Laniakea Preview (Subject to change)

Intro | Cynthia Seino's Soliloquy

Certain things are meant to be forgotten. Be it natural or forced. To forget... To forget is one of the biggest sins. They do not forget, they will never forget, they cannot forget. I, however, have forgotten. Surely things weren't supposed to be like this. Surely, they didn't want me to live like this. I didn't understand anything. I forgot everything. I always want to believe there's hope but there rarely is. To find out what happened to me... That is my goal and I'm gonna give everything to accomplish it. Surely there is hope...

Prologue

Dawn

"Good morning, Cynthia, it is 7:30 a.m. Its Sunday the 1st of September 2103, the weather will be mostly sunny with heavy storms expected in the upcoming week. You have an appointment later today."

"Fuck, last day of holidays. Well, at least the next couple of weeks are gonna be exciting." I thought to myself. I stayed up late last night, so I was still very tired. The room was brightly illuminated by the rising sun.

"Zip when is my appointment? Where the fuck am I even supposed to be at on a Sunday?" I asked the little orb thingy (I don't even know the real name of the thing; Yasu gifted it to me on my 18th Birthday).

"A standard meeting with your psychologist. It is currently scheduled for 9:30 a.m., would you like me to reschedule it for you?"

"It's fine, better get It done earlier than later." As I laid on my bed, I got on my phone and checked for any new messages. Unfortunately, there wasn't anything new besides the usual Extis commercials.

"These commercials are so annoying" I thought to myself. They in fact, were very infuriating since they blocked about a quarter of my timeline. I kept scrolling for a little bit longer before I got up.

"Ahhn" I yawned, a tear running down my left cheek as I began walking towards the bathroom. My apartment was rather small and since I was jobless, Yasu had to pay for it. It honestly feels like scamming him. As I was just about to enter the bathroom, I heard my phone ring. Certainly, it was who I thought it was, so I ignored the call and went into the bath anyway. I looked into the mirror. My hair was disheveled to a point where you could only describe it as a catastrophe and if you would have to describe my appearance right now, the first word that would come to mind would probably be "Zombie".

"Life sucks", I said aloud.

Life was certainly not great. This city was hell. Living here is a nightmare, but it's one of the few places where you have access to everything at a reasonable price. Fortunately, I was a proud owner of two good friends, which made me feel immensely proud. Well technically I'm not their owner. I turned away from the mirror, probably looking even more dead than I did when I woke up.

When I finished washing myself, I stepped out of the shower and put some simple makeup on. Since I wasn't planning to go out or something like that, I would probably be fine.

After I got dressed, I looked into the mirror again.

"What a difference 20 minutes can make." I thought to myself, trying to up my confidence levels. I was wearing the stuff I always wear: a white hoodie and a black skirt. Combine it with some black thigh-highs and you have the perfect casual look. At least that's what I think but my sense for fashion was equal to that of an empty fish can. I sat down on the chair next to my desk and thought about what I could eat for breakfast. "Hmm, the fuck I'm gonna eat, I have nothing at home." Once again, my laziness caused me trouble, so I had to leave early to get something to eat before my appointment at the doctor.

As I stepped out of the front door of my apartment, I was greeted rather harshly. It was a classmate of mine, Adrian. He was tall and had blonde hair, all the girls were crushing on him but to me he seemed like your typical asshole.

"Yo Cynthia got all the work done last night. You know, school starts tomorrow, I bet your lazy ass didn't even start. Hahaha."

"Ahh shut the fuck up. I don't need to do it anyways." I wanted to ignore him first but everyone that knows me knows that you can trigger me very easily.

"You know it´s Sunday, so what are you doing outside at 8 in the morning?"

"I have a doctor's appointment."

"Cynthia, the doctor doesn't open until 9, so why are you out at 8. The doctors only a five-minute walk."

"Why should I tell you. None. Of. Your. Business."

"Haha, I bet you were too lazy to buy groceries, so you have to get something now, at eight, on a Sunday, how sad." I quickly looked away, I was surprised that he guessed it that perfectly, but it probably was obvious.

"I knew it. Well in that case, wanna eat something together?"

"I'd rather die."

"Haha, well I will see you tomorrow, don't forget the schoolwork."

"Fuck you! I don't have school tomorrow anyway." He shot me a questioning glance as I turned away. That encounter put my mood rock bottom again. Luckily, I won't have to put up with him soon.

I walked into the grocery store which was open 24/7 and looked for something to eat. The store was practically empty, which was expected on a Sunday morning, so I didn't have any stress. I don't like large groups of people; I don't like it when there are more than five people in one place. After about 15 minutes I left the store with some instant noodles.

"I choose my food very carefully." I ironically mumbled to myself. The grocery stores have very cool stations where you can boil water, so I quickly filled up my cup and got going again.

I sat down on a park bench and looked towards the overwhelming skyline. While I continued to eat my noodles, I thought about how fucked up everything was. Practically everyone in this city was a drug addict but I guess that counts for all the 3 Cores. I wonder how I got here. I had no recollection of the time before Yasu found me in the city outskirts. I was 16 at the time. Back then Yasu was still employed by Extis. I sighed.

"What do I do?" I had no idea what had happened in the past. I could probably say that my life started when I was 16 years old because I forgot, no I rather can't remember what happened before. Two years weren't exactly much time to build a good personality and that showed. I have two friends, Yasu and Ava. Well that's how it used to be. Things with Yasu are kinda complicated at the moment. Ava is the only friend I have in school. She was gonna join me in something cool. Normally I wouldn't mind it but in school it's like, I just sit there and talk to nobody. It hurts. Everything feels so tough, no matter how hard I try, I don't seem to get anything right even once. Yasu keeps telling me that I should stop being so pessimistic, but I don't think I am. I just think realistically even if it hurts.

