A young man, looking fragile, was pulling a trolley full of rocks in various colors. His body was thin, his skin brown and worn, and he was wearing only a helmet and safety boots for protection as he staggered forward. His lifeless blue eyes peered through the strands of his black hair, and despite the absence of light, he continued walking through the darkness until a faint glow appeared in the distance.
"Hurry up, slave. The Uncertainty level has suddenly risen. I don't care what happens, you all must get those precious Enigmatites out of the Rift if you still want to eat with both your hands."
The voice, coming from a distance, grew clearer as the young man emerged from the cave where he had been. There, a fat, authoritative man was shouting at a group of ragged people, all dressed in the same clothes as the young man.
'The Uncertainty level increased again? This is the third time this week,' the young man thought.
After the radiation apocalypse 57 years ago, caused by the explosion of the world's largest nuclear fusion reactor experiment by CERN in France, the planet evolved in ways history had never seen. Mass mutagenesis occurred across all living kingdoms. Plants became sentient beings, and animals evolved into monsters from nightmares.
Meanwhile, humanity faced two fates: either dying from radiation poisoning or being killed by the new threats, or evolving and thriving with their newfound powers, which people called The Emitters.
Other phenomena also occurred, one of which was the Quantum Rift. A region experiencing quantum chaos that caused the laws of physics to change, measured on the Uncertainty scale. But for Nas, none of that mattered. He was just a slave on the southern edge of America.
"Whether this world is without radiation or not, it's hell either way."
The young man kept walking until his attention was drawn to two people around his age who had fallen, injured while pulling a trolley similar to his own. A blonde boy and a white-haired girl—an uncommon combination here in the South.
'New guys, huh.'
He shrugged it off and kept walking until he reached the exit gate, where many other slaves like him were gathered. The combination of black soil and swirling purple mist gave the place an eerie, almost mystical atmosphere—one that could easily overwhelm anyone stepping into the Rift for the first time.
When his turn came, the boy stepped forward to face the officer weighing the mined materials.
"Identity," the officer said flatly.
"Nas."
The officer's brow twitched.
"173."
The boy, now identified as Nas, corrected himself immediately, realizing his mistake. Slaves here had no names. They weren't allowed to have them.
"Deposit."
Nas silently dumped all the Enigmatite from his trolley into a water channel. Strangely, the liquid flowed in a perfectly laminar stream, unaffected even as the crystals were added, carrying them out of the Rift.
But just as he was about to leave, he was stopped by a commotion near the mining exit.
"Are you insane?!"
"You expect us to stay here when the Uncertainty level just spiked?"
"Let us out!"
Dozens of slaves were shouting at two fully armored military officers, who stood motionless, ignoring their pleas. Nas moved closer, his gaze settling on a well-dressed man approaching the scene. He was handsome, with a composed expression and an easy smile.
"My, my, what's all this commotion about, my friends? Is there a problem?"
His voice was warm, yet no one returned his smile. Nas, standing behind the crowd, simply watched with narrowed eyes.
"U-uh, Mister Kennedy, sir," one of the slaves stammered. "We were informed that the Uncertainty level had increased, so we were hoping to have lunch outside the Rift while waiting for it to stabilize."
Kennedy raised his right hand thoughtfully.
"Hmm. Indeed, it has," he mused. "Very well, you may go—but one at a time."
The slaves' faces lit up with relief, but before anyone could move, Kennedy raised a finger and pointed at the one who had spoken.
"You," he said, smiling. "For your bravery in speaking up, come here."
The slave stiffened, glancing around as if searching for an escape. Slowly, hesitantly, he stepped forward. Kennedy's smile remained as he extended his hand in invitation.
The moment their hands touched, the slave's head began to swell—like a balloon—before bursting, spraying blood in all directions.
Silence.
Everyone froze, their minds struggling to process what had just happened. Nas shut his eyes, unwilling to witness the gruesome sight before him.
"One is gone. Now, who's next?"
Wiping his hand with a small handkerchief from his coat pocket, Kennedy grinned at the gathered slaves. No one screamed. No one spoke. The only sound that followed was the shuffling of hesitant footsteps as they backed away, abandoning their desire to leave the Rift.
Nas exhaled. Eating lunch inside the Rift was normal—but only when the Rift was stable.
Taking his meal, he walked to the farthest corner of the "cafeteria"—or rather, the designated eating area for the slaves, since calling it a cafeteria would be an insult.
There were no tables or chairs, just a space shielded from the high levels of alpha radiation near the mines. Even here, the radiation was still present—just in smaller amounts.
Nas stared at his meal, the corner of his lips twitching upward.
'Stale bread and murky water. Ain't this quite lovely.'
It was a good day, aside from the strange sensation coursing through his body, as if his blood was flowing faster than usual. He ignored it, eating in peace—until his attention shifted to a group of slaves surrounding the two people he had seen earlier.
"Hey, give that back! That bread isn't yours!"The white-haired girl shouted at the group of men in front of her. Behind her, the blonde boy had fallen, sitting weakly on the cold ground.
