“Hero lifted his sword and shed tears:

— Finally! I have slain the Demon Lord! Goddess, keep your word and return me home, or else I will lay waste to this barbaric hellhole you forced me to live in. Ten years of no internet, no games, not even a proper toi…”

— …go. …ago. DRAGO!

— AGH! A! What? I’m reading, mom, it's the final chapter, just five more—

— You. Demerit score won’t wait. If you’re going to be late to school one more time…

— Fine, fine, I’m going. But just so you know, witnessing the climactic moment of my favorite novel... and she’s gone.

Drago put his tablet to the side, grumbling like an old man, and crawled out from the bed. At least, he tried to. He stood up, stretching, but his senses caught up with reality after a slight delay and his whole body contorted as if electrocuted. Away from the blanket’s protection, the cold seemed almost unbearable.

Shivering, he resisted an urge to lie back down and dragged his feet towards the shower… not. Just like a small animal, hiding in his burrow from a bird of prey, he was already back in bed. However, in this brief moment, his lair was already contaminated by frost.

It was so discouraging, that even the shivering subsided from sheer disappointment. With no energy left in his body to even produce a natural reaction, he left his room and descended to the first floor.

— Daaaaaaaad! — he melancholically addressed a man, who was hurriedly stuffing his face at the dining table. Looking around fifty, his sizable belly, short stature and a big beard were screaming “Dwarf”.

The world, unfortunately, was a boring place. No attractive elves or wild beast-eared people were ever found even on the most distant planets.

But Drago liked fantasy novels so much, he often imagined his father as this beer-loving, pickaxe-wielding creature. Even though he knew it was silly, this little delusion lifted his mood every time.

Hearing a muffled something as a reply, young man continued:

— Didn’t you build this colony… station?.. or something. Anyway, you’re in construction, so ask your guys - why’s maintenance still going? It’s been a month already, we’re gonna freeze to our deaths!

Another illegible mumble made Drago chuckle:

— Enjoy your breakfast.

"This morning might not be so bad after all", — thinking so, he made his way to the bathroom and entered the shower.

Inhuman shreek resounded through the neighborhood.

Water was also cold today.

 

* * *

Running through the streets of the residential sector, Drago checked the time on his phone. Contrary to his mother's worries, today he even had some leeway “thanks” to not mindlessly wasting his time warming up under the stream of hot water.

His father ordered for breakfast so much, packaging was piled up next to the front door like a little mountain. Drago roughly picked up everything he could hold at once and was currently on a little detour to the local trash processing module.

Because of this, he had to pass through a certain block he didn’t like for some reason.

Smiling, he waved his hand at the two pairs of eyes, following him from the window of one of the countless two-storied houses, same as his own.

After a dozen steps, he waved again. Again. And again.

Passing by every building, he was greeted with silent gazes of the families living there.

Because of Drago’s lax standards of “coming in time”, today’s “leeway” was also cutting it close, so all students already left for class. This block was for couples who work from home, so there was nothing strange that they were still at home at this time.

There was nothing strange that they all stood by the window, and motionlessly greeted the passing Drago with their eyes.

There was nothing strange.

Yet…

There was a strange feeling of incongruity in his chest…

What was it about?

“Must be a ghost roaming here, haha…” — he thought.

Sadly, ghosts also weren’t real.

In such a boring world, he continued to smile, greeting the local residents.

 

* * *

Finally arriving at his destination, Drago muttered a curse under his breath. The same as many days before, he was just one minute late, but the school gate was already guarded by a member of disciplinary staff.

Due to the endless encounters, Drago “lovingly” nicknamed this very evil entity as Cerberus. While he could still technically get to class without earning himself a penalty from the teacher, this stubborn guard creature was always ready to battle. “Battling it” meant wasting time on listening to its sermons.

While he could somewhat tolerate the scolding while roleplaying an epic fight in his mind, today Drago didn’t feel like it. He took a turn and navigated through the alleys to the far side of the school fence. Looking up to the three-meter wall, he squinted against the bright artificial sun of the space station, crouched and leapt over with a single motion.

Landing perfectly with an impeccable balance, he smiled and said to a girl, standing in just a few paces ahead:

— Hi, Jennie.

