The districts stirred as the morning went on, birds perched atop roofs, and chirped. Neo’s gaze wandered to the stalls, but he moved along with the crowd, pulling the collar of his uniform, then moving his hair from his eyes. The drifting winds were cool, but there was a sense of frigidness in their wake.

  Walking among thousands who pray to the star is unsettling. I used to think, why the stars? What have they ever done for all of you? Until I realized they chose me since my mother conceived me. Now the only question that runs through my mind is why? Why did you give me your power? Because of that, I was taken advantage of, and never realized until I was given partial freedom. But that’s the life for anyone blessed by the blood of the almighty, or the star. You lose the right to be seen as human and to belong. You lose the right to make mistakes and learn from them. If you’re not already perfect, then you’re useless. That’s our lives laid out on a board. But I want to know what it's like to be free. To walk through grass as far as the eye can see. Then again, that begs the question. What is freedom? Is chasing the concept of it worthwhile when they want me to soak in blood?

  “Hey, Neo! What’s gotten into you? You walk the streets like this all the time?” Lonan was panting.

  “... Were you following me?” Neo said.

  “I saw you in the crowd, and I wanted to catch up to you.” Lonan took a deep breath, smoothing his shirt.

  “Where are you headed? The institute’s the other way,” he added.

  “... Go on without me. I’m just clearing my head,” Neo said.

  “All right, we’ll talk later, then,” Lonan walked away.

  Neo felt a headache begin to set in, his hand resting on the side of his forehead. He could feel mana pulsing nearby and whispers invading his mind. Neo pulled his hand away from his head, clenching his fists and chasing the tingling, electric sensation of mana. Soon, the sensation faded, along with his headache. For a moment, the bustling central district became quiet. He thought he felt someone breathing down his neck, and he spun around. No one was behind him. His brows furrowed, and he tugged at his shirt collar. Neo stared off into the crowds of people moving along the streets, catching a hooded figure out of the corner of his eye.

  Stolen story; please report.

  “When we fought, I couldn’t understand why you were in the institute. You were a miscalculation—the institute was supposed to suffer that day.” Zeta had grabbed his shoulder from behind, looking at Neo from under the hood.

  Zeta’s eyebrows arched up.

  “Not going to move, Star-child?” He said.

  “If you’ve figured out that much, then you should know that I’ll cut your head off before your mana surges.” Neo looked back at Zeta, the intricate pattern of a seven-pointed star surrounding his pupils.

  Zeta’s hand trembled, and Neo’s gaze was steadfast. He waited, ignoring the human instinct to blink, fear struggling even to take hold of his mind and body.

  “I know there’s someone else with you, too. Their rotten mana is the same as yours,” Neo said.

  “I’m not surprised, you’re very talented. But I know you won’t make a move. With the number of people here, a fight leans in my favor. You wouldn’t want any of these maggots dying, would you?” Zeta’s hand clenches tighter against his shoulder.

  “You’re the only one here that deserves to die,” Neo said.

  “You don’t decide who lives and dies, I do,” Zeta’s brows furrowed.

  Those who were passing by were beginning to notice them. Zeta felt the glares and grinned.

  “Make this easy for me and allow me some of your blood,” He said.

  “If you want my blood, you’ll have to carve it from my flesh. But you’ll see how that’ll end,” Neo shoved Zeta.

  He staggered, clenching his fists.

  “Seems that doing things diplomatically never works. I’ll have your blood, along with many others, in due time.” Zeta said before merging back into the busy crowd.