More than eighty years ago, Science, which was said to be the 'Mother of Reason' by the citizens, was at a loss of words when fissures started to appear in space, tearing apart realities.
Scientists racked their brains and conducted research and wrote thesis, which, at that point could be just written off as uncertain theories.
The fissures which had opened up in plain space itself made them research back upon atoms, making them unfamiliar with the molecules and gravity itself. In fact, they even doubted the origin and creation of the world.
In despair, they provided a 'valid' confirmation about the fissures... Until, something crawled out of the large fissure.
The grotesque being had no eyes, had four arms and 3 legs, its mutated brain visible upon pure sight as a mouth hung on its abdomen, its tail wagging like a puppy.
But it was by no means a puppy. But a creature that had brought upon the destruction of the old world, and brought upon the creation of a new one.
As large fissures started appearing in all places over the world, "Wells" started to bulge out of earth, splitting apart continents and rewriting landscapes as a strange energy welled out from it
Scientists finally were able to conclude that it was due to the earth core, although their efficiency and accuracy were in doubt, the people had no choice but to trust them... Until, a new form of beings emerged.
These "beings" emerged amongst humans, possessing extraordinary might that could make the skies tremble, their might above that of mere skyscrapers.
People liked to call them Superhumans, but as time went by, their opinions about these so-called Superhumans changed.
The Superhumans as they called, helped them against the monsters and at last, after years of struggles, they finally prevailed.
But that was in the past, the world remained peaceful even with the constant changes as the citizens' occupations changed, so did that of those in hiding.
...And to represent the faction of the ones who prevailed against the monsters, the Brightly-lit Everlasting Alliance(BEA) was formed.
...
Blurb, Blurb...
"Ah... This is straight...!" Before he had the chance to speak, Belite was once again thrust into the sink as he closed his mouth and eyes while holding his breath.
"Tell me! Where did you hide those Imperial Guns?" A seemingly young man who was between 20-25 years of age pulled Belite's head out of the sink while holding his hair as he let the boy gasp for breath before asking. "They were last seen in-between the intersection of 15th district of the Lower District Market, but they vanished right before our eyes after we had gotten a single trace on them."
Belite, who had gasped enough air, replied with a solemn voice. "For a hundredth time! I do not know! Just because I was going to steal unknown and highly dangerous technology from yesterday doesn't mean I had any knowledge of them! Cough, cough! I don't even know what Imperial Guns are!"
Under the policeman's ruminating gaze, he mocked. "Maybe... It's a skill issues on your end—"
Before he could continue his sentence, he was thrust into the water-filled sink for one last time before he was thrown on the ground.
"Cough, cough." He coughed out the accidentally inhaled water out as he beat his chest, looking at the policeman with a cautious gaze.
"Rest up." The policeman said after scrutinizing Belite for a while. "Don't think this is the last time though."
"Yeah, yeah." Belite stood up as he squeezed the ends of his shirt that were wet as a trail of water left them and formed a puddle on the ground. 'What bad luck, even though I was caught many times, none knew my identity. How did that Superhuman know me amongst the thousands of troublemakers? Am I that famous? To attract the attention of a Superhuman nonetheless...' he thought to himself in disbelief as he sighed.
Under the gazes of the prison inmates, he slowly walked up to his cell while holding the right side of his stomach, people below the age of sixteen had stopped receiving lax treatment in prisons decades ago.
'The more the world is seeped in chaos, the worse the rules. But to arrest every troublemaker...'
He looked around the prison, which he thought was small from the outside but was no less than an Amusement Park from the inside.
It had all sorts of facilities — from drainage and sewage systems to climate fluctuations, plants, rides and many more making it look like a small city from the inside which was peaceful with the citizens(Prison inmates) going on with their day-to-day lives while performing various tasks.
And it was exactly that, except that the citizens were the prison inmates who were used as leverages to fight monsters and maintain the place.
'...That's right, the prison is a freaking dungeon!
Who knew a small building had a fissure inside it that led to a God forsaken place such as a dungeon!'
And as far as he knew, the dungeon was being cleaned and used as a prison, barely maintaining the prerequisite of making the fissure stand tall.
'What would they do if the fissure suddenly collapses?'
He felt a chill down his spine as he imagined the outcome. But he quickly shook his head and forced the thought out of his head as he heard the ring of a bell.
Trriing!
