The sky had never looked the same since the Mycelis Meteorite fell two hundred years ago.
Rin Asakura stood at the edge of the observation window of the Tianhai Dome,staring at the greenish-gray mist shrouding the horizon. Her hand unconsciously clenched the small scar on her left palm. A mark that had never faded since ten years ago.
Every time she looked at the Yellow Zone,her chest felt tight. As if something out there was pulling her breath away.
"You could get fined if you keep standing here, you know."
Rin turned her head.Akira Shen walked closer, hands in his pockets, his hair messy as usual. He tossed a small coin into the air. An old coin with an image of a dome on one side and a shattered Earth on the other. Akira always said that coin was "a reminder that life is just a matter of luck."
"I'm not touching the glass," Rin replied, her voice flat though her hand still trembled slightly.
"Always looking for loopholes,huh?" Akira gave a thin smile. "But seriously, Rin. Patrol passes in five minutes. They don't like orphans lingering in public zones for too long."
Rin sighed.The word orphan always felt like a label forced upon her.
"I just wanted to see the Yellow Zone,"Rin said softly, still looking outside. Her heart was beating faster than usual. She didn't know why.
"Why?Something different?"
Rin nodded."The color... it's darker. Like a deep purple in some parts."
Akira fell silent,following Rin's gaze. The Yellow Zone. The buffer region between the dome and the Red Zone. It did look different. The spore mist was usually a faint yellow, but now there were dark gradations hanging like storm clouds.
"That's not a good sign,"Akira muttered.
"Or they are...moving."
Akira glanced at Rin with a strange look."You've been reading too many old archives."
Rin didn't answer.She just stared at the Yellow Zone. And for a moment, she heard something. A faint pulse. Like a distant echo. Not in her ears. But inside her head.
She shook her head quickly,trying to ignore it.
"Rin?"
"Let's go.We're late."
The Tianhai Dome was divided into seven circular sectors. Sectors 1 to 3 for the elites. Sectors 4 to 6 for ordinary civilians. Then there was Sector 7. The zone for orphans, low-level workers, and people without high "contribution value."
Rin and Akira lived there.
They walked along a long corridor with dull metal walls.LED lights flickered occasionally. The smell of metal mixed with processed fungi wafted from the vents. Typical of Sector 7. A worn poster was on the wall: "CONTRIBUTION IS HONOR. WORK IS THE FUTURE."
Akira spat a little towards the poster."What future."
Rin smiled faintly.A rare thing for her.
But her smile disappeared when the warning siren suddenly sounded.
WHIIIIIIIR-WHIIIIIIIR-WHIIIIIIIR.
Everyone in the corridor stopped.The lights turned red. A digital screen on the wall flashed rapidly:
⚠️YELLOW ZONE PERIMETER SENSORS: MYCELITES DETECTED.
⚠️WARNING LEVEL: LOW.
⚠️EVACUATION NOT REQUIRED.
People began whispering anxiously.Some children cried. An old woman clutched her chest, her face pale.
"Again,"Akira muttered. "The third time this week."
Rin stared at the screen.MYCELITES DETECTED. That word made her chest tighten again.
The siren stopped ten seconds later.The lights returned to white. The screen displayed: SITUATION CONTAINED.
But the atmosphere didn't return to normal.People were still uneasy. Children were still scared.
"You see?"Akira whispered. "This world is getting crazier."
Rin didn't answer.She just looked at her hand. Which was still trembling.
They arrived at the orientation classroom. A small hall with rows of folding chairs and an old projector screen. Dozens of other kids were already there, mostly teenagers their age, with the same faces: tired, bored, and resigned.
Instructor Yashida stood at the front.A middle-aged man with a long scar on his left cheek. His eyes were sharp like a hawk's.
"Sit.Everyone. Now."
Rin and Akira quickly found seats in the back row.
Yashida turned on the projector.An image of the Black Zone map appeared. A dark belt splitting the Earth at the equator.
"Today we discuss the latest developments in the Black Zone,"Yashida stated flatly. "You need to know this, even though most of you will never leave the dome."
Some kids laughed cynically.Some yawned. Some secretly played on tablets.
Yashida continued,unfazed. "Since three months ago, mutation-monsters that should take two years to reach Class-C, now only take six months."
The screen changed.Showing a photo of a strange creature. A body like a giant insect with thick fungal armor and long tentacles.
"This is a Spore Reaver,Class-B. Found last week on the Yellow Zone border. Three patrol members died."
