Aruna smiled brightly and looked at the glowing sphere as a projection suddenly appeared above the machine.

A face formed in the air.

Small.

Young.

Unmistakable.

It was Rose.

For a brief second, Sector 11 remained completely silent, as though the entire square had forgotten how to breathe.

Then the silence shattered.

A sharp gasp escaped from somewhere near the middle of the crowd. Several women instinctively covered their mouths. A child began crying somewhere near the back before being quickly hushed.

Tansy’s fingers tightened so hard around Rose’s hand that Rose winced.

Their mother’s face turned pale instantly, all color draining so quickly it looked as if even her blood had retreated in fear. Their father, who usually kept his expression steady even when pain gnawed through his body, stiffened like stone.

Rose herself stared upward at her floating face, confused at first, as though her mind needed an extra second to understand what being chosen truly meant.

Then fear arrived.

Her grip on Tansy’s hand became desperate.

Aruna looked delighted by the reaction.

"Ohhh... what a lovely start," she said into the microphone, tilting her head while studying the projection. "Such a sweet little face."

The drones immediately shifted direction and zoomed toward the crowd.

A red-armored guard beside the stage lifted a scanning device toward the projection.

Within seconds, a thin red line extended from the machine and cut through the packed crowd.

Straight toward Rose.

"There," one guard announced coldly.

Several heads turned instantly.

Now everyone nearby knew exactly who had been selected.

Rose instinctively stepped behind Tansy.

Tansy moved without thinking, placing herself between her sister and the guards.

Their mother pulled Rose closer too, but the movement only made the red line settle more clearly over her.

Aruna laughed softly.

"No need to hide her," she said. "This is an honor."

Honor.

The word sounded poisonous.

Tyler, standing beside Veena, narrowed his eyes.

Even Veena’s expression had hardened completely. Her fingers tightened around her old drone camera so hard that faint metal creaks came from its casing.

"She’s too young," someone whispered nearby.

The whisper spread immediately.

"She is young..."

"She only just became a teenager..."

But no one dared raise their voice enough for the stage to hear.

No one wanted rifles turning toward them.

Aruna lifted one finger dramatically.

"As selected female candidate number one for Sector 11," she declared proudly, "Rose of Sector 11 will report to the stage."

Rose did not move.

Her breathing had already become uneven.

Tansy’s eyes darkened.

"No," she whispered.

Only her family heard it.

But Tyler heard it too.

Aruna noticed the hesitation and smiled wider.

"Oh? Do we have difficulty already?"

She glanced toward the guards.

Immediately two red-armored soldiers stepped forward.

That single motion made the crowd shift uneasily like grass bending under sudden wind.

And then—

Rose inhaled deeply.

Her trembling stopped.

Before anyone could stop her, she loosened her grip from Tansy’s hand and stepped forward.

Tansy immediately grabbed her wrist.

"Rose—"

But Rose gently pulled free.

Then, to everyone’s shock, she began walking toward the stage.

Aruna clapped her hands delightedly.

"Ohh... what a brave little hero."

---

The reason she moved without further hesitation had not been born in this square.

It had begun several days earlier.

That day, when Tansy and Tyler returned from the ruins, the house had still smelled of fish stew and coal smoke.

Today Tyler was about meet their father.

Tyler had barely stepped inside when Rose ran forward, her eyes bright after hearing the news Tansy had whispered.

"You have something that can heal Father?"

Before Tyler could answer, Rose kissed his cheek in pure excitement.

Then she kissed Tansy’s cheek too, almost bouncing in place.

Their father, seated near the wall, looked between them with tired eyes.

Tyler introduced himself simply as a distant relative of Old Lady Veena.

It was a weak explanation, but in Sector 11, weak explanations often survived because people learned when not to question too deeply.

As they spoke, Tansy’s father quickly understood one important truth:

This was the same young man connected to the strange fabric that had allowed him to mine without pain.

And because he was a father, his thoughts immediately wandered elsewhere.

A mysterious young man helping his family. Protective around his daughters.

His first suspicion became dangerously simple:

Perhaps this boy had fallen for Tansy. Or perhaps both daughters.

He wisely kept that thought to himself.

Tyler, meanwhile, had no such hidden intention.

He only helped because Tansy had saved his life.

That was all.

Yet the father’s suspicion deepened when Tyler reached into his coat and produced a small metallic case.

Inside lay a bronze-colored syringe.

Bronze Med.

Even Tansy’s father understood what that meant.

A luxury impossible for Sector people.

Something people whispered about, but almost never touched.

"A Bronze Med..." their mother whispered as though afraid speaking louder might make it disappear.

