The city of Lumaire was once famous for its shining towers and glowing streets. Long ago, the world discovered a strange power called Lumen, a light that could heal wounds, power machines, and even protect cities from storms. But when people learned how to take the light from living creatures, Lumaire changed. Factories rose like tall iron monsters, and the rich built walls around themselves while the poor worked in dark, dangerous places, losing their health to feed the city's hunger for power.
In the small, broken district of Low Ward, lived a 16-year-old boy named Kael, with dark hair and quiet brown eyes. He worked at a scrap yard where people brought broken glass tanks filled with leftover Lumen gas. The scraps were sharp, dirty, and sometimes poisonous. For every hour Kael worked, he was paid one coin. For every mistake, he lost two. Still, he worked harder than anyone, because his little sister, Mira, was sick. She had a fading glow beneath her skin, a sign that her body no longer produced Lumen. Without treatment, she would slowly stop breathing.
Kael's mother died three years earlier from the same illness. His father disappeared one night after arguing with a man wearing a white coat. Kael never saw him again. Since then, Kael decided he would never trust anyone who claimed to "help." The city's leaders ran a program called Lumen Aid, but Kael knew the truth: they took poor people to "treat" them and used their light to power the wealthy areas. The poor died, and the rich lived with bright streets and warm homes.
One rainy evening, Kael walked home through narrow alleys, his hands covered in cuts from broken tanks. Mira sat on their small mattress in a tiny room with a cracked window. She greeted him with a weak smile, but her breathing was slow. Kael gave her a roll of bread and boiled water. He spoke softly, trying to hide his fear, but Mira saw it anyway.
"I'll be okay, Kai," she whispered.
"You're strong," he said, but his voice trembled.
As Mira rested, Kael stepped outside to get fresh air. The sky above Lumaire glowed faintly from the city's upper towers. Those towers were controlled by a group called The Radiants, people born with strong Lumen energy. They ruled the city, making laws that protected themselves. They pretended to care about the people, but they only cared about power.
Kael leaned against a rusted railing, thinking about how helpless he was. He had nothing—no money, no support, no power. All he had was anger. A loud boom interrupted his thoughts. Bright lights flashed from the other side of Low Ward. Two armored police officers were chasing someone through the streets. A young girl, about Kael's age, ran with wild, scared eyes. Her hands glowed with intense blue light, far brighter than normal. She was a Lumenborn, a person born with strong light inside.
The officers fired stun bolts at her. She fell hard. Her glowing hands shook. People watched but did nothing; everyone feared the police. Kael felt his heart race. The girl was trying to get up, tears in her eyes. Something inside Kael snapped. He had seen enough helpless people. He couldn't watch another person be taken and drained.
He grabbed a metal pipe near a trash bin. Without thinking, he ran. One of the officers aimed at the girl, but Kael swung the pipe at his helmet with all his strength. The officer collapsed. The second aimed a gun at Kael, but the girl suddenly raised her hand and a burst of blue light exploded from her palm, throwing the officer back into a wall.
The girl was shaking, weak from using too much energy. Kael helped her stand. She looked at him like she didn't understand why he helped.
"You need to run," Kael whispered.
"I can't," she said, panting. "They'll find me."
Kael looked back toward his home, thinking of Mira. If he brought danger to her, he could lose her. But if he did nothing, he would become the same as everyone who looked away.
"Come with me," he said.
The girl nodded faintly. Together, they ran through the shadows of Lumaire. The rain grew heavier, washing away the glow from her hands. She didn't know Kael's name yet, but she trusted him more than anyone.
And for the first time in his life, Kael felt something inside him shift—not anger, not fear, but purpose.
The light he saved tonight…
might be the light that saves his sister.