Vestiges of the Old World - 1 - Part 1

On a street, Ísis, along with her younger siblings, walked in a line. 

Surrounded by a small grove, where rubble and buildings—rarely taller than three stories—blended with trees and bushes. 

They walked over worn asphalt, still resisting nature's advance, while covered by the shadows of the trees. In the background, they heard the soft chirping of birds, bringing life to the place, alongside the sound of leaves rustling in the wind. 

But Ísis, looking around carefully, checking between the trees and bushes, gripped her bow a little tensely. 

With so much vegetation, the thought that some animal or beast could emerge at any moment haunted her. 

I don't remember this place being so complicated… 

Even though she had been there many times before with her siblings, this was the first time she felt this way, as if she were in danger. 

Glancing back with the corner of her eye, she saw Mia, Victor, and Leon following close behind. It was clear they acted with their usual naturalness, tinged with a restrained excitement for today. 

They were there to gather some fruits from a vineyard growing near their home, a simple task, the last of the day. 

When I walked with Seven, this place seemed much calmer… just like it feels for them now… 

Turning forward, scanning building by building, she searched for any sign of danger when, several meters ahead, she spotted a somewhat peculiar building. 

There it is… 

Sighing, she felt her heart calm a little. 

Wider than the others, it had a facade occupying a much larger area than any other building in that region, being the only one without plants growing around it. 

Quickening her pace, the group approached it. 

With exposed walls, it had a faint gray hue from the concrete, streaked with the green of lichen and moss, alongside the white and brown of some fungi growing on it. 

Passing by the old entrance of the building, completely blocked by a collapse, they kept walking. 

A little further ahead, there was a large hole in the wall, where they entered. 

Stepping into the structure, they moved through the stuffy, dark corridors of the place. Damaged by time, the walls were crisscrossed with dozens of cracks, through which faint beams of light passed, illuminating tiny specks of dust floating in the air. 

Besides the light, some thick roots ran down the walls to the corridor floor, where they spread out. 

Walking through that dimness, they pressed forward. 

Passing by doors, they glimpsed the interiors of dirty rooms and spaces. Some were filled with piles of rubble, while others were completely blocked, their ceilings having collapsed. 

Not long after, just ahead, blocked by some roots and vines laden with leaves, sunlight indicated the exit. 

Pushing them aside, Ísis cleared the way, arriving at a wide-open area. 

They were still inside the building, but its core had collapsed, forming a large pocket at the heart of the structure. 

There, a vineyard, with its tendrils, had covered all the concrete and cement, forming a dark green blanket over the structure, dotted with a few yellow spots. 

In the ground, short grass formed a light green carpet covering the entire place. 

Time to work! 

Setting her backpack on the ground, Ísis approached one of the tendrils. 

"Grab your knives." 

Dropping their backpacks as well, her siblings followed her. 

Approaching a yellowish fruit, slightly larger than a baseball and completely smooth, she picked it up. 

With a swift motion of her knife, she cut it from the plant and turned to the others. 

"Watch closely. When you harvest, take a bit of the stem, or it won't count for any points. Got it?" 

"Yes!!" 

With enthusiasm, the three replied. 

As expected, they're all fired up… 

Since they harvested every year, there was a little competition in this task: who would gather the most, if the amounts were similar, or who would pick the largest. 

I remember they came up with over a dozen rules… 

It was something created to make the harvest more fun, invented by Seven and Yuliya when they went out with Father. 

"This time, I'm the one who's gonna win! Since Seven isn't here!" 

Excited, Leon shouted. 

"No way, brother Leon, this year it's me and Mia who'll win!" 

With a look of superiority, Victor turned to his brother, soon followed by Mia, a bit shy. 

"Exactly! This year it'll be us…" 

"What? Why you two?! Weren't you two supposed to compete separately this year? Right, Ísis?" 

Worried, he sought help from his sister. 

"No, not yet. They're still young, so this will be the last year they compete together." 

To balance the game, Seven had allowed the two youngest to compete as a team, giving them a chance to win. 

With a defeated expression, Leon lowered his head a little. 

"Damn…" 

Since they worked as a pair, even if they didn't get the largest, they always collected the most. 

But, reigniting his resolve, he lifted his head. 

"You know what? I'm gonna beat you guys anyway!" 

Victor quickly shot back. 

"That's not happening, brother Leon. You'll end up in third again—or maybe even fourth." 

With Seven out, it's natural they're acting like this… 

With an amused smile, Ísis continued. 

"Well, regarding the rules… 

I don't want to have to remember them all… 

Since it was a game invented by Yuliya and Seven, they created several rules to prevent cheating during the competition, or even how points were tallied, almost meticulously calculated. 

