My tantrum stopped instantly at the words "Alyss Moreau. One Million Lumes," echoed in my ears. The crowd's roars stopped momentarily before going on again with them wailing.

  "Glory to the Kingdom of Everheat, may the Luminaries lead us to the forsaken child who tarnished our glory."

  A realization hit me at that moment: this isn't a story. I am not a main character; I don't get any sort of power-up, and I am not the chosen one. My situation isn't like the one in stories. They are going to hunt me down and kill me.

  I instinctively took a step back. The people were still clamoring about the details, which I didn't mind since I had only one thing to think of: that is, to run away from here and stay alive as long as possible. I slowly took a step back, one step at a time, trying my best not to draw attention on the stage. The commissioner was looked over the rabble. I saw the field officer approach the commissioner; he leaned towards him and said something. The commissioner frowned for a moment but brought his professional demeanor back. The field officer went back to his seat with a sneer.

  "Calm yourselves," Commissioner Felip Gael said, his hand raised as ripples of agitation ran through the hall. "Your fervor is noted, yet it must not give way to disorder. These are consecrated chambers, beneath the gaze of our bishops, and panic has no rightful place here."

  His eyes scoured the assembly. "Officer Iker Emi has expressed a disturbing suspicion: the missing youth may be in this very hall at this moment. I understand the impulse to seize advantage, but I will not see this sacred court degenerate into chaos in the interests of one boy."

  He leaned slightly forward. "You know your mandate. Watch, listen, and remain vigilant. Should he reveal himself, you will hand him over with composure and without disruption. Let the order stand. Let discipline speak. And let Everheat witness that its citizens do not abandon dignity for frenzy."

  The crowd went dead silent; I stopped my movements instinctively. The change in atmosphere was palpable; I could hear the breaths of everyone around me looking shocked, their eyes locked onto the display boards.

  Regardless, there was one thing I should do: run no matter what; otherwise, this would be the end of me.

  I took a step back and bumped into the crowd, but no one paid any attention. I moved through gaps. I could hear my own heartbeat from my fear, my body drenched in sweat due to overcrowding and panic. I need to get out of here as soon as possible.

  "With these final matters addressed, we now draw these proceedings to their rightful conclusion.

  "May those whose lives were given up here today find peace beyond the veil, and may the course of justice continue its steady march until the remaining strand of this affair is fully resolved. It is the hope of the Crown, and of all devoted to the order of Everheat, that the fugitive youth is soon located and brought forth, that the kingdom may proceed unburdened by uncertainty."

  "To the assembled commons, your presence shows that your worthiness stands good against all comers. To His Grace the Duke, Her Grace the Duchess, and the Prince, your attendance honors these rites with the dignities of the realm's most noted bloodlines."

  His eyes moved to the dais. "I would also like to thank the priest and priestess who carried out the purification with such calm and faith, seeing to it that the rites were performed with the due degree of sanctity. By such ministry, the spiritual validity of such rites is maintained, as is required in these sacred precincts.

  "We also recognize the laborers' union, whose organized efforts ensured that all the preparations that were needed for today's duties were done with great efficiency and diligence. Though not as apparent, their contribution is no less essential to carrying out the solemn duties of the kingdom."

  Straightening, he gave a final, measured nod to the assembly. "With all thanks rendered and with all duties discharged, this gathering stands adjourned. May the Luminaries guide the steps and safeguard Everheat."

  I continued to move back, slipping inside the gaps. I saw the officers, the duke and duchess, the prince, and the priests exit the stage, the knights guarding them, and peacekeepers on the other side holding down the barraging crowd.

  I tried my best to get out fast without drawing attention. I bumped into a few and got cursed at, but I somehow managed to escape the crushing crowd, and I began to run, wiping my tears.

  *****

  pant! pant! pant!

  I ran for a long time. I had no idea where I was going, but all I thought was to run, run, run.

  I settled down next to the bus stop where I got off when I came from Silverpark. The city was deserted; no one was there yet. Most of them would have just left the venue due to the overflowing crowd, and that was to my advantage. All I had to do was to leave the shire before anyone saw me. I should board the earliest bus possible, but what bus should I take?

  I opened the directo, the purple light glitching as I opened it and as it faded away. No wonder it cost four hundred Lumes, it looks like the cheap ones had their own reputation for breaking down. But this isn't the time to think about that; I need to get off this shire fast somehow, or this is where I die.

  I waited for some time, standing behind the bus stand to hide from the passersby, and even though I tried to stay calm and reach Silverpark, my mind always rushed to think of the execution stage. The death of my parents still hasn't left my eyes.

  I wanted to cry and wail out, but I knew that if I did, that would draw attention, and I need to get out of Golden Estate if I need to live. Yet I couldn't control myself, I whimpered silently with resentment on my mind.

  *****

  2054, Month of Selune, 7th

  Ting… ting… ting-ling…

  I was standing in front of an Altar, my hands cupped in front of the Luminaries. I prayed earnestly and desperately. I usually just cup my hands and close my eyes and put on an act of praying back at home, but today I prayed, hoping someone would help, anyone will help me get out of Goldenpark and escape this predicament.

  The bus stand started to gain people, and it was hard to lurk around. The bus never came, so I moved out of there and went to the least crowded spot. At nightime it was 1:00; no one was around the Altar, so I was safe, but I have to get out of here before dawn breaks, or I am as good as dead.

  The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

  I should probably go to the bus station again. It's middle of the night, most people would be weary, so no one would notice me, and I could most likely get out of here.

