"Let's sit over there. I know you have lots of questions." The soldier said.

We wasted no time in moving towards the table and chairs. In stark contradiction to the crumbling world outside the furniture looks in good quality. 

"Ask away, one question at a time." The soldier said while removing the gas mask.

The soldier looked to be in his late thirties. He had dark hair streaked with silver, a weathered face marked by faint scars, and sharp dark eyes that seemed heavy with experience. His jaw was strong, his features rough and hardened, and exhaustion showed in the lines around his eyes. Even so, his firm posture gave him an air of strength.

As I was about to bombard him with millions of questions, another soldier came out and asked: "Welcome back, Mr. Rashid. I presume your mission was a success?"

"Yes, it was. Take this and give it to Dr. Sarah. She'll know what to do," Rishard instructed, passing a bag to another soldier, presumably containing the bones.

"My name is Ivan Petrovich," I said in english, with an accent obviously showing my Russian origins. "I was at work when suddenly I heard a ringing sound, followed by losing my senses one by one until I regained them all at once, then I found myself transported here." 

I lied through my teeth without blinking an eye. At the end of the day, whether I claimed to be Mikhail Volkov or Ivan Petrovich, it made no difference. I just wanted to make sure that my name on earth is kept hidden. I felt a false sense of security behind a shroud of another persona.

It also became clear that English had become the official language among the survivors, almost as if they had collectively agreed on it.

"My name is Rashid Mahmoud, I come from Baghdad, Iraq". The soldier fell silent as if he was reminiscing at a forgotten memory. "I was teleported here the same way you did. In fact, everyone here did."

"Where are we?" I said with a bit of intrigue. 

"We don't really know. We know that this planet is similar to earth, it's called Minoris, where the sun rises from the east and sets from the west. Each day also has a 24 hour mark. There is water making this planet inhabitable. Other than that, we don't really know much other than some hypothesis."

"How do you know that this is not earth far into the future or something?" 

"Well, this is not possible, since this planet has two moons… or used to."

Stunned by this revelation. I needed to confirm that I heard right: "What? Two moons? How?" 

"Yes, the first moon is larger than the second one. The Ossarians call them Skorn and Brakk. The first moon, Skorn, holds its position closest to Minoris's orbit, while the larger second moon, Brakk, resides farther out." 

Rashid paused for a second to make sure I was following, then continued:

"Long ago, Minoris's unstable magnetic field began pushing both moons away from the planet. Their orbits shifted over time, slowly becoming more chaotic. Skorn, being the closest moon, was affected the most. Eventually, its path crossed too close to Brakk's, and the two moons collided." 

"Skorn took most of the impact. The collision shattered it into countless pieces, and those fragments were pulled into Minoris's orbit. Over time, they spread around the planet, forming the ring we see today."

My eyes widened in astonishment at this revelation. "A ring?" I exclaimed, genuinely curious. "How does it appear from here?"

"…"

"…"

"Wait, you haven't looked toward the sky from the moment you arrived here." Rashid said, looking at me like he is talking to an idiot.

"…" I felt embarrassed, quickly changing the subject I said: "You talked about Ossarians. Are they the bone creature you faced?"

"Yes, they are. The males have these bones protruding from their shoulders, creating this striking arc. It's like they're wearing armor of bone, but it's all a part of their bodies."

"The females have these bone structures extending from their backs, resembling wings angled downward."

"But here's the real kicker," Rashid added with a grin, "they don't have blood like us. Instead, nutrients are transferred through their bones. It's a marvel of evolution"

"This is only due to Radiance. You can call it mana or chakra or whatever you want to call it. To Ossarians, Radiance is life itself. Their bones can store it, circulate it, and release it. That is what gives them their abnormal physical prowess while also living more than humans."

Rashid tapped one of the strange capsules on the table.

"Radiance exists everywhere. In food, water, air, soil, and every living thing born in this universe. It is not rare. The problem is control. We humans are unable to harness them within our bodies, or better yet we don't know how. Despite numerous attempts, our efforts have proven fruitless."

I stared at the capsule, then back at him.

"If it's everywhere, then why can't humans use it?"

"We don't know how," Rashid admitted. "Or maybe our bodies simply weren't made for it. We have tried breathing techniques, blood injections, bone grafts, exposure chambers, even forced Radiance transfusion. Every attempt failed."

"What happened to the people who tried?"

His expression darkened.

