The frail little boy...
was left alone outside.
He had nowhere to go.
No one waiting for him.
...
But that wasn't his only problem.
Ever since he was born...
he had been cursed with a strange illness.
It was almost like a curse.
His body couldn't tolerate...
Sugar.
Carbonated drinks.
Flour-based foods.
Greasy meals.
Or salty food.
Whenever he tried to eat any of them...
his body immediately rejected them.
He would throw everything back up.
The only things his body could accept were clean, natural, healthy foods—
the kind of meals athletes would eat.
...
But now...
Finding food like that was impossible.
Time passed.
The boy's stomach growled louder and louder.
The hunger became unbearable.
His vision blurred.
His legs grew weaker with every step.
Barely able to stand, he slowly walked through the empty streets.
Then...
His eyes stopped on a trash bin beside the road.
He stared at it in silence.
For several long seconds...
he hesitated.
Eventually...
his hunger defeated his pride.
He slowly reached inside the trash bin.
After searching for a while...
he found a single piece of stale bread.
It was dry.
Old.
Hard as stone.
Yet to him...
it looked like a feast.
The frail boy carefully took a small bite.
...
The next second—
— Cough...!
He immediately fell to his knees and vomited everything onto the ground.
His illness had reacted once again.
The boy closed his eyes and took a slow breath.
But...
the hunger forced him to try again.
...
"Please..."
he whispered weakly.
He picked up the bread once more.
He took another bite.
Again...
he threw it all back up.
...
A third attempt.
A fourth.
Nothing changed.
His body simply refused to accept it.
His strength slowly faded away.
The frail boy sat down on the cold pavement.
His entire body trembled from hunger.
He felt as though...
he were standing on the very edge of death.
...
Then...
Laughter echoed from behind him.
— Hey!
— Look!
— The monster's still alive!
The frail boy slowly lifted his head.
The same children...
The same self-proclaimed "heroes"...
stood before him once again.
One after another, they bent down and picked up stones from the ground.
— Let's kill the monster!
— Throw the stones!
The next moment...
A rain of stones came crashing down upon him once again.At that very moment...
A girl's voice suddenly echoed through the street.
— Stop...
Her voice wasn't loud.
Yet...
There was an undeniable firmness within it.
The children throwing stones immediately turned toward the sound.
Standing before them...
was a girl they had never expected.
Without the slightest hesitation, she walked directly in front of the frail boy.
She spread her arms slightly...
Shielding him with her own body.
— Leave him alone.
One of the bullies frowned.
— Huh...?
— And who do you think you are?
Another took a step toward her...
But before he could say anything—
Three more children appeared behind the girl.
None of them were smiling.
Their expressions were calm...
Yet strangely intimidating.
One of the boys stepped forward.
— If you don't leave...
— You're going to regret it.
His voice carried the weight of an order.
The two bullies exchanged glances.
— Tch...
— Whatever.
They clicked their tongues in annoyance.
Then turned around...
And walked away.
...
The girl slowly turned back toward the frail boy.
Only then did he finally pay attention to them.
All four of them...
Were around his age.
A gentle smile appeared on the girl's face.
She slowly extended her hand.
— My name is...
— Aizhan.
She then looked back at the three children standing behind her.
— And these are my friends.
Pointing at them one by one, she introduced each of them.
— Eldos.
— Erzhan.
— Kaisar.
The three boys silently nodded.
Aizhan turned back toward the frail boy.
— Are you okay?
Without waiting for an answer...
She reached into her pocket.
A moment later...
She pulled out a slightly unripe green apple.
Holding it out toward him, she smiled softly.
The frail boy didn't hesitate for even a second.
His hunger had completely taken over his mind.
He quickly grabbed the apple from Aizhan's hand...
And began eating it as fast as he could.
Aizhan simply watched him with a gentle smile.
After a short moment, she quietly asked,
— You're...
— Aibar, right?
The frail boy silently nodded.
Aizhan's smile grew a little warmer.
— Aibar...
— Would you like to be our friend?
She gently took hold of his hand.
— Come on...
— Let's go play together.
Aibar couldn't even understand what was happening.
For the first time in his life...
Someone had reached out...
Taken his hand...
And was leading him somewhere...
Not to hurt him...
But simply because they wanted him to be there.
...
However...
Not everyone was happy.
Kaisar walked quietly behind them.
He didn't say a single word.
Yet his expression...
Spoke louder than any words could.
Because...
Kaisar had liked Aizhan for a long time.
And now...
Seeing all of Aizhan's attention focused on Aibar...
A quiet feeling of jealousy...
Began to grow inside his heart.
...
For the very first time...
Aibar was playing together with his new friends.
For the first time in his life...
He was laughing.
But...
That happiness didn't last long.
Suddenly...
A black vehicle came to an abrupt stop beside them.
Its doors burst open.
Several masked men stepped out.
— There he is.
Before Aibar could even react...
Two men grabbed him by the arms and forcefully dragged him toward the vehicle.
— No...!
Aibar struggled with all the strength he had.
But...
They were far stronger than he was.
The vehicle sped away within seconds.
...
— Aibar!!
Aizhan was the first to scream.
— After them!
Eldos immediately started running.
— Quick!
Erzhan followed right behind him.
The three of them chased after the black vehicle without stopping.
...
Several minutes later...
They finally arrived at the place where the vehicle had stopped.
Standing before them...
was an enormous abandoned laboratory.
The entire building was shrouded in darkness.
It looked as though no one had entered it for years.
The three cautiously approached the vehicle.
They quietly peeked through the windows.
...
It was empty.
— There's nobody inside...
Eldos whispered.
Trying to disable the vehicle, Erzhan slowly lifted the hood.
The moment he looked inside...
All three of them froze.
...
— What...?
There was no engine.
The entire engine compartment was completely empty.
— ...How was this thing even moving...?
None of them had an answer.
Eventually...
Their attention shifted toward the abandoned laboratory.
...
— Aibar is in there.
Without hesitating, Aizhan walked toward the entrance.
Eldos and Erzhan silently followed her.
...
Kaisar...
hadn't come with them.
He thought the whole idea was reckless...
and refused to go.
...
The inside of the laboratory was freezing cold.
An endless dark hallway stretched before them.
With every step...
it felt as though the corridor kept growing longer.
...
Finally...
A single door appeared.
Aizhan slowly reached for the handle...
and quietly opened it.
...
The room was almost empty.
Only...
a single humanoid robot stood in the center.
At that very moment...
the robot was injecting a crimson-colored syringe into Aibar's arm.
Aibar's breathing was weak.
His eyes were closed.
He didn't even have the strength to move.
— Aibar!
Aizhan cried out instinctively.
The robot immediately turned toward them.
Its crimson eyes flashed.
Eldos and Erzhan instantly split up, running in opposite directions to distract it.
The robot turned its attention toward them.
That brief moment...
was all Aizhan needed.
She rushed toward Aibar and quickly released the restraints binding him.
— Hurry!
— We have to get out of here!
The three of them supported Aibar and rushed out of the room.
Once again...
they found themselves inside the endless dark corridor.
They ran with everything they had.
As fast as their legs could carry them.
...
At that exact moment—
BOOM!!
A deafening explosion shook the entire laboratory.