Puffs of air exited the openings left by long-abandoned deities. They filled the underground atmosphere with a citrusy smell, a portent of the times to come. Stalactites dropped condensation onto the hard surface underneath, a splash echoing throughout the winding caverns. A long formation of humans stood in front of a vast hole obscured by befogged air. The first row knelt on both knees, and the rest soon followed, collapsing like the wave of an ocean. They prayed to the new gods. Some wished for rest and others gave gratitude. It wasn’t clear why they communed with the new gods in front of remnants given by the old, they just knew it was tradition. The geyser in front of them regulated temperature, provided oxygen, and contained manna that quenched both thirst and hunger. They were mystical entities. But the people cared only for their new saviors, the one who would finally lead them to the light. 

At the end of the large mass knelt a girl of sixteen years. She was thought of as demure and timid, constantly writing in notebooks pulled out from the coarse bag she carried on her back. Her hands were clasped together in a ball as her forehead touched the cold, rocky floor. 

“Thank you for saving us from ourselves, dear gods, and for forgiving us of our sins,” she whispered. An hour passed in this manner, reciting the prayers her forefathers had passed down for generations. The murmuring of voices slowly subsided. She felt a tap on her shoulder and looked up, a wrinkled woman looked down at her, her thin lips curled into a slight grin.

“Nanami, we’re finished,” she said. The kneeling girl grunted and placed one hand on the ground to support her body and push herself up. The little pebbles strewn about had dug into her skin and reddened her knees. She wobbled, a dizziness emerging as her body suddenly straightened up, and she reached a hand out to the nearby woman, supporting her sense of balance. “You’re okay,” the woman soothed. “Take your time.” 

“Chiyo, why are you so good to me?” she asked.

“You’re like the child I never had.” She nuzzled Nanami’s hair with her nose and gave a small peck on the scalp. “Now, let’s hurry and collect our manna portions.” The two of them walked forward, passing trains of people going in the opposite direction, some carrying bundles of manna preserved for later, while others were scarfing down the ones in their hands. They found themselves in front of the massive fountain, an intoxicating gas pumping out of its opening. The scent was faint but sweet. Nanami felt chills run through her body, something that often occurred to her when witnessing the rhythmic pumping of lifegas, the name that had been given to the geyser’s gaseous output. She, along with Chiyo, wordlessly reached their arms down and grasped for manna. After feeling an apt amount weighing on her wrists, Nanami pulled her hands out and swallowed the white, gelatinous substance. 

Delicious, thought Nanami, as she savored the tangy flavor. Her mouth that had dried from a long period of praying almost instantly moistened, and she noticed that the rumbling in her stomach dissipated. Chiyo, in stark difference to her aged appearance, ravenously scooped up the manna and inhaled it, occasionally letting out a moan of pleasure. The sixteen-year-old girl giggled silently at this. She set down the empty bag on her back and filled it to the brim with the jelly. 

“Why do you always do that?” Chiyo wondered, wiping a smattering of manna off her chin with the back of her hand. She pointed at the stuffed bag. “Why don’t you just eat it all here?” 

Nanami smiled. “I like to eat it all slowly. Besides, Granny is sick and can’t come today, so I’m picking up her portion as well.”

“She’s sick again?” Chiyo’s eyes looked worried. “I hope she gets better soon.” She rummaged through her breast pocket and pulled out a small pouch. “I can fit some manna in here. It might help.” Nanami nodded, knowing there was no way to refuse her friend’s persistent nature. They finished up and started leaving, preparing themselves for the long trek back to Cave #5, their assigned residence. An approximate half an hour of walking passed quickly. 

“Nanami, do you think we’re ever going to get out of here?” Chiyo asked.

“You’ve asked me this a million times before, already.”

“Yeah, but do you?”

Nanami continued marching and her mood turned pensive, a silence passing between the two of them. “If we ever awaken, maybe,” she finally said. “I wonder what it’s like in the outside world.” 

“These caves are depressing,” replied Chiyo, a glint appearing in her eyes. “Do you think I’ll be able to fly or turn invisible if I awaken?” 

“If you awaken.” 

“Don’t be a party pooper.” 

A lull enveloped the two of them as they continued plodding on. Finally, the hustle and bustle of their home amplified in their ears, causing them to break out in a run. Coming back from prayer was always a satisfying experience, and they noticed that most of their neighbors were already getting ready, most likely having attended an earlier session. They were preparing to go mining, a job for those eighteen years and above and a vital role that was needed to feed the new gods. Their sustenance consisted of hexagonal gems known as “cores” found embedded in the earth. Nanami, still sixteen, usually spent most of her time reading a collection of books that had been collected over the years, indulging herself mainly in history and tales of mythology. 

She entered her home, the craggy opening decorated with her childhood drawings. “Granny! I’m home!” She walked over to the side of a thin bed and gazed at the frail woman lying on top, a sullen look crossing her face. Setting her bag down, she scooped the white gelatin into her palm and held it up to her grandmother’s mouth. 

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“Thank you, Nanami,” a weary voice replied. The pallid woman trembled while lifting her neck up, devouring the manna by sucking on it. She breathed in through her nose deeply. “I’ll be better by tomorrow, I reckon.”

“You said that yesterday.” 