As I finished eating my noodles, I wanted to look at my phone, but it wasn't in my pocket.

"Come on, I fucked up again. Why does this happen every single time." It should be around 8:45. If I hurry, I would be able to go home and take it, but I don't want to risk it. I'm always half an hour early at the doctor's office in hopes of getting out earlier. I hate my doctor. He keeps telling me I'm depressed and that I need help. I don't trust him.

Since I decided not to get my phone, I arrived at the doctor's office at point nine.

Non-nominal appointment

Sundays at the doctor are always fun. Only a few people have appointments on Sunday. But since I was one of them it should be smooth sailing. That's what I thought until an assistant came into the waiting room. She was visibly nervous and looked like she was holding back her tears.

"Excuse me, Dr. Saiaku isn't able to be here today, so a substitute will have to take his place today, however you will just have to wait a little while longer." The few people who were waiting with me were visibly frustrated, which is understandable. No one wants to sit in the waiting room of a doctor on a Sunday morning.

I looked at the clock above the entrance. It was now quarter to ten. My sleepiness was slowly getting the better of me. I was about to doze off when I heard my name being called:

"Cynthia the doctor is waiting for you in room 3 now." I stood up and I walked towards room 3. As I walked, I glanced over to the assistant. An hour had passed, and she was still trying to hold back her tears. Something must have happened to her.

*knock* *knock*

"Enter" said a voice that was unknown to me.

Infront of me sat a rather attractive man, probably in his twenties. He had brown curly hair and wore glasses.

"Good morning, Cynthia. I'm your new doctor. My name is Castain. Yes."

"What why? What happened to Dr. Saiaku?"

"Well how should I tell you? He had a little accident. Yes. I believe he won't come back anytime soon. Yes yes. You can't work if your dead."

"You're telling me that he died? How?" I wasn't sad or anything although it was very unexpected. Dr. Saiaku was only in his forties, so I really wondered how he met his demise.

"Like I said, just a little accident. Yes yes."

"Little accidents don't usually kill people." When he heard this his smile started to fade.

"Yes. Well in that case, it did. But we don't want to talk about Mr. Saiaku am I right? Tell me, how can I help you?"

"Huh, how should I know? The doctor wanted to speak to me but... yea."

"If that's the case let me take a quick look at your files, you were here before, yes?"

His way of speaking made me extremely uncomfortable.

"Yes, I come here often."

"Yes yes, I can see why."

"Excuse me?"

"Nothing nothing. Well, it seems that you struggle with your mental, can you confirm this is correct?"

"I-I wouldn't say that."

"Hm, files tell a different story. Also, the assistant gave me these, your blood test results from last time. Have you've done anything illegal these past weeks?" he looked into my eyes. Strangely immense these words carried immense pressure.

"No, why are you asking?"

"Well overall the results look normal, nothing out of the ordinary except for this." He showed me the paper full of weird diagrams. At the bottom of the page there was something written in red. Before I could read it, he took back the piece of paper.

"I couldn-"

"Extis."

"What do you mean?"

"There is Extis in your blood. You know what that means. You took Extis. You've been eighteen for only 2 weeks, these results are 5 weeks old. Underage people aren't allowed to take Extis. Normally I would have to send you to therapy for that."

"No! Please don't. I swear I have never touched a drug in my life." I was irritated.

"And I should believe you, yes? Do you think I'm stupid?" He stared deep into my eyes.

"No there must be a mistake. I have no reason to take drugs. I would neve-"

"You have severe depression Cynthia, that's why you're here."

"I'm not depressed. But even If I were why should I take drugs?"

"Why do you think that Extis is mostly consumed by the lower-to middle classes? Because they are all helpless, they all feel sad, irritated... depressed. That's the main reason everyone takes this shit. They made it legal so they wouldn't have to put 2/3 of the population behind bars."

What he told me was the truth, everyone took it except for a specific group of people, the "normal" people. However, I never took Extis out of fear that it would worsen my mental health even more.

"Please you have to believe me, I never took Extis! There has to be a mistake!"

"So, you are saying that your dead doctor's assistant put Extis in your blood test?"

"No of course I'm not saying that." My body started to tremble as I held back my tears. I was afraid of the consequences; I was afraid of what Yasu would say if he found out. There was silence for a few seconds as Dr. Castain wrote something down on a piece of paper.

"I'm gonna let it slide since you're eighteen now. I don't wanna catch you again, you know what that stuff does to your body."

"Yes." I said quietly.

"Good. It says you must take medicine for migraines. Did you take them?"

"Sometimes."

"Hm, I understand. As this is your first appointment as an adult, I have to inform you that your visits concerning your mental health issues are now voluntary. You have to decide for your own if you want to continue these monthly visits."

"I'll think about it."

"I see, well you have to decide for yourself." he said calmly.

"If anything gets worse you can always come by but please call first." He looked at his computer again.

"I think that should be anything, Mr. Saiaku only planned to talk about the blood test, so I think we are finished. Anything more I can help you with?"

"No thank you." Of course, I could have talked about all the sick stuff I think about, but that guy gives me the creeps so I'd rather not.

"Alright have a nice day."

"Bye." As I left the room, he suddenly asked me something.

"Cynthia. What do you think happened to Mr. Saiaku?" I was surprised by the question and turned around.

"Huh?"

"You don't have to answer me." He was grinning. Looking at me with his smile. This guy...

