Chapter #1 - 2112, bad luck and Lucas

In his humble room in a small building lived Lucas Ícaro, a 25-year-old Brazilian who suffered from countless nightmares in his nights. Even after several therapy sessions, he didn't recognize any improvement for a moment. In a sudden jump, he woke up with a blurred and frightened look; his breathing was heavy, and his hands were sweaty.

What the hell! - he muttered as he sat on the edge of the bed. - Just wanted a calm and peaceful night. I paid for therapy and medication for nothing, you know!

He got up, stretched a bit, and walked slowly to the kitchen to prepare something to eat before heading to the start of another academic year at his Computer Science college. It was his last year, and thanks to his grades, he had secured an internship at El Code Technology Company, the number one technology company focused on health in Brazil.

While having his coffee, Lucas thought about how lonely that apartment was, but this thought soon gave way to a feeling of apathy as he remembered how he got to where he is.

"From a random box to an apartment... Maybe the situation isn't that bad. I need to stop looking at only the negative side of certain things. Top student, a good internship, standard physical health. Only mental health isn't good, but nothing that a lot of occupation won't make me forget..."

After getting ready, he went down the stairs and went to another apartment where Dona Lourdes lived, an 84-year-old lady who found Lucas years ago on the street.

- Good morning, Lucas. Had another nightmare? - asked Lourdes in her soft voice.

- Yes - replied young Lucas coldly - Maybe therapy wasn't the solution.

- The packed lunch... - Lourdes completed, laughing with her dentures. - Handing Lucas his food, she smiled at him and said - Everything will be fine, Mr. Grumpy. - A nickname given by her, as she had never seen him genuinely laugh.

Lucas leaned over to put away his food while expressing a apathetic "thank you." Lourdes was basically Lucas's mother; she registered him, took care of his first steps, and was there for all his moments, even though he never clearly showed gratitude for all of it. He made an effort with his actions, always being there when she needed, even if it was just to carry the month's groceries. A few minutes later, Lucas had already left the place and started his morning walk to his college.

It was a somewhat monotonous walk, as he always saw the same people, the same workers working on construction. The day was cloudy, as every day after the Gray War, as it became known. Humans rarely saw many rays of sunlight. During his walk, he thought about his parents and why he was left; whenever he thought of them, he only saw a pair of adult figures placing him somewhere. 

Moments of a walk filled with reflections, and then Lucas arrived at his college.

Instead of heading towards the main entrance where most students entered, he preferred to go to the parking lot. It was such a routine that the New Force guard stationed there already knew him.

- Good morning, Mr.Luiz. Do you still need the card number? - inquired Lucas.

Guard Luiz was a Nova Força of rank D, as he had tried to be reassigned to another mission but never succeeded, thus never moving up in rank.

- Yes, sir, dear boy Lucas Ícaro Morales Souza. But I swear I'll memorize the number this year to make it easier for both of us. - Luiz said, laughing in a cheerful and extravagant manner while jotting down Lucas's entry. - Are you going to spend the whole year again with that same expression?

Lucas nodded, took his card, and headed towards the door that led to the seldom-used emergency staircase, hoping for peace, or at least that's what he expected. As he approached the door, he heard the sound of a car engine approaching him slowly. it was Natanael, the second-best in Lucas's class and the son of Kael, the owner of El Code Company. Interposing himself between Lucas and the door, Natanael seemed angry and initiated an argument with Lucas.

- You did it, didn't you? - Natanael shouted while repeatedly tapping his right index finger on Lucas's shoulder, who remained quiet with a neutral expression. - My own father fired me because of you, you jerk!

Lucas took a deep breath and slowly tried to step aside to avoid staying there with all of this, but quickly Natanael threw a right punch at Lucas, who staggered backward from the force of the blow. Natanael then grabbed him by the shirt collar and delivered another punch, this time to the stomach. Lucas felt a lack of air caused by the blow and, almost in a fetal position, heard Natanael ranting about what had stuck in his throat while kicking him.

Students began to approach to see what had happened to both involved, and without showing any desire to stop Natanael's atrocities, he continued saying:

- Because of a jerk like you, my father lost an incredible chance to make millions, if not billions, you poor wretch! That project was supposed to be mine and never yours, you jerk! - Natanael said when he paused the series of kicks, and Lucas had evident bruises.

