In a world where technology advances at a staggering pace, magic and fantasy survive only in forgotten prose. There, beneath the dim light of dawn, a being gazes at the sky with eyes that have yet to learn how to dream.
Suddenly, without warning, an explosion shakes the horizon. The boy —born without a name and raised with a borrowed one— is called Hoku. He watches the flash intently, but can do nothing more. He is merely a child, trapped and bound within a poorly written tale. A child without love, without a name, without a past. An orphan with no roots, captured at the age of thirteen by a human being.
A despicable creature who finds pleasure in the pain of the innocent.
In that prison, Hoku met a girl. She was the first person to show him affection, to touch his soul without fear. She was his light. And now... she is dead, brutally killed by the explosion.
The one responsible: a deranged scientist, obsessed with finding a cure for cancer through cellular manipulation. A man who toys with human lives in the name of science. And once again... he has failed.
The reason he experimented on children wasn't just their ease of capture, but because their cells were more regenerative. But not even a young body can survive with its head blown to pieces.
Hoku could do nothing. He was chained. All he could do was cry. Without a voice, without sobs… without a mouth. It had been taken from him after he bit the scientist in a desperate act of self-defense. The retaliation was cruel, like everything in that place. Now, nothing made sense. He was next.
So he looked at the dawn without knowing what to think, simply crying in silence, waiting for his suffering to end.
"Damn it! Not again!" shouted the scientist from the upper floor. "I was hoping the drug would work this time... but no! Again it explodes and explodes, and explodes again! Why is this happening? I'm out of subjects. Just that kid... and it's getting harder to capture new ones. The police are looking for me. Ah... I'm so screwed…"
Furious, the scientist came down to where Hoku was. He stared at him without saying a single word, turned off the light, closed the door, and started climbing the stairs.
In the darkness, Hoku listened to the creaking of the steps beneath the man's footsteps. He turned his gaze back to the dawn, which was slowly fading, taking with it the last trace of light. He was left alone, trapped in a room swallowed by shadows.
He hoped the gentle dew of sleep would find him. But that wasn't going to happen today.
From above, shouting was heard. Then, gunshots.
Hoku, eyes fixed on the door, felt something like hope for the first time. He began to dream. To believe.
And then, a voice echoed from just above.
"Alpha, Beta, search everything."
"Yes, sir."
Hoku wanted to scream that he was there, that he was still alive. But only broken babbles came out—barely whispers. Sounds began to fill the place: footsteps, doors opening, distant voices… but no one found him.
Time passed. His hope began to dissolve, melting into the darkness. Until he heard something that shattered his faith.
"Sir, negative. No survivors. Seems like just a shelter, nothing more."
"Understood."
Hoku wanted to scream with all his strength. But what he heard next was what broke him the most:
"Take the corpse to the morgue and inform the commander. Mission accomplished. Also, contact the real estate company. Have the place destroyed."
"Yes, sir."
The footsteps slowly faded away. Then—nothing. Absolute silence. Only the stench of the corpse beside him, the blood pooling, rotting slowly on the floor.
Desperate, Hoku tried to free himself. He didn't want to die there. He wanted to survive. He writhed, struggled with what little strength he had left.
But sleep, treacherous as ever, overcame him.
And with it, the inhuman urge to give up.
The next day, with dawn timidly peeking through a crack in the room, Hoku awoke. His body already showed signs of malnutrition, but something inside him—a spark—still burned. Determined, he began to struggle.
Once. Again. Until a dry crack echoed: his thumbs fractured, and the cuffs gave way.
He collapsed to the floor, crying from the pain. But he got up. With trembling hands, he tore off the bandage covering his mouth. He felt the burn of the wounds, but with a desperate scream, he ripped it off. The skin tore. The pain was unbearable. But he was free.
He looked down. Breathed. Wiped his tears with the back of his hand.
It hurt. It hurt even more than before. But this time, he wouldn't let it defeat him.
He took a good look around the room. He walked from one end to the other, staggering. There were shelves filled with books, a table with test tubes, chemical compounds, syringes, illegible notes. And a corpse, rotting more with each passing moment. He approached the body, touched its chest. Closed his eyes. He mourned not having been able to save her.
He took a deep breath.
Then looked at the door. It had a panel with a six-digit code.
He sighed. But he was determined.
He tried one combination. Then another. Ten minutes later, exhausted, he collapsed to the floor. Frustrated. Lost.
