Past:

On the eastern edge of the central part of Mizar, an underground landscape was located. It was as if someone had pushed an entire mountain range into the ground.

In the depths of this underground mine, a formation of peaks and cliffs created an intricate and complex landscape. Rays of light pierced through the misty fog that shrouded the upper levels, casting a gentle glow that spanned across the entirety of the place. The sight of the region below was hidden by the dense mist, leaving an air of desolation and wonder.

Within this bizarre environment, vidre stones were meticulously extracted from the mine's two lower layers. It was a labor-intensive process, supported by a huge number of 15,000 slaves.

These slaves, along with their families, lived in the upper layer of the mine.

On the outside, networks of stairs were carved into the cliffs. Accompanying them were the caves on the inside, spreading all across the underground mine.

The passageways resembling long hallways stretched across perpendicular to the ground. Along hallways, rooms were carved on both sides.

Some of the passageways intersected, eventually leading to the central hallway. That path lead to the grand hall, located in the heart of the centermost and tallest cliff. That cliff was also the only way to go aboveground, by a rollway that connected to the ground.

The reason for that was simple, unlike most of the cliffs that didn’t even reach the ground layer, the central cliff was much higher, with a height of 300 meters aboveground.

Its peak was connected to ground layers by cables and trolleys, and only up to 5 people could cross that at any given time.

This arrangement also served another purpose, it created a natural cage for slaves, one they could never escape from even in their dreams.

Deeper into the mine's lower layers, a captivating network of hanging bridges connected various cliffs. These bridges served as precarious pathways, connecting the vast expanse of the mine's interior and bringing a means for transport across nearly a hundred cliffs.

While the upper layer was well explored, the lower layer was a forbidden zone of undiscovered secrets. Hidden by a thick layer of misty abyss, the depth of this underground mine remained shrouded in the death of those who went to explore but never returned,

Going into that territory was considered a harbinger of doom, as a single misstep could lead to the annihilation of the entire team. Not surprisingly, it remained largely unexplored.

That caused slaves to be trapped from all six directions, and over time, no one ever thought of getting out to live a new life.

Of course, there were exceptions...

…

In a office which was located above 150 meters of ground level, where the air was clean with sun rays were shining from the windows, A woman was sitting on a chair.

Compared to the dusty and smelly underground, this place was like heaven. Even with that though, her position was hardly a dream job.

That woman was the leader of all the slaves, a leader without any significant ‘power of authority’ or ‘wealth’.

She girl looked to be in her thirties with her silvery white top and black pants. Unlike the wheat-colored face that brimmed with a gentle smile, what greeted the man standing in front of her was a furious glare.

She wasn't the only one throwing daggers with her eyes either. The man in front of her did the same, but his target was different.

The person standing next to her was about six feet tall with silver hair and fair skin. He was wearing the same type of clothes as her, but that's where the similarities ended.

His dusty white shirt was torn around cuffs, and with the fabric thinning around his kneecaps, his black pants looked grey after all the wear and tear.

With his messy appearance and eyes which lacked focus, He was listening into the conversation between the two with disinterest, Or that’s what it looked like anyway. No one could tell what he was thinking from his body language, and frankly, no one bothered to.

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Anyone who saw him came up with a conclusion that he was a dimwit, but was he really? Only time would tell them.

“Why don't you believe in me? Do you really think we should spend the rest of our life here?” The man’s yell surrounded the room, laden in a tone of frustration and desperation.

He was slightly taller than the boy standing next to her. With his bright copper skin and golden hair, he was like a swan in a herd of ducklings.

His body was well built unlike many of the slaves, and it was visibly apparent that he was strong. But being strong wasn't necessarily a good thing for slaves. Unfortunately, he wouldn't figure this out until it was too late.

“Do you really not understand what's going on?” the woman asked while looking at his black eyes with frustration.

“What is there to understand about it? I will kill that Shane and escape this shithole. I thought you'd cooperate with me, but from the looks of it, you'd rather spent time with this dimwit than plan for our escape”

From the trace of longing and admiration in his tone and the way he looked enviously at the boy standing beside her, it was painfully obvious that he was interested in the lady sitting in front of him.