"I already told you, this is the tax that all new members must pay. Isn't that right?"
"Yeah, if you don't like it, then take it back by force. Or, if you'd rather not get hurt, with that pretty face of yours, maybe you could do something for my little brother here instead."
The man grinned vulgarly as his companions erupted into laughter. The other slaves merely watched in silence; this wasn't their problem. Even Nas remained unfazed, calmly eating his stale bread. He wasn't a hero with the empathy to save others. If anything, he wished someone had saved him from this pit of hell. He needed salvation just as much as that girl did.
'Those who own nothing often guard the little they have with ruthless selfishness—and a slave like me possesses nothing.'
The white-haired girl reached out with her frail, pale hands, trying to snatch the bread from the man's grasp. But he held it easily, yanking at the strands of her snow-white hair instead.
"Hahaha, now now, what do you think you're doing?"
"Tsk!"
She clicked her tongue in frustration. But before she could react further, the blonde boy suddenly lunged at the man, attempting to help her.
"Stop it!"
Before he could even make contact, a massive hand clamped around his throat, lifting him effortlessly before throwing him aside like a rag doll.
"Luci!"
Hearing that name, Nas turned his head just in time to see the boy's body hurtling toward him. Instinctively, he stepped aside, letting the boy crash into a tree behind him.
"Ack!"
The blonde boy groaned in pain. Nas, however, only stared at his wooden cup on the ground. The murky liquid inside had spilled—his precious clean water. Water was rare in a place as irradiated as the Rift.
'Ah, for fuck's sake.'
He shifted his gaze toward the group of men.
"Oh, look who it is—our beloved Starless. My bad, I didn't see you there."
The man was still gripping the white-haired girl's locks as she winced in pain. Nas picked up his empty cup and stepped forward. The other slaves fell silent, watching.
"Give me your water."
"Huh? Are you out of your mind? Yo, guys, Starless here says he wants our water. How about you give us that bread in your hand instead?"
Laughter erupted around him. The girl only stared at Nas, her expression filled with pain and confusion. Nas, however, met the man's eyes with his usual deadpan stare. The man was bigger than him, stronger—but when you've lived at the bottom of a hellhole, what could possibly be worse?
Without hesitation, Nas clenched his stale bread and shoved it into the man's mouth. The man's eyes widened in surprise, but before he could react, Nas delivered a brutal punch straight to his jaw.
"Hmph!"
The force of the blow sent the man stumbling backward, releasing the girl's hair. Without wasting a moment, Nas grabbed him by the collar and began raining punch after punch on his face. He watched as the man's terrified eyes dulled with each hit, his face quickly turning into a swollen mess.
"Eat."
The entire scene unfolded so quickly that no one had time to intervene.
"You—!"
Nas turned his gaze toward one of the larger men, the same one who had thrown the blonde boy. Despite his massive frame, the man hesitated, unwilling to risk himself for his fallen comrade. Nas knew their type well. These people were the most self-serving, the most cowardly.
Without a word, Nas reached down and picked up the battered man's cup. There was only a small amount of water left inside. He drank it, then discarded the cup before turning away, heading off to gather his equipment.
As he walked away, the crowd of slaves slowly dispersed, returning to their meager meals in silence. The white-haired girl watched Nas's retreating back, lost in thought, before turning to help the blonde boy.
***
Even though his lunch had been ruined, Nas still had work to do. Every slave had a minimum quota to fill. If they didn't meet it, then good luck making it through the day without food.As he wiped the dust off the lamp attached to his safety helmet, Nas noticed two figures approaching him—it was the blonde boy and the white-haired girl.
"Um..."
"What do you want?"
The blonde boy hesitated, glancing at the girl beside him, who instead took the initiative to speak.
"We wanted to thank you for helping us earlier."
Nas immediately recognized her accent—European, though he wasn't sure from where exactly. He had heard it before.
"Forget it. I didn't do it to help you."
He kept his focus on his lamp, not sparing them a glance. The two exchanged looks before sitting down near him in silence. Then, suddenly, Nas noticed something being offered to him—a small piece of bread.
"Hm?"
He looked up to see the white-haired girl holding out a third of their meal.
"Consider it a proper thank-you."
Nas hesitated for a moment. Then, before he could say anything, a loud growl echoed from the girl's stomach. She immediately turned red, while the blonde boy burst into laughter.
"Pfft..."
"Luci, stop it!"
The boy—Luci—chuckled.
"Sorry, Elodie. It was just funny."
Elodie pouted in embarrassment.
"Eat it. It's yours. You two must be new here, so let me tell you something: never trust anyone in this place."
Elodie and Luci fell silent at Nas's words. After a while, he noticed something strange—his lamp flickered to life, even though he hadn't turned it on. A creeping cold seeped up from the ground, cutting through his skin. The mist around them thickened.
"Hmph."
Beside him, Elodie suddenly gagged, coughing up her half-eaten bread. Nas's gaze lifted to the sky, where the once-purple moon darkened into a void of blackness.
"The Uncertain is here."