Natanael cursed a few more words, while Lucas understood the real reason for all of this. Indeed, it was him. The week before, Lucas had been called to a meeting with his boss about an augmented learning AI project. Rey was an artificial intelligence being developed by Lucas's team with Natanael's ghost supervision. However, the team wanted to use it for learning purposes in surgeries and incurable diseases.

Natanael, seeing the opportunity to sell this AI pattern for military strategy development, such as surveillance and predefining human profiles, had proposals for these niches. However, the most lucrative option was the one Lucas refused, and his boss accepted his decision, causing Natanael's growing revolt against Lucas until it led to an argument between father and son and, consequently, the dismissal of the young man who now wanted to take it all out on him at that moment. 

- Your damn orphan! - Natanael said.

In Lucas, a rage ignited that rose in the blink of an eye, and he punched Natanael hard in the face with his right fist, causing him to spit blood. Natanael immediately retaliated fiercely, but a young redhead with freckles on her round cheeks positioned herself between the two, shouting:

- Stop, both of you!

- Mind your own business, you little bitch! Get out of my way now. - ordered Natanael.

The irritated young man pushed the girl, and Lucas quickly held her, preventing her from falling, exchanging glances with her in milliseconds. At that moment, a loud, deep roar from a bear, Luiz and his imposing shadow, arrived to put an end to the commotion caused by the two young men.

- Are you two done, or do you want to say hello to my little friend here? - At that moment, Natanael looked at the bear, swearing he saw a predator's smile looking at its prey - Girl, what's your name?

- Rafaela Sol, sir, freshman. - said the young woman, who was already balanced and thanking Lucas for holding her.

- Take the boy Lucas to the infirmary, please, to see how he is. - ordered the guard - And you, Natanael, I'm going to keep you company to the Dean's office, and we'll have a little chat with her.

With that said, Luiz did as he had said and followed Natanael, who looked like a dog wanting to attack Lucas. It was clear in his eyes that it wouldn't end there. Lucas was reluctant to be accompanied by the young woman, but he complied. The infirmary wasn't far from the parking lot, but Lucas remained silent until reaching the infirmary door, where Rafaela spoke to him.

- Wow! I didn't even introduce myself properly. I am...

- Rafaela Sol, daughter of the CEO of Galory Network, the second-best technology company in the country, right? - Lucas interrupted, causing the young woman to laugh sincerely and amusingly.

- Man! I'll stop using that last name and also stop taking pictures with my dad. - said Rafaela, smiling with immense joy, which felt a bit strange to Lucas at that moment.

- You talk too loud! - Lucas cut in, entering the infirmary and raising his left arm, signaling a discreet "goodbye."

Rafaela was incredulous at Lucas's apathetic reaction but overlooked it and went on her way, trying to find where her first class would be. Meanwhile, Lucas was attended to by the nurse who applied a spray medicine and bandaged some areas on him.

- I never thought that you, of all people, would get into trouble - said the nurse, tightening the bandage on the young man, who let out a scream of pain.

- Unfortunately, I'm human and can end up having my moments of anger, but he attacked me because of things at our workplace - said young Lucas while putting his shirt back on, as the nurse had finished bandaging him - But I also messed up, lost my temper, and punched my boss's son. Anyway, thank you.

- You're welcome, Lucas. Just be careful, walk slowly and take it easy today. Take the medicine I gave you today and tomorrow; the pain may increase a bit throughout the day as your adrenaline goes down, but don't worry; in a few days, you'll be as good as new and ready for another...Don't get into trouble.

The guy nodded as if confirming that he would obey the nurse's request, as he wasn't one to cause problems. Lucas left the infirmary and walked slowly toward his first class. Inside, he entered quietly, handed the nurse's note to the teacher, who saw, returned it, and authorized him to attend the class. Sitting in the room, he noticed Natanael's absence but decided not to dwell too much on the events and reset his mind to focus on his class.

