The morning wind rolled across the trail, soft and sweet, brushing wildflowers into a lazy sway.

Theo's bag bounced against his back as he jogged up the road, just behind David and Dawn.

Their laughter had faded into the trees ahead.

The air shifted, faintly. Like rain before a storm. But only for a second.

Then it was gone.

"Are you ready to get this over with?" David asked as Theo caught up, flashing a grin that made him instantly suspicious.

Theo narrowed his eyes. "Get what over with?"

David threw an arm around him, pulling him close like they were in on some great secret.

"You know what."

His glasses flashed in the sunlight. That smirk… It was never a good sign.

For a brief second, Theo's mind wandered somewhere, but then reality snapped back like a rubber band.

"Wait… the exam? That's next week, right?"

He turned to Dawn like a man begging for a lifeline.

But she didn't miss a beat. "No, it's today. You just have a bad memory."

Theo's jaw dropped. "You've got to be kidding me."

Theo groaned and slowed his pace.

"What's the point of going? I'm just gonna fail again."

"Then don't go," Dawn said simply as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

A shaft of sunlight slipped through the rolling clouds above, landing squarely on her as she smiled.

Theo stared, momentarily stunned.

Not because of what she said—but because of the way she said it.

"You heard her!" David threw his hands up in triumph. "We're skipping school!"

"Wait—what about the test?" Theo's brain finally caught up.

"It's a professional advancement exam," David answered with a dramatic sigh. "Which is a fancy way of saying, 'Here's how screwed you'll be after graduation.' Besides, we can take it tomorrow."

"It's still required to pass, so don't get too comfortable," Dawn reminded them.

She turned to Theo, her voice softening. "But it's your birthday. You should enjoy your day—at least, that's what I think."

Theo scratched the back of his neck. "Yeah, but…"

David arched a brow. "You've never hesitated before. What's with you?"

Theo sighed. "I guess I've been thinking more lately. My dad gave me one of his talks this morning."

Dawn tilted her head. "The kind that actually sticks?"

"Yeah. The kind that actually sticks..."

David laughed. "The day you start taking your dad's advice is the day the sky falls."

"Maybe I'm just growing up," Theo shot back.

"Ugh. Gross," David muttered.

"I'm serious."

"You're fifteen, and all of a sudden, you're all grown up, huh?"

"Shut up, David..."

Dawn sighed, stepping in between the two.

"Don't overthink it, Theo," she told him.

They kept walking, feet kicking up dust on the trail as the world around them unfolded in calm, sunlit colors.

Wildflowers lined the path in bursts of pink and yellow.

Trees stretched high and wide overhead, filtering the light into shifting patterns across the dirt.

Theo looked around.

He wondered how many more days like this they'd have—just the three of them, unbothered, untouched by the world's weight.

Time was moving faster lately. He could still remember turning ten like it was yesterday.

Now, somehow, he was fifteen with a future he was expected to ponder.

Ahead, rooftops poked above the trees—Artimia's town square.

Two men hunched near a cart of dried fish, spoke low but bitter.

"Another KC inspection in Bellakai yesterday. They've been tearing through towns like wolves for months."

"They weren't looking for thieves. Rumor is someone's out there without a KC. That's why they keep checking folk."

The words carried just far enough for Theo to catch them before the crowd swallowed the rest.

He frowned, but the sharp tang of fish and salt made it easy to shove the unease aside

"People love their rumors," David muttered, then shrugged. "But rumors usually start somewhere." He elbowed Theo. "So, you ready or what?"

"Where are we headed?" Theo finally asked.

David smirked. "Where do you think?"

Dawn tapped his shoulder. "Looks like you're it, birthday boy!"

Then 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 grinned and slowed, letting him pass just before David cut in from the side and zipped past them both.

They burst into the marketplace, weaving through crowds and vendor stalls.

Children played between carts. Merchants shouted over one another.

The air smelled of roasted meat, fresh bread, and fruit that had ripened in the sun.

Theo ducked beneath a tarp—CRASH! A vase shattered behind him.

"My vase!" a merchant screamed.

"Sorry! I'll pay you back later, I swear!"

The chase didn't stop.

