SILENCE | ATEEZ

2 | Astral Ruins : Roll 182

"Faster!"

Mingi staggers forward as the soldier pushes him towards the gate of Astral Ruins. Through the huge gates between the steel barricades, there are countless sensors that detect any unwarranted entries from the outside. The gate is open wide, with soldiers guarding on each of the corners, their faces covered with black masks. The rest of their attire is a testament to their tactical prowess, adorned in military grade gears with a rigid and stoic demeanour.

His eyes wander around, intervals between taking a glance of his sister being held by another soldier right on his side. Without slight warning, the soldier forces him down on his knees and keeps his face facing forward towards the entrance. Mingi curses under his breath, feeling his knee already scraped against the rough asphalt. He steals another glance towards Elenna, making sure she is alright despite there's nothing he can do to help her.

Just as he's about to turn, the soldier who is holding him down forces his face forward, yelling at him for disobeying.

"Turn your head again, you fool, and I'll snap your head back into two."

Mingi feels the urge to let out a cackle, "Try me, Bravado."

The soldier is about to have a go at Mingi when the speaker in Astral Ruins starts to let out a slight noise. He quickly retreats back to his position and stands up straight, facing forward before raising his hand to his forehead in about 45 degrees, saluting. Mingi turns his head forward.

"Good morning, lucky citizens of Zuhal District!"

A man dressed in a dashing looking suit appears from on the stage built off a complex structure. Mingi's heart thump in an uncomfortable manner as he keeps on glancing towards Elenna's direction. All of them are lined up facing the stage and with them is one soldier that holds them down. Elenna is a few people away from his side and all he can do now is just to pray they won't harm her. Wooyoung is no longer at sight, as he was captured by a different group of force from the siblings.

Mingi's attention shifts back onto the person on the stage as he hums a little bit of song in the microphone, out of nowhere.

"Welcome to the Astral Ruins! You are all so lucky to be chosen as our latest group of newbies. Don't worry, we won't force you to work for us. We just have to take extra precautions on all of you youngsters because your lives are way too precious to be given off to the virus. We have better survival plans for you, so I need your support and cooperation towards VESTRA."

The man speaks, and Mingi can feel himself fuming from the inside. He knows it's not just him who feels that way when a scream echoes through the sacred place, coming from a young boy who has two soldiers straining him down to the ground.

"You're just ruining us, you liars! Give our district back! You don't have any rights to—"

His speech stops abruptly as a bullet pierce through his throat, taking his voice and life off him in a split second. The people gasps in utter shock as his body crashes to meet the ground, with blood gushing out from his throat seeming to drown him down. The air seems to catch their throats, punctuating the palpable sense of horror in the room.

"Such a poor boy. Wasted potential. Now, any of you would like to receive the same fate as him please do raise your hands. I want to make this quick," the man's voice echoes through the place again, as he taps on the microphone hurriedly. He waits for a few seconds, before continuing his speech.

"VESTRA is trying to help young generations. If only you cooperate, we wouldn't have to go as far as killing any of you," he says, clasping his hands in a manner that makes Mingi's blood boil even more. "Your life is very precious to us. We need you, for the sake of the future."