Chapter 20: Moon? Blue Star?
Ram froze, suddenly struck by his surroundings. He was standing on one of the two giant moons orbiting the Blue Star.
He recalled that these moons were incredibly large, comparable in size to Earth.
According to scientists, even before the reiki revival, any minor celestial bodies orbiting the Blue Star were not even considered true moons.
But even these giant moons looked tiny next to the Blue Star itself. As it filled the sky, a giant blue marble, unlike anything he'd ever seen.
He'd heard about the Blue Star's size, but seeing it in person was mind-blowing.
It was bigger than anything he could imagine.
Even thinking of Jupiter wasn't quite right.
The Blue Star was just...more. A giant planet dwarfing everything he knew.
This moon was special too. Unlike Earth's dead rock moon, this one was bursting with life, just like the Blue Star.
Everywhere you looked was filled with a variety of magical creatures, ranging from the deepest oceans to the highest mountaintops.
Huge forests covered sprawling plains, rivers teemed with fish, and colorful birds filled the air.
The air was thick with the presence of Reiki, you could feel it in every breath, even if it wasn't as strong as on the Blue Star.
Still, it felt stronger than what he had encountered in the underground city, but a far cry from the surface of Blue Star.
"Fuck, the Shadow Society brought me onto one of the moons from the previous underground city," Ram stood there, momentarily speechless, trying to process this new reality.
"Now I get why it's nearly impossible to break free from this place, we are not even on Blue Star"
The base buzzed with activity around him, but Ram felt a strange detachment as he was now part of the Shadow Society, far removed from the world he once knew.
The advanced technology, the organized bustle, and the sky all painted a picture of a place that was as alien as it was fascinating.
Taking a deep breath, Ram tore his eyes away from the sky and focused on the path ahead.
He had no choice but to adapt to this new reality.
The Sky Drive he had received contained essential information about the base, the mission board, and his next steps within the Shadow Society.
While he was feeling the strong reiki around him, Ram suddenly heard the sounds of pleading.
Turning his attention to the source, he witnessed a disturbing scene happening before him.
A burly man dressed in a cyberpunk-style combat outfit, both hands replaced by prosthetic ones, dragged a small girl by her hair across the ground.
His metallic armor gleamed under the flickering neon lights, casting a menacing shadow as he moved.
The girl, her face twisted in pain and fear, tried to claw at the ground to slow him down, but his grip was relentless.
The girl, no more than 14 or 15 years old, cried out in pain and terror, her pleas falling on deaf ears.
Ram's blood ran cold as he watched the man's callous disregard for the girl's suffering.
The man seemed to enjoy her cries, dragging her even harder as blood dripped from her exposed hands, scraped raw against the unforgiving ground.
Despite her obvious distress, she made no attempt to seek help from the surrounding bystanders.
Her eyes, devoid of any emotion, it was as if she had resigned herself to her fate, her spirit crushed under the weight of relentless cruelty.
Ram's heart pounded with urgency as he watched the man continue to drag the girl, his muscles tensed, ready to intervene.
But before he could make a move, his worst fears were realized. With a callous shove, the man flung the girl several meters away onto the road, directly into the path of an oncoming armored vehicle.
Time seemed to slow down as Ram's mind raced, his mind flooded with memories of his own sister and his instincts screaming at him to act.
Without hesitation, he sprinted forward, his muscles straining against gravity as he raced towards the girl, his only thought was to reach her in time.
With the recent increase in his strength after awakening, Ram moved with incredible speed, his muscles responding effortlessly as he caught the falling girl just moments before she hit the ground.
Fortunately, he was only a few meters away from where she fell, allowing him to react in time to prevent any injury.
As relief washed over him at having saved the girl from harm, Ram's senses were suddenly assaulted by the blaring sound of a horn in his ears.
Instinctively, he tensed, a sense of foreboding creeping over him.
Before he could even turn to see what was happening, he felt a rush of air behind him, accompanied by the unmistakable roar of an approaching armored truck.
In the fraction of a second before the truck collided with him, Ram's mind raced with lightning speed.
Despite the imminent danger, a calm determination settled over him as he instinctively grasped for a lifeline.
"Even if I get hit by the truck," he thought, his mind racing with possibilities, "I should be able to recover from my injuries using the excess Life Energy I have."
"Unless it's a fatal blow, I should be able to save myself, right?"
With a sense of resolve, Ram braced himself for the impact without any other options, his muscles tensing in anticipation.
A few minutes earlier, Sid sat behind the wheel of the old truck, a sense of pride swelling within him.
He had just purchased the vehicle with all the Shadow points he and his sister had saved over the last few months, earned through various missions and tasks.
Despite knowing that the truck came with its share of issues, he purchased it at a low cost from an old man.
With the truck, he could eliminate the time and effort wasted on traveling back and forth using hoverboards for every task, allowing him to complete more tasks and missions efficiently.
As he drove the vehicle along the rugged terrain, Sid couldn't help but feel a sense of accomplishment.
The truck may have been old and worn, but it represented a step forward for him and his sister.
Little did Sid know, his seemingly routine journey would soon collide with the unexpected, setting into motion a chain of events that would forever alter the course of his fate.