Chapter 1: Luna Nova
"Wake up, wake up, let's gooo!" an white-haired girl called out, addressing the hooded figure seated beside her on the train.
Her ruby-red eyes shimmered, and her cascade of pure white hair made her impossible to miss among the ordinary crowd. The train had reached its destination.
The hooded figure, seated next to him, remained silent. It was obvious he was considerably shorter than she was, yet what captured everyone's attention wasn't her stature—it was her cool indifference toward her frantic calls. In their rush, the girl shot angry glances at the other passengers.
"Uuuu… my head hurts—I think the fever's finally broke."
"Neon, you're finally awake! You nearly gave me a heart attack!"
The hooded figure was known as Neon—the brother of Rouge, the notorious girl determined to rouse him.
"Could you keep your voice down?!" an elderly man bellowed from the crowd, clearly fed up with Rouge's incessant shouting.
"Neon, I think we should get off the train, and quickly. Please, don't scare me like that ever again…" the white-haired girl murmured.
Neon pulled a comically amused expression as he listened to Rouge's reprimands.
"Alright, that's enough," they decided in unison as they rose from their seats and finally stepped off the train. This wasn't just any train—it was enormous, far larger than an ordinary commuter train…
And that was because…
"Yes, at last—we've arrived at the capital, LUNA NOVA!"
It was the first time in ages that Rouge had seen her brother so excited.
"Mom and Dad would have loved this view," Rouge said, her eyes reflecting a tinge of sorrow mixed with endless dreams and hopes.
The bustling crowd that filled the station was a vivid tapestry before the siblings' eyes. Even though it was merely a train stop, people of so many different races gathered here—some sipping coffee or having a bite, either alone or in groups. Rouge even noticed street musicians capitalizing on the throng of travelers, along with many other fascinating scenes.
Some folks sported wild hair while others looked more conventional; there were even numerous anthropomorphic animals—known as "Anima." Spectacular magic tricks were performed effortlessly by witches, and mingled among the crowd were couples that appeared to be vampires, werewolves, and even dog-men. In Luna Nova, distinctions between races simply didn't matter.
"Wow… it's even better than it looks in the photos," Rouge sighed, unable to hide the smile on her face as she dipped her hand into a small, man-made brook teeming with fish.
A tiny bat fluttered nearby and piped up, "Judging by your faces, you're new here. How about buying the city's weekly paper?"
"Neon, look—there's a vampire, and he's just like me, it can transform!" Rouge exclaimed, pointing excitedly at the "vampire" hovering overhead.
And yes, Rouge is a vampire, Neon is the only one in the family who does'nt awake his genes—the one things that decides if humanos become warlocks, werewolves or vampires.
"Where are my manners? I'm Dig—pleased to meet you both," came the reply.
Rouge introduced herself as well, while Neon remained unusually silent—which didn't surprise anyone, given his unsociable nature.
Without a word, Neon opened his wallet; he couldn't help but be curious about the latest news—maybe he'd find something worth doing before he and his sister reached their destination.
"I'm out of money," Neon sighed long and low.
"Don't be so glum, brother. After all… wouldn't this kind gentleman mind giving this lovely girl the newspaper?" Rouge teased, batting her eyes in a playful, puppy-dog manner. Neon couldn't help but cover his face in embarrassed exasperation at this side of his sister—she was far too forward for his taste.
"Are you trying to seduce me? Hormone-crazed girls! I already have a wife, you know," the vampire retorted as he soared away.
"Blerg," Rouge groaned, not quite knowing how to react—her only response being a wry grimace while the newspaper carrier's silhouette slowly faded from the station.
"I'm going to act as if I didn't see that…" Neon muttered (Why does my little sister always have to behave this way? I'm constantly left to look after her…)
Grabbing Rouge's hand, Neon dragged her along as swiftly as he could—though his diminutive stature hardly made it any easier.
Once they finally exited the train station, the first thing Neon noticed was a gigantic map billboard of the city, so enormous it seemed to stretch on forever.