I turned around and closed the door behind me. I could feel a shiver running down my spine.

Slight inconvenience

It was just past 10:30 a.m. as I entered my apartment. I had left two and a half hours ago and since I left my phone here, I hadn't checked my messages for that time. I remembered getting a phone call right before I stepped into the shower. My phone was lying on the kitchen table, so I swiftly picked it up and started to check for messages.

You missed 4 calls from: Yasu. Usually, he would only call me once, and once he notices I didn't pick up, he wouldn't try again until a few hours later, he is a very patient type, so it must be at least moderately serious.

"What if he found out about the blood test. No, I must be overthinking it again. But what if-"

My phone started ringing again. It was Yasu.

"Hello?"

"Cynthia! Finally."

"Is something wrong? You don't usually call me that often."

"Yeah, I must talk about something with you."

"Huh? What is it? Did you find out about the-" I stopped myself from speaking any further.

"Find out about what?"

"-"

"Cynthia, is there something I need to know? Do you want to tell me something?"

"No, it's nothing." I lied but I knew he probably wouldn't take the bait.

"Are you sure? I probably should have asked how you are first. When it comes to you no one ever knows. You know you can tell me if something's wrong."

"I know. But you don't have to treat me like a baby. I'm fine. Really." I tried to steer further away from my mistake.

"That doesn't sound very confident." he persisted.

"Ok I'll tell you. I found out that my doctor died." I didn't really care about his death. He really was a piece of shit. His passing was deserved.

"Mr. Saiaku? But you hated him, didn't you?"

"Yeah, but it just tells you about the transience of life doesn't it haha. Anyway, there was something important you wanted to tell me?" I awkwardly tried to distract him again.

There was a pause, a few seconds of silence until I heard him sigh.

"Yes, it's about my job. I got fired."

"What the fuck? Why did you get-" I couldn't believe it.

"I'm not gonna talk about that on the phone. But you have to understand that some things are gonna change from now on."

"Like what?"

"Well, we have to cut some costs, I should be fine with paying for your rent but still... I don't really know."

"What do you mean you don't know?

"I don't want you to suffer from my mistake."

"Are you ok?"

"Well obviously not... Listen I'm gonna figure something out. Can I trust you on being silent on this matter?"

"Y-yes, sure."

"Cynthia?" he asked silently.

"Huh?"

"Later today still stands right?" he was referring to a meetup we scheduled.

"Yea."

"Goodbye, until later."

He hung up before I could say goodbye.

I sat down on the couch. Then the weight of this situation hit me. Yasu was an employee of Extis. Extis is the biggest company in the world. They invented Extis Powder which was originally used as a power source. Nigh infinite amounts of energy and no climatic impact, at least that's what's Extis claims. Everything was going well until the people found out that the raw powder could be used as a drug. "Recreational Purposes" they say. The stuff destroys your body.

As you would expect, shady things were going on there. So, I doubt that the only consequences of his exit would be the money problems. I just hope that will be fine.

I stood up and went to the bathroom. I had subconsciously teared up. I wiped away my tears. Why do I get emotional so easily? Of course, I knew I was depressed. Of course, my mental was going down the drain. But why, why me? Tricking people into thinking you're fine wasn't easy. Always acting like nothing worries you is insanely hard.

I grabbed my jacket and left the grey apartment complex.

The sun was setting, it was getting dark. Only the tops of the skyscrapers were illuminated by the setting sun's faint orange glow. The familiar streets of my neighborhood felt foreign. The vibrant colors and familiar faces were replaced by a gloomy grey haze. I couldn't shake the feeling of loneliness and isolation. Yasu probably couldn't be there for me very often anymore. If that would even help. He has his own problems. I knew that the step I decided I would take next week was huge. I shouldn't worry about Yasu since I wouldn't see him anymore. The leaves that had fallen rustled under my feet. I felt the wind growing stronger and a chill creeped up my spine. There was a storm coming, the problems we were having would only grow worse and I couldn't imagine how I would hold up. I saw the small bench I had sat on this morning. Still lost in my thoughts I walked towards the bench. As I stood before it, I looked up. The skyscrapers surrounding the park. I liked this place. It felt like my own little space in this world. Every time I feel sad, or something bothers me, I come here. Even if the trees in this park weren't real, it still felt special. I sat down, closed my eyes and laid back.

After a few minutes I stood up again and went towards *that* place.

His thoughts

As I hung up the phone, I couldn't help but feel a bit guilty. I was supposed to be there for Cynthia, yet I wasn't. But I couldn't tell her the truth. The experiments, the horrible things they asked me to do, I couldn't bear it anymore, so I quit. I don't want to tell her this. If I told her I quit of my own will, she would ask questions, she wouldn't believe me without a convincing reason. Whatever reason I would give her, she would inevitably do one of her Investigations and end up getting hurt. Again. Telling her I was fired was probably my safest bet. Either way, she will always ask questions. The main priority is to keep her safe.

I pulled out a box out of my left pocket and opened it up.

"Fucking hell" I thought to myself as I grabbed a cigarette and lit it up. If Cynthia saw me like this, I would have to strap in for another lecture from her. I didn't usually smoke but in situations like this I couldn't help but to. I just needed some nicotine to help me think. Since I quit on my own, I expected to be cool yet, I kept worrying. I had to sign many papers including embargoes and all that. Extis wanted to make sure that I don't go around leaking confidential information. If there ever was information circulating, they know who leaked it. They made that clear. Quitting was a lengthy process, I took weeks.

The sun had nearly completely set, and the clouds were only getting thicker. It was about to rain. I threw my empty cigarette down and continued to grab another one from the box.

