Silence.
Heavy.
Unmoving.
Vinh
The cell was tight.
Cold metal pressed against his back.
Vinh sat there, head lowered.
His fingers trembled slightly.
"…I killed it…"
The words didn't feel real.
He closed his eyes.
And the world shifted.
Light.
Warm.
Alive.
A city.
Bright and endless.
Buildings of glass and steel stretched into the sky. Vehicles moved above the ground—silent, controlled, floating through layers of traffic.
Laughter echoed.
Vinh ran through the street.
Younger.
Free.
"Wait up!"
He didn't stop.
Curiosity pulled him forward.
Always forward.
From the time he was young—
Vinh had never been able to stay still.
New places.
New things.
New experiences.
He wanted all of it.
His family never stopped him.
They didn't need to.
They could afford it.
Trips.
Devices.
Access to things most people only saw from afar.
And Vinh—
made full use of it.
But he wasn't careless.
In school—
he excelled.
Numbers.
Physics.
Logic.
Natural talent.
Yet—
even then—
he didn't stay in place.
Sometimes—
he skipped.
Not to avoid responsibility.
But to explore.
And that was when—
he met him.
Levi
Quiet.
That was the first thing anyone noticed.
Levi stood at the edge of the same city.
New.
Unfamiliar.
A foreigner.
Different language.
Different habits.
But sharp eyes.
Always observing.
Always calculating.
He preferred certainty.
Structure.
Things that could be predicted.
Unlike Vinh—
who moved without pattern.
They shouldn't have met.
Two different directions.
Two different ways of thinking.
Yet—
they did.
Together
"Try to keep up."
Vinh grinned as he jumped onto the platform.
Levi followed.
Without hesitation.
Not because he wanted to.
But because—
it made sense.
Efficiency.
Timing.
Movement.
They balanced each other.
Vinh moved first.
Levi corrected.
Levi planned.
Vinh broke the pattern.
They competed.
Scores.
Ranks.
Performance.
Point by point.
Neither willing to fall behind.
And somehow—
that made them stronger.
Others noticed.
They became examples.
Models.
But outside of that—
they were something else.
A vehicle hovered before them.
Sleek.
Weightless.
"Come on."
Vinh stepped in.
Levi paused—
just for a second.
Then followed.
The city changed.
Higher.
Faster.
Brighter.
Technology shaped everything.
Entire districts built for innovation.
Places few could access.
They went anyway.
Not because they were allowed.
But because—
they could.
Time passed.
And the results came.
Acceptance.
One of the most difficult companies to enter.
Selection rate—
almost nonexistent.
But they made it.
Together.
Opportunity.
Resources.
Future.
Everything was there.
A path.
Clear.
Stable.
Perfect.
Vinh opened his eyes.
Darkness.
The cell.
Gone.
Everything was gone.
"…Levi…"
The name slipped out.
A faint glow appeared in front of him.
Fire.
No—
something shaped like it.
A creature.
Burning.
Unstable.
It stared at him.
Vinh raised his hand.
Slowly.
"…What are you…?"
His fingers almost touched it—
And it vanished.
Gone.
Only heat remained.
Levi
Silence.
Perfect.
Levi stood within the cell.
Still.
Unmoving.
His eyes were open—
but distant.
Then—
memory surfaced.
Order.
Systems.
Numbers aligning perfectly.
Every decision calculated.
Every step planned.
Then—
a disruption.
A voice.
"Try to keep up."
Levi's gaze shifted.
Not annoyance.
Not rejection.
Acceptance.
He had followed.
Not because he needed to.
But because—
it worked.
The memory faded.
Replaced.
By presence.
Two figures stood before him.
Cayter.
Unmoving.
Precise.
They were already there.
Levi didn't react.
"…So."
His voice was calm.
"You finally decided to act."
One of them stepped forward.
"You will lead."
No emotion.
No emphasis.
Just fact.
"To weaken the formation."
Levi's eyes narrowed slightly.
"…Formation?"
No answer.
They didn't explain.
They never did.
One of them moved.
Levi didn't resist.
He was pulled forward.
End
Two paths.
Two directions.
Yet—
they converged.
Darkness faded.
And a road appeared.
Vinh stepped forward.
Levi walked beside him.
Neither spoke.
Neither questioned.
Only one thing was certain.
They were moving.
Forward.
The past shaped them… but the path ahead would decide everything.