Arc 1 – A Chaotic World
Footsteps pound against dry leaves.
The jungle is a smear of tangled vines and ancient wood.
Above, the night sun casts jagged, skeletal shadows. Four men tear through the brush, their lungs burning.
Heavy swords bounce against their backs with a rhythmic, metallic thud.
"We need to reach the Soviet Village," one pants. His breath is a ragged whistle. "Lord Silas ordered us to grab the Scorpion boss's daughter. No delays."
They vault over a rotting, fallen trunk. Boots skid on slick bark.
"The spies say Antar's been gone for days," the lead man says, his voice low. "Pray we don't cross her before we clear the gates."
"And if we do?" another growls. "What's the difference?"
"The difference is your life, fool. Silas was clear—she's an Epic. If she's there, we retreat. Otherwise, none of us make it back to the East."
They surge forward. The dry leaves scream beneath their boots.
SOVIET VILLAGE — CENTRE CITY
The village is a circle of low houses tucked into the greenery.
It smells of woodsmoke and peace. Elders sit in the fading light, their voices a soft hum against the chirping of insects.
A young man cuts through the square, his pace frantic.
He throws open a heavy wooden door. Inside, an old man rests in a creaking chair.
"Mani, have you seen Daisy?"
The old man looks up slowly. "No... she hasn't been by. Is she missing?"
"I haven't seen her all day."
The young man pulls the door shut, the wood groaning. He vanishes back into the street.
Nearby, tucked away from the noise, young Daisy sits on the grass beside Mr. Gomez. She watches his hands. They are wrinkled, like old maps.
"Tell me, Mr. Gomez," she says, her chin resting in her palms. "What is it really like out there?"
Gomez laughs. It's a dry, weathered sound. "Kid, I know you want to see the world."
His face suddenly goes hollow. The warmth leaves his eyes. "But don't ever leave this place. You're safe here. Out there... it's chaos."
He points a gnarled finger toward the flickering stars.
"See how quiet they are? That is peace. It's a mercy compared to the fire waiting beyond the trees."
Daisy frowns. She traces a line in the dirt with her toe.
She doesn't want mercy.
She wants to see.
"I'm tired of being locked up. I want to see the landscape."
Gomez takes a stick. He draws four lines in the dust.
"Four parts to our world, Daisy. North, South, East, and West." He draws a perfect circle in the center. "And this... this is Centre City. The heart. It's where we are."
Daisy's eyes spark. To her, the map looks like a target. "The other areas look so small."
"They are." The stick taps the large area.
"Centre City is as large as a continent."
"Continent?" Daisy asks. "A large place that contains countries?"
"How do you know what a continent means?"
Daisy draws closer.
"I read it in books. From the era of technology. Before the world was a ruin."
"The world has a lot of continents."
Mr Gomez laughs. "And what periods was that?"
"Back in the 3000s."
"You read too many books, kid."
Mr Gomez's face hardens. "Don't believe everything you read."
"Huh.. but–"
"Miss Daisy! Where were you?" The young man from before arrives, chest heaving. "I told you—you have to let me know where you're going."
Daisy looks away. Her lip curls.
He treats her like a pet.
"Why? I'm not a child anymore." She stands, brushing the grass from her gown.
"Where's Antar? I haven't seen her in three days."
She looks toward the jungle path. Antar's stories are amazing. She misses them.
"Antar is working. She'll be back tomorrow."
Daisy grabs the young man's shirt, dragging him toward the houses. "Then you tell me. I want stories."
"I'm not a storyteller, Miss..."
"Doesn't matter. Talk. Tell me about the cities."
As they walk away, Gomez watches them. A low chuckle vibrates in his chest. "Someone raised in peace, begging to see the fire."
His lips curl into a menacing, toothy grin. "Soon enough, child. You'll be a living testimony of what the world has to offer."
The four swordsmen reach the perimeter. A wooden gate stands between them and the village. Guards clutch rifles, their knuckles white.
Gunfire erupts.
The swordsmen move like ink in water.
They weave through the lead rain.
They close the distance in heartbeats.
SHKKK.
Steel flashes in semicircles.
Crimson sprays the dirt.
The guards fall, their screams cut short.
Inside the village, the peace shatters.
Daisy rushes for the door, but the young man yanks her back. "Wait! Stay down!"
Screams break out. A flickering yellow light—fire—bleeds through the cracks in the walls. Daisy feels the heat. It feels like the world is melting.
The young man presses a heavy leather bag into her palm, coins clinking inside. "Take this. If things go south, run. Find Antar. Or tell people out there you're looking for Jager – your father."