Dawn leaped from a rooftop edge, tagging Theo in mid-air. "You're it!"

Before he could respond, David shot past, laughing like a madman.

"You're slowing down!" he called out. "You getting old already?"

Theo roared in protest and took off after them.

They sprinted out of town, past windmills and farmland, out into the hills that framed Artimia like a cradle of green.

Beyond them—lay the Wastelands.

A patchwork of five sectors, each ruled by a Section Commander. Powerful military officials.

Their laws were gospel, handed down from one shadow above them all—the God-King.

Theo didn't like thinking about the God-King. But his presence was everywhere. Felt, not seen. He was like pressure in the air.

Artimia sat in Sector Five—the greenest of them all. Rolling fields. Endless sky.

It was nicknamed the Crown Sector by outsiders. Locals just called it home.

David disappeared over a hill, sprinting into the opening of a forest trail that curved uphill.

He slowed just long enough to catch his breath—alone, for now.

Dawn's probably way ahead by now... No surprise there. She always wins... But where's Theo? He was right behind me…

A small rustle came from the underbrush.

"Gotcha!" Theo lunged out.

David dodged with a laugh. "Try something new for once!"

Theo grinned. "Gladly."

He slapped David's leg and rolled down the hill like a kid possessed.

Laughter cracked through the forest like fireworks as Theo tumbled into the tall grass below.

He rolled to his feet, chest heaving, grin wide, eyes wild with joy.

With a theatrical spin, Theo turned, threw up his middle finger like a victory banner, and shouted, "That's birthday rule number one. Never lose with style—always win ugly."

Then he bolted into the bushes, laughing like a man who'd just robbed a merchant cart and gotten away with it.

David blinked. "Wrong way, genius!"

After some time, David finally reached the top of the hill and found Dawn waiting.

"Took you long enough. Where's the birthday boy?"

David groaned. "Don't start... He flipped me off and ran off into the bushes like some goblin."

Dawn chuckled. "Well… looks like someone isn't winning today."

David groaned louder. "Honestly!? You would think he's trying to win tag like it's some holy sport!"

"Well, you did let him sneak up on you. You're losing your touch, old man."

"I'm literally one year older than you guys!"

"One year is a lot," Dawn teased.

David sighed dramatically. "Dawn, you're ruthless."

"And you're slow."

They both chuckled.

"Finally…" Theo gasped, stumbling out of the brush like a man who'd survived a war. "I made it."

Twigs clung to his shirt, leaves tangled in his curls like nature's idea of a party hat. His knees were muddy, but his eyes were alive.

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."

Theo didn't deny it.

"And? You realize I still won, right?"

"Technically," David said. "But only because I'm a nice guy. Y'know... birthday morale boost?"

"Liar."

Then, something unexpected happened.

Hands slid over Theo's eyes. Soft. Warm. Familiar.

His body tensed. His heart skipped a beat.

It was Dawn. Her touch made the world go quiet.

And then, just like that, she let go.

Theo blinked, brain lagging like a jammed projector as Dawn stepped away.

In David's arms—a plastic container. Inside, resting like a crown jewel, was a cake.

Homemade. Iced with imperfect swirls and decorated with petals of frosting that mimicked wildflowers.

Theo's name was scrawled across the top in looping letters — tilted, slightly messy, but unmistakably heartfelt.

Theo just stared. "You guys…" he whispered, voice thin and broken.

David smirked. "Happy birthday, tree branch. Try not to cry, yeah? Bad for the frosting."

Dawn's cheeks tinted with the soft pink of sunrise. "It's nothing fancy. 
Just something I threw together."

Theo glanced around. "...But where the hell were you hiding that?"

David jerked a thumb toward the woods.

"We hid it like stolen treasure. Woke up early, snuck out, did the whole cloak-and-dagger thing before you even rolled out of bed."

"And I made him carry it the whole way. You're lucky it didn't turn into frosting soup," Dawn announced, her arms crossed and chin lifted proudly.

Theo squinted at them like they'd grown extra heads.

"You two woke up early just to stash a cake in the woods? You're insane."

"And you're welcome. You're lucky we like you. My arms are still mad about it," David said with a shrug.