— Huhu, Drago, you are getting predictable. Hi!

Even from the air, he easily recognised his childhood friend’s blonde hair, pulled back in a ponytail. She was leisurely strolling through this small garden behind the school.

— What are you doing here… AGH! — he frowned. — You are smoking again! And here I thought you actually came here to meet your friend…

— Well, I didn’t see you this morning, so I did calculate the most probable route… Where were you, by the way? And why shouldn’t I smoke, I wonder? — she grinned teasingly.

— It’s not cute?

— Zero points, — she pretended to retch.

— I don’t like it?

— Better. But why are you asking me? Tch, — she clicked her tongue, — this is why your grade is so low in the Confidence class.

But still, she extinguished her cigarette, and they started sprinting towards the school building. Despite maintaining a speed fitting a competitive athlete, both breathed steadily.

— So, where were you?

— Ah! There was something interesting. I just taking out trash, but—

— Really? — she snorted. — Just use the drone service. I’m getting creeps just remembering this weird block.

Drago lifted corners of his mouth and almost managed to reply, but the girl spoke again:

— Don’t even try it! I don’t believe in ghosts, and you know it! But there is no way I’m going there again, this place is too unsettling. By the way, didn’t you soil yourself out of fright there when you were three?

— What! What kind of accusation is that? And how do you even remember it, aren’t we the same age?

— Naturally I, the greatest genius, have the bestest memory!

— Ahaha, sure! Okay, while I certainly haven’t…

— You did!

— Whatever. While I do agree that going through there is not the most pleasant experience, I can’t use drones, dad’s using too much of our tickets on food.

— He sure eats like an afterburner! — Jennie laughed merrily. — But it couldn’t be THAT much. It’s probably your infatuation with the ancient cultural archives? Books from there are pretty expensive.

Pretending not to hear, Drago changed the subject:

— The interesting thing I was talking about! One of the houses there was completely surrounded by that thing… A police line? Like in the detective movies. There was only one officer standing guard, I tried to ask him what’s this about. Dude must’ve had a serious hangover, so he mumbled something about a murder and shooed me away.

— Are you sure? — Jennie seemed genuinely surprised. — As the genius with the bestest memory, I can assure you - this is the first time something like this has happened at this colony.

— What do you mean “first time”? I know the crime rate is almost non-existent here, but… Something must’ve happened at least once before our time.

— … “Our time”, really? Says the guy whose father was among the ones who built the first artificial structure in this star system. This school has the same age as us both… no, every student in this institution.

— Ah. Right. I forgot.

Jennie had a dumbfounded expression for a moment, then broke into belly laughter and even shed a tear or two. It wasn’t to put Drago down, more so from disbelief coupled with the deserved pride. Her “bestest” boast was not a boast at all - she was able to recall full contents of any document she's read in the past at a moment's notice.

Drago theatrically pulled at his short ashen hair and whined:

— Why is your supernatural ability so good! And wasn’t your examination after the awakening saying “Hacker ability”! Why is “Perfect memory” even included in that? How is this fair?!

Jennie lifted her eyebrow, making an expression as if looking at something pitiful:

— Why won’t you awaken an ability yourself then? — she said in a mocking tone. — I studied computer science earnestly, and it blossomed with time. How about you work on something even a little?

— Alright, that’s actually fair, — Drago evaded his friend’s eyes, roughly pulled his disheveled hair back with his palm and tried to change the subject as nonchalantly as possible. — So, this crime scene house—

Seeing how her words didn’t really go through, she grinned with a bit of a vile glint in her eyes and interrupted him, pushing further:

— Surely Drago is putting as much effort into something he wants to excel in! I’m sure your “research” of the 21st century's culture will bear its fruit one day. That’s right, maybe you will convert one of the Empire's frontier planets into one of these “fantasy world” things that you love so much!

— AAAGGGHHH! I’m not hearing you! — covering his ears, which were rapidly turning red from shame, he sprinted twice as fast, trying to get away. However, distance didn't widen at all - Jennie’s melodic laugh still was ringing ever so close over his shoulder.

 

* * *

After joking around with each other for a few more minutes, they finally arrived. Their running speed was far from slow, so the “garden” on the school grounds could be described as a small forest.