Every slave knew about it, and no one thought it was strange for that to happen. He was the strongest in the entire underground mine and was a hard-working man with good looks to boot. On the other end, the woman was their wise leader and the only one who could go aboveground.

“You should realize that just because you've became a junior mage, it doesn’t mean that you won't be discovered.”

The woman rubbed temples and continued in a stern tone,

“The gap between a rank one mage and a rank three mage is more than what you think, there is a very high chance that you won't make it alive after fighting Shane. Please think carefully, don't waste your life like this.”

“So you really think that I am that stupid huh, I know that I'm not his match in a fair dual, but I just have to sneak around. And if there happens to be a situation where I can catch him off guard, he won't be the one to walk out alive from there.”

“I do not look down upon you; I know that you are gifted to become a mage on your own. If you want to go out, I can help you in the future, so don't be so rash 17-”

“Stop calling me THAT, I'm LUCAS.” the man shouted with red face.

“If you don't want to come with me then just stay it, no need to beat around the bush. One day you will regret your decision.” He gave a disdainful glance at the boy and left the room after slamming the door.

“Do you think he will succeed, 2709?” the woman asked as she stared at his blue eyes with expectation.

‘Why do you ask me when you know the answer already?‘ 2709 thought as he looked at her exhausted face.

“I know he is frustrated and gloomy after everyone refused to go out with him, but he still shouldn’t shout at you. And No, I don't think he will.”

‘He at least chose the way he would die. Others may call him foolish, but at least he is brave enough to fight for his dreams.'

He didn’t say this to her because he knew that she would not agree with his thoughts.

He wanted to protect her, and because he knew that Lucas was going to come here and convince her to leave with him, he decided to be here as well.

'If she wants to be with someone who could give her safety and happiness, I would genuinely do everything to make them succeed, I owe that to her. But she would die in no time if she went with Lucas,' Those were his thoughts when he came here.

'But from the looks of it, my worries were unnecessary,' thought 2709 as he walked towards the window.

She was the most kindhearted person he knew in the entire underground mine. She wasn't like those pretentious old people who only showed him pity to feel good about themselves.

He don’t blame them though. There were only a few things to be glad of while living here. Not being a fool was definitely one of them.

Both of them looked at the sky above, each with their different thoughts.

'We were born here and will spend our entire life in this place, from generation to generation all we do is mine the Vidre stones. Ever since I was a kid I witnessed that all the strong-looking and intelligent slaves died or disappeared one way or another.'

'Years ago I discovered some clues about that accidentally, and as a kid, I decided to ‘investigate’ it. All I got in return was despair and trauma which made me act like a fool,' 2709 recalled his bittersweet past as he looked at his sister beside him.

He was feeling very scared at that time, but with her care he slowly recovered. He started having fun pretending to be a fool, and seeing that everyone believed his shenanigans gave him a sense of accomplishment.

At first when he used his bloodline powers, she thought that he was just being a mischievous kid and didn't think much of it.

But after that incident, his powers evolved and she started worrying about him more and more.

In case he would do something rash just like what Lucas was doing now, she decided to keep him nearby. That led to him working here as her errand boy when he wasn't mining.

Even though it isn’t much of a job, he got two days off a week due to that.

Many slaves were jealous of him and provoked him, but he didn't say anything to them. He was alone before she took him in as her brother, and just like the others, he didn't know the reason behind her kindness as well.

"You alright?" she asked as she noticed the deep look in his eyes.

"Just thinking" 2709 smiled with a shrug to make her at ease.

He knew that she was worried for him. She wished that he could live a happy and long life, as much of that was possible here anyway.

With the corrosion of time, people got used to their misery; they lost their desire for freedom and become content and with their life.

It was the cold hard truth.

He despised them for that, and ironically, now his goal was to be like them.

“Well then, I'll be taking my leave.” 2709 waved his hand as he left through the open door.

‘You both are much more similar than you think, and I know you’ve realized that too. Unfortunately, he is too stubborn to change.'

The woman, who didn't have a name despite being a leader, started doing her work with a sigh.

She knew about the storms that awaited her people, but she didn't have the power to stop them.

'Maybe he will, it is his destiny after all'