Chapter 2 – The Domed City, Chalice Awakens
Death was gently approaching.
In order to ease the old man’s slow breathing, the young man loosened the collar of his sleepwear. The dozing-off old man’s eyelids blinked lightly as he noticed the young man.
“Sorry, did I wake you?”
“No… I’m just feeling a bit thirsty.”
“Hold on just a moment.”
The young man dabbed the old man’s mouth with an absorbent cotton roll soaked with water.
“Thank you, that brought me back to life.”
The old man then smiled at his choice of words.
“I must be such a nuisance, coming back to life again and again like this. I wish the grim reaper would come to visit me already, I’ve grown to be a bit exhausted.”
The young man didn’t know how to respond. It wasn’t as if he didn’t understand how the old man felt. If anything, he was very familiar with those feelings.
After all, he had been living these past three hundred years thinking the very same thing.
“Have you finished arranging for the funeral?”
“I’ve done exactly as you asked. Would you like to see the documents?”
“No, I trust you. Please take care of it.”
“I will.”
“Also, do you think you could open the window a slight bit?”
“Of course.”
The old man once again closed his eyes without waiting for the young man’s response. Soon afterward, the sound of his sleeping breathing could be heard.
When the young man opened the window, he came to a pause. There wasn’t any window coming from outside the opening.
Beyond the glass, the giant silver cyclorama dome that covered the sky could be seen. It periodically changed colors according to predetermined settings, artificially changing the sky from day to night.
Furthermore, the giant outer walls that surrounded the city—their circumference totaling at least fifty meters—completely intercepted the fierce blizzards of the outside world.
The Domed City was built on Antarctica.
The young man was the only living person that had lived in the city since its inception.
The one who had influenced him to try living in this new man-made realm was none other than Kenzaki.
“…You should live with the humans…”
And the young man lived, and had continued to live.
The old man died three days later.
Just as his will requested, the funeral was a very modest one.
The only attendees were the young man and people involved with the nursing home he worked at.
The old man’s assets—which were said to be of quite the value—were all entirely collected by the nursing home. The young man had received several offers to be bequeathed with the assets, but he was firm in denying them all.
The cremated old man was buried in the nursing home’s cemetery.
Right before the burial, the young man stole a portion of his cremated remains.
He couldn’t stand the idea of him being buried in this false world. He wanted at least some part of him buried in the outside world, no matter how small. That was the old man’s last wish.
The young man obliged. Upon asking if the ocean would be sufficient, he was given a hearty laugh in response.
The old man then spoke the following words.
“Thank you. You’ve taken good care of me for such a long time. It’s about time you let yourself free already, Hajime… No, Chalice.”
Hajime said nothing, simply looking back at the old man.
“I can read people’s hearts, remember?”
That was why he had kept his heart closed in front of the old man, but it appeared that it was futile.
“Through your heart, I was able to learn of your inability to die, as well as what kind of battle occurred on this land three hundred years ago. Compared to your pain, my wish must sound incredibly mundane.”
Memories of that battle arose within Hajime.
They were memories that would never fade no matter how much time passed.
“So… just be free already, Chalice.”
The old man repeated those words before silently passing away.
A thought then passed through Hajime’s head.
Was she… Was Amane at peace?
Even though he may have had been rejected, he had still regretted not letting himself grow closer to her.
That was why Hajime made an oath to himself upon obtaining this job. He would stay close with the people to the very end and live alongside them. He told himself that that was his responsibility.
He had seen off countless people up to now. All kinds of faces arose in his mind and disappeared.
But that would be coming to an end as well.
Perhaps deep down he had been wishing to end this, to finally be free, for a long time now. The old man had helped him realize this.
Hajime decided to leave the Domed City.
Thirty years after that battle three hundred years ago, the world’s global warming that had been slowly progressing suddenly experienced a rapid increase.
The causes and conditions for why such a thing happened were too many to list. Any attempts to combat the arising crisis were shut down by forces who opposed such changes. There was no longer anything that could stop the approaching destruction. It was all too late.
It didn’t take much time at all for the planet’s hard-fought peace that had barely been won to be easily crushed apart once again.
After another thirty years, about half of the four major continents had submerged underwater.
Conflict between races and religion and such changed to instead revolve around what little land remained. But it was only a matter of time before the land of the victors to disappear as well. In search of new land, the people wandered, fought, and perished.
Two hundred years ago, after years of culling, the Earth’s population had been reduced to a tenth of what it was in its prime. Those who could calculate such a number—and those who even cared about such a thing—disappeared soon afterward as well.
Those that had already escaped to Antarctica built the Domed City and denied entry of any others who attempted to disembark on their land afterward. The large walls were not meant solely for shielding them from the blizzards.
The original leader, known as the Admiral, along with his supporters, were the ones who held power, dominating the Domed City and building up a thorough society within the city’s walls.
It was a society built on tip-offs. Everyone would scrutinize each other, even their own family, and anyone considered to be heretics or incompatible with the society would be reported and eliminated.
Eliminated, as in killed, or exiled to a containment facility on a distant island known as Prisoner Island.
Those that lived in the Domed City built domed walls over their hearts as well. Crime rate naturally plummeted, and the people felt that their lives of peace and safety had finally been secured.
And that may have been true, on the surface, at least.
Hajime walked down the main street that was almost disgustingly pristine, without even a speck of stray dust.
Buildings made of white walls and glass, devoid of any individuality whatsoever, lined the sterilized street.
“Hello there.”
“The weather is quite nice, isn’t it?”
“How have you been?”
“All thanks to you. I really appreciate it.”
“You’re very welcome.”
Hajime made sure to keep in tune by politely bowing back to the strangers who passed by him.