"You must be kidding…"
"Neon, look," Rouge said, pointing to a section of the map—the spot they had planned to go to, or rather, the place they **must** go.
—Ashton University
"It's not far from here; we should be there in less than a day," Rouge declared.
Yet both siblings couldn't help but gape at the endless array of towering buildings and skyscrapers before them. There were countless modes of transport available—some even managed by warlocks, magical conveyances that could levitate gracefully in the air.
"Without any money, we're going to take much longer than you think, little sis," Neon remarked, uncertain about how they'd actually make it there.
"Besides, I'm starving."
"Me too."
For the first time that day, the siblings agreed on one thing: their situation was far from ideal.
"Neon, look behind you!"
"Maybe if you hadn't spent all your m—!" Neón began to protest, but his complaint was abruptly drowned out by a passing crowd, everyone buzzing with excitement.
"Please, give me an autograph!!"
"I brought my son so you can write your name on his body, Luke—look at me!"
"Do you remember me? We met once when we were kids!?"
The siblings couldn't help but glance quickly in the direction of the cheers, while it seemed the crowd had nothing more to add.
"Calm down, calm down, my dear Luna Nova fans," a soothing voice rang out, emanating from in front of a luxurious stadium not far away.
"We haven't even been in this city for sixty minutes, and now we're caught up in all this mess," Neon grumbled, as he and Rouge found themselves jostled by the enthusiastic crowd.
"Neon, Neon… I can't believe it! Th-that is… Luke Tyson, the rising pop star who just moved to Luna Nova. I'm such a huge fan of his music… blah, blah, blah…" Rouge exclaimed wildly.
"Neon?"
***
"3, 2, 1... and Purple Guy wins the game!" "Clap-clap-clap!" A crowd cheered as a judge in a suit raised the hand of what appeared to be an Anima, while another man lay on the ground.
"Meat for sale, vegetables for sale, popcorn—everything you need to enjoy!" A wizard was selling snacks, using telekinesis to transport the food, and people eagerly bought their treats while watching the spectacle that had just ended in the stands.
"Damn it, hunger's going to kill me. If only my sister hadn't spent all our money on makeup during the trip," Neon said, frustrated, as he sat in the stands.
The aroma of food drew him to the alley, and he wasn't the social type who enjoyed being surrounded by people.
Neon thought he might find some free food, but the alley only extended to a staircase leading underground, where this kind of spectacle was taking place.
"Hey, do you like street duels? You're pretty young for these tastes... I like it."
Neon was startled by the sudden conversation from the man beside him, mostly because of his appearance.
Duels were a kind of peaceful solution to wars devised by the leaders of various nations. As the name suggested, it was a simple duel, which could be anything, and was formed with a contract created by a wizard's magic, sealing the conditions and effects.
They were supposed to be designed for political disputes between nations and races, but they became so popular that they turned into the world's most beloved sport and a part of everyday life.
"You startled me, sir."
"Hahaha!" The man laughed theatrically, giving Neon an even stranger impression of him.
The man had light brown hair, with strands of purple peeking out at the tips of his comically downward-pointing hairstyle.
But what stood out the most were the bandages over his eyes. Neon could see bloodstains on the holes of the bandages, and his sharp, deranged smile, all combined with a suit and tie, made for a striking contrast.
"You don't see kids as direct as you these days," he said.
"Most would be too scared to talk to me," he concluded.
Then, out of nowhere, a huge skewer of meat and fruit appeared in his hand, and he offered it to Neon.
"Is that magic? Also, are you sure about giving food to a kid you don't know?"
Neon was confused. As if the mysterious man's appearance wasn't enough, his attitude was overly kind—everything about him seemed to clash.
However, Neon didn't think twice before taking a bite of the skewer. He was so hungry that he didn't notice the noise he made while eating...
"Shh, be quiet. Look, the next duel is about to start. You don't want to miss it."
The mysterious man pointed to the cage where Neon had seen the beast-man fighting when he entered. Unfortunately, Neon wasn't interested in duels, even though they were part of everyday life.
"Sorry, sir. Thanks for the food, but I'm not interested in duels. I need to get out of here—my sister's probably worried about me out there."