Since my parents are involved with the head of the organization, I ended my relationship with them as soon as I sent my resignation. If it ever even was a real relationship. I was just another way of earning money for them. Corporate fucks. I crossed my arms and leaned forward on the guardrail of the balcony. Pieces of my cigarette fell. I remembered the day I found Cynthia. It was my first day at Extis, Internship. My parents insisted that I do it. The first task I was given there was to advertise their new products to poor people in the slums. Almost everyone in this area was probably at the end of their life, their bodies were often destroyed by drugs. Almost. Then I saw her sitting on the sidewalk. She didn't belong there, there was something off. Why would she just sit there and do nothing? From a physical standpoint she should not be there. You don't end up here for no reason.

Or that's what I told her... If I ever told her the truth, she would probably lose trust in me. I can't risk her remembering.

As my thoughts grew more troublesome, I didn't notice that my cigarette was almost empty. Then as I wanted to take the next drag from it, I inhaled a small piece of it and started coughing.

"Stop killing yourself. Please." I heard a voice behind me and turned around.

Cynthia stood there, back against the doorframe and arms crossed. Her eyes were slightly reddened leading me to think that she had cried not too long ago. She looked at me with a stern look.

"How did you get in here?"

"Hm." She held up a key. "You gave it to me remember? You said that if something is bothering me; I should just come over."

"I guess I did that." While I really didn't understand the need to meet me an hour before we planned to meet either way irritated me, but to not hurt her feelings I kept quiet.

"So?"

"So what? You know why I'm here."

Of course, I knew why she was here, but I never thought she would use the key. I gave it to her shortly after she moved out of my place. But since she was so reluctant to take it, I thought she would just leave it be. Well considering the situation, it shouldn't be that much of a surprise.

Three options were presented to me. First, telling her the truth. Well, that's not really an option. Too many risks. Second, send her out without saying anything. From a moral standpoint, this should be a no-go and would probably scar our relationship heavily. And the third choice was considerably the worst. Third...

"I do not know."

Play dumb.

New destination

"I do not know." This was the answer I was most expecting. I could just choose to play along, but because I came for another matter I chose not to.

"Actually, I'm here for something else. I wanted to discuss something."

"What is it?"

"It's about school. It starts tomorrow I told you right?"

"Yea, you did."

"Well, I'm not going."

"Huh?"

"Let me explain please. A few weeks ago, I was invited to join the student exchange program. So, I am going to school somewhere else."

"Well, that's great." he said, with the most neutral tone I've ever heard.

"So, where are you going?"

"Lunaris. I'm pretty excited." I told him with a big smile.

"Lunaris huh?" He looked puzzled.

"Yeah. I'm actually already leaving tomorrow night sooo..." I put my hand to my chin.

"Tomorrow? So, no school for you tomorrow?"

"Not quite. There are some things that need to be discussed with the teachers, so I have to come to school tomorrow to talk and return the last papers I've gotten." Many documents had to be filled out. I had spent the last few nights writing papers and stuff.

"Aha."

"You don't sound that amused. Well, I'll be gone for a few months at least until I return, so maybe you can give my apartment to someone else to get some money."

"Yea, I'll probably do that."

"I'm going to UI, you know? It's one of the biggest Universities in the world. University Infinity is like my dream. I'm so lucky."

"Well, congratulations." he slowly clapped his hands. It felt like he was being sarcastic.

"You don't really sound happy for me tho..."

"It's not like I'm not happy for you, but that complicates some things that I had planned. So, it would have been nice if you would have told me in advance."

"Roger, my bad. Will do next time." I admitted my error in a way that he could see as sarcastic.

"Well, I hope everything will go smoothly. As for me, I'll find something to do in the meantime." As he just lost his job, he really should.

"Ah, good luck. Well, that was everything I wanted to talk about. If you ever want to tell me about what happened at Extis, gimme a call." I gave him a smile.

I turned around back to the door.

"Hey, we aren't gonna see each other for some time and you're not even gonna say goodbye?" Yasu sounded annoyed and disappointed.

I look back over my shoulder.

"Goodbye." Ughh, cold.

"Yeah. Goodbye. Give me a few calls now and then, so I can check If you're doing alright."

"You can also check my Instagram-Stories, I'm sure I'll post some."

"Ok." He was noticeably quieter than before now.

"Well then, see you." With that I closed the door behind me and left the apartment.

I actually didn't mean to be so mean to him, but I was a little bit frustrated with the Extis situation. It was not like I hated him... Well, there was a feeling rising in me. Our relationship had noticeably worsened. I just thought he was being annoying; treating me like a child even after I turned 18. I had subconsciously built up a bit of hatred against him, which was completely unnecessary. As I descended the stairs of his Apartment, I thought about the opportunities I would have in Lunaris. Most of all I wanted to leave this city behind. I didn't like it at all.