He knew that there was fear hiding behind their smiles, and causing them to find him even the slightest bit suspicious would risk him getting reported on the spot.
Just like the old man had said, the city was as fake as ever.
He knew that he would immediately be seen as problematic if he issued something like a notice of resignation, so he instead requested a three-day vacation. The nursing home was used to him taking periodic breaks, so the request was soon accepted.
Hajime was planning on searching for an exit to the outside world during those three days, one that wasn’t public knowledge to the civilians.
He would then spread the ashes over the ocean, say his farewells, and leave without ever coming back again. He had no idea where he would go, but that was exactly what helped ease his mind.
He approached the center of the city while wading through the hustle and bustle.
A large white building—reminiscent of a sun deck or a hanging garden—stood high up under the dome, supported by sturdy pillars.
It was the residential district of the current 13th Admiral, along with several others who were associated with the ruling class.
Spreading out below it in a radial shape was the common citizen residential district. The nursing home Hajime worked at was within it as well.
There was a large hole gouged in the section all the way below the hanging garden. Lying at the bottom of that hole was the Geothermal Conversion Device, which distributed electrical energy throughout the entire Domed City.
The problem was that those that worked down there were forced to live their lives within the 40℃ tunnels of its complex maze-like residential district, one that resembled an ant nest. Those that lived there numbered around three thousand.
In the past, there were once about five thousand people crammed down there.
Those banned from returning to the surface had no choice but to live the rest of their lives looking up at those that ruled over them. There was no doubt that there would eventually be an explosion. A large-scale explosion had already occurred once before in the past. It was three years after the completion of the Domed City.
The rage and hatred of the people, bursting out from the underground like magma, invaded the pristine city. A storm of plundering and destruction blew through the dome.
The response made by the ruling class was considered to be more cruel rather than strict. They mobilized an organization of fully-armed guards, known as the Guardians, who fired at both citizens and rioters indiscriminately without warning.
The storm ceased within three hours. There were a total of two thousand deaths between both the residents of the tunnels and the civilians.
But the Guardians’ activities didn’t stop there. Over one thousand citizens were arrested for attempting to take advantage of the chaos to overthrow the government.
The 3rd Admiral at the time must have had been hesitant in having such an enormous number of people executed all at the same time, as he instead allowed the arrested citizens to choose their fate. They would either be exiled to Prisoner Island, or be sent out to sea on a large worn-out passenger ship—a far cry from what you would call an ark. Naturally, the majority chose the latter, without knowing the despair that would visit them at sea.
Hajime had originally planned on sneaking himself aboard the Ark after witnessing the outrageous shootings, but the condition of the old man he was taking care of at the time was deteriorating, so he couldn’t allow himself to leave. Hajime could do nothing but watch from the shadows as the Ark departed while being put at gunpoint by the lined-up Guardians.
There hadn’t been a large scale explosion ever since, but the rage and hatred within the underground never disappeared, continuing to boil like magma. Its heat would even sporadically leak out every once in a while.
Everyone knew of it, but nobody mentioned it. After all, this was the tranquil and pristine Domed City.
“Move! Get out of the way! Don’t blame me if you get hurt!”
A young woman was running down the street, disturbing that tranquil and pristine atmosphere.
She was wearing a worn-out combat suit along with mud-covered combat boots.
She was clearly different from the people clearing the streets in surprise. Her fangs were bared, and her body shook with anger like a cat with its hair standing on end.
The silver leather coats of several Guardians waved in the air as they ran in pursuit.
“Stop! Stop or we’ll shoot! We have permission to fire!”
The people screamed and cowered with their hands over their heads, but the woman still did not stop.
She then met eyes with Hajime for but a second.
He looked like someone she knew.
The woman made a small smile as she thought about that, and ran right past him.
“We’re really going to shoot!”
The cocking of the Guardians’ guns could be heard as they continued to pursue.
Hajime then decided to kick forward a wagon that was sitting in front of a shop before nonchalantly turning back into an alley.
The angered shouts of the Guardians arose behind him as he heard the loud sounds of them crashing into the wagon that had slid in front of them.
“Who are you? Why did you help me?”
He knew she had followed him.
The approaching footsteps of combat boots could be heard, and the woman sat on the bench behind Hajime with her back lined up with his.
“I’m no one. And I wasn’t trying to help you.”
The fountain’s gradation changed the colors of the silhouettes of the trees and playground equipment in the background.
No one was allowed outside past 20:00, so the couples that had been sitting shoulder-to-shoulder not too long ago were now heading out of the park in sets of one and two.
She had likely approached him upon recognizing that.
“You don’t look like a dog from the Guardians, but you don’t look like one of my kind, either.”
“Your kind? You mean the Anti-Admirals?”
A twitch of tension could be felt against his back.
“My kind is my kind. We’re just people who aren’t that fond of cocky pricks who love calling themselves Admiral.”
A wry smile formed on Hajime’s face as he lowered his voice.
“Are you sure about this? What if this is a trap?”
“I’m not that clumsy.”
Her tone implied that she had already checked if there were any Guardians within the vicinity.
“Here.”
Upon taking a look at the card-sized terminal she showed him, he found himself letting out a sigh.
A likeness of his face was displayed on its screen.
“Get it now? If anything, you’re the clumsy one.”
Someone must have had seen him kick the wagon and reported him. He thought he had turned around fast enough, but that didn’t seem to be the case anymore. He was reported, he had a likeness of his face drawn, and now a search was put up. It was only a matter of time before they identified him.
“Come with me.”
Without waiting for his response, the woman got up and began walking.
“Oh, I almost forgot. I’m Azumi, what’s your name?”
He didn’t have much other choice. Hajime stood up as well without hesitating.
“Hajime… Hajime Aikawa.”
Hajime replied to Azumi’s slightly bouncing back.
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