"Come on, you can't cut my fun short so quickly," said the mysterious man, his expression shifting from a smile to a serious face.
"And for our next contestant, we have... Silver Fang! Our most beloved werewolf by the audience!"
"Raaaahhh, SILVER FANG... SILVER FANG... SILVER FANG!" The crowd seemed to go wild with cheers and shouts as a man with bronze skin, white hair, and golden eyes entered the cage. His muscles, though not huge, were perfectly defined.
"Who dares to face our star of the night?"
The judge was looking for an opponent for Silver Fang in the crowd. No one responded; after all, they didn't want to end up destroyed today.
"Anyone who beats our champion will win 10,000 credits!"
Not even a second passed before... (No one raised their hand?) Neon realized something strange was going on here. After all, he had seen the last duel's winner but not the loser.
"Could it be that...? Nah, impossible," Neon whispered.
"Nobody's going to fight? Maybe if we double the reward, they'll change their minds!"
However, everyone seemed too scared of Silver Fang to step into the cage.
"How boring. I have an idea," said the mysterious man sitting next to Neon, just as he snapped his fingers.
"Whoops? Ouch!" Neon disappeared from his seat and had been magically teleported into the ring. He got up from the floor and looked at the audience, noticing the mysterious man smiling and cheering for him from the crowd.
"What is this? We have a young fan of... illegal duels here!"
"Illegal? N-no way!" Neon didn't take long to confirm his shock. These were illegal death duels. He had been too careless, cursing himself over and over aloud, but the crowd's noise drowned out his voice.
"YOU'RE ALL SICK!" Neon's voice echoed throughout the place, and a deadly silence filled the stands.
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" The entire crowd couldn't do anything but laugh in unison. They knew—they were crazy people who needed these fights to live. It was their drug.
"It seems the bets are closed. Wow, what a surprise—the odds are 449-1 in favor of the champion! I thought the kid wouldn't get any bets!" said the judge as if it were a joke, while the crowd burst into laughter again.
"Don't worry, I'll kill you slowly. What fun would there be if I knocked you out in one hit?" said Silver Fang, smirking.
"I have to get out of here, I have to get out of here!" Neon was pounding on the cage, but it wouldn't budge.
"It won't break. It's made of a material resistant even to werewolves like me. Of course, not that I can't break it."
Silver Fang was preparing for the fight. Duels involving combat or martial arts weren't rare—in fact, they were the most popular option. But a death match? This was illegal unless the participants agreed, which Neon hadn't done. There wasn't even a contract.
"This is all your fault! I can't even fight!" Neon shouted at the mysterious man.
"Hey, don't be mad at me. We're friends. Besides, I bet my money on you!"
"Friends? I'm doomed. I have to do something, or that guy's going to kill me!"
The judge grabbed Neon and, with superhuman strength, threw him toward the center of the cage. Pain shot through his cheek.
"Ugh!" Neon spat out a tooth. Not only that, but he could see blood dripping from his nose—it was obvious his septum was broken.
"The fight begins in... 3, 2, 1... Go!"
***
-10 minutes earlier, Rogue's perspective.
(Where are you, Neon? I always have to go looking for you!)
"Miss, would you mind buying our new shampoo brand?"
"No, our brand is much better. Don't listen to him!"
"Ugh, rude women. It's obvious she wants a dress, right, m'lady?"
A bunch of shops and product promotion teams kept trying to grab her attention as she walked down the street, only slowing her down.
"Damn it, my looks only work when I don't need them! If only I'd gotten that newspaper for Neon, maybe he wouldn't have gotten lost!"
Slowly, despite the smell of all the products and street food, she began to pick up her brother's scent. After all, she was a vampire and could smell Neon's blood, which had suddenly become much stronger.
"Move aside!" Rogue transformed into a bat. Even though her transformation was incomplete and inexperienced, she needed to hurry to where Neon was.
She quickly reached an alley and entered a passage full of stairs. The scent grew stronger and stronger—not because she was closer to Neon.
"Just wait for me. I'm almost there..."