The day passed normally for Lucas, who was grateful not to have crossed paths with Natanael again. However, rumors were already circulating in the college corridors, creating a strange atmosphere of disdain and unfriendly looks from students who didn't want Lucas around, and he had already noticed that. Still, he knew that what mattered were the classes, not the people. At lunch, he saw from a distance the girl who had comforted him and accompanied him to the infirmary. She seemed to have made friends with two more freshmen who were chatting and making faces as if they were already friends. Suddenly, she looked in Lucas's direction, and he quickly turned his face to avoid looking at her.

She laughed, but he couldn't see the smile. Following the classes normally until the end of the school hours, Lucas left and headed for the parking lot, taking the first right turn from the college to walk to his workplace. He was more alert than usual considering the previous events. While immersed in thoughts about the day's subjects, Lucas felt someone touching his shoulder. He was so immersed that he didn't notice someone approaching him.

- Hey, grumpy thing! - said the person behind Lucas, revealing to be Rafaela, who was holding some books on Botany Ent.

Lucas looked and just nodded his head, continuing to walk, but faster now because he wanted to be alone. However, the girl kept up with him.

- Hey! Stop walking fast just to avoid me.

- What do you want? - Lucas asked curtly.

- Just to be friends with you, ca-calm down, I came on a peace mission, little grumpy grasshopper. - said Rafaela, now walking alongside Lucas - What are you studying in college?

Lucas hesitated to talk to her, but he noticed her looking a bit upset by his silence. He answered:

- I'm majoring in Computer Science, penultimate semester - he replied quickly, with a somewhat closed expression - And you? Studying branches?

Rafaela laughed and stopped walking, making Lucas stop too. Lucas could see confidence and determination emanating from Rafaela's eyes.

- I'm going to be one of the best, if not the best Botanist in Brazil! - said the young woman, pointing upward.

Lucas wanted to say he doesn't believe in Ents, but she was so radiant and determined in that moment that Lucas forgot even the pain he felt to breathe.

- You speak loud, you know? - she repeated the earlier phrase.

- Sorry, huh! - she said, making a face, trying to imitate an Asian. - I'm like that, always wired at 220V.

- I see...

Suddenly, a horn started honking in a car just ahead of them. Rafaela signaled with her hand to wait. Lucas wondered who was in that car but brushed it off, as he didn't want to prolong the conversation. However, the girl said goodbye, explaining that it was the family driver's car coming to pick her up for fencing class and then karate. Lucas had no choice but to accompany the girl to the car since it was parked in the direction he was heading. Approaching the car, a round, feminine figure in a 20th- and 21st-century driver's outfit stepped out. She had a stern expression and interrogated Rafaela:

- Who's this?

- College friend, Lore, quit being annoying. - replied the girl, making a face as she entered the car through the left rear door.

Lore kept staring at Lucas, who returned her gaze with his indifferent look. Rafaela, not understanding what was happening, decided to intervene.

- Could you two stop? Seriously, I just had those déjà-vu saying that phrase.

Lore shrugged and got back into the car while Rafaela talked to Lucas.

- Thanks for the day, Grumpy Thing! It was nice meeting you - she said, closing the door. The car started and accelerated towards its destination. As Lucas turned towards his path to work, he heard Rafaela shouting from a distance - And make sure to stay far away from fightsssssssss!

The young woman, with her long red hair swaying in the afternoon breeze, left an impression on Lucas, and the gloomy lighting was enough for him to have that image engraved in his memory. He felt something strange. Initially, he didn't know what it was, but he thought he had just made a friend after almost a lifetime without one. He thought as the car disappeared on the horizon, and he headed to work. 

Upon arriving at work, Lucas was approached by Noah, the president's secretary. He already had an idea of what it would be: the fight at the university with Natanael. The young man's intuition was correct. Despite the father expressing immense dissatisfaction with Natanael in the letter, he also reprimanded Lucas for his lack of composure. Not because the fight was with his son, but because Lucas is an El Code employee and needed to maintain certain behavior standards both inside and outside the company buildings.

Lucas requested that Noah send an apology and, if necessary or possible, he would like to apologize personally to his boss. However, Noah said that President Kael was not available this week, but would inform him of Lucas's words.

The young man clocked in and then entered the IDN workshop (Innovation and Development Nucleus), where he would continue the project that caused a fight in the morning. When he started programming and focused on his work, he didn't notice the time passing. It was already 8:00 PM. Lucas brought with him the backup of all his code lines to review three errors that appeared during the learning application simulations. They started well but ended inconclusive and erratic. However, the young programmer wasn't discouraged by it and focused even more on solving it, as he truly believed his creation would change lives.

