Shadows of the Sunless Sky

The following weeks were a monotonous blur for Jian Yu. Each day, he trudged to the Lords' tower, laboring under the weight of crates, cleaning endless corridors, and enduring the condescending sneers of the overseers. His muscles grew stronger, but his spirit felt weaker with each passing moment.

The coins he earned provided the barest necessities—a loaf of bread, a few scraps of dried meat, and occasionally, a tattered piece of clothing for himself or his mother. Yet, the price of this meager survival weighed heavily on him. Every glance at the enforcers' glowing weapons or the cold, unfeeling walls of the tower reminded him of the powerlessness that had come to define his life.

---

Jian Yu's routine was interrupted one morning when a new overseer arrived at the labor station. He was tall and imposing, with a shrewd glint in his eyes that made Jian Yu uneasy.

"Listen up," the overseer barked, his voice cutting through the chatter of the workers. "Lord Zhi himself has ordered an expansion of the tower's northern wing. Anyone willing to take on the extra workload will be compensated. But know this—if you can't keep up, you're out. Permanently."

The workers exchanged nervous glances. The promise of extra pay was tempting, but the risks were clear. The Lords didn't tolerate failure.

Jian Yu hesitated, his gaze drifting to the pouch of coins in his pocket. It wasn't enough—not yet. If he wanted to provide a better life for his mother, he would need to take risks.

"I'll do it," he said, stepping forward.

The overseer's gaze landed on him, appraising him like a piece of equipment. "Good. Report to the northern wing at first light tomorrow."

---

The northern wing was a sprawling construction site, filled with workers and enforcers. The air was thick with dust and the sounds of hammers and saws. Jian Yu was assigned to a crew tasked with moving massive stone blocks, each one requiring the combined strength of several men to lift.

The work was brutal, pushing Jian Yu to his limits. His muscles burned, his hands bled, but he kept going. He couldn't afford to stop—not when he was so close to earning enough to leave the slums behind.

But as the days wore on, Jian Yu began to notice things that unsettled him. The enforcers stationed at the site were more vigilant than usual, their glowing weapons always at the ready. Workers who fell behind were swiftly removed, their fates unknown.

And then there were the whispers.

---

During a rare break, Jian Yu sat with a group of workers, his body aching from the morning's labor. One of the older men leaned closer, his voice barely audible over the noise of the site.

"Have you heard about the disappearances?" the man asked, his eyes darting nervously.

Jian Yu frowned. "Disappearances?"

The man nodded. "Workers. They say the Lords are taking them—experimenting on them. No one knows why, but they never come back."

Jian Yu's stomach twisted. "Why would the Lords do that?"

The man shrugged. "Who knows? But keep your head down, boy. Don't draw attention to yourself."

---

Jian Yu tried to focus on his work, but the man's words lingered in his mind. He began to notice things he hadn't before—the way the enforcers watched the workers, the way certain individuals seemed to vanish without explanation.

One evening, as the sunless sky darkened, Jian Yu overheard a conversation between two overseers. They spoke in hushed tones, but Jian Yu caught enough to piece together the truth.

The Lords were searching for something—or someone. They were hunting for people with abilities like his.

---

The revelation left Jian Yu shaken. He had worked so hard to suppress his power, to convince himself that it was gone. But now, he realized that the Lords would stop at nothing to find those like him.

Fear gnawed at him as he returned to the slums that night. His mother greeted him with a tired smile, her hands busy mending a tattered shirt.

"You look troubled," Lian Hua said, setting the shirt aside.

"It's nothing," Jian Yu replied, forcing a smile. "Just a hard day at work."

But Lian Hua saw through his facade. She placed a hand on his shoulder, her touch gentle but firm. "Whatever it is, you don't have to face it alone, Jian Yu. You have me. You have the Fireflies."

The mention of the Fireflies made Jian Yu's chest tighten. He hadn't seen Mei Lin or the others since the day he left. Part of him missed them—their camaraderie, their shared defiance. But another part of him couldn't face them, not after everything that had happened.

---

As Jian Yu lay awake that night, he thought about Mei Lin. Her capture had haunted him ever since he witnessed it. He wondered if she was still alive, if the Fireflies were planning a rescue.

The pouch of coins on the table seemed to mock him, a symbol of his futile attempts to escape the slums. No matter how hard he worked, no matter how much he earned, the Lords would always have the power to crush him.

And yet, he couldn't give up—not yet.

Jian Yu made a decision. He would keep working, keep earning. But he would also watch, listen, and learn. If the Lords were hunting for people with abilities, he needed to know why. And if there was a way to protect his mother, to protect the Fireflies, he would find it.

For now, he would play the game. But deep down, Jian Yu knew that his time among the Lords was running out.

---