"What about you?"
"Stay quiet!"
Daisy's heart hammers against her ribs. "I'm not leaving you!"
The door bursts open.
Mr. Gomez enters. He isn't carrying his stick. He levels a heavy pistol at the young man's chest.
"Mr. Gomez?" Daisy whispers. Her stomach turns. The man who drew the map is holding a gun.
"Child, come with me," Gomez says. His voice is oily, wrong. "I'll keep you safe."
The young man steps in front of Daisy. He is a wall of trembling muscle. "I was assigned to her. That's my job. Gomez, get back, the enemy is—"
BAA.
The gunshot is a physical blow.
The young man's knee hits the floor with a sickening thud.
Daisy catches him as he slumps. Her palms are suddenly painted in hot, wet crimson. The smell of copper fills her nose.
"Find Antar," he wheezes. Blood bubbles in his throat. "Run... Daisy... run."
Gomez walks closer. His eyes are unfocused, twitching. "Come, child. Your father was killed tonight. I'm the only one who can protect you."
Daisy backs against the wall. Her breath comes in jagged gasps. "How... how do you know that?"
"The men out there killed him. Come."
Daisy looks at the man she once trusted. He looks like a monster wearing an old man's skin. She doesn't wait. She bolts.
The village is a nightmare. Fire and shadows.
Daisy runs. The screams of her neighbors are a chorus in her ears.
She tears through the gate and dives into the jungle. The darkness swallows her whole.
She trips over a root, rolling hard down a steep embankment. Her body slams into a tree. She groans, her chest burning as she fights for air.
Footsteps approach. Heavy. Deliberate.
She dives into a thicket of ferns, clamping her hands over her mouth. Her own sobbing is too loud. She tries to disappear.
Gomez and the four swordsmen pass by inches away.
"Where did she go?"
"Gomez, you shouldn't have let her slip. King Silas will have your head."
"Shut up! She ran. I'll find her."
Their voices fade. Daisy waits. She waits until her heart stops trying to escape her chest.
She looks back at the orange glow of her home... and turns away.
She pushes through the thorns until the trees thin. She stops dead.
Bright, artificial light blinds her. Neon signs flicker in pink and blue. A massive, rusted signboard hangs over the road: SOVIET TOWN — CENTRE CITY.
Daisy's eyes widen. "Urban lifestyle...?"
The walls are covered in vibrant, swirling graffiti. "Neon dreams, year 5012" she whispers. "It's beautiful."
Her eyes scan the street around her:
Antar always said that the era of technology was said to be more beautiful than ours, cities where booming with heaven's invention.
She stops walking and places her palm on her jaw:
What millennium was that?
The 3000s… maybe early 4000s.
The smell of blood from her palm makes her eyes widen.
A sudden realisation hits her
- Find Antar. Run... Daisy... run.
The words echo in her head as her footsteps start pounding fast against the concrete floor.
She finds a building where muffled music thumps through the walls.
She pushes the door open. Inside, the air is thick with smoke and stale ale. Daisy walks to the counter and climbs a stool.
"Give me what they're having."
The bartender thumps a mug of beer onto the wood. It splashes.
Daisy gulps it down.
Her face twists.
It stings. It tastes like rot.
A bald man next to her frowns. "Kid, aren't you a bit young for this?"
Daisy's cheeks flush:
Everything I knew is burning. Who cares about my age?
"Who cares?" She slams the mug down. "I'm looking for Antar. I'm lost... and I'm leaving soon anyway."
The bald man laughs. A sad sound. "The world is cruel, kid. Disappoints everyone." He folds his arms. "Watch yourself. The gangs are crawling all over the streets."
"Gangs? Why?"
"An incident at the Latvilo casino. A stranger in a black coat and a round hat wiped out an entire crew. The Red Carpet gang. Now every eye in the city is looking for him."
Daisy's hands shake:
Gangs… Antar told her stories.
She thought they were legends.
They're just fire, burning everything down.
The bald man taps her shoulder. "Hard night, huh?"
The door bursts open. Gomez. The swordsmen stride in.
Daisy stands, grabbing the bald man's sleeve. "Please! Help me! Those are the men!"
The bald man doesn't hesitate. He draws a heavy pistol.
Around the bar, other men stand. Steel and lead.
"You won't come in here and bully our trench," the bartender snarls. Pointing his rifle.
The four swordsmen draw.
Steel flashes.
They weave through the gunfire. Men drop.
Gomez closes in, but the bald man fires. The bullet catches Gomez in the chest, sending him flying backward.
The swordsmen turn.
