Chapter 1: Atomic Introduction
"I don't want to die alone~"
Amidst the playful humming, Kivas Chariot walked home in the rainless dusk, boots clacking softly against the faded concrete, her figure a blur beneath neon haze and distant warning sirens.
It was always like this lately.
Silent streets. Empty benches. The air tasted faintly of copper, and the electric signs flickered above shuttered storefronts as if half-asleep, whispering to no one.
She adjusted the collar of her jacket and tilted her head toward the sky.
The sun looked wrong today. Not in color. Not in brightness. Just... wrong.
Like it was staring back.
"Another solar warning?" she muttered, pulling up her holopad to check the alerts. "Third one this week. Haah. It's like the sun's finally had enough of us."
She forced a laugh.
It echoed too loudly in the stillness.
No one replied. No one ever did.