Then he looked at the books. Hundreds of them. Silent. They almost seemed to be watching him.
With little hope, he picked one up. Sat down. And began to read.
*Day 1*
I finally located the three children: two orphans and a girl from a regular family. I don't know how to approach them… Should I offer them something, or just abduct them? I'm not sure what to do. But all of this is for the sake of science.
*Day 23*
I now have everything I need. With the help of advanced AI, I managed to formulate a theoretical cure for cancer and other diseases. The problem is that, for now, it's only a theory. I must find a way to put it into practice. I've only been able to capture one child, but he will suffice… for now.
*Day 26*
He died during today's experiments. Apparently, a high concentration of FeCl is too reactive when combined with unstable organic compounds.
*Day 43*
I think I'm close. But I still haven't managed to capture the other children. They're slippery… though I'll get them soon.
*Day 70*
I finally captured them. The police have stopped looking for the missing boy. It was hard to hide him, but I did it. Now I have both boys. I'm excited.
*Day 72*
One day left before I begin the experiment with the girl. I hope everything goes well. If not… I'll move on to the boy.
...
Hoku couldn't believe it. The scientist had been watching him for 72 days. A chill ran down his spine. Even though the man was already dead, the room still smelled of fear and chemicals.
Hunger was consuming him. It had been two days since he last ate. He had to find a way out.
He searched desperately. Checked every corner. Nothing. Then he saw a book with a pen beside it. He flipped through the entire thing… empty. Not a single word.
He returned to the console and started trying codes. One after another. Again and again. Until his body couldn't take it anymore, and he fell asleep right there.
He woke with the morning light on his face—and with a hunger so savage he could no longer think.
He had no other choice.
He approached the rotting corpse and, trembling, ate.
Vomiting tears, he cried for hours. Cried so much he dried out inside. Then he dragged himself back to the console. Tried more codes. His stomach burned. Eating raw flesh had wrecked him.
Days passed.
When it rained, he drank the water that dripped through a crack. But it hadn't rained in two days. He was dying.
He collapsed against the desk, too weak to move. The pen fell to the floor and rolled away. He could barely breathe.
And then the visions began.
He saw the girl—the one who had hugged him for the first time. Her voice spoke his name, but her mouth didn't move.
"Hoku… does it not hurt anymore?" she asked, her eyes empty.
He tried to answer, but in his vision, he had no tongue.
Then he saw the scientist. Only this time, he had the girl's face.
"This is for your own good, Hoku. Science requires sacrifice," he said while caressing Hoku's head with blood-covered hands.
He came back to himself.
He looked at the pen. Carved into its surface with a rusty knife were six numbers.
Hope—weak but alive—pushed him to move.
He crawled to the door. Typed in the first three numbers… but forgot them. Went back to the pen, repeated the digits. Returned to the door.
A click. The lock opened.
He pushed the door with what little strength he had left. Climbed the stairs, step by step. At the top, he shoved something heavy: a rug covered in dust. Underneath, a hatch.
He opened it. Fresh air.
He climbed out, slowly. But collapsed immediately. He had no strength left.
The door was open. The sun at its highest point.
He dragged himself. Again and again. Like a dying worm. Until his forehead touched the threshold.
And then… he breathed.
Hoku took one last breath, seeing the sun so close… and yet so far. His lungs couldn't take anymore. He was suffocating—no air, no strength, no salvation. A slow, silent death. Horrible.
"I'm sorry, Aira… I couldn't survive," he thought.
Darkness descended upon his mind, and his thoughts faded like smoke in the wind.
***
The next day, on the news:
—A young boy was found dead in the home of the psychopath known as Edgar, who had a secret basement where he experimented on children. Police issued an apology for not being more thorough... In other news, a teenager wins the grand lottery prize and receives millions of dollars. And now, the weather—
And so the world goes on. With people ignoring tragedies through screens, never understanding how real they can be. Forgetting the death of a human being as if it were dust in the wind. Because, of course… thousands die every day. What's one more? What's one less?
As inhuman as that thought may be… it's the one that prevails in these times. Without knowing it, everyone is part of the problem.
***
But, in a place far away—so far it doesn't belong to this universe, nor to any of the hundreds of billions of possible universes—a family smiles, holding a newborn child in their arms.
They look at him with tenderness. And they call him Hoku.