I've got it! 

Though there were many, they could be simplified into two. 

"You can't steal from someone else's backpack or take from their hands, but if it falls to the ground, it's fair game. With that, I think we can—what's wrong, Mia?" 

Seeing Mia's raised arm, a bit embarrassed, Ísis turned to her. 

"Big sis, what do we do with the green ones? There are a lot of them." 

At that remark, Ísis began looking around, surprised. 

That's true… 

In the vineyard, there were many green fruits, by far the majority, with the yellow ones being a small minority. 

This shouldn't be like this… 

They hadn't arrived earlier; it was the same time as always, yet the fruits didn't seem ready. 

Amid the green leaves, only a few yellow spots stood out. 

Leon, also puzzled by the situation, looked around. 

"Will they… be worth the same?" 

Since green ones were usually rare, they were highly contested, worth more points than ripe ones, even though they were useless for not being ready. 

"Well…" 

Ísis didn't know what to do. Even having harvested dozens of times, she had never seen this happen. 

Why on my first day… 

Seeing this, Ísis felt a tightness in her heart. 

Why today… I wanted everything to be perfect, at least on my first day… 

But noticing her siblings' eager gazes, waiting for an answer to start, she shook off those thoughts. 

There's nothing I can do about it now… 

"No, only pick the ripe ones. Even if there are few, we need to return with at least some." 

As soon as she finished speaking, her siblings ran off in different directions, excited. 

Left alone, Ísis let out a sigh and began observing the green fruits around her with a distressed look. 

Things were going so well… 

… 

Leon, moving away from the group, headed toward the farthest wall. As soon as he reached it, without wasting time, he began sifting through the leaves. 

Muttering, he checked the fruits one by one. 

"Green… green… green…" 

Though numerous, they weren't ready to be picked, even if they were the right size. 

To win this year, I'll have to get the biggest one… 

Though pleased with the challenge, Leon knew he was still at a disadvantage compared to Mia and Victor, who could search in more than one place at once. 

With Seven not here, this is my best chance, since sister Ísis doesn't take it too seriously… 

Even with yearly competitions, she didn't care much, usually placing between third and last. Seven always came in first, followed by the others, as he grabbed the low-hanging ones first before going for the higher ones they couldn't reach. 

The higher ones… 

Recalling his brother's strategy, his gaze climbed the vineyard. When the wind blew the leaves aside, he saw, amidst the dark green, a bright, almost glowing yellow. 

His eyes widened, and he let slip. 

"Holy—!" 

Quickly covering his mouth, he checked if his siblings had heard him. Luckily, none of them noticed. 

Turning back to the fruit, Leon was astonished. 

It's huge!! 

Practically hidden among the foliage, a large yellowish ball hung there. Much bigger than a typical one, which rarely surpassed a softball, this one seemed twice as large. 

With this, I'll definitely win! 

Even if he didn't gather many, since there wasn't much to pick, having the largest would leave his siblings no chance. 

But it's too high… 

At a distance slightly more than twice his height, it was practically unreachable for him. 

Looking around for something to help, he spotted a thick pipe embedded in the ground. Running to it, he tried to pull it out, hoping to use it to knock the fruit down. 

But despite his effort, the pipe didn't budge. 

This won't get me anywhere… 

Even searching for something else to use, there was nothing. 

…no other choice… I'll have to climb. 

Giving up on that, he turned to the vineyard. After tugging on it to test, he felt the plants were sturdy, despite some dead ones among the green. 

Placing his foot on the rubble below, he began to climb. 

During the process, he periodically stopped to glance quickly at his siblings, who, oblivious to his actions, were focused on finding ripe fruits among the leaves. 

I have to be quick! Before they notice me! 

Even if they couldn't take it from his hands, if it fell to the ground after he plucked it, they could grab it and claim it—or even try to climb and get it before him. 

There was also the chance Ísis might tell him to come down, deeming it dangerous. 

Getting closer, too eager, he stopped just short of fully reaching it. 

Using one hand, he tried to pull it, but it didn't move, both because it was firmly attached and because he couldn't wrap his hand around it, as it was too large. 

Come on! 

Climbing a bit higher, letting go of the other hand holding the tendrils, he grabbed the fruit with both hands to pull it. 

Tugging a little, he heard a snap as the plant gave way. 

Yes! 

But it wasn't the fruit. 

Huh? 

Realizing he was falling, he took one hand off the fruit and grabbed the plant, but then he noticed both the vineyard and the pile of rubble below were collapsing. 

Ísis, far away, holding a green fruit, stared at it with a bitter expression. 

I'll take at least one, as proof to— 

When she heard the sound of several things crashing to the ground, along with a slight tremor. 