The room went silent.
Rin stared at the photo.And for a few seconds, she felt déjà vu. As if she had seen that creature before. Not in a photo. But somewhere else.
Her hand clenched the scar on her palm tighter.
"The big question:why is their evolution accelerating?"
Yashida looked around the room."Those of you who join the Frontliners must be ready to answer that. Or die trying."
Silence.
Then Yashida called,"Asakura."
Rin flinched.Her heart immediately pounded hard.
"Are you daydreaming?"
"N-no,Sir," Rin answered, her voice slightly shaky.
"Then answer.What makes the Black Zone keep expanding?"
Rin swallowed.All eyes were on her. She could feel pressure in her head. As if another voice was whispering along with Yashida's.
"Answer...answer... say it..."
Rin shook her head slightly,trying to focus.
"Because...the fungi there aren't just growing," Rin answered slowly. "They are learning."
Silence.
Yashida raised an eyebrow."Explain."
"The spores are adaptive organisms.They react, absorb information, then modify themselves. If their evolution is accelerating... that means they are being taught."
Some kids whispered to each other.Some looked at Rin as if she were crazy. Some looked frightened.
Yashida nodded slowly."Good. That theory is not entirely wrong." He paused for a moment, then added in a colder tone. "But remember one thing, Asakura."
"Yes,Sir?"
"The creature that can'teach' the fungi in the Black Zone... isn't necessarily a creature we want to meet."
Rin felt a chill creep up her spine.
The class ended two hours later.
Rin left with her thoughts in chaos.Yashida's words kept spinning in her head.
Akira walked beside her."Rin, that theory earlier... were you serious?"
"I don't know.I just... feel it's true."
"Feel?Are you psychic now?"
Rin didn't answer.She stopped for a moment, looking at her hand. The scar on her palm felt warm. Even though it had been ten years.
Ten years since that expedition.
She remembered small fragments:her mother's voice calling her name. The shadow of her father running. Thick spore mist. Then... darkness.
"Rin?"
She shook her head quickly."Let's go."
They headed back towards Sector 7, passing through the internal transport routes. The dome was bustling that evening. People returning from work, children playing, merchants selling processed fungal food. The smell of baked fungal bread wafted from a small stall.
Everything seemed normal.
But Rin knew it was just an illusion.
As they neared the dormitory block,the large screen in the center of Sector 7 lit up. Everyone stopped.
The face of Commissioner Lian Shu appeared on the screen.Head of the Tianhai Dome Defense Council.
"To all citizens of Tianhai Dome.We announce that starting today, the Frontliner Program is opening public recruitment for ages 16 to 20 from all sectors."
The crowd began to murmur.
"Selection begins in three days.Selected participants will receive guaranteed placement in Sector 4, full access to medical facilities, and family compensation of 200,000 DomeMarkCredit (DMC)."
Akira took a sharp breath."That's... almost enough to live for ten years."
Rin stared at the screen.Her chest tightened again. A great conflict raged within her: fear, but curiosity.
The screen went dark.
Akira looked at Rin."You... are you going to sign up?"
Rin was silent for a long time.Her hand clenched that scar again.
Then she answered softly,"I have to know what happened to my parents."
"Rin,that was ten years ago."
"I know."Rin cut in, her voice trembling. "But the only way to know the truth... is to go in there myself."
Akira shook his head slowly."You're crazy."
"Maybe."
That night, Rin couldn't sleep.
She lay on her narrow mattress,staring at the cracked metal ceiling. The lights were off. Akira was already asleep in the next bed, snoring softly.
But Rin couldn't close her eyes.
In the silence,she heard faint whispers again.
A pulse.An echo. A wordless sound.
Rin closed her eyes.And immediately plunged into a dream.
She stood in the middle of a forest of giant fungi.Trees as tall as buildings. Glowing spores floated like fireflies. The air felt thick, humid, and alive.
In the middle of that forest,there was a large figure.
Very large.
Motionless.
Just staring.
Then it whispered a single word.In a voice that sounded like... her own.
"Come home."
Rin woke up gasping for breath.
Her body was drenched in sweat.Her heart was pounding hard.
She looked at her hand.And froze.
On her left palm,right on the old scar...
there was a small,faintly glowing pale green spore.
Rin bit her lower lip,holding back a scream.
She quickly wiped it off.And the spore disappeared like dust.
But its scent remained.
The scent of fresh fungi.