As he delved deeper into his thoughts about Project Rey, he found himself thinking about the words of the young redhead Rafaela, whom he spoke to at the university. He quickly refocused his thoughts as he walked along one of the main streets, where there was more UV light, and some N.F. soldiers patrolling, as usual, because the Zeks, as the animals mutated by the Shade virus became known, went out to hunt in dark environments, as they had an aversion to sunlight. 

So, walking, he heard some growls coming from above, and when the young man looked up, he only had time to shrink to protect himself because two Vizeks were apparently fighting over a corpse that was with the two creatures, each about 8 meters tall.

In the blink of an eye, Lucas realized he was not in the middle of the situation but in a nearby alley, as a soldier with orange hair in a somewhat emo style. With a cold and distant look, the soldier addressed Lucas:

- Are you okay, civilian?

- Yes! - The young man replied, still somewhat stunned by the situation he got into.

Then the young-looking soldier extended his left arm, and his shadow manifested in the form of a massive black scythe. Lucas soon realized that the person who saved him was a soldier of the blade category, a reaper.

- Squad 12, WITH ME! - Ordered the soldier walking toward the nearest Vizek.

The beasts sensed the approach of that soldier and stopped fighting each other, considering the soldier as an enemy or a common rival predator. However, he was now accompanied by three more soldiers, each manifesting their shadows. They were a Beastmaster with his wolf, a Marksman who was an archer, and the last one was a Defender in the Collective Defense category.

With just one order from the reaper, the marksman emanated and released two shots that headed towards the faces of the creatures, making them even more agitated. In response, the soldier with his scythe ran towards the Vizek on the right diagonally. He jumped towards the creature to deliver a spinning blow to the neck to quickly end the encounter. However, the creature was more cunning, and with its instinct predicting such danger, it flapped its wings, throwing the soldier behind his formation.

One of the soldiers spoke in a concerned tone, and Lucas could hear the reaper's name, Miguel. He then got up, showing he was okay, made some hand signals, the squad changed positions, and the wolf quickly ran towards one of the creatures. Miguel was already by the side of the swift wolf. The Vizek lashed out with its right arm-wing, but Miguel was protected by the soldier who manifested a circular shield in front of his superior. The wolf jumped onto the Vizek, swiftly climbing the monster, making it uneasy with something on its back. It began to struggle, providing Miguel the opening he needed. Adopting a runner's stance, Miguel took such a powerful leap that Lucas swore he saw smoke rising from where the soldier's feet were.

Miguel's body was poised, and with a sway, he spun his scythe clockwise. As if the monster's entire body were paper, the soldier tore the creature in half, its two parts falling to the ground, showering blood that stained a part of Miguel's uniform. He seemed indifferent to it all:

- Who's the next trash? – Said Miguel, dodging an attack from the other Vizek.

The remaining Vizek seemed to ignore everything and focused entirely on Miguel, who, between acrobatic evasions and shields from his companion, survived each attack. When Miguel bumped into a lamppost and lost his balance, the protector quickly created a shield the size of Miguel. He managed to use this window of time to move away from the creature. A sequence of arrows began to be fired by the other soldier, now positioned on top of a car to attract the attention of the Vizek, and it worked. The creature made a brutal 180° turn and charged quickly toward Miguel's team.

Miguel grimaced in dissatisfaction and ran straight, leaning forward, gripping his scythe firmly with both hands. When he was coming at the exact distance to strike, the Vizek broke the soldier's shield and threw him backward. Miguel quickly swung his scythe and threw it towards the Vizek, piercing its back, and it roared in pain.

The creature bled but seemed even more fierce and dangerous when it turned and glared at Miguel, who was getting up after putting his injured friend on the ground. Without reaction time, Miguel was thrown by the creature against the wall of one of the shops. When trying to get up, he was grabbed by the creature, which tried to bite him. Quickly, Miguel made his scythe reappear from the shadows and used it, in the limited space and movement, as a makeshift muzzle. However, he didn't know how long he could endure holding all that ferocity.