"Some died. Some went mad. Some survived, but their bodies rejected the Radiance violently. Seizures, organ failure, internal bleeding. The lucky ones only lost consciousness."

I swallowed hard.

"So humans can't use Radiance at all?"

"Not directly," he said. "But indirectly? That is where we made progress."

He lifted one of the weapons and placed it before me.

"By extracting Radiance from Ossarian protruding bones, we created the capsules you see here. They are not bullets. Think of them more like containers. Each capsule stores a measured amount of Radiance. When the trigger is pulled, the weapon breaks the seal, extracts the stored energy, compresses it, and releases it forward as a destructive burst."

I couldn't help but reel in awe. It sounded impossible, yet I had already seen it with my own eyes when Rashid killed the Ossarian.

"So the weapon doesn't fire metal?"

"Not unless it is modified to do so. The standard models fire compressed Radiance. That is why they are so effective against Ossarians. Their own energy becomes the thing that kills them."

"That sounds ironic," I muttered.

I looked at the capsules again, my mind racing.

"You said you create those capsules by extracting Radiance from the protruding bones of Ossarians. Couldn't you do the same with the bones inside their bodies?"

"Good question," Rashid said. "The answer is no. Not in any useful way."

"Why?"

"What I said earlier was only part of the truth. Radiance can only be extracted from protruding bones while they are still glowing. That means the Ossarian has to be actively using Radiance before death. In simpler terms, you need to force it to draw power into its outer bones, then kill it before that energy fades."

I frowned.

"So if you kill one before it powers up, the bones are useless?"

"Mostly useless," he said. "There might still be traces, but not enough to justify extraction."

"And after killing it?"

"You have less than a day. Once the Ossarian dies, the Radiance starts dissipating into the air. The bones I collected from the one I killed earlier already lost about 16.7% during our journey to the shelter. That leaves roughly 83.3% still inside. Now our machinery could only extract about 40% for those bones, so the best-case scenario is that we extract 33.32% from our case. Although it is incredibly inefficient, it is still better than nothing "

I stared at him.

"What about the bones inside their bodies?" I asked. "If the outer bones lose Radiance slowly, maybe the inner bones hold more?"

"That was our first assumption too," Rashid replied. "But the moment internal bones are exposed to the outside environment, the Radiance inside them begins to dissipate at nearly 10 times the normal rate."

"Ten times?"

"Yes. By the time you cut, clean, and prepare them for extraction, most of the Radiance is already gone."

"Why does that happen?"

"We think internal bones are different in nature from protruding bones. Outer bones are designed to interact with Radiance directly. They store it, release it, and withstand exposure. Internal bones seem more like channels. They help circulate Radiance through the body, but they are not built to preserve it once removed."

I leaned back, trying to process it.

"So the protruding bones are like batteries, and the inner bones are like wires?"

Rashid nodded.

"That is a simple way to put it, yes."

"Then why not capture Ossarians alive and drain the Radiance from them?"

For a moment, Rashid said nothing.

Then his eyes hardened.

"We tried."

The room grew quiet.

"And?"

"It was a disaster. A living Ossarian can resist extraction. Their bodies instinctively pull the Radiance back inward, and if they feel threatened, they can overload their bones and detonate the stored energy."

My stomach tightened.

"They explode?"

"Not always. But when they do, everyone nearby dies."

"So killing them while they are powered up is safer?"

"Safer," Rashid said, "but not safe."

I glanced at the weapon again.

"How many capsules can one Ossarian produce?"

"It depends on its age, strength, and how much Radiance it had gathered before death. A weak one may give only a handful. A mature warrior can provide enough for dozens. An elite Ossarian can supply an entire squad for days."

"And that's why their bones are valuable."

"More than valuable," Rashid said. "They are the foundation of our survival."

I looked down at the capsules, and the awe I had felt moments earlier began to twist into something colder.

These weapons were not just tools.

They were trophies.

Fuel taken from the dead.

"Enough questions for now. I'll bring you lunch and some water. I know you are both hungry and thirsty."

"Oh, I have some food and water. Let me show you," I say, rummaging through my backpack. With a triumphant grin, I retrieve a half-full bottle of water and a few cans of food, offering them with a gesture of generosity.

The soldier looked at me with looks of pity in his eyes and said: "Every canned food in your hand is good. You can use it when you are outside of the shelter, but they taste terrible. They are edible at least."

"What about the bottle of water?"

"…"

"…"

"Throw that bottle of piss away from your hands."