Thief of blood and souls

The moon illuminated the night sky over the suburbs of the capital city, an isolated, destroyed, and ruined area, home to the worst scum of society. People from all walks of life lived here, almost no one by choice, most by lack of options.

The few places with electricity, home to gangs and unions that ruled among these outcasts, were filled with laughter and food, luxuries obtained through the rampant exploitation of these helpless people who had no other choice but to obey or die.

Bodies could be seen in some places, the corpses of miserable men who had no one who cared enough to remove their remains.

In the distance, a lit-up wall could be seen, an impenetrable barrier separating this dump from the real city. It was a challenge that countless people had tried to cross, but none had succeeded.

Beyond the suburbs, a very thin blue barrier stretched, the protective barrier that guards against the monsters that appeared on the first day of the Ascension, which miraculously also covered the suburbs, not by the good will of the city's residents, but merely due to a design flaw.

The inhabitants of this place had nowhere to go, they weren't allowed to enter the city, and they couldn't leave to face the deadly monsters roaming the land.

In this hellish place, filled with criminals, fugitives, drug addicts, and beggars, in a room expertly hidden on the first floor of what once was an office building, the darkness of the night was interrupted by a small lamp, connected to what was once the building's backup battery.

Next to this lamp was a young man, about 17 years old, with long, shabby black hair. He was large in build, quite sturdy despite his thin appearance, suggesting good genetics. His eyes were brown and earthy, and his expression was one of relaxation and some happiness.

His happiness came from the fact that today, while rummaging through the trash dumped daily from the main city, he had found a box containing several dozen varied books, some school materials, but others were novels and storybooks from various genres.

Despite his current appearance and the place he lived, in his early years, he received a good education and had access to any books he wanted, something he always enjoyed, but after being thrown here, he rarely had the chance to read.

His eyes were focused mostly on a somewhat worn book, almost old, whose cover read The Infinite Prince in golden letters.

This was a story about a prince from a distant kingdom who was selected as a player on the day of the Ascension, travels to the Infinite Continent, makes enemies and allies, meets beautiful women, and fights for his country. It was a very popular book from a decade ago, and Kyle remembered that he liked reading it with his mother; those were good memories.

When they got to a certain part of the story, he would always jump in and say that he could do it better, that he would become the best player and make everyone happy, to which his mother would always laugh and clap.

Those were good times, happy childhood memories. His mother loved him, and he loved her back. His older sister had just been selected as a player, and the future seemed bright.

But one day, his mother and sister's attitude changed. They stopped being affectionate, no longer spent time with him, and their behavior became cold and dismissive. Their eyes only contained contempt when they looked at him.

Until one day, without explanation, his own mother expelled him and banished him to the suburbs, claiming that she didn't need a useless son like him.

He tried to return, he hadn't committed any crime, and he was a minor, so it shouldn't have been legal for him to be thrown into that hellish place, commonly referred to as "the dump" by the city's residents.

But his mother was powerful, as a high-ranking player, normal laws didn't apply to her. She did something, Kyle didn't know what, but his name didn't appear in the civil records, it was as if he had never existed.

They wouldn't let him back in; he was banished to the suburbs forever, unless a miracle occurred or he awakened as a player. He would never cross those gates.

He was doomed.

And as the days passed, he had no choice but to learn how to survive. He learned to search for food in the trash, he learned to steal, he learned to run, and he learned to kneel to survive.

When he couldn't find food in the trash, worms and rats made for good meals. Time taught him that emotions like disgust, shame, and pride were great obstacles to survival. He could only stay alive when he was willing to do anything to survive.

And so, nine years passed, more than half of his life spent in this dump. By now, the only clear memory he had of his former family, aside from vague recollections like the one with the book, was the expression of absolute disdain and emptiness his mother gave him before throwing him into the living winter they called the landfill.

He should have been angry, and he was, hatred filled his mind for years. But over time, the hatred was replaced by an enormous sense of emptiness and icy indifference that left no room for anything else. At this point, he simply considered himself an orphan, even though his mother and sister were probably alive and living new lives. He simply didn't care, he considered himself an orphan and had no attachment to his former life.

"I'll read it later," he left the book on a small table he had found one day while searching for food and left his hiding place.

In the distance, he could see people also emerging from the holes they called home, throughout the entire dump, everyone had come out.

Beyond the wall, in the brightly lit city, almost everyone had come out of their homes, all looking up at the sky with anticipation. Some more fanatical ones were kneeling and praying fervently, their expressions full of fanaticism and expectation.

All over the world, regardless of age, race, gender, or social status, everyone who could walk on their own looked at the sky in unison.

And a few minutes later, a golden glow illuminated the world.

The day of the Ascension begins!