Ava

Next, I had to talk to Ava. She was a close friend of mine and also a participant in the Student Exchange Program. Ava was the first person that talked to me when I entered school after I began to exist (I call it the beginning of my existence because it's the furthest moment I can remember). We quickly got along really well, so quickly that I had the suspicion she knew me from before but when I asked her, she denied it, so I guess I was wrong. Anyway, she's my best friend and I'm happy that she was also selected for the program. It's weird… I most often want to be alone, but when I am, I always struggle so hard. That is a contradiction and yet my feelings don't change. I really hate myself for that. I hope that this new environment will suit me well, at the very least I'm going to get pushed out of my comfort zone. I knew nothing about this school nor the city, the only thing that was mentioned a couple of times was that Lunaris is the City of Science and Progress which sounded like a dumb advertisement to me. University Infinity was no different, promising the best education worldwide and independence from Extis. It was true that big companies were granted exactly that, but this school couldn't possibly be this big… right? Also, this independence is granted only when Extis recognizes a potential or benefit to their own that is enhanced by the lack of pressure from the higher ups. For example, there is a big transport company that is exempt from any involvement through Extis. This company, I forgot its name; something with Space, is a company that specializes in transporting people around the globe in less than 60 minutes. That was achieved through suborbital flight. After their many failed attempts on trying to land people on mars they were forced to do something different to avoid bankruptcy. However, this type of transport was only for the super-rich, like Ava. She is really rich, like really fucking rich. But I didn't care, she had treated me well. Maybe someday I can go to space too.

I walked out of the apartment building and pulled out my phone. After I found her contact, I tapped the call button.

"Yuh, what's up?"

"There's some things we should talk about before it starts right?"

"Ah yes. Nearly forgot haha."

"Um so first, uhh let me check… Right, we have our first day on Wednesday. I'm gonna fly tomorrow night, so I'll arrive on Tuesday morning. I'm assuming you will fly P2P?"

"Yeah. Point to Point is still the quickest way. If you had asked earlier, I would have booked some tickets for you two you know?"

"Not needed. But that means you'll still arrive later than me, right?"

"That's right, my flight is departing Tuesday afternoon, so I'll be there in the evening."

"Were gonna share an apartment I presume? I heard the school talked about it with you?"

"Oh, I totally forgot to tell you haha. We have an apartment not far from campus. It has two bedrooms, a bathroom, living space and a kitchen. And most importantly, we have a balcony!"

"Most importantly? You're only saying this because you're happy that you can smoke. But that apartment sounds really good, like it's such an upgrade for me!"

"Still a downgrade for me. Ah, sorry, I forgot that you're poor. Just kidding haha."

"That's mean."

"I didn't mean it, you know me."

"Yeah, I know."

"Anything else you want to talk about?"

"No not really. I think we should talk about the rest when we are there."

"Yeah, I agree."

"Alright. So, we'll see each other in Lunaris right? That sounds so exciting."

"It really does. Aight, I'm gonna see you there and safe travels."

"You are too. See ya!"

With that I put my phone back into my pocket and went back to my apartment.

Leaving so soon?

It was now shortly after 9 PM and the wind was growing stronger. I didn't really get much sleep last night and I was really tired. I still had to clean up my room before I go so, I decided to take a quick nap. An hour nothing more. I lied down on my bed and swiftly drifted off into sleep. As I was asleep I had a really strange experience, a dream or perhaps a hallucination. I heard rain, purple flashes, but I didn't hear a thing. I just felt empty. I couldn't move. My arm felt numb, no, it was starting to hurt, and I could feel my pulse getting faster. I tried to move but I couldn't. The sound of my heartbeat was getting so loud. The sound of rain faded in, and the purple flashes got brighter. Just as I heard someone whispering in my ear, I woke up. I was drenched in sweat, and my left arm still hurting. Also, there was a faint purple glow on it, no, I must have been hallucinating. As the sound of the wind and rain outside faded back into my hearing spectrum, I heard my phone ring. Who was it? I took my phone. It was the number of the school. What would they want at this time? The clock on my phone said 11:21PM, nine minutes before my alarm. With curiosity in my mind, I accepted the call.

"Hello?"

"Ah finally got to you. Tried like twenty times already. Listen something important came up."

"It's not usual for the school to call at this time, especially on a Sunday. I was sleeping you know?"

"Sorry for waking you up but this is really important. Have you seen the weather by any chance?"

"Fushibuto is now global level."

"Fushibuto? You mean the storm?"

"Yes. The situation is getting worse by the hour. The thing is, your flight won't be able to go ahead tomorrow evening due to the storm, so it got pushed forward to 7am tomorrow, that means you're flying in approximately eight hours."

"That's really sudden you know?"

"I know. Otherwise, we would have to wait until this storm is over. And you know these Globals, they can take weeks to dissipate."

"Yes, I'm aware of that. Alright, I have to pack my stuff now. Is someone going to pick me up or do I have to go on my own?"

"Someone is going to pick you up at 3:30am. Be ready. We can't look into the future how this whole thing evolves. Better be early than late."

"Understood, I'll get ready as soon as possible."

"Good. Ah, one more thing, Ava will still travel P2P, but will wait until this storm passes. Don't ask me why but she insisted."

"Typical. Alright I think I know everything I need to. Assuming that you don't have anything else?"

"No that's all."

"Ok. Have a nice night principal."

"You too. Well… Have fun in Lunaris."

With that I ended the call. Ava staying was no surprise, yet I was still disappointed. It would at least be two weeks at least until I would see her again. I slowly stood up from my bed.

"Alright! Let's get to it then!" strangely enough my mood was very positive, normally after having a nap interrupted, I would be fuming but the excitement was probably outweighing my anger. I would be staying in Lunaris for a few months at least I would just buy new clothes and stuff over there, since I didn't want to carry my entire wardrobe with me. Also, I'm sure the school will provide some money so I can get along. 30 minutes into my search, I was crawling under a table in my storage room when I finally found my suitcase. A plain black suitcase. Nothing that stands out. I quickly folded my clothes and put them into the carcass. "Fits just right." The suitcase was practically completely full, I doubted that anything else would fit in, except in one corner. I took Zib, the little orby thing that Yasu gifted me.

"Zib? Shutdown please."