  I walked towards the bus stand on the empty sidewalk. Night in Golden Estate is surely different from Silverpark. It was so quiet, no sound whatsoever. Back home people used to work all night; all sounds could be heard at night, but in here it's peaceful. I pocketed my hands, looking around the environment as I made my way to the bus stand. I saw the clock tower; I could see a gleam of light from it shining bright. It was visible from the street of Block W. My mind was still thinking about the execution. I wiped my tears. I murmured, "Mom, Dad, why did this happen? Why does it happen to only me? You lied to me. You said I would get an ability if I was inside the basement, but I don't have one. Why did you lie to me, Mom? Tell me, why did you two have to die when I was the one who didn't have a swirl? Mom, answer me. Dad, answer me," "Where is Leo?" "Tell me, Mom, you said you look at me from heaven. You are, right? Help me, Mom. They are going to kill me. What should I do, Mom? Damn you all! Damn you, Luminaries!" "Day in and day out I prayed to all of you, didn't I? Then why didn't you help me when I wanted? Why am I suffering? You idiots, help me. Why didn't you give me a swirl while everybody else has one? What's the purpose of making me a messiah they prayed for if they are going to kill me? Answer me".

  I yelled at the sky. I dropped to my knees crying. I lifted the jacket; my belly still swirls. I slammed my own hand into my belly, yelling, "Do something, damn it! Why don't I have an ability?" "Why? Why do you want me to die? Please, even one is enough. I won't look down on the lower castes anymore. Please, just one." I continue to hit myself, weeping in the middle of the street. Someone help me get an ability or a swirl, please. I will do anything. My knees lost lots of strength, and I folded over myself until my face dangled against the ground. "God, why is it me and me only? Why?"

  "Oi, lad...what are you doing standing out in the street?"

  I felt a shock. I looked over my shoulders, and I saw five towering people staring at me. They had a foul smell. There was a guy with brunette hair and a scruffy beard with a cigarette in his mouth; he tapped it, the embers hitting my back. No, they caught me.

  I instantly sprang to run away, but suddenly I felt a kick in my calves. I fell down holding my throbbing calf.

  "Aaaghhhh, what was that for?"

  A guy from the group came towards me, standing on top of me and dangling a bottle of alcohol; the dew hit my face.

  "Lad, who said you could run from us?"

  I swallowed, my feet were still throbbing from the brutal kick from the brutes.

  "Wait, I recognize this lad," said a guy with a pot belly.

  "He is Alyss, you know, the one they advertised about in the execution in the chambers where the limp-dick commissioner put on a show about."

  "Right, he does look like him," a clean-shaven guy with long hair chuckled.

  "Are you sure? He might be looking like that swirless basta*d because we're drunk, but he looks similar." A guy with a goatee stumbled.

  "Who knows, he might be the child of an affair. The woman sure looks like a street bike; someone definitely tapped that woman," a bald guy wheezed, his snort falling on me.

  "Yes, sire," the group chuckles.

  I tried to move away, clutching my foot.

  Thud!

  I felt a kick to my belly, and the guy with a potbelly yelled.

  "Who do you think allowed you to run, you basta*d?"

  "Let's check him out; if he is the Alyss, we might get the cash and divide it in five."

  I tried to move but I couldn't; the guy held me and ripped the jacket off. Their face froze for a moment, and then they smirked.

  "We are going to be rich folks; we could buy beer for months with the cash we get from him."

  Thud!

  I felt a kick in my back.

  "Oi, stop kicking him. Let's turn him in."

  "Why not stomp this basta*d for a moment, huh? His parents are a hearth, and I bet this little sc*m has trampled on blights and grime. Let's do a payback for our people," suggested the brunette.

  "You do make a point," the guy with long hair mumbled.

  "Let's beat this bastard and then turn him in."

  The man with the goatee touched me; his navel glowed with one swirl, and I was pinned in place.

  "Now our little swirless of sc*m won't escape."

  Thud!

  I felt a stomp in my face breaking my nose.

  "Aargg! stop! please stop!, you idiots. Stop it, it hurts, it hurts," I yelled, but it didn't reach their ears.

  They continued to stomp me. My cries fell on their deaf ears.

  It hurts, it hurts. Someone help me. I whimpered as I curled into a ball. The stomping didn't stop. I felt my bone break. I started to bleed. I cried out to the Luminaries I had worshiped ever since I knew, but no one came for me. I tried to move but the goatee guy's ability pinned me. If only Dad were here, if only Mom were here, I would be safe.

  I looked to the side, my body battered, my eyes drenched with tears, blood, and the dirt from their shoes. I saw some passerby walk past someone on their smartphone trying to make a call. The neighborhood turned on the lights one by one, the pavement covered in my blood.

  I didn't know how long I was being stomped, but I heard the sounds of sirens. The peacekeepers came to spot their white uniforms in stark contrast to the stuff worn by the brutes who stomped me.

  They took down the five guys with ease and handcuffed them. I don't know how many of my bones were broken, but I couldn't move. The pain was intense; it was as if I was dying. Nobody tried to touch me. Even the peacekeepers looked at me in disgust, their eyes clearly showing that they would be happy if I died. My ears slowly went out. Everything became a blur. I could hear the mild sound of a van braking nearby me. Two people in blue uniforms laid a stretcher next to me. They tried to lift me up, but I groaned in pain. They said nothing to console me but lifted my limp body. As they placed my body on the stretcher and lifted it, my broken body with no form or anything went limp, and it was too late because I died.