Belite looked at the stream of prison inmates rushing at the cafeteria as he slowly joined in, cautious to not be stepped over as he stood at the very end of the crowd.
He still didn't understand the endless enthusiasm of these inmates for just monster meat though.
Even though they were highly nutritious, they were served in small portions as the energy brewing within them was dangerous for mundane humans to consume and they were strangely tasteless.
He looked at the long line in front of him and yawned, he was standing at the very end of the line when even that was snatched by a random stranger.
He didn't dare pick a fight as the one in front of him was an adult.
After waiting for almost an hour, it was finally his turn as he cupped his hands with his palm upwards, receiving the sliced monster meat that resembled a burnt steak as he ate it in one gulp.
It was merely a handful, less than that even. But it was enough to fill his stomach for half-a-day.
'From eating exquisite and lavish dishes to eating this tasteless monster meat... Even water is more tasteful.'
Criticizing it inwardly, he got to his daily work— Maintaining the drainage and sewage systems.
Most of the prison inmates were used for mundane tasks and maintenance of the Dungeon such as these. Some were even used to fight monsters. Even though "sacrificing themselves" would be a more appropriate term.
Thankfully, being a sixteen-year old, Belite was considered useless in terms of even lasting a second against the monsters as he was in charge with the wellbeing of the Dungeon.
There were many drainages and sewers in the Dungeon, but he was only incharge of the ones in the XE intersection, so he descended upon the sewers while pinching his nose with his thumb and index fingers.
He had already worn the workers' clothes, which was just a pair of grey shirt and pants as he held something resembling a shovel and walked amidst the terrible smell of the drainage.
Then, he noticed a rather huge swarm of "blacks and greens" as he thrusted the shovel and scooped the wastes and threw them on the opposite side of the pathway.
The other side was already filled with wastes such as these and amidst his five-day stay in the prison as a "Guest", Belite hadn't seen them being cleaned even once.
'Guess such honourable tasks are only upon thy esteemed self.' Thinking in self-deprecation, he resisted the urge to chuckle as he would rather not open his mouth due to the stench. 'I wouldn't be surprised if they ask me to go to the opposite side, "scoop" up the wastes and throw them elsewhere.'
Barely breathing, he went forward until he was faced with a two-edged wall with a door in the middle and stopped.
Knock, Knock.
He then knocked on the door and waited standing upright, he didn't even want to touch himself nor his clothes.
After waiting for a while, the door finally opened slightly as a hoarse voice emerged from inside.
"Yes?"
"Inmate no.6052, Belite, reporting completion of task 2 of the 5th day."
The voice didn't reply for a while, but the hoarse voice resounded again while Belite was starting to get annoyed. "Alright, you can go now."
"And like I said, mentioning your name isn't going to get you anywhere."
"Yes sir!" Belite replied with enthusiasm and a salute while he snorted inwardly.
It was unnecessary to provide the report with his name, just his inmate number would have sufficed, but since Belite wanted to make connections among the prison in case of an emergency, he gave people and administrators his name wherever he went.
Not that it was useful, ofcourse.
Most didn't even bother asking why he was reporting his name, the only one who bothered was the one in charge of the drainage.
'Maybe he's a low ranked administrator? That's why he's administering the sewers and needs some company?' Thinking in this way, Belite had tried to engage in conversation with him multiple times but had been shooed away or left unbothered.
Grumbling, he could only leave the drainages as he changed his clothes and showered in disdain. At Least there wasn't a limited supply of water, he bellowed.
Picking up a list of sheets which already had a few tick marks on them, he left his prison cell as he headed place-to-place in the XE intersection, engaging in conversations with people who were close to his age and marking their name under the 'Completed' category.
He had made some progress inside the prison and had gotten favourable impressions from a few Administrators, thus being given a task to mark the inmates tasks done in the XE intersection.
And this was a very good way to build connections as well, as he threatened the hostile ones to put their names on the 'incomplete' list.
But few were bothered while few were enthusiastic while many were indifferent and used death threats upon him.
He could only shrink down his authority and swallow his words upon seeing the bulging muscles of those who threatened him.
Sighing tiredly, he thought. 'The so-called 'Unwanted Hand' being bossed around by eighteen and nineteen year olds.'
Finishing the task that made him act as a mini-administrator in two hours, he checked the time on the large mottled clock tower.