Tyler crouched near the man’s side and examined the infected wound carefully.

The Carbonyx growth remained small but visible, dark and hard where it had spread beneath the skin.

Then Tyler looked toward the stove.

"A knife."

A few minutes later, their kitchen knife was heating inside the firewood flame until the blade glowed faintly red.

Their father understood immediately what was coming.

A cloth was shoved between his teeth.

Rose clung to their mother.

Tansy stood frozen.

The heated blade came down without hesitation.

Tyler cut directly through flesh and crystal together.

The infected section separated with a wet sound, falling heavily onto the floor.

Their father’s entire body convulsed.

His scream never fully escaped because his teeth crushed the cloth instead.

Rose’s tears fell instantly.

Their mother covered her mouth.

Even Tansy’s eyes had already turned red.

Tyler kicked the severed chunk aside, picked up the Bronze Med, and plunged the injection into the man’s body.

Seconds passed.

Then healing began.

The wound closed rapidly, flesh pulling together before their eyes.

Color returned to the father’s face.

Hope exploded inside the room.

Until—

A small dark crystal formed again near the center of the fresh wound.

Smaller than before.

But still there.

Their smiles collapsed.

Tyler leaned closer and examined it.

"It can’t fully cure it," he said quietly. "But maybe Silver Med or Gold Med can."

"Where do we find that?" Rose had asked immediately.

Tyler gave only one answer.

"The Capital."

That single word had remained inside Rose ever since.

---

Back in the square, Rose climbed the stage steps.

"I will definitely save my father," she whispered so softly only she could hear it. If she wins the Captial Games , she can move to Captial and get the med.

From below, Tansy finally understood.

That was why Rose had chosen to move.

Not because she was brave.

Because she had made a decision.

Behind her, their mother cried openly now.

Their father stood motionless, jaw locked so tightly it seemed his teeth might crack.

Tansy’s tears came silently.

Tyler watched Rose reach the stage.

Then he leaned slightly toward Veena and whispered something.

Veena’s eyes widened instantly.

She turned sharply toward him.

"Is that even possible?" she muttered.

But Tyler had already begun stepping backward into the crowd.

One step.

Then another.

And before anyone nearby realized it— he vanished into the packed bodies of Sector 11.

Meanwhile, Aruna raised both hands dramatically toward the drones.

"We shall take a small break," she announced brightly, "before selecting the next contestants."

The screen dimmed slightly.

Music began playing from the stage speakers.

Aruna smiled and left with her attendants.

Just as Aruna stepped inside the temporary private chamber behind the stage, the bright smile she had maintained for the cameras disappeared instantly.

Her face tightened with obvious disgust.

Without hesitation, she took a small silver spray bottle from her handbag and sprayed herself around the neck and wrists as though trying to remove the scent of the square itself.

"I really hate these sector beggars," she muttered, sinking onto a velvet couch placed inside the chamber.

One of her attendants immediately knelt beside her, adjusting the edge of her dress while another handed her a glass of chilled water.

Outside, the crowd noise still echoed faintly through the walls.

Aruna clicked her tongue.

"Make that girl stand in front of the crowd for five minutes," she ordered coldly. "And do not let her say anything."

At once, one of the guards bowed and left.

The command was simple: Rose would remain on display like an object, visible enough for everyone to see but denied even the dignity of speaking.

Aruna then took out a thin tablet.

The screen lit instantly.

Rows of faces appeared—profiles of Sector 11 residents collected through official records, hidden surveillance, and data the sectors themselves did not know the Capital possessed.

She scrolled lazily through them.

"Hm... I should make sure my chosen collections remain interesting," she murmured.

There had never been any real random selection.

The machine on stage was only theater.

The names came from her own choices.

Rose had been chosen because she was young, delicate, and visibly beautiful even in poor sector clothing. That beauty had pleased Aruna enough to select her, though it also annoyed her slightly.

"Hmm... should I choose her mother next?" she muttered, studying another profile. "Mother and daughter in the same game would be interesting."

Then suddenly—

"What about her sister?"

The voice came from nowhere.

Aruna froze.

She looked sharply left.

Then right.

There was no one unfamiliar inside.

Only her attendants.

"Who spoke?" she demanded.

Both attendants looked confused.

"We heard nothing, Host Aruna."

For a moment, Aruna frowned.

Then she dismissed it and looked again at Rose’s profile.

A linked file appeared. Sibling: Tansy.

Her finger paused.

Then slowly, a smile returned.

A few minutes later, back on stage, the second participant was announced.

It was Tansy.