"Understood." The light the orb emitted faded into nothingness. I put it into the last empty corner of the suitcase. I closed the case and went to my computer one last time. I opened up Photoshop and quickly edited a little sticker. I smugly smiled when it slowly came out of the printer. The utterly overedited and girlish sticker read: Cynthia's Property. This was the result of a little idea I had a few days ago. First impression counts. I thought it was simple, make a cool first impression; If I come to school rocking a hip suitcase like this there would be people speaking to me for sure. Fast forward to now I realized that my oh so genius idea was actually completely bullshit. The thought of the reactions of the other students made me cringe big time. I pulled the hand that held the sticker into a fist crushing the little piece of paper.

"What was that Cynthia?" I thought to myself.

After my little escapade into pure cringe, I sat down at my computer again and made a new sticker. Now it was just a plain white text that read Cynthia.

"Much better." I said aloud. Then I took some duct tape and fixed it onto the middle of the suitcase. That should do it. I turned to my computer again and hit the shutdown button one last time.

The screen turned black for the last time. Well at least until I would be back. It was now 1:30 am. I still had two hours spare and didn't know what I could do to pass the time. Originally, I wanted to tidy up a bit, but I was too lazy now. I threw myself onto the couch and pulled out my phone. I opened up Twitter to check the storm. Nowadays Twitter is like an everything app. It has weather, news and even dating. I tapped the little search bar at the top of the screen and typed in: Fushibuto – 7.8 million tweets in the last 4 hours.

"Huuuuhhh? So, it's really a big deal?" I was quite surprised by the Tweet count. Global storms weren't particularly common, but they happen once or twice a year. So usually, they weren't that much discussed. The normal reaction to Globals was to shut down non needed facilities and that kind of stuff. Schools would always stay open during that time. I thought that it was actually kind of dangerous. As I scrolled trough the Tweets, I understood why it was so discussed. It is the biggest Global since the beginning of the recording. Resolis was still on the edge of the storm, and it would probably still take a few days until the storms full force would show here. I love stormy weather. It fits my rather gloomy personality. It makes me feel comfortable. After trying to figure out what to do I settled down in front of my TV.

"Hmm… What could I watch?" I said as I zapped through the different channels. Nothing really interesting came up as I quickly hopped between channels.

"Ah!", I gasped as I finally found something interesting. I upped the volume of the loudspeakers.

"We come to you live from the city center of Resolis, where about half an hour ago, police and the leftist group <Y> clashed. It was a violent confrontation. Tensions had been high for the last week after the assassination of the leader of the group. It was reported that at least 50 people have been killed. <Y> is known for drastic actions against Extis, as they are the only real opposition the company has. After today's events Extis has announced to take matters into their own hands instead of relying on police. What that means we will have to see." The voice of the female announcer was calm. She was just reading a script. This event probably wouldn't bother me much as I was just about to move. <Y> was well known. Most people hated them. Well since most people are Extis' slaves it was only natural. Earlier last week there was this big police operation, half of my neighboring district was evacuated. The whole thing took like 15 hours end ended with the death of Enrico Paslo, the leader of <Y>.

I was always interested in these kinds of things. Since I didn't know what happened before Yasu found me, I had to build a world for myself. I had to find out everything, how everything works, how to properly interact with others and what the other cities look like. Of course, there was the internet to gather these facts, but not exploring these places in person just felt wrong. That's why I was so excited to go to Lunaris. It's a change. Resolis is boring. But Lunaris is the City of Progress and Science. It has completely different culture. I want to experience that myself.

While watching the live broadcast time passed really quickly and the clock swiftly passed 3:20am.

I closed the door of my apartment for one last time. It felt strange. It really felt like the last time I closed this door. The hallway was dimly illuminated. I walked down the hallway towards the elevator. I knew things were about to change and I was completely ready.

As I continued to walk, I could feel a small smile forming on my face.

Transit

Shortly before 3:30am I exited the apartment building and put on the hood of my raincoat. It was pouring. Except for the few streetlights it was pitch black. The rain felt good and made me feel alive. I looked at the crosswalk on the other side of the street. A car was parked with it lights on. It was my transport. I walked over to the car.

"Hello!" I excitedly opened the door of the car.

"Cynthia, about time. Don't wanna be late right?" in the car sat an upperclassman of mine. We had talked a few times, but I didn't expect him to drive me to the airport.

"Hey what do you mean I'm perfectly on time."

He looked at me and smiled. "Come on get in, you don't want to catch a cold in the rain."

I threw my suitcase onto the backseat and jumped onto the passenger seat. I was sure anyone could read my excitement off my face.

"You seem really excited Cynthia."

"Hahaha, I really am. I can't wait! Anyway Matt, what are you doing here? I didn't

expect you to drive me."

"The principal asked me. I'm one of the few people that are allowed to drive. I agreed because he said he'd invite me to some beers." Matt said smugly. He and the principal always got along well.

"I see." I laid my head against the cold glass of the window as the car started to move. The airport wasn't really far so it would only be a 15-minute drive at longest. The roads where empty. Watching the raindrops roll down the outside of the window was oddly relaxing and helped calm me down a bit.

"Cynthia, tell me… What do you expect from this exchange program?" Matt asked calmly.

"I… I really don't know yet." I couldn't give him a definitive answer.

"You signed up for the program, so there has to be something you had in mind." He was really pushing for an answer.

"Well… I… I think I just wanted to push myself out of my comfort zone you know. I'm a bit of a loner, I don't really have friends. I tried but it didn't work, so I just thought that I would try it elsewhere." This was probably the closest answer to the truth that I could give him.

