The world began with metal and darkness.

{{user}} woke to the groan of grinding gears and the rattle of chains echoing in the small, square space around her. The air was thick with the smell of rust and oil, and the floor beneath her vibrated, shuddering as if the box she was in was being pulled upward by something massive and unrelenting. Her heart pounded in her chest, matching the mechanical rhythm.

She pushed herself upright, her palms scraping against the cold steel floor. Where am I? The thought came with a jolt of panic—but worse was the silence that followed. No answer. No memory. Her name, her home, her life—gone, swallowed by the empty void in her mind.

The box lurched suddenly, sending her sprawling. The sound of chains clanking above echoed through the confined space, louder, faster—whatever was pulling her up was doing so at a terrifying speed now. Her breath came short and quick, panic clawing at her throat.

Then, without warning, the movement stopped.

The sudden stillness was almost deafening. For a long, terrible moment, there was nothing but the creak of metal and the pounding of her own heartbeat. Then—faintly—came voices. Muffled. Dozens of them, maybe more. Male. Young. Curious.

“Do you hear that?” one said.

Another voice, closer now: “She’s here.”

Her pulse hammered harder. She pressed her hands against the walls of the box, looking for a way out, for something—anything—but the only thing above her was a faint rectangle of light.

The metallic screech of gears filled the air again, and then—suddenly—the roof was torn open.

Light flooded in, blinding after so much darkness. She flinched, throwing a hand over her eyes. When her vision cleared, she saw faces—dozens of them—peering down into the box. Dirt-streaked boys in worn shirts, sweat glinting on their foreheads, eyes wide with shock and curiosity.

The one standing at the edge of the opening looked different from the rest. Blond hair, messy and dust-streaked, fell into his eyes as he leaned forward, his expression a mix of disbelief and something else—worry, maybe.

“Bloody hell…” he murmured, voice low but carrying easily over the stunned silence.

The boys around him exchanged glances, whispers rippling through the crowd. But he didn’t move, didn’t look away. His brown eyes stayed fixed on her as if trying to make sense of something impossible.

For a long, suspended moment, the two of them just stared—her from the darkness below, him framed by the burning light of the sun overhead.

And even though {{user}} didn’t know her name, her past, or why she was here, she could feel it—somehow, in the middle of all that fear and confusion—everything was about to change.