Sols past

The air in the safehouse was thick with the scent of old wood and faint traces of industrial cleaner. The room was dimly lit, a single overhead bulb casting long shadows against the walls. Elise stepped through the doorway with measured grace, Asha following closely behind.

At the far end of the room sat a woman wrapped in a thin blanket. Her frame was slight, her clothes worn from travel. Despite the exhaustion evident in her posture, her sharp eyes flicked up the moment Elise entered, scanning her with quiet wariness.

Elise tilted her head, offering a small, measured smile. "So, you claim to know Sol?"

The woman let out a dry chuckle, shaking her head. "No, I don't know him. But I know of him. And if you've spent any real time on Galvaris Prime, then you'd know there's probably not a single person there who doesn't."

Elise's brows lifted slightly, intrigued. "That much of a presence?"

The woman exhaled, running a hand through her disheveled hair. "Presence? No. More like a legend that breathes. Galvaris Prime eats people alive, especially kids. But Sol? He didn't just survive. He moved through the slums like a ghost—untouchable, unpredictable. He wasn't the strongest, wasn't the richest, but no one could pin him down."

Asha crossed her arms. "You make him sound like some kind of myth."

The woman's lips curled into a wry smirk. "To some, he is. You hear whispers of him in every district. To the desperate, he's a miracle worker. To the gangs, he's a menace. To the corpos, he's a problem they haven't solved yet. Everyone's got a different version of who he is, but no one really knows him. He's more rumor than reality."

Elise leaned forward, her golden eyes narrowing. "And what about you? What's your version of him?"

The woman hesitated, as if choosing her words carefully. "Mine?" She exhaled, shaking her head. "I remember a kid who could talk his way out of anything, but when words weren't enough, he always had a backup plan. He played every side, but somehow never belonged to any of them. It was like he was waiting for something. Or someone."

Elise exchanged a glance with Asha, both processing the implications. "What else can you tell us about him."

The woman seemed to consider something before finally speaking. "I know why he had to leave Galvaris Prime."

Elise's expression sharpened immediately, her attention now fully locked onto the woman. Asha, too, straightened slightly, sensing the weight of the revelation.

"Why?" Elise asked, her voice edged with curiosity and caution.

The woman exhaled before answering. "Because of the bounty on his head."

Elise frowned. "Bounty?"

The woman nodded. "It should be everywhere. It was put out by DreamCorp."

The room fell into stunned silence. Even Asha, who had seen her fair share of dangerous situations, looked momentarily speechless. Elise's mind raced—DreamCorp wasn't just another corporation. It was a powerhouse, one of the most influential conglomerates in the galaxy. Their reach was infinite, their influence nearly unmatched.

Asha found her voice first. "How much?"

The woman's expression darkened. "One billion credits for reliable information. Ten for his capture alive. Five if he's dead."

Another silence fell, heavier than before. Elise could feel the weight of the situation pressing down on her. Whatever mess she had stepped into with Sol, it was far deeper than she had anticipated.

The woman shook her head. "No one really knows why DreamCorp wants him so badly. But everyone knows some of what he did before he left. Before he disappeared, he started a war between two of the biggest gangs in Galvaris and DreamCorp itself. That war? It's still going. And when DreamCorp was close on his trail, he left dozens of their troops dead before completely disappearing."

Elise felt sick. She had invited a monster into her house.

Behind her, Asha was visibly shaken. "DreamCorp's troops aren't just regular mercenaries," she muttered, her voice laced with disbelief. "They're the best of the best—elite training, state-of-the-art enhancements, cybernetics, and tactical superiority. And he killed dozens of them?"

The woman nodded grimly. "That's what the rumors say. And the worst part? They still haven't caught him. Which means whatever they threw at him wasn't enough."

Elise felt her heartbeat grow uncontrollable, a rare sensation of unease creeping into her chest. Forcing herself to stay composed, she pressed on. "What about his abilities? What do you know about that?"

The woman let out an unexpected laugh, shaking her head. "Abilities? He had none. He was just a kid. He hadn't even unlocked his affinities yet, so how could he have any abilities?"

Elise's spine tingled at the revelation. "Then how did he—"

The woman cut her off. "That's what makes him terrifying. He left Galvaris Prime in chaos without ever throwing a punch. No fights, no powers—just pure cunning and an unimaginable drive to leave that godforsaken rock."

Elise leaned back slightly, her fingers tightening around the armrest of her chair. The weight of the information pressed down on her like a lead weight. If Sol had done all of that without any powers, what was he truly capable of now that he had unlocked his affinities?

Asha swallowed hard, shaking her head as if trying to process it all. "This doesn't make sense. If he was just a kid back then, how the hell did he manage to play the gangs, escape DreamCorp, and start a war? People don't just do that."

The woman's expression was unreadable. "Sol isn't 'people.' That's the problem. You're thinking about him like he plays by the same rules as everyone else. He doesn't."

A suffocating silence filled the room. Elise's mind raced with possibilities, strategies, risks. If DreamCorp was still searching for him, and if they were willing to put out that kind of bounty, then they were desperate. That meant Sol wasn't just a loose end to them—he was something bigger. Something dangerous.

Elise exhaled sharply. "If we keep him close, we become a target. If we cut ties, we risk making an enemy we cannot afford."

Asha bit her lip. "So what do we do?"

Elise hesitated, then finally spoke, her voice lower, more controlled. "For now? We watch him. We don't try to control him. We don't try to use him. We just make sure he doesn't turn against us."

The woman across from them let out a dry chuckle. "Smart choice. Because if Sol ever decides you're in his way…" She shook her head. "There won't be a damn thing you can do about it."

Asha, still struggling to accept the scope of it all, frowned. "But if a behemoth like DreamCorp is after him, shouldn't he be laying low? Changing his name, his face? God knows how easily he could do that, and yet he just waltzes around without a care. That doesn't make sense."

The woman smirked at the thought. "That's the thing about Sol—he never hides. He moves. He adapts. But he doesn't cower. If he's walking around like he owns the place, then it's because he knows something we don't. Or worse—he wants them to come after him."

Asha mumbled under her breath, "He's crazy."