The building itself was equally enormous. Erected in an architectural style of brutalism, it had very few windows, with its towering white wall made from perfect marble instead of concrete.

When describing a really tall building, one might say: “Looking up, you couldn’t see the end”, but this one really never ended.

More than two hundred meters, this monstrosity could be observed from any point of this sector as its height reached the colony’s ceiling and even went further. The school’s “rooftop” was a wide platform protruding from the station’s exterior into the outer space and was regularly used to launch training crafts during practice lessons. Technically, you could even get there from the main lobby’s elevator.

Drago rushed to hold the door open with his best impression of a “noble knight”. It was a pointless measure, as the doors slid open after detecting movement. At the very least, the gesture itself was “appreciated” with a sneer.

As two students entered, the lobby greeted them with a splendor resembling a five star hotel on a resort planet. Not only was the difference in style with the stern outside jarring, looking closely, the opulent decoration was never renovated. Most of the ornaments lost their luster during the past sixteen years from a lack (or more like complete absence) of care.

This, coupled with not a person being around, gave this place an abandoned feel. The youths, however, paid it no mind and approached the elevators.

Here Drago had to part with his friend, as their groups were different. Although what Jennie said earlier was true - every student here was sixteen, the same as the school itself, they were often shuffled depending on their supernatural ability awakening and academic achievements.

Coming from the same neighborhood, they were initially attending the same lectures, but it lasted only through elementary school.

— See you at the cafeteria, — Jennie waved her hand.

— Yes, see you.

 

* * *

The day went by in a raging storm.

The artificial sun was steadily declining to the edge of this sector’s dome, sending gentle golden light. Twelve other suns, just like this one, were servicing other sectors of this school colony, replicating the time of day with a two hour difference with the neighboring ones. Thanks to this, people living on one side of this space station worked, while the ones living on the other were sleeping peacefully, just like on a real planet.

When night came, the lighting module rested “underground” for the necessary number of hours, then rose in the next dome in the “morning” without the need to drag it back around every single time. This way, the same sun made the full circle through the colony and could be seen again after twelve days, rising from the "east".

“Such an unnecessarily complicated system. Just slap some lamps up there and call it a day”, thought Drago, dragging his limping body back home.

Bruised and battered, his whole body was dripping with red liquid, but he paid it no mind, mulling on something: “The practical lesson was wild today. Everyone can handle their weapons just fine, but we’re severely lacking in teamwork. I can’t believe the line was breached…”

Assaulted by a sudden wave of discomfort, he stopped for a moment, frowning, and pulled a meaty chunk out of his hair, which turned crimson.

— Ugh, disgusting…

Then the realization hit him.

— I forgot to visit the shower module! — he exclaimed. — And I already walked more than half of the way! I’m too tired to go all the way back now…

No way he's going home in this state. The bone-chilling cold from the morning shower made him shudder just remembering it.

"Should I ask Jennie? Their house never had any heating maintenance… no, she'll laugh at me for the next whole month. But I don’t have any other good acquaintances around… Ah! If it’s him… but he’s from that weird block… WHATEVER! Being scared is much better than being laughed at!”

With hurried steps, while finally being aware of the substances he was spreading around, Drago arrived at his new destination.

— Damn, how could I forget. It was his house.

The police line was lonely. Officer from the morning was nowhere to be found. Approaching the entrance, Drago recoiled after almost stepping in a pool on something unsightly.

— Is this… vomit?! — He cringed, taking in an intense smell of alcohol, strongly settled around. — This guy sure is shameless!

If the officer was indulging himself the whole day and even left, his earlier mumbling about murder could be just an irresponsible joke. Remembering Jennie’s words that not a single crime of this type occurred since this colony was build, Drago smirked:

— Well… Whatever. Even if something did happen, their pipes should still be working properly. In any case, being detained is still better than being laughed at or freezing to death.

Crouching under the line, Drago habitually approached the front door, and reached for the doorbell. Only after pressing it, he caught himself: “Ah, they are probably at the police station or something, since the area is cordoned off. I should…”

But before he could think of the best way to get in, the door opened.

With all the lights off, a slender tall man in a business suit and a beautiful woman in a frilly dress stood, smiling brightly:

— Welcome home, son! How was school?