"You kinda had a different impression on me."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, your right when you say that you are a bit of a loner, but from my perspective you never really tried to make friends." He said with a dead voice. I stayed quiet for a few moments.

"Hm? Do you think so?" I asked him.

"Maybe that's a good thing you never know? You don't know how the people in Lunaris will be. Probably much different from here."

"I don't think so. Lunaris is just another Core anyway. They are all the same. Just Extis preying on drug addicts." I said dismissively.

"If this was your real opinion you would have never signed up."

"What do you know? And what did you mean by it's a good thing that I dint make any friends?"

"You are very naïve Cynthia, except when you choose the people you are around."

"I'm not naïve." I objected his statement.

"You can't say that after you got in someone's car at 3 in the morning."

"But I know you."

"That doesn't matter. What if I did something to you?" He threatened.

"Eh? Are you a creep?" I jokingly replied.

"Stop joking around. This is serious. After you leave this car, you will be on your own until Ava arrives. You should really take my warnings seriously." Matt answered angrily.

"Yeah… I understand. I'm just…" I couldn't find the words to tell my feelings about being alone for the first time. Well, the first time since I was found. After I didn't finish my sentence, the rest of the drive was pure silence. About 15 minutes later we arrived at the airport.

"Alright Cynthia. Time to get going. Don't forget anything in the car!" He advised.

"Hm… This and… Ah! Also, my bag… Alright I got anything." I said as I scrambled to grab all my stuff.

"Is that everything? Ok then. Wish you a pleasant flight. Ah! Before I forget, Ava gave me this. She said that I should give it to you." He handed me a small booklet.

"Ah! Ok I'll take it. Thank you for driving me!" I took the blue brochure. "

"Have fun over there! See you when you come back." With that I closed the door and the car drove away. The airport was nearly empty. I imagined it would be buzzing with activity, but it was nearly empty. The storm was going crazy. The wind had picked up significantly and the rain had gotten heavier Aswell. I didn't want to stay in the rain for too long, so I quickly rushed inside of the huge airport building. This was my first time at Resolis Intercontinental Airport. It was my first time here. It was mind blowing. I felt so small in this gigantic building, and it seemed like a million people could fit in here. The walls were plastered with holographic billboards, the kind that you would usually only find near the city center. Most of them were read and said: Heavy weather warning. Please stay inside of the building you are currently except if there is any kind of emergency. To be honest it was a bit frightening and made me think what if my flight was going to be cancelled. As I continued to walk through the airport terminal, I noticed a giant screen mounted to the ceiling. The screen gave information about arrivals and departures. Nearly every entry was marked red with a text next to them saying: cancelled. Two flights however weren't. One to Stellanta and the other to Lunaris. This was my flight. Checking in went pretty smoothly as there weren't many people. I imagined that my flight would be filled to the brim as it was the last one leaving before the storm would be in full force, but I was wrong. Still, I was warned multiple times that my flight could still be cancelled and if it would, there was no refund. Since the school paid for it, it didn't bother me. After security checks I arrived at the waiting area. A giant hall filled with seats, only a few of them were occupied. I sat down near the corner of the hall so I wouldn't be near people, even if there weren't many. I counted about 30 people, so the hall was practically empty. I still had about 2 hours before my flight was leaving so, I opted for some music. As I listened to music, I found myself growing increasingly tired and it wasn't long before I drifted off to sleep. Still, I am a very careful person, so I had set an alarm for 30 minutes before departure. This time, I saw the same thing as earlier tonight. Purple flashes, rain, and a brutal feeling of loneliness. But this time it just repeated itself, over and over again, like I was caught. Was I going to wake up? Am I going to be, ok? The voice was still whispering things into my ear. I couldn't understand it. What was it saying? Was It trying to tell me something. After countless repetitions of that dream, I finally woke up. The sound of my alarm had penetrated my earphones to reach my ears. I felt like I slept for an eternity. I looked around the giant hall to see people going towards the gates, the flight must have called for boarding. I glanced over to a giant screen to validate this. I got up, still a little bit dizzy and walked towards the gate. I was the last person to queue up and behind all the others I boarded the plane. After I sat down on my seat I looked out of my window. The rain had seemingly calmed down a bit. Also, this was my first time flying, not that I had the chance until now, so I was also pretty excited for that. The plane taxied across the airport for a good few minutes before it finally took off. It was a weird sensation. I was being pulled down but at the same time something was pushing me up. Also, my stomach was tickling. I was feeling like a child as I looked out of the window. The lights of the city abruptly went dark as the plane passed the clouds. As this was my first time on plane, I wasn't sure what I would do now. The majority of passengers was sleeping, but after my last two naps, I really didn't want to. I remembered the little booklet Matt gave me in place of Ava. I rummaged through my stuff. History of Lunaris. When I opened up the first page, I noticed a little post-it sticker. It was Ava's handwriting. Since I know that you really don't have any clue when it comes to history and stuff, I thought I'd buy you this. It should help at least a little bit. Also, I'm sorry that Ill arrive later than you. Still hope you'll have a great time without me though! See you! -Ava. I couldn't help but smile a bit when I read the letter. Ava might be rich, but I think she still cares about me.

"Alright, let's have a look then." I said quietly to myself before I flipped to page two. I started reading.

