My Happy Life Turned into a Living Hell

The neon-lit cityscape of Neo-Tokyo stretched out beneath me, a chaotic maze of towering skyscrapers and flickering billboards. From my vantage point on the rooftop, I could see the stark contrast between the glittering metropolis and the sprawling slums that clung to its edges like a parasite. This was my home—the slums, where my happy life had once thrived but had now transformed into a living hell.

My name is Akira Mizuki, a name that held little significance in this unforgiving world. I used to be just another kid from the slums, trying to scrape together enough credits to survive. But my life had taken a dark turn when my little sister, Mika, fell prey to the addictive grip of Elysium, a drug that had engulfed our community like a plague.

I remember the days when Mika and I would run through the narrow, trash-strewn alleys of the slums, our laughter echoing off the crumbling walls. We were inseparable, bound by the promise we made to each other—to escape this place and find a better life. But now, the promise seemed like a distant dream.

It all started six months ago. Mika had changed. Her once-bright eyes were now dull and distant, and a constant restlessness had taken hold of her. She had become a shadow of her former self, disappearing for days on end, leaving me to worry and wonder.

One evening, as the sun dipped below the horizon, casting an eerie orange glow over the slums, I received a mysterious message on my old, battered tablet. It was a simple message, just an address in one of the seedier parts of the slums. There was no name attached, but I had a gut feeling that it was related to Mika.

With a sense of unease gnawing at my insides, I made my way to the address. It led me to a derelict building, its windows shattered and graffiti covering every inch of the decaying walls. I cautiously pushed open the creaking door and stepped inside. The air was heavy with the acrid scent of Elysium.

I climbed the crumbling staircase, my heart pounding in my chest, until I reached a dimly lit room on the third floor. And there, amidst the flickering candles and the haze of Elysium smoke, I found Mika. She looked fragile, her body slumped in a tattered chair, her eyes unfocused.

"Mika!" I cried, rushing to her side. "What have they done to you?"

She turned to me with vacant eyes, a slow smile spreading across her face. "Akira... I've seen the stars," she whispered, her words barely audible.

My hands trembled as I gently shook her, desperate to bring her back to reality. "Mika, we have to get out of here. This place is dangerous."

But before I could do anything, a group of masked figures emerged from the shadows, their faces concealed by twisted expressions of cruelty. They were the Elysium dealers, and they had no intention of letting Mika go.

One of them, a towering figure with a mechanical arm, stepped forward. "You must be Mika's brother," he said with a cold, metallic voice. "You're too late to save her. She belongs to Elysium now."

In a desperate attempt to protect my sister, I lunged at the masked figure, but he effortlessly dodged my attack, and pain exploded in my side as his mechanical arm struck me. I crumpled to the floor, gasping for breath.

As they dragged Mika away, her eyes locked with mine for a brief moment, filled with desperation and a glimmer of the sister I used to know. Then, they vanished into the darkness, leaving me battered and broken on the floor.

That night marked the beginning of my descent into the depths of despair. I knew I couldn't save Mika alone, not against the powerful grip of Elysium. It was then that I heard rumors of a way to challenge the system that had allowed this drug to thrive—the mysterious and dangerous ranking system known as "Rank X."

Rank X was the key to unraveling the mysteries of Elysium and those who controlled it. It was a path fraught with danger and uncertainty, but I had no other choice. My happy life had turned into a living hell, and the only way to reclaim it was to rise through the ranks of Rank X and confront the darkness that had consumed my sister.

With grim determination, I stood up, wiping the blood from my lip, and made a solemn vow. "Mika, I won't rest until I find you and bring you back from the abyss. No matter what it takes, I'll face the horrors of Rank X and expose the truth behind Elysium."