Shattered Blade

The night had settled in, darkness shrouding the settlement as the clock struck nine. Hwak lay on his sleeping mat, thoughts churning like storm clouds. The events of the day weighed heavily on him, particularly Mr. Thomas's cutting words in weapons class. Without a proper weapon, tomorrow would bring only more humiliation.

He rose quietly and headed for the door.

"Where are you going at this hour?" his father asked, looking up from his mending work.

"Just for a walk," Hwak replied. "Can't sleep."

The night air carried the metallic tang of the nearby factories as Hwak made his way toward the industrial waste area. This was where discarded robot parts and steel scraps from the advanced manufacturing plants ended their journeys—a graveyard of technology that someone like him might repurpose.

After twenty minutes of walking, he reached the massive piles of discarded machinery. Broken robotic arms jutted from heaps of rust-covered panels. Twisted metal frames and shattered components created miniature mountains in the dim moonlight.

Hwak began his search, picking up pieces only to discard them moments later. A bent rod—too weak. A jagged metal plate—too unwieldy. A robotic finger assembly—too complex and broken. Nothing seemed right for fashioning into a weapon worthy of Neonspire's training.

"You look like you've never been here before," a voice called from above, followed by light laughter.

Hwak looked up to find a girl perched atop a mound of scrap. She appeared to be around his age, with black hair streaked with white lines and lips painted a striking red. Her figure was athletic, clad in clothes similar to his own—not fancy, but practical. What distinguished her was the device covering her entire forearm, something sleek and technological that seemed out of place in the junkyard.

She aimed the device upward, and a thin cord shot out, allowing her to swing down gracefully to land beside him.

"I haven't seen you around before," she said, studying him with curiosity. "What are you looking for? I might be able to help. This junkyard is like my second home—I know where everything is."

Before Hwak could answer, she continued, "Of course, I don't help for free. Whatever valuable things we find, you'll need to give me some credit points in exchange." She extended her hand. "Deal?"

"You're talking so fast I can barely understand," Hwak said, somewhat overwhelmed by her sudden appearance and rapid speech. "I'm just looking for some kind of weapon for practice."

The girl burst out laughing. "What academy in our settlement teaches weapons? The School of Theft? The Gang Recruitment Institute?" Her tone carried a mocking edge.

Hwak bristled. "I'm not a thief. I attend Neonspire Academy. I got a scholarship, and I need to prove myself."

Her expression darkened instantly. "My father always said Neonspire is for rich kids only. They keep poor people like dogs—or worse, like lab rats for their experiments. When they're done with you, they'll throw you away."

The venom in her voice surprised him. "What's your problem with Neonspire?" he asked.

She avoided his question. "It doesn't matter. Just watch yourself. No poor kid has ever gotten anything from that place except pain."

Changing the subject abruptly, she gestured for him to follow. "Come with me."

Hwak hesitated, then reluctantly followed as she began picking through the junk, occasionally tossing items his way—a twisted piece of high-grade steel here, a small crystalline component there. His arms quickly filled with salvage.

They wound through narrow alleys between the scrap mountains until they reached what appeared to be an abandoned shop. The girl pressed a button on her forearm device, and the door slid open with a mechanical hiss.

"Hurry up," she urged, glancing around before ushering him inside.

The interior was unlike anything Hwak had expected. Ancient-looking equipment filled the space, but clearly still functional. Heat radiated from a central forge, making the small room stifling. The girl hit another button, and the temperature rose further as the forge roared to life.

She dumped the collected materials into a crucible and began the melting process. Sweat soon beaded on her skin, making her tank top cling to her figure. Hwak felt his face flush and looked away awkwardly.

The girl noticed his reaction and smiled slightly. "What's your name?" she asked, stirring the molten metal.

"Hwak," he responded after a moment's hesitation. "And yours?"

"Soniya." She looked at him appraisingly. "Is this your first time talking to a girl? You look so uncomfortable." She stretched deliberately, accentuating her figure. "Do you think I'm hot? Have you fallen for me already? You're blushing!"

Hwak raised both hands defensively. "No, no! I'm not thinking anything like that. I just need a weapon, that's all."

"Good answer," Soniya said with a smirk. She poured the molten metal into a mold, then reached into a small container and extracted what looked like a crystal—blue and green energy swirled within it.

Hwak watched, fascinated, as she embedded the crystal into the weapon mold.

"This is a synthetic crystal," she explained, noticing his interest. "It will give the sword a unique skill and provide its own energy source. You won't need to channel your own energy to use it, which is perfect for beginners."

Next, she pulled out a shoe-shaped mold and placed it on another machine, inserting a different crystal into it. The machine hummed to life, seemingly printing the shoes layer by layer.

"Favorite color?" she asked, but before Hwak could answer, she made the decision herself. "Black is better. It'll look cooler."

The finished products emerged: a pair of sleek black shoes and an unusual sword. The weapon wasn't as long as a traditional sword, nor as short as a dagger—somewhere in between, with a slight curve and strange, icy-blue lightning patterns running along its blade.

Soniya tested the sword with a few expert swings, the blade making a distinctive sound as it cut through the air. Satisfied, she slid it into a leather sheath and handed both items to Hwak.

"These shoes will increase your speed by about forty percent and reduce leg strain by sixty percent. You'll last longer in fights and training."

Hwak accepted the gifts with wide eyes. "This is amazing! But I don't have many credit points right now. I can pay you back gradually—"

"It's free," Soniya cut him off. "But someday, I'll need you to do something for me in return." She adjusted something on the sword. "These need charging—the synthetic crystals require energy. I'll make you a charging stand that should last for two days. Meet me here at the same time tomorrow."

She ran her finger along the blade. "The sword has a hidden skill that will reveal itself during combat. You'll discover it when you need it most."

Hwak left the shop clutching his new treasures, his mind racing with questions about Soniya, her mysterious workshop, and her apparent grudge against Neonspire. But overshadowing these thoughts was the anticipation of tomorrow's weapons class—he would no longer arrive empty-handed.

---

On the other side of the city, Leena sat at a table in an upscale restaurant, surrounded by friends but distracted. Her eyes kept drifting to the entrance as if searching for someone. For the first time she could remember, she wasn't in a hurry to return home.

Her phone displayed over ten missed calls, but she ignored them. It was already midnight, and disappointment mingled with anger as she finally decided to leave. As the waiter brought the check, she couldn't help but wonder why she had waited so long for someone who clearly wasn't coming.

*That settlement boy*, she thought bitterly. *Who does he think he is?*

Yet even as anger filled her, a small part of her felt something else—something she wasn't ready to acknowledge, even to herself.