"Worth it," Dawn replied with a smile.

Theo's eyes drifted from the cake… to her.

The sunlight caught in Dawn's curls, casting gold along the edges like a soft halo.

Her smile still lingered—slight, almost smug, and completely unaware of the chaos she'd just triggered in Theo's chest.

The words slipped before he could stop them.

"...You're beautiful."

It came out quiet. Honest. Too honest.

Silence cracked the moment.

Dawn's eyes widened—just slightly— the smile vanishing as quickly as it had come.

The tips of her ears flushed red. She turned away, brushing at her skirt like it suddenly needed dusting.

Theo froze, brain screaming in panic. His hands lifted like he could snatch the sentence back from the air.

"The cake's beautiful! Not you—I mean, you are, but—dammit!"

David grinned like a shark, smelling blood.

"What was that, lover boy?" he whispered. "Mimi's got your tongue?"

"...Shut up, David!"

Theo turned a shade of red so deep it could've been classified as a medical emergency.

David doubled over with laughter, nearly dropping the cake.

But Dawn caught the container before it hit the dirt, her eyes still carefully avoiding Theo's.

She didn't say a word, but the smile playing at her lips as she steadied the cake… said plenty.

They sat on the ridge in quiet, legs dangling over the edge, cake half-eaten and conversation long gone.

The earlier awkwardness melted into something familiar—the kind of silence that only came with real friends.

But even in silence, unease found its way in.

Below, Artimia stirred awake. The sound of morning rising faintly with the wind.

The sweetness of the moment lingered… until Theo's eyes drifted to the horizon.

To somewhere no one ever liked to talk about.

The Black Ball.

It loomed in the distance like a scar on the world. Immense. Unmoving.

Rooted in the land like it had always been there—like the earth had grown around it.

A void against the morning sky. Smooth and perfect and wrong.

It drank in light. Reflected nothing. Cast no shadow. No seams, no windows, no doors.

Just a flawless, obsidian sphere… swallowing a stretch of the hills in its presence.

Like it had erased the land beneath it. The longer Theo stared, the more it felt like it was staring back.

Dawn adjusted the strap on her bag, voice dry as dust.

"It's always the quiet days that kill you."

Theo nodded, but his eyes never left the sphere. "What do you think's in there?"

David stretched out and leaned back on his hands. "Who knows? Fame? Death? Glory? The God-King's discounted furniture?"

Theo let out a breath of a laugh—but it didn't last.

"No, seriously. I think it matters. More than anyone's admitting."

Dawn's voice dropped. "I heard no one can get close enough. Like it… messes with your head. There are always soldiers posted, but they don't talk. Don't move. Some say they don't even blink."

Silence. The Black Ball sat there—as it always had—patient and still. Waiting.

"They never mention it. Not in speeches. Not in school. Nothing," Theo added. "You would think the God-King would have said something about it after all these years."

"Screw that guy," David muttered. "He rules everything, but you never see him. Just his military lapdogs. The man's practically a myth."

"He's like a ghost," Dawn said quietly. "And that thing is his shadow."

The Black Ball… Its stillness now felt deliberate—as if the sky itself was reacting to it.

"No," David replied with a grin. "That'd be disgusting for you two."

"Disgusting?" Dawn tilted her head, confused.

Theo froze, heat rushing to his cheeks as he caught David's meaning.

"Shut up, David!" Theo quickly looked away, but his blush gave him away.

David chuckled, stretching his arms behind his head. "Relax. You make it too easy."

He leaned back, gaze drifting toward the sky.

"Besides… I've got better things to watch than you two."

Theo glared. "Like what—?"

David's grin faded. His eyes narrowed. "…Smoke."

Above them, a thin column rose into the clouds. Just like that—the calm cracked.

Theo's heart sank as a thick plume of smoke coiled into the sky above Artimia.

Smoke. Flames. A roar in the distance.

"It's coming from the town!" David shouted.

Theo was already moving. The cake hit the ground. The hill vanished behind them.

Together, they ran—feet pounding the dirt, lungs burning, hearts hammering like war drums.

Toward the fire. Toward the unknown. Toward the day everything burned.