“Well, I mean it this time.” She got herself comfortable and shut her eyes, causing Nanami to sigh. However, the sixteen-year-old suddenly remembered something and her crestfallen look brightened. 

Time to finish my novel, thought Nanami. She grabbed the set of notebooks resting in the corner of the room and opened the one at the top. Though she had multiple notebooks, they all consisted of an interconnected story she had been writing since she was thirteen. It was a classic hero-saves-the-world story, but it served as an escape from her mundane existence. 

“Alexander defeated the Demon King with a thundering blow, his mighty sword Excalibur shattering in the process. It was an arduous fight, but in the end, he cemented his name as the rightful king of humankind. Elizabeth breathed raggedly next to him, having fought alongside her lover with her mighty bow, Artemis. They turned to each other. They had just saved all of humanity for the rest of time. Alexander let out a laugh and Elizabeth followed, relief and happiness overcoming them in waves. And… the end.” Nanami was fairly satisfied with this ending. If anyone caught her using the names of the old gods in her writings, she would definitely get in trouble, though she doubted anyone cared enough to read her story.

All of a sudden, a feeling of warmth detonated in her body like a chain of explosives, feeling like a mild flame had just passed through her body. This happened several times more, lasting for seconds at a time before disappearing and reappearing again. A circular glow flickered into existence in her belly, shocking her for mere seconds before a potent sense of nausea caused her to throw up. 

“Eugh,” she groaned, wiping the regurgitated mush off her lips. Then, her eyes widened, a realization dawning on her. “Is this awakening?” Awakening was the supernatural process of normal human beings gaining extraordinary powers, from superstrength to control over the elements. To leave the underground caverns, it was required by the new gods that one had to have awakened, their duty being to make the radiation-devastated surface world inhabitable. Nanami wanted to go above ground… but she also didn’t want to abandon her grandmother or Chiyo. 

The glow in her abdomen dissolved, and she felt much better. What power would she have? Would it be good enough for the new gods? In all the stories she heard, people had their ability revealed to them immediately after awakening. 

Fwip. Abruptly, one of her notebooks opened and a page flipped, revealing the scratchy writing and yellowed material. Fwip, fwip, fwip. It happened again, then once more, and quickly, the pages seemed to have a mind of their own, sprinting from one end of the pad to the other. An ethereal light shined from the animated paper and the same hyperactive flipping occurred to each of her other notebooks. Nanami watched in stunned awe as her longtime companions suddenly broke apart and flew around her motionless head, surrounding her. 

The light-blue radiance coming from her notebooks blazed brighter and brighter until it swallowed her whole. Everything went black. 

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He had swallowed his pride and allowed her to dilly-dally for the past few days, but no more. He would not stand for this anymore. She should be in Cyrano Academy, not wasting her life away in her cushy room. The tap, tap of his shoes against the hardwood floor added to the quiet chattering of the maids and servants. They were surely gossiping about the current situation, but he didn’t mind. This was just common behavior for the undistinguished rabble that shared their living space. Finally, he reached the top of the winding staircase leading to her room. Pushing the doors open, he braced himself for the worst. 

“Veronica!” he shouted. He prepared himself for a tantrum, for some things to be thrown, for profanities to be yelled. What came next was beyond his expectations.

“Bradford…?” The sixteen-year-old girl turned around at the sound of his voice, revealing her jade eyes and flowing, purple hair. Her face was a mix of confusion and shock, her voice quivering slightly. “What...how…?” She took a good look at the boy in front of her. He was two years her senior, and at eighteen, he had grown ruggedly handsome features, with sharp eyes and similarly purple hair to her own. 

It was everything as she described. Her real name was Nanami, someone who had lived her whole life underground and had only seen odd clothing and sights like these in drawings. Somehow, it seemed she had been sucked into her own novel, a book that was written over the course of three years. The frilly dress she was wearing had been donned with the help of her maid, though the poor girl seemed afraid of Nanami. For good reason too… Veronica was a villainess. More accurately, she was a low-level boss that the hero Alexander defeated swiftly, treated as more of a mild nuisance than anything gravely threatening. 

“Veronica?” Bradford repeated, this time a complicated look emerging on his face. “Are you alright?” 

“I’m fine,” Nanami quickly responded. “Just feeling a little under the weather.” 

“Oh.” He scratched the back of his head. “I wanted to remind you that Cyrano Academy’s school year started two days ago.” 

“Ah, I completely forgot.” She was speaking the truth, as she had spent those two days trying to get over the impact of being transported to another world. Every night she would go to sleep with the belief that she would be greeted with the sight of those dreary caves when she woke up. “I’ll make sure to go tomorrow. I promise.”

“No worries, just take your time getting better,” he replied, turning around to leave. 

“Thank you, Bradford.”

He walked away, a deep breath being exhaled from his lungs. Did he hear that properly? Did his bratty little sister actually thank him for something? He shook his head. Maybe he was just imagining things. He rolled his shoulders, relieving himself of some stress before he had to return to his room to finish his homework. 

Nanami looked at the disappearing figure of her new older brother, a feeling of curiosity and disbelief mingling in her mind. She looked out a large window overlooking the ocean, remembering a painting of blue waves that was given to her grandmother. It had dull, muted colors and was nothing like what she saw now. A sense of wanderlust overcame her.

She was going to attend Cyrano Academy, but before that, she would explore.