Turning toward the noise, she saw Leon lying on his back, surrounded by plants and large chunks of concrete still rolling. 

"Leon!" 

Worried, she tossed the fruit and ran toward him, along with Mia and Victor, who had also heard the commotion. 

"Leon, are you okay?!" 

Breathing quickly, she approached him, startled when he suddenly moved, raising his arms, which cradled a giant fruit. 

"I've already won! I got the biggest one of all!" 

As if nothing had happened, he stood with a wide smile, brushing some dust from his hair and clothes. 

Turning to his siblings, who stood a bit away, he began to celebrate. 

"Look at this size—" 

When he noticed something strange. 

"—…huh?" 

Though clearly surprised, even a bit shaken, none of them were looking at him or the fruit in his arms, but at something behind him. 

Turning around, Leon froze. 

With a few rocks still falling, emerging from the pile of rubble where everything had collapsed, a massive metallic arm stretched forward, as if reaching for something far away. 

"What is that?" 

The arm connected to it, many times larger than a normal human arm, extended several meters ahead. 

"Is it a statue?" 

Recovering from the shock, Victor looked at it curiously, a faint gleam in his eyes. 

"No, it doesn't seem like it… it has joints in the hand and arm. A statue wouldn't have those." 

Still a bit dazed by what she saw, Ísis kept her eyes fixed on that arm. 

It's made of metal… 

Observing the structure, made entirely of metal, it was covered in dozens of scratches and dents, only partially hidden by rust and time's wear. 

Yet, even in that state, the arm showed surprising sturdiness. while also bearing detailed craftsmanship in the metalwork, suggesting precision and care in its construction. 

Those are claw marks. 

Among the most striking features were the claw and bite marks covering parts of the metal, along with holes in the forearm. 

Shaking her head, Ísis snapped back to reality. 

"This is the arm of a machine… a very old one…" 

Hearing that term, the three, excited, turned to her. 

"A machine!!!" 

Startled, she took a step back. 

"Yes… a machine, or rather, just the arm of one, but still a machine. The rest of it must be buried under the rubble…" 

With most of it still covered, it was hard to gauge its size or if it was complete, but it seemed buried both by rubble and in the ground. 

Hearing this, Leon, Victor, and Mia quickly exchanged glances, then turned back to Ísis. 

"Can we dig it up?!" 

Speaking in unison, their eyes sparkled. 

"What? Why?" 

Seeing this, Ísis were a perplexed by at their enthusiasm. 

It wasn't the first machine they'd found. They had seen pieces of them in various places, or even some small, broken machines broken entirely. 

"It's a giant robot! And this is just its arm!" 

"Yeah! Imagine if it still works!" 

"It looks so cool!" 

Well… it really is big… 

Turning back to the outstretched arm, they Ísis realized this. 

Even compared to the machines they'd found so far, this was undoubtedly the largest, far the biggest and seemed the best-preserved, despite its scars. 

Machines… remnants of what's left of the past… 

Even though they found them around the city, they were mere ornaments, serving as reminders of the world before its end. From what she knew, they had been used for countless purposes, with the ones they found most often used for construction. 

But they still had work to do. 

"We can't. We still need to finish picking the fruits for the competition." 

"But sis, sister this is way cooler than that!" 

With a gaze entirely fixed on the machine, Leon completely forgot about the large yellow fruit he'd been still held holding in his hands. 

Where did he even get that? 

Finally noticing it, he Ísis was were impressed. 

Victor, trying to persuade her, quickly followed up. 

"Besides, there's not much left to pick! We'll have to come back here anyway, so why not leave that for later?" 

"True, big sis! Please!" 

The three, with the best pleading looks they could muster, stared at her. 

"…" 

With a complicated expression, they Ísis realized knew: arguing wouldn't change anything. 

Their attention had been completely captured by that the machine. Even if she refused, they wouldn't be able to picking return to fruit picking fruits. Not because they'd disobey, but because their hearts were set on the machine. 

This is gonna complicate things… 

If they returned later, they'd end up gathering less than expected. 

But does that really matter? 

As they said, looking at the vineyard, there wasn't much to harvest. Even if they tried hard, they'd barely fill only one or two of backpacks at most, maybe two. 

"…" 

Sighing, she gave in. 

"Fine, you can try to dig it up…" 

"Yay!" 

Cheering, the three rushed toward the machine without wasting time, starting to move rocks and admire the metal arm. 

"But be quick! As soon as I finish filling one backpack, we're leaving!" 

Turning away, Ísis began walking away from her siblings, heading toward the yellow fruits. 

I'll pick as many as I can, so we don't return completely empty-handed… 

Moving away, feeling a tightness in her chest, she placed a hand over her heart. 

"…"