I was sitting on a giant tree and looking up in the sky, thinking how do we explore this Maze world.
"Yes," the Maze's old people tell me, "this city is in between a giant Maze. If a person gets lost in that Maze, he will never come back."
They told me that in this giant Maze, there are many giant creatures called Titans or monsters that live here. They mostly come outside and walk in the Maze at night, but many monsters also walk in the day. Why they are giant, only the 1st generation in this Maze knew. Unfortunately, I am the 47th generation in this Maze.
I was born here, play here, and mostly sit on this giant tree. Beside me, my two cousins come with me to talk about my plan to explore the Maze when we grow, but they fell asleep while I was looking at the sky and thinking too deep. I don't know how much time has gone. Many kids are playing in the garden. Yeah, I am telling this late to you, but it's my style to explain.
Yes, this is a giant garden where there are many big and giant trees, but the one where I am sitting is the biggest among them. I made a plan to make a whole map of the Maze, but it's called impossible. Still, I believe I can do this.
My father was a mapmaker. Whenever a squadron leader or a member of a squad or scout discovers something, they come to him. There are many teams different groups of selected participants to protect people chosen through different scouts. Like the Climber Scouts, who use their eyes to watch the Titans or monsters that come outside in daylight.
Usually, our Supreme Soldiers who select new soldiers choose many candidates to become Climber Scout members, because it's easier to warn other soldiers about danger.
Also, I want to tell you that the "Supreme Soldiers" are the top-tier elite chosen from the Climber Corps, Seed Guild Guards, and Engineering Units. There are only a few dozen in the entire city, handpicked for strength, intelligence, and leadership. They aren't a separate army they're the pinnacle of all divisions.
That's why they're capable of selecting candidates they have more experience than anyone, and every Supreme Soldier has survived a Titan attack.
Huh! Where was I? I was thinking too much again. Suddenly, a strange whistle sound came from the Maze a very loud sound that woke up my cousins and scared all the people in the village. Everyone left their work, craftsmen stopped what they were making, and the Supreme Soldiers at the gate the ones who investigate the Maze ran out.
We ran too, because that whistle gave us goosebumps. When we reached the gate, we saw the soldiers who had gone in to investigate coming back. Some had a hand gone, some a leg gone, and some didn't come back at all they died in the fight between Titans and humans.
Many soldiers were missing in the fight. If they were alive, they got confused where to go or they died there.
The soldiers' families came with hope to see their sons. An old man who lived beside my house somewhere my relative asked about his son who got lost in the Maze or maybe died. The soldiers refused to answer, but he shouted at them. Then one soldier said in a loud voice,
"I don't know where he is! If he was alive, he was with us! If he was left behind or lost in the Maze, then he will come back or he was killed by the monsters!"
He said this in a loud, crying voice. The old man got sad and started crying in the crowd. Then one by one, everyone started asking about their children. The soldiers gave the belongings of those who had died to their parents, and the ones who were alive but critical were taken straight to the hospital.
That's when the crowd disappeared, and I just walked to my house, taking my two cousins with me.
My father was making a map when a Supreme Soldier came to him and told him about a new location in the Maze. Then my father started doing the printing and told him to come the day after tomorrow when all the maps would be ready for the soldiers.
I said, "Dad! Dad! I saw some soldiers who came from the Maze they were badly injured. Our neighbor grandpa's son also got missing! Many were taken to the hospital!"
Then my father replied, "I know, son. The Supreme Soldier who came here told me everything before you came. I know the death rate has been increasing day by day, but what can we do now? If we want to keep people safe by exploring the Maze and making maps to ensure where we can go or not, we need to sacrifice one to save thousands. The soldiers are protecting us from new problems that come. That's why I'm making maps to alert everyone about danger.
"You can see where I'm marking in red those are highly risky zones full of monsters. The yellow means fifty-fifty chances of monsters being there or not. And the green mark means the Maze dungeon is fully safe, but just like yellow, green doesn't always mean safe. That's why I told the Supreme Soldiers to tell every soldier not to think they're safe in the green mark monsters can come from anywhere."
I said, "No! No! I understand what you're saying, Dad. Green doesn't always mean safe. We need to be alert every time! Daddd!! I also want to be a soldier and then a Supreme Soldier!"
"Yes, son," he said. "You will become a Supreme Soldier when you grow"
Suddenly, my mother slapped me and shouted, "Don't dare talk like that, you understand? You will never become a soldier! You see what they got for being soldiers? They got injured, they died! But you-you are a child. You don't know what it feels like losing a family!" she said in a sad, crying voice.
My dad told her, "Don't talk to him like that. He's just a kid. He will understand."
I didn't cry. I just went to my room and locked myself inside for some time.
My dad said to Mom, "You see? He will understand later when he grows up. He's just a 13-year-old kid. Give him time."
Then my mother said, "Okay."
In the evening, my mother called my name in a gentle voice no anger and said, "Eat your dinner before it goes cold."
I came silently from my room and sat at the dining table, eating quietly.
She said, "Don't talk like that again. I'll get worried about you, you understand? I love you, that's why I told you that."
I said, "Okay, Mom, I won't talk like that."
Then I asked, "Did you hear that loud whistle sound from the Maze?"
She said, "Yes. I got terrified when I heard it. Everyone in town did."
I said, "After that sound stopped, the soldiers came out from the gate and they were badly injured."
"Okay, enough talking," she said. "Tomorrow you need to help your father bring food and seeds from the market."
I said, "Okay, Mom."
Then I nodded and went back to my room. Through the small vent in the wall, I could see the faint glow from the Seed House at the center of the city. Every family depended on it the place where crops grew from the last seeds the Maze ever gave us. Once a month, traders brought vegetables, grains, and rare fruits from the outer rings all born from those same glowing seeds.
For meat, the Hunters raised Maze-beasts small creatures tamed generations ago. We never waste them; every piece gets traded for coins made of Maze metal.
I lay down, listening to the hum of the vents and the far-off clanging from the gates. The whistle hadn't sounded again, but it still echoed inside my head.
If the Maze could make life bloom, I thought, what else could it be hiding?
And before sleep finally found me, I promised myself one thing someday, I'd walk beyond that gate and see what the Maze was really made of.