PROLOGUE

2032

His pace was fast and steady. He was in a hurry to arrive at his destiny, even though no one was chasing him, and he had all the time in the world to waste. Nevertheless, the man wanted to arrive as quickly as possible to get away from it all.

Night looked like engulfed in darkness and silence, and there were no animals at sight–there had not been any in a long time–. There were no trees either, not anymore, and the soil that once gave them life was now dry and hard. The only figure in the picture was a hooded man in a black robe, pressured to get to a particular place.

He found it particularly difficult to walk because the black metal inhaler covered the lower part of his face. The mask provided the man with clean oxygen, something that was impossible to find outside the city.

He was already half of the hill, this large hill that was about 10 kilometers from the city. In the past, people would look at the highland and be amazed at its height and steepness, but nowadays only the man remembered this place.

Suddenly, the runaway stopped at the sound of a blast. He turned to see a glimpse of lightning; a storm was coming.

"I must rush," he thought, although he was almost at the top. Nevertheless, he found himself inadvertently admiring the city he had just left behind. It was as bright and glamorous as ever, and the high buildings seemed to touch the clouds. He would miss it, there was no doubt about it, but he wished he could say the same about the people.

Lightning ripped him out of his mind, and he refocused on his task. After he had cast one last glance at the city, the man turned around and continued his ascent through the hill.

Finally, he reached the top, but that was not his final destination. His fingers stretched into the right pocket of his robe and collected the spherical artifact but hesitated to use it. The object was large enough to occupy the entire space in his hand, and it had bright blue lines around its equator. The man looked up at the sky to see the full moon, and his tension disappeared for a moment when he felt bathed in its white and bright light. For a brief moment, he felt as if the moon was looking disappointed at him.

"I have no choice," he whispered to the moon, "you know, I don't."

He glanced at his surroundings: the smashed buildings and a broken statue in the middle of the landscape. It was almost surreal to think that he had studied there once when the place was still one of the best universities in the country.

The storm was quickly approaching, and the weather became windy. Soon the clouds would cover the moon, and the man would not be able to escape. The lights of the city caught his attention again just as he was lifting the artifact, and a deep sadness embraced him, for he realized the raw and only truth.

"They will destroy themselves," he whispered before pressing a button in the strange device. An intense blue light surrounded him, and he was gone when the first drop of water fell from the sky.