The heavy smoke settled down, showing a real underground city, just like it looked hundreds of years ago. It was a giant human-made place under the earth, with many levels, tons of pipes crisscrossing everywhere, and buildings piled on top of each other.
A long ti ago, a big monster ssed up this underground place from the inside, making a huge gap in it. Now, this empty underground place can be seen again, and the big break in the ground lets the sun’s bright morning rays shine in.
Down in the city, with all the loud sounds around, mutants felt scared. The ground was moving under them, and way up high, there was a narrow line of glowing light, showing a tiny piece of the sunny sky.
These underground creatures didn’t have eyes. But they felt the sunlight coming into their usually dark place— it was so bright that it made everything clear and it made them feel weird. Their world was changing in big ways.
Many mutants rushed out from the dark places underground. So ran out to see what was happening, while others went even deeper below.
"I want to see what’s outside. Do you?" Seven Arms asked his friend. The special power that kept this place safe was gone, and he felt like sothing bad was going to happen. A lot of humans would co down here, and it would beco a place with lots of fighting.
He didn’t want that life. He wished to see where people lived on the surface. Maybe he would explore empty places and old buildings for a bit, or find another Polluted Zone to stay.
"I’m staying here." His friend, who had lost a wing, said, "New places scare . I was born here and I want to keep living here."
"But a lot of alphas will co here," Seven Arms said, trying to warn him.
"But more alphas ans more food for ," One-Winged said with a smile.
She really liked alphas. They tasted good and had strong mind powers that made her even stronger.
"I’ll go to a deeper place, and hunt without making a sound. One day, I’ll be the strongest and rule this place."
"Okay, then. Stay safe, eat as many humans as you can, and watch out for the strong alphas." Seven Arms looked at her a little sadly for a mont. He didn’t try to change her mind anymore and ran up to where the sunlight was coming from.
Far off in the Empire’s capital, on top of the Tower, Luther fixed his uniform, walking with a lot of confidence in this beautiful white palace.
He saw the Queen, sitting by the only little window in the tower. She was covered in white and was playing a ga of chess all by herself.
Her pale fingers, as white as fine china, gently held a perfect white chess piece, thinking about where to move the queen on the black-and-white board.
The morning sun shone on her white dress, making her look almost magical, like so fairy or goddess sitting by the window.
A warm feeling filled Luther’s heart. He walked up quietly and knelt down next to the Queen.
She, dressed all in white, listened as he told her so news, and he saw her eyebrows move up in surprise, "Really? The Eyehole fell apart?"
"Yes, Your Majesty," Luther replied, his voice full of energy. "It’s amazing news. We’ve been winning so much lately, and now we’ve taken back an old town."
Being the leader of the Royal Guard, he understood how important that underground city was. It was filled with so many weapons and other important stuff. Long ago, brave fighters risked their lives just to get a small piece of what was there. But now, everything inside was theirs to use, soon to be a treasure for the kingdom.
Thinking about this, Luther felt really excited. He even began thinking about how to share out those weapons and things, imagining how much stronger their army could beco.
"That’s great to hear," the Queen said.
But even though her words sounded happy, Luther suddenly felt a cold shiver, as if soone had poured cold water on him.
"Why does she sound so cold?" he thought, looking up at the Queen he respected so much. Because of the sunlight behind her, he couldn’t see her face clearly.
"That was unexpected," she said softly, reaching out her hand. Her smooth, pale fingers gently touched his chin and then his cheek, stopping on a scar near his eye.
Sitting on the chilly floor, Luther felt really tense. It was like sothing creepy was on his back. He felt so really strong emotion, but he couldn’t na it.
In his mind, he knew he had always looked up to the Queen and wanted to be close to her. But for so reason, he now felt really scared, a deep kind of fear. He felt so mixed up, like he was being pulled in different directions. He was sweating and his feet were tense.
The Queen looked down at him, her face shadowed by the light. She seed both scary and beautiful at the sa ti.
Her cool fingers kept touching his scar, making him feel both scared and amazed.
Luther felt a deep hurt inside, causing him to shake. He tried to speak, but no words ca out.
In that mont, the usually strong Luther felt really tiny, his mind a ss and feeling lost.
After what seed like forever, he saw the Queen’s red lips form a small smile, "You can go now."
Feeling completely drained, Luther stood up. He saw the wet marks on the floor from his sweaty knees.
Feeling confused, he left the Tower. The chilly wind outside cleared his head a bit, and then he heard soone say his na.
"Luther?"
It was Brandon, his good buddy and second-in-command, looking right at him.
"What’s going on?" Brandon asked, looking worried as he looked at Luther’s face. "What did the Queen say to you?"
Luther tried to rember, but everything was fuzzy. He could only feel the heat on the old scar near his eye.
He got that scar a long ti ago during a super tough fight when he was just a guard. Even though he could have easily gotten it fixed, he chose not to. It felt like if he got rid of it, he’d lose a piece of who he was.
"It’s... I’m okay," Luther said, trying to act normal for Brandon. "Oh, by the way, there’s big news. The Eyehole fell apart. We need to send so people there right away."
"The Eyehole? The place where Ren went?"
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