4 The Wish

"Here you go." Cain's little sister, Eve, came to the two young boys. She took both their wrists and tied a different colored string on both of them. Sol wore a black one while Cain wore white.

"Uhm…what's this for?" Sol asked, looking at the makeshift bracelet on his hand.

"It's a lucky charm dummy! The draw will happen tomorrow and that is to prevent any chances of either of you getting chosen for the [Culling]!" The vibrant child said in reply.

"Heeehhh? Since when have you been into sorcery Eve?" Sol teasingly asked.

"It's not sorcery! It's divine uhmm…divine intergalactic something!"

"I believe the right word is 'intervention' honey." Cain's mother, Olivia, said in reply.

"Ah forget it! If Sol doesn't want it then I'll just keep it to myself!" As Eve reached for the bracelet, Sol stood up and raised his arm. Preventing the ten-year-old girl from getting it.

"Hey you already gave it right? Taking it back is bad manners." The boys laughed and even Cain's mother giggled a bit. But they didn't waste any time longer than that.

"Anyway, we have a little surprise for the two of you so why don't we head inside?" Cain motioned for his mother and sister to go in. Giving a nod to Sol who went to his own shelter.

The cardboard set at the side of Cain's house is actually owned by Sol. As an orphan, nobody wanted to take him in. He was a common street rat just like a lot of other children who were given birth to by the prostitutes of Void.

In fact, even his stay there was not free. He needed to pay his earnings to Cain's father who, fortunately for him, was not there at the moment.

"Let's see. Where did I put those things again?" Sol took out a book from his stack at the corner. It was his favorite among all of them because, it was one he made himself.

"So this year they're gonna use the abandoned Metropolitan City. Man, that's going to be a hard place to be in." Just like every other year that passed, Sol prepared his best in case he gets chosen for the Culling.

If one was to briefly describe the event, it would go as such. The Culling is an annual fighting event between the ten domains. Apart from the Void Domain, the other nine domains have their citizens wielding power.

Ice.

Flames.

Water.

Wind.

Earth.

Lightning.

Steel.

Physical Enhancement.

Summoning.

These were the specialties of the other nine domains. As for the system of the Culling itself, five would be chosen from every domain and would be then sent to one of the Chaos Areas. A location that is non-inhabitable for the humans – one that was destroyed a thousand years ago.

Here, the Titans would fight until only one domain is left. And, based on their final standing within the fight, they would be given the portion of land within the Garden of Eden appropriate to their standing. That is why the plantations were never constant. They changed every year that is, except for the Void Domain which always came in last.

That is why the king of the Void Domain never really cared who his Titans would be. In fact, it is because of this same hopelessness that the participants of the domain were chosen in random. Of course, Sol shared the sentiment but, unlike the other Void citizens, he nevertheless prepared.

"I mean, who'd be eager to fight against forty-five super humans, right? Definitely not me." Sol opened the book and, on top of the text on each page were locations used within the Culling.

"If I ever get chosen, at least I'll die trying to win. That would make me regret this life a little less." Sol thought as he flipped through the pages. Looking for the exact location of the upcoming Culling.

Throughout the years, the fights would be broadcasted live on screen and even on the speakers of the Odd Balls. This allowed Sol to listen in on what was happening and printed out the details in his mind.

"Ragu fell into a swamp! My oh my, it seems that the forest is a bit tricky folks!"

"Alexis has been ambushed by a pack of Mutated Hounds!"

"Dear me, there's no way for Clifford to dodge the arrows!"

As soon as he got back to his cardboard haven, he would begin drawing the maps based on the details given by the announcer. With word of mouth alone, Sol was able to make perfect copies of the locations.

All of the danger zones and safe zones. The plants, crystals, and monsters that would be found on the areas. The perfect hiding spots. The areas which no other Titan went to before. As well as secret areas hinted through the broadcasts. Sol took note of all these things, all to increase his chances of surviving.

Then, as he continued flipping through the pages, he notices the dangling bracelet on his wrist. It was a worn-out thread but, Sol knew that Eve did her best to make it as she even braided the ends which tied the bracelet together. And for some reason, this made him worry less about the selection that would happen the next day.