Lunaris is a sprawling metropolis, the second biggest Core and the center for everything science. The most advanced of the three Cores guarantees safety, happiness, education, and everything else. But how did evolve into what it is today? Lunaris is built 200 meters above the ruins of former Tokyo. After Tokyo was unfortunately destroyed in the Tiscore war it was originally planned as a memorial but quickly evolve into something much bigger. The presence of the Core attracted many, it was always under Extis' control but there were benefits for everybody. Under the leadership of Extis representative and newly crowned governor of Lunaris, Handa Yori, it has evolved into something truly magical. Witness flying metros, the tallest skyline in the world, and everything you can imagine in Lunaris.

Everything about this screams ad. I don't know why there would be ads If you could barely traverse between Cores at all. Like anyone who wants to move to a different core would need special permission. There was no such thing as vacation. That's why everyone on this plane was wearing all fancy clothes, probably businessman that had permission to travel because of work, like me, I was allowed to travel because of school. I was chosen. That sounds cool. What wasn't cool was that I had nothing to do, again. There was no connection on the plane so I couldn't even watch anything. I just blanky stared at the booklet. Former Tokyo huh… I wonder what happened in the Tiscore war. I heard about it a few times, but when I asked some of the teachers in school, they ignored me. They probably don't know either. From the information I could gather though, I would imagine that it took place about 40 years ago. I wonder, if Lunaris was built on ruins, were the other Cores as well? Either way I didn't have any option to find out, maybe some people in Lunaris know, but I really doubt that. On the other hand, I could ask Yasu, he worked at Extis, sure he knows something. But since that wasn't really important to me now, I didn't want to resort to asking Yasu. Not Yasu. Anyway, I was still bored. I really didn't want to sleep. This dream was creeping me out so much. But on the other hand, I still had 14 hours of flight ahead of me. What would I do instead? I didn't really have a choice. So, I decided to sleep. I would just embrace this dream if it would come again. If this happens every time now, I will have to find a way to cope with it. I always choose coping over trying to fix something. It's like… when you try to fix something and it fails, it hurts really much, so I just sit there and let it devour me. It also destroys me, but at a much slower rate. It feels… I don't know how to describe it. Ready to live through to the dream again, I closed my eyes. This time, I had a really hard time falling asleep. I tried to find a comfortable position to sleep, but I couldn't find one. After what felt like an eternity, I finally fell asleep. Darkness. Nothing but black. I couldn't feel anything, hear anything, or see anything. Where am I? This is different from before. What do I do? Why am I here? What are these dreams? Do they mean anything? These questions weren't answered. I was alone here. Or so I thought. The voice from before was coming back. I could slowly hear again. I didn't understand this time around either. But it just sounded like it was saying the same thing. What was it saying?

"…ni…a… …nia…a…" I can't understand.

"La…k…a…" It was getting clearer.

"Lani- "An abrupt flash marked an end to my hope of finding out what the voice was saying. It was gone again. I quickly tried to remember what the voice was saying, but I had already forgotten. After the light of the flash vanished once again, purple streaks shot past me at enormous speed. They were getting more and more. They weren't making any sound. There were so many, and they were so bright. What am I seeing? But like the lightnings, the streaks disappeared abruptly as well. Its dark again. What is this place? I asked myself this question again and again. But now nothing happened. Just the quiet cold blackness of my dream. It felt like I was trapped there, wherever this is.

"Dear passengers, we will begin our decent shortly. Please fasten your seatbelts." The message from the pilot snapped me out of whatever experience that was. I remember the doctor telling me that I have Extis in my blood. Maybe it was the cause of these dreams. I was probably overthinking again. People who take Extis, are usually hyperactive and don't really care about anything they're doing at that moment because they are incapable of noticing. My experience was the exact opposite. Either way, there were more important things to think about. Ava had warned me about jetlag, but I didn't notice anything yet. Since the plane was flying against the earth's rotation, I would arrive in the morning. Pre-planning the day was my top priority. I looked out of the window to check the weather. We were descending but we were still far above the clouds. The fact that the clouds were a solid non-transparent layer led me to believe that the weather wouldn't be that great in Lunaris either. The news said that Lunaris would be the last Core that would be hit by the Global, with the storm coming in at around late afternoon today. So, before that, I wanted to buy everything I needed to survive the upcoming days. First up, checking into my apartment. Second, buying some groceries and clothes. Third, prepare everything I need for school. This was my plan. The plane now entered the clouds. It was weird, only grey. I had hoped that it would be dry in Lunaris, at least when I arrive was quickly deleted when the first raindrops hit the window.

"Aw come on…" I quietly said to myself. It didn't take long for me to realize that it was pouring. It was raining more than back in Resolis. So much for "afternoon". I like rain, but not this much, and not after I already planned out the day. There's no chance I can do this stuff when its raining buckets like that. Some light rain wouldn't have bothered me, but this? The plane touched down, though I had never flown before, I could tell that this landing was a rather rough one. The process of border control and these kinds of stuff didn't last long. Because of the special permission granted by the school, I didn't have to go through any extra security checks. The border guard knew who I was, which I found pretty weird, but they also told me that they know every exchange student. It made things easier for him, at least that's what he said. Soon enough, I exited the airport terminal. The airport was on the outskirts of the elevated area of Lunaris. Massive skyscrapers were looming in the distance. The rain was pouring. I instantly noticed how different everything was. Then I got scared by a loud noise. A train? A train flew right above my head above the airport building. This must be the flying metro that was mentioned in the booklet!

"This Is it! My new and hopefully better life begins here! I'll do everything I can to make this the best year ever! New people, hopefully some new friends and maybe I can somehow find a place here, a place where I can say: I belong here. I want that. This storm is nothing. Ill give it my best." Surprising myself, these were the words I, Cynthia Seino, thought of right before everything begun. Nothing was how it seemed.

Prologue end.