One flashes his blade.
Whoosh.
It whistles past the bald man's ear.
Another lunges for Daisy.
A bullet from the bartender stops him. His leg erupts in red.
Another swordsman hurls his blade.
THUD.
It buries itself in the bartender's temple. The man's laughter dies instantly.
The swordsmen accelerate.
Whoosh.
Whoosh.
Whoosh.
One strike severs the bald man's gun in half—along with his fingers.
They clatter to the floor like dry sticks. He screams.
SHKKK.
A sword drives into his neck.
He falls.
Daisy collapses, scrambling backward. Her heart is a trapped bird.
"Grab her. Quick."
As the man reaches for her, a cold voice cuts through the room.
"You all know better than to prey on a little girl."
The men freeze.
A man sits in the shadows. Black coat. Black hat.
Daisy's eyes lock on him:
He fits the description perfectly, the wanted stranger with black coat and round hat.
The swordsmen lunge. The man stands.
He weaves through the steel with impossible, silent grace.
BAA.
A hole blooms in the first man's temple.
Poof.
He vanishes and reappears between the last two.
Two shots.
One heartbeat.
They fall.
The floor thuds.
The man looks at Daisy. "Kid, what are you doing out here?"
Daisy stands, shaking. "I'm looking for... Antar."
"It's dangerous. Find somewhere safe."
He turns to leave.
His footsteps click. He halts. Looks back.
What about your parents?"
"Never knew my mother. Antar told me she died the day I was born."
"Father?"
"Barely knew him. He's really busy I don't see him at all."
"Come with me," he says. "Let's find you a place to stay."
Daisy brushes her gown. "But I want to find Antar."
"Don't be stupid. Haven't you seen enough? Your best option is to stay alive. Survive. Find a town and hide."
A beat.
"Otherwise, you'll die before you even get close to the person you're looking for."
He starts walking. Daisy follows his shadow.
"Um... can I know your name?"
"It's Johnny."
Their footsteps pound the paving as they move into the woods.
Daisy's eyes dart to her side:
He's too quiet. I can't hear him breathe. Is he even real?
"Johnny... why are you haunted?"
Johnny furrows his brow. "What do you mean by that?"
"I heard about you. You wiped a gang. Now everyone is looking for you." She touches her jaw. "The description fits."
Johnny chuckles once. A dry, humorless sound. "Seems like my little hunt paid off."
"What hunt?"
Johnny stays quiet.
"I am from the Soviet village," she starts. "My home was attacked. I escaped... because others didn't."
"Who's Antar? Big sis?"
"No. She's like an Aunt. I don't know where she is, but I won't stop."
Johnny scratches his brow. "In this world, ignorance gets you killed. There is trafficking in the East. You'd be a slave before you hit the border."
"Trafficking?"
Johnny shakes his head. "You're a kid. You don't know what the world is. It turns people like you into things. Slaves. Garbage."
Daisy folds her hands:
The world is dark.
I'm already in it.
Might as well walk through it.
"The world is a chaotic place, Kid."
Daisy's mind flashes to Gomez:
But don't ever try to leave this place. Out there... it's chaos.
The memory fades:
I was beginning to taste the outside world, now I know It tastes like blood and beer.
The woods thin. They reach a clearing. A wide, open space of short grass.
A river roars to the left, a violent white noise. A large tower looms ahead.
NEW SAGE BORDER.
The morning sun begins to bleed over the horizon. They reach a gate.
Johnny stops.
"Kid, go in there. My journey with you ends here."
Daisy's eyes widen. Flashes of Gomez shooting. Flashes of the bald man dying. She grabs his hand.
"I want to go with you, Johnny..." Her voice cracks. "It's not safe... please..."
Johnny laughs softly. "You're safe here. They need citizens. Build a life."
Daisy tightens her grip. "But I want to go with you."
Johnny sighs. "I'm looking for my niece. She's your age. My path is full of graves, Daisy. It's no place for a child."
He places a palm on her shoulder. "Live here. Adapt. Don't wander alone."
A beat.
"The world punishes the weak. Don't be weak."
Daisy lets go. Her hand feels cold the moment she releases him. She nods, swallowing hard.
Johnny smiles, a brief flash of humanity, and turns. In a second, his form dissolves into the morning mist.
Daisy stands alone in the grass:
So this is it. Everyone leaves. Everyone dies. Everyone abandons me because I'm not strong enough to keep up.
She curls her hands into fists:
I'll get stronger.
The leather bag of coins feels heavy in her pocket:
I'll get so strong that no one can ever leave me behind again.