The silence of the broken city gnawed at Ryan as he wandered through the ruins, mind lost in the chaos that had become his life. It wasn’t just the storm that left destruction in its wake. His mind, too, was unraveling as memories from long ago resurfaced, memories of loss.

Ryan’s parents had died when he was just a boy. A freak accident, they said—an explosion at a fusion reactor plant in one of the city’s outer districts. He could still recall the moment the news came. He was seven, playing in the narrow alley outside their small apartment, completely oblivious to the world that would collapse around him within hours.

They had been simple people. His father worked in the same plant where he later lost his life, maintaining the intricate energy systems that powered much of Europolis. His mother had stayed at home, caring for Ryan. The city’s social safety net had tried to take care of him after the tragedy, but in a world that had grown so advanced, people often forgot the human element. For the next decade, Ryan bounced between care centers, never quite fitting in anywhere. The bustling, automated world around him didn’t have much time for orphans.

He had always been smart—his teachers told him that, though no one ever stayed around long enough to see him truly thrive. Without money, connections, or family, Ryan had been forced to fight for every opportunity. At sixteen, he found work as a technician for a small energy company. The job barely paid enough to survive, but it was a start. From there, he slowly built his skills, eventually securing a role working on the energy grids that kept Europolis running. Even then, though, life was little more than survival.

Until he met Alyssa.

Ryan closed his eyes, remembering the day they met. It had been raining—not like the cataclysmic storms of late, but a soft, cleansing rain that made the city lights blur and sparkle. He had been working late, fixing a malfunction in one of the city’s transport grids, when Alyssa had walked up to him, completely lost.

“Do you know where the station is?” she had asked, a map displayed on her wrist console but clearly not helping her navigate the sprawling labyrinth of Europolis.

Ryan had looked up from the console he was working on, water dripping from the brim of his hood, and smiled at her. “Yeah, I can help with that.”

What started as a simple exchange quickly grew into a deep connection. Alyssa was everything Ryan wasn’t—vibrant, full of life, always seeing the best in every situation. She had worked in the tech division of one of the monarchy’s innovation hubs, using her talents to develop new systems and technologies that made life easier for the masses. They were opposites in so many ways, but that only seemed to strengthen their bond.

For the first time in his life, Ryan had someone he truly cared for, someone who cared for him.

But now… now she was gone.

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Ryan clenched his fists as he stared at the smoldering remnants of the city center, his chest tightening. He had checked the survivor’s list a hundred times. No Alyssa. No word. No trace of her. As the hours turned into days, his hope dwindled.

He wasn’t sure what was worse—the uncertainty of not knowing or the gnawing guilt of being alive when so many others weren’t.

As he sat on a broken slab of concrete, his mind drifting between the past and the present, the sound of a distant broadcast caught his attention. He stood, slowly making his way toward the small crowd that had gathered around a makeshift screen.

The image flickered, but the message was clear. A monarch from one of the global dominions addressed the remaining population.

“The storms have struck nearly every continent, every city,” the monarch said, their voice somber but steady. “Initial estimates suggest that the global population has been reduced to just under five billion. We are working to confirm these numbers, but it is clear: this is not a local phenomenon. The world as we know it has changed.”

Five billion. Ryan’s mind reeled. The world’s population had once been over thirty billion, a sprawling Type 1 civilization. The cities of Earth were vast metropolises, with interconnected systems of energy, transport, and communication. Humanity had long since conquered the planet’s resources, mastering fusion energy and harnessing the power of the sun and other natural elements. Solar satellites hovered above the planet, beaming down energy to keep the cities alive. There were no longer limitations of scarcity—food, water, and energy were all plentiful, controlled by vast networks of intelligent machines.

Yet, despite their technological mastery, they had been utterly powerless against the storm.

The monarch continued. “Our advanced sensors have detected no environmental causes. No shifts in the planet’s tectonic plates, no solar flares, no cosmic interference. This is not a natural event. Our best scientists are investigating all possibilities, but for now, we must assume that this phenomenon is beyond our current understanding. We must prepare for more.”

Ryan’s heart sank. If even the monarchies, with their vast resources and unmatched technologies, had no answers, what hope did anyone have? The monarchs, though not rulers in the traditional sense, oversaw the world’s most advanced research and development. They had access to technologies beyond the comprehension of ordinary citizens, yet even they seemed at a loss.

The broadcast shifted to an image of massive, fortified bunkers being constructed across various cities. These bunkers, each the size of a small city, were designed to house millions of people. Below them, vast underground networks stretched for miles, containing everything needed for long-term survival.

“In the coming days, we will begin moving citizens to these fortified structures,” the monarch said. “The surface will no longer be safe. For now, all efforts will focus on securing our populations in these underground cities, where we will remain until a solution can be found.”

Ryan stared at the screen, his mind swirling with thoughts of the future. The surface… unsafe. Was this it? Was humanity doomed to live underground, away from the world they had once dominated?

His thoughts shifted back to Alyssa. She had always loved the open air, the city lights, the energy of Europolis. How could she survive in this new world—if she had survived at all?

The weight of everything—his lost family, his vanished girlfriend, the uncertainty of the world—pressed down on him like an avalanche. Grief rose within him like a tide, threatening to swallow him whole. But he couldn’t give in. Not now. Not while there was still a chance, however slim, that she was alive.

“Please, Alyssa,” he whispered, looking up at the broken sky. “Please be safe.”