The shadow in the shape of a wolf attacked the creature, which, turning, caught the small wolf in its mouth. It disintegrated with the force imposed by the creature, which now used its paws to press Miguel. When he couldn't take it anymore, Miguel saw his shadow dissipate and another emerge; it was a shield that gave space and a short time for Miguel to get out of that tight spot and reposition himself away from the wall.

The tamer was tending to the protector who fell to the ground due to the weakness of forcing the appearance of his shadow even after being injured and bleeding.

Now it was two against one, and the creature was surrounded, unsure of whom to attack. It was in this hesitation that Miguel and the marksman began a series of attacks. While Miguel had no opening for a fatal blow from the front, the marksman started shooting arrows with a pattern of shooting and changing positions, irritating the Vizek. For a moment, it leaped and turned against the marksman, who crouched to escape the creature's claws. Miguel saw his desired opening.

Body crouched and slightly leaning forward, knees bent to gather momentum, scythe with its balance tilting to the right, and just a few seconds—this needed to be enough for Miguel at that moment.

- Eliiiaaas, make him look at me! - shouted Miguel.

- Yes, sir! - responded the marksman, who, passing under the Vizek, ran toward Miguel.

The monster turned toward them, Miguel advanced, and jumped in front of the creature. He aimed at the monster's shoulder and swung his scythe with all the force possible. However, before even touching the enemy's skin, the scythe was stopped by the creature's two arms. Still in the air, Miguel used the creature's force to somersault and, with a perfect maneuver of his legs, kicked the creature's snout, making it release the scythe. As Miguel fell, he spun his body to exert force against the ground using the scythe's handle. With a few moments left in the air, he delivered a downward blow, brutally embedding the scythe blade from the jaw to the skull of the Vizek, which growled in pain and thrashed twice, throwing Miguel backward. He rolled and was helped to his feet by Elias.

- Are you okay, sir? – Elias asked.

- Yes. – Miguel replied – What's Pedro's condition?

- He got a superficial cut, aside from the pain, he said he's okay.

- Great! To think that these creatures forgot everything to attack us, who initially had nothing to do with the matter. – Miguel said, sheathing his scythe when he noticed Lucas still in that alley observing.

Pointing at Lucas, Miguel walked over to the young man and questioned him about why he was still there.

- Are you injured or something? – Miguel inquired.

- No, sir! – Lucas quickly replied – I just couldn't move due to this whole situation; I could have been another interference in your fight.

- I understand, all right, young man...?

- Lucas Ícaro.

- So, Lucas Ícaro, rest assured, your trip home will be safe now. On average, Zeks avoid places where there are dead Zeks; it's almost like a neural network among them, alerting to the imminent danger of death.

Lucas straightened his clothes and nodded a subtle thank you while Miguel made way for the young man, wishing him a good night.

A few moments later, Lucas was almost in his building when he stopped and thought about everything that had happened that day:

"It's not easy, you know? I wonder if I'd like to lead a life in uniform if I had a shadow. – Lucas resumed his walk while scratching his head. – Yeah... I don't think I would like it much. Perhaps becoming a programmer and having a good company like El Code would be the perfect future for me."

Back at the building, Lourdes was in the lobby of that humble building, anxious. However, when she saw Lucas, her expression changed to one of full relief and joy at the young man's return.

- I saw the news. When I heard the name of the place where all that confusion was happening, I was so scared. – the old woman said, palpating Lucas and checking the young man's condition as a worried mother would. – Did you get hurt? Where were you when it all happened?

Making a face with all this affection, Lucas recounted everything that had happened to him, and the lady showed concern. As they climbed the old stairs of the building, as there were no elevators, the conversation flowed until Lucas reached Lourdes's apartment. She asked him to be careful, and he promised to take care of himself. He hugged her and went to the floor where his apartment was located.

Something grew in Lucas at that moment when he crossed the door of his dark apartment – it was a question:

"How can I miss someone so much that I don't even remember their face? What would it be like if you were here, Dad? What would you teach me? What kind of food would Mom prepare?"

Lucas shed tears and sobbed as he hid the profound sadness of never having had his parents and not knowing why they abandoned him. He found himself on the floor, crying from his immense pain, and without warning, sleep came, and the young man fell asleep right there.