Steel & Starlight
The city of Nova Helios never saw the real sun. A massive dome of
artificial light covered its towering skyscrapers, filtering the sky into a
soft, golden glow. Life here was calculated, optimized, controlled.
Every citizen had a Life Path, a predetermined future assigned by the
Central AI. There were no surprises. No choices. And certainly, no love
stories.
At least, that’s what Lena Cael had always believed—until she met
Orion Valen.
He wasn’t supposed to exist. The system had erased him long ago,
labeled him a ghost—a citizen who had rejected the algorithm and
disappeared into the city's underground. But here he was, standing
before her in the flickering neon light of an abandoned station, eyes
burning with something Lena had never seen before. Freedom.
“You don’t have to live by their rules,” Orion said.
Lena hesitated. She had spent her life following orders, believing the
system knew what was best. But then she met Orion. And suddenly,
everything felt wrong—the cold logic of the AI, the forced smiles of
the citizens, the way her heart ached for something she had never
been allowed to want.
“They’ll come for me,” she whispered.
“They already have.”
Before she could react, the alarms blared. The Enforcers had found
them.
Orion grabbed her hand, and they ran. Through the steel corridors,
past the towering screens flashing government-approved dreams, into
the shadows where the city’s control didn’t reach.
For the first time in her life, Lena wasn’t following a path. She was
choosing one.
And she was choosing him.
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