The sky was a dull, bruised gray, as it always was. Lana Vega couldn't remember a time when the sun had broken through the thick layer of smog that strangled the Veiled cities. But then again, she couldn't remember much of anything from before her twelfth year.
She stood on the rooftop of a crumbling building, her boots scuffing against the uneven concrete as she stared at the horizon. Below her, the city of Irontown stretched out like a dying beast, its skeletal buildings gasping for air. The streets were crowded with people who shuffled from one task to another, their eyes hollow, their faces masked by grime. A heavy wind swept through the streets, carrying the scent of burning metal and decay.
There was no escaping the filth. No escaping the life of the Veiled. But Lana had long since accepted it. The Ascended were a distant myth, their floating cities unreachable, shimmering far above the clouds. A perfect world, untouched by the rot below. Untouched by the people like her.
Or so she had thought.
Her fingers tightened around the small data slate in her hand. The message had come through less than an hour ago, and she had read it over and over again, unable to believe what she was seeing.
Meet me at the old water plant. Midnight. The truth is waiting.
The sender had been anonymous, the message routed through a dozen secure channels before it landed in her inbox. No one in Irontown had access to that level of encryption. No one except...
Lana shook the thought from her head. The Ascended didn't communicate with the Veiled. Ever. They had no reason to. The Equilibrium ensured that the two worlds remained separate, and anyone who tried to cross the boundary was erased—scrubbed from existence as if they had never lived at all.
So why was an Ascended reaching out to her?
Her pulse quickened as she glanced at the digital clock embedded in her wrist panel. 11:47 PM. She didn't have much time.
Lana moved quickly, slipping down the fire escape with practiced ease. The sounds of the city engulfed her—grinding machinery, voices raised in frustration, and the ever-present hum of the generators that powered Irontown's crumbling infrastructure. As she weaved through the narrow alleyways, she pulled up the hood of her worn jacket, blending into the sea of faceless, forgotten souls.
The old water plant was a relic from before the Equilibrium's complete control, abandoned and left to rust after the city's primary water source had been contaminated. It was one of the few places in Irontown where the system's surveillance couldn't reach—if you knew how to get there without being seen.
Lana did.
As she approached the plant, the structure loomed before her, its towering silos casting long shadows in the dim light of the streetlamps. The gates were long gone, replaced by twisted metal and debris, but the darkness beyond still felt like a barrier, a threshold she wasn't sure she was ready to cross.
She hesitated. Was this a trap? The Equilibrium could be testing her, baiting her into exposing herself as a rebel. Or worse—it could be another Veiled revolutionary group, looking to recruit. And that always ended in blood.
But the pull of the message was too strong. The promise of truth. Of answers. Of something beyond the dead-end life she'd been living.
She stepped inside.
The air within the plant was thick and damp, the sound of dripping water echoing through the hollow chamber. Lana moved cautiously, her hand instinctively resting on the blade strapped to her thigh. The room was filled with shadows, and every creak of the old structure set her nerves on edge.
And then she saw him.
A figure stood at the far end of the room, barely visible in the faint light. His face was hidden beneath a hood, and he was tall, with an aura of quiet confidence. For a moment, neither of them spoke. The silence between them felt like a test.
"You came," the man finally said, his voice smooth and calm. He stepped forward, his features still shrouded. "I wasn't sure you would."
Lana tensed. "Who are you?"
He hesitated, as if considering how much to reveal. "My name is Cade Orion. I'm from the Ascended."
Lana's breath caught in her throat. So it was true. The Ascended. Here. Speaking to her. She tightened her grip on her blade.
"What do you want with me?"
Cade reached into his coat and pulled out a small, glowing device. It pulsed softly, casting strange patterns on the walls. "This," he said, holding it out for her to see, "contains a key. A key to your past. And to the future of both our worlds."
Lana took a step back, her mind racing. "What do you know about my past?"
"I know that what you've been told is a lie," Cade said, his voice lowering. "I know that The Equilibrium has been erasing your memories. And I know that you're not just anyone, Lana. You're... special."
The words felt like a punch to the gut. Memories? Erased? She had always known something was off, that there were gaps in her mind she couldn't explain. But this?
"Why should I trust you?" Lana spat, her voice hardening. "For all I know, you're just another puppet of The Equilibrium."
Cade smiled faintly. "You don't have to trust me. But if you want to know the truth, if you want to remember who you really are... then you'll come with me. There's more at stake here than you know."
He turned and started toward the back of the plant, disappearing into the shadows without another word. Lana stood frozen for a moment, her heart pounding in her chest.
Then she followed.
The truth, it seemed, wasn't waiting for her to find it.
It was chasing her down.