"Divine Intervention huh. Sorry but I don't believe in that crap."

Right as he was about to view the location on his book, he heard the sound of the door opening. Soon enough Olivia was there, bringing him the food for the night.

"Thank you ma'am." Sol said, reaching out for the bowl. But then Olivia moved it away and gave a reprimanding gaze at the boy.

"Solomon, what on earth were you thinking?"

"I was thinking of feeding my generous benefactors ma'am." Sol said in a courteous tone, making Olivia sigh.

"I keep on telling you, there's no need to pay me back for anything. My husband is already extorting you as it is. I don't want to add to the burden of a twelve-year-old boy." There was a genuine look of worry on her face. One which showed the kind of concern a real mother would towards Sol.

"Promise me you won't do it again okay?" If there was one person whom Sol couldn't refuse, it was Olivia. With all that the woman has done for him out of pure generosity and love, Sol has formed a deep sense of loyalty toward her and her family. That is why her words pained him so because, he knew he had to obey it.

"I promise." Sol regretfully replied and with this, his food was handed to him.

"Don't finish it all in one go okay?" Was all that Olivia said with a smile on her face. It was a moment of calm, peace and quiet. One that came rarely. But, just as everything was about to turn well, the storm suddenly came.

"HOOOONEY I'M HOOOOME!" Just from his voice alone, both Sol and Olivia were on edge.

"Sol hide your food quickly." She said as she turned around to face the person whose face was finally shown by the dimmed lights of the streets.

"Man it was a hard day at work again." He gave his weapon and his armor for Olivia to carry for him.

"I'm sure it was Arthur, why don't you come inside. I made you some special soup." She said, covering Sol as much as she could.

"What did you just call me woman?" Olivia realized her mistake right there and then, but before she could even reply, Arthur punched her in the face. The armor and weaponry were scattered all around, and the sound of metal hitting metal made Cain and Eve peek out the window.

"The fuck is with that lousy greeting? Arthur? What am I your fucking son?" He kicked Olivia in the gut, making her cough out blood.

"I keep on telling you to fix that! You filthy who–"

"MAAAN THIS SOUP IS THE BEST!" Just before Arthur could hit her again, Sol shouted these words. Directing the drunk man's attention to himself.

"Go inside woman." Arthur commanded, with both Cain and Eve coming outside to assist their mother as the violent man walked towards Sol.

"Grit your teeth." Arthur didn't waste any time and punched Sol in the face. The boy dropped to the ground immediately, with his food spilled near him. As if this was not enough, Arthur even stepped on the head of the poor boy.

"Lick it all up you dog, don't waste anything we feed you." Sol did as he was told, cleaning the ground of the soup.

The meal that was supposed to be decent for once was once again turned into trash. Sol ate dirt; all the dirt that was wet from the soup that spilled. His body tried to puke out the dangerous substance but, Sol forced it all down, knowing that the torture won't end unless the command was properly executed.

"That's more like it. How did your soup taste again?"

"It tasted great sir Arthur." Sol said, showing a smile on his face as he turned it sideways.

"Bah, you're no fun." Arthur finally lifted his foot off Sol's face, thinking that he was just wasting energy with the boy.

"I'll be generous and let you off with just that." He furthered, entering the house as he demanded to be fed.

Meanwhile, Sol began puking out everything he took in. He couldn't afford to get sick nor to get any form of disease. Nobody would take care of him and, nobody would care even if he was left half dead. All he had was himself and, as Cain and his family ate; their generous benefactor continued throwing up.

"Man, no matter how many times I've done it, dirt still tastes like dirt." Sol said, laying down on his carton bed and gazing at the starless night sky.

He thought about Eve's idea of divine intervention again. It was still a stupid concept to him but, at the same time, Sol tried it out for once. Praying to the whatever entity it was that gave him such a cruel fate.

"Hey, look here buddy. I don't know if you're real or not but, I'm only gonna ask once okay?" There was no sign of anyone listening to him but Sol proceeded anyway.

"Tomorrow, draw my name on the Titan selection."