo in mid-air.
"You're it!" she yelled, landing like a shadow.
Before Theo could react, David zipped past, laughing. "You're slowing down, man. You should probably pick up the pace."
"Get back here!" Theo shouted, fueled by pride.
They raced beyond the town, past rooftops, and farmland, into the open fields and rolling hills of the Wastelands.
The Wastelands consisted of five distinct sectors, each overseen by a Section Commander—powerful military officials who enforced the will of the God-King himself.
From taxation to education to military control, their authority was absolute. Their word was law. But above them all sat the God-King, ruler of every sector and the entire Wastelands.
Theo didn't like to think about them. But the presence of the God-King was like gravity—unseen, inescapable. Just the thought of him sent a chill crawling up his spine.
Artimia belonged to Sector Five.
It was the greenest and most serene of the five—lush, untamed, and full of life. Towering trees swayed in the breeze, and the air smelled cleaner here. Compared to the harsher, more industrial sectors, Sector Five still held onto its beauty. Some called it the Crown Sector.
Most just called it home.
David vanished over a hill.
David vanished, sprinting into the opening of a forest trail that curved uphill, the canopy above casting streaks of light across the path.
He smirked to himself, catching his breath. Dawn's probably way ahead by now, he thought.
She always was whenever they played tag.
But where's Theo? He was right behind me…
A rustle snapped his attention to the side—too late.
Theo lunged from the underbrush. "Gotcha!"
David dodged with ease. "Try something new!"
Theo grinned. "Gladly."
He slapped David's leg and tumbled down the hill, laughing all the way. "You're it!"
David blinked. "Wrong way, genius!"
Laughter echoed through the trees as Theo disappeared into the grass below, twigs and leaves stuck in his hair like nature's confetti. He rolled to his feet, brushing himself off, winded but smiling.
Theo stuck out his middle finger with a grin and shouted, "Tag, you're it, dumbass!" before sprinting off into the bushes like a man on a mission.
David arrived at the top of the hill, chest rising and falling as he caught his breath. Dawn stood waiting, arms crossed.
"Took you long enough," she said, raising an eyebrow. "Where's Theo?"
David dragged a hand through his wild red hair and shrugged. "No idea. Kid tagged me, flipped me off, and ran off into the bushes like some kind of birthday bandit."
Dawn snorted. "Smooth."
"Honestly? I think he's trying to win tag like it's a holy sport."
"Well," she said, smirking, "you did let him sneak up on you. You're slipping, old man."
David narrowed his eyes at her. "Old? I'm literally one year ahead of you."
"A lot can happen in a year," Dawn teased, giving him a sidelong glance.
He smirked, hands behind his head. "Alright, alright, Miss Seniority. You wanna run ahead and declare yourself champion, too?"
Dawn tilted her head thoughtfully. "Tempting. But I'll wait. I like watching you two sweat."
David groaned dramatically. "You're ruthless."
"And you're slow."
They both chuckled.
"Finally… I made it…"
Theo gasped for air, stumbling out from the brush like a man who had just survived a war. Twigs clung to his shirt and hair like nature's bad joke. His face was red, his knees muddy, and his lungs were working overtime.
David burst out laughing. "You look like you lost a fight to a shrub."
Dawn covered her mouth, failing to stifle a giggle.
"Take a good look at yourself," David said, brushing a leaf from Theo's shoulder. "Seriously, you're a walking tree branch."
"You do realize you're the one who lost, right?" Theo shot back.
David shrugged. "What if I told you I let you win? Y'know… birthday morale boost?"
"Liar." Theo swung at him—missed by a mile—and nearly lost his balance.
David just laughed, but then he nodded toward something behind Theo.
Before he could turn, a pair of hands slid over his eyes.
Theo tensed instantly.
Soft. Warm. Familiar.
His heart skipped a beat.
Dawn.
Her hands lingered just long enough to short-circuit his thoughts. The warmth of her touch and the nearness of her voice wrapped around him like a spell.
And then, just like that, she let go.
Theo blinked, trying to reboot his brain as she stepped around him, David now carrying something in his arms.
A container holding a cake.
Not just any cake—frosted, homemade, decorated with vibrant flowers, and Theo's name scrawled across the top in looping letters.
"You guys…" Theo whispered, completely floored.
David grinned. "Happy Birthday, tree branch. Don't get emotional on us now."
Dawn gave a small smile, cheeks pink. "It's nothing special. Just something I threw together."
Theo stared at her, at the cake, then back at them. "Wait—where the hell were you hiding that?"
David grinned and jerked his thumb toward the trees. "We woke up early and snuck out here before you even got outta bed. Had to stash it in some bushes like we were burying treasure."
Dawn crossed her arms, smiling proudly. "And I made David carry it the whole way so it didn't get ruined. You're lucky it still has frosting on it."
Theo narrowed his eyes. "You woke up early just to hide the cake in the woods? You two really are insane."
David shrugged. "And you're lucky we like you. My arms almost fell off."
Theo looked at the cake, then at Dawn—the sunlight catching in her curls, her smile still lingering from the tease.
"You're beautiful," he mumbled—then immediately stiffened, realizing what he'd just said.
Dawn's eyes widened slightly. The tips of her ears flushed red, and she quickly looked away, brushing an imaginary speck off her skirt.
David blinked. "What was that?"
"The cake! I meant the cake!" Theo sputtered, waving his hands like he could erase the words from the air.
David doubled over laughing, nearly dropping the cake in the process. Dawn caught it just in time, still not quite meeting Theo's eyes.
They sat on the edge, eating in silence, the awkward moment melting into the quiet between friends. Below them, Artimia stirred with morning life.
Theo's eyes, however, drifted past the rooftops—to the place no one liked to talk about.
The Black Ball.
It loomed like a godless planet—immense and unmoving, rooted deep in the ground. A pulsing void against the blue sky. Its surface was smooth and obsidian, casting no reflection as if it drank in all light.
No markings, no doors, no windows—just a perfectly black sphere that swallowed a stretch of the land itself.
"It's huge," Dawn whispered, her eyes locked on it.
"What do you think's in there?" Theo asked, his voice quiet, more to himself than anyone else.
David shrugged. "Doom? Death? The God-King's bad taste in furniture?"
Theo snorted but didn't look away. "I think it's important. Like, more than anyone's admitting."
Dawn nodded slowly. "I've heard people can't even get close. That it messes with your head... or that the soldiers guarding it don't even blink."
They fell silent. The Black Ball remained still, unmoving and patient.
"The God-King never mentions it," Theo said. "Not in speeches. Not even in the schools. Isn't that weird?"
"Everything about him's weird," David muttered. "He rules the Wastelands, but you never see him. Just his lackeys. Like he's a ghost."
Dawn added quietly, "Or a shadow. One that never stops watching."
Then—
Smoke.
Flames.
And just like that, the calm shattered.
Theo's heart dropped as black plumes coiled skyward from the direction of town, dark and thick as ink. The Black Ball still loomed in the distance, but now its presence felt deliberate—as if the sky itself was reacting to it.
"Guys... look!" Dawn pointed.
Thick, black smoke rose from Artimia.
"It's coming from the town!" David shouted.
Theo was already on his feet.
"Let's go!"
The cake, forgotten, the cliff behind them—they ran toward the fire, toward the unknown, hearts pounding in sync.
Whatever came next, their world would never be the same.