No one touched the food.

The fish stew sat in the center of the small table, steam slowly fading into the stale air. The bread remained half-torn. The room felt heavier than it had before.

Tansy’s father sat stiffly, one hand resting near his ribs where the Carbonyx shard had begun to grow. Her mother stood by the stove, silent, her face pale. Rose stared at the bowl in front of her without blinking.

"The skin disease just started," Tansy said at last, her voice tight. "It won’t grow if you stop going to the mines."

"Tansy... stop," her father interrupted gently but firmly. "We’ve already talked about this."

"No," she insisted, her eyes filling with tears. "You don’t have to go. If someone has to mine, I can go. I’m old enough to get married now. There are women in the mines too. I can do it."

Her father’s jaw tightened.

"No means no," he said quietly. "This isn’t about men or women. Or children. I am your father. I will not send my daughter into those tunnels."

"But—"

"I said no."

The word settled heavily in the room.

Tansy’s hands trembled. She grabbed her bowl abruptly and stood up.

"Where are you going?" her mother asked softly.

"To the terrace."

Rose picked up her own bowl immediately. "I’m coming too."

Both Mother and Father looked at each other and sighed.

Neither sister looked back as they climbed the ladder to the rooftop. From there, they stepped onto the familiar tree branch and crossed to the neighboring house.

Tyler, who had been waiting in the shadows, noticed their red eyes and the untouched bowls.

They landed softly on the empty rooftop.

"Doesn’t the house owner know we use this place?" Tyler asked.

Tansy gave a dry laugh. "The house owner died in the mine. His wife married his brother and moved away. The house has been locked ever since."

She handed Tyler her bowl without ceremony.

Rose did the same.

Tyler looked at the two portions of stew, then at the sisters’ faces.

"You didn’t eat."

Neither answered.

He exhaled quietly.

"Well," he said, adjusting the bowls between them, "let’s share it. We’ll eat together."

Rose opened her mouth to protest— but at that exact moment, her stomach growled loudly.

The sound echoed embarrassingly in the quiet rooftop.

Her cheeks flushed crimson.

Tyler pretended not to notice.

He broke the fish pieces evenly and divided the broth between the bowls. It wasn’t much, but it was something.

They sat close, knees almost touching, eating in silence under the fading afternoon light.

Below them, Sector 11 remained gray and still.

Above them, the sky looked beautiful with stars and a bright moon.

---

"Father got infected," Rose said quietly, staring down at the broth in her bowl as if the surface might give her answers.

Tyler paused mid-bite. "You mean the... turning into stone?"

Rose nodded. "It’s just the beginning stage. The veins darken first. Then small pieces of ore form under the skin."

Tansy tightened her grip around her spoon. "If it spreads to his limbs—his arm, his leg—he won’t be able to use them properly. Once the growth becomes visible enough, the Capital marks them as fully infected."

"And then?" Tyler asked, though he already suspected the answer.

"They take them away," Rose whispered.

Tansy continued more steadily, forcing herself to sound rational. "Once someone is classified as fully infected, they’re removed from the sector. They say it’s for treatment."

"But no one comes back," Tyler finished.

Neither sister denied it.

The wind moved faintly across the rooftop.

"Is there any way to cure it?" Tyler asked after a moment.

"They say the Capital has medicine," Tansy replied. "Advanced treatment facilities. But entering the Capital isn’t simple. Leaving the sector is already difficult. Even if we somehow passed the checkpoints, the cost..." She shook her head. "We would never have enough."

"What kind of money do you use here?" Tyler asked.

Rose looked up. "Money?"

"Yes. Currency."

"The sector and the Capital use different currencies," Tansy explained. "We use Dabs Coins. The Capital uses Solaris. They call it Sols."

Tyler leaned forward slightly. "What’s the exchange rate?"

"Exchange... rate?"

"How many Dabs equal one Sol?"

Tansy gave a bitter smile. "We can’t exchange them. Sector people can only trade Dabs among ourselves. But I’ve heard that Capital citizens can convert Sols into Dabs anytime they want."

"So it’s one-sided," Tyler murmured.

Rose nodded. "We can only dream of buying things from the Capital."

"Can you show me what your currency looks like?" Tyler asked.

The sisters exchanged a glance.

A few minutes later, Rose crept quietly down the ladder and slipped into the house. She moved softly across the floor and reached for her father’s pouch hanging near the door.

Just as her fingers closed around a coin, her mother’s voice came from behind her.

"What are you doing?"

Rose froze.

"I—I’m not taking coins!" she blurted out far too quickly.

Her mother raised an eyebrow and then chuckled softly. "Are you going to play heads or tails with your sister?"

Rose blinked.

"...Yes."

Her mother smiled knowingly. "Take these bedsheets too. Sleep on the terrace tonight. Tell your sister she’ll understand."

Rose looked confused but nodded obediently, grabbing both the coin and the folded sheets.

As she left, her mother turned toward her husband and gave him a subtle thumbs-up.

He clenched his fist in a small, triumphant gesture. "Yes..."

Her mother blushed faintly and closed the door behind Rose.

From a hidden drawer, she retrieved a small packet marked with a baby symbol crossed out in red.

Outside, Rose climbed back toward the rooftop, unaware of the quiet understanding that had just passed between her parents.

"Here..." Rose said softly, placing the coin into Tyler’s palm as if she were handing over something far more valuable than metal.

Tansy immediately noticed the extra bundle of bedsheets tucked under Rose’s arm. Understanding dawned on her face at once. A faint blush crept up her cheeks, and when Rose innocently asked why their parents had shut the door so quickly after she left, Tansy lightly jabbed her on the head.

"Don’t ask stupid questions," she muttered.

Rose pouted, rubbing her forehead.

Tyler, however, paid no attention to their banter. His focus was entirely on the coin resting against his skin.

The coin was heavier than it first appeared. One side bore a large, boldly stamped 10, the number raised slightly above the surface so it could be felt even in the dark. The edges around it were ridged, worn smooth in places from years of exchange.

On the other side was the profile of a handsome man— sharp jawline, composed expression, hair swept neatly back as if untouched by hardship. His features were idealized, almost unreal, like the image of a ruler carved to inspire admiration rather than truth. The metal itself was dull gray, cold to the touch, and utterly lifeless in sheen.

"No serial numbers..." he murmured to himself.

"What?" Rose leaned closer.

"Do you know what metal this is made of?" Tyler asked.

Tansy shook her head. "No idea. We just call them Dabs."

In truth, Dabs were forged from Vantalloy —a rare alloy only the Capital possessed the technology to refine. It looked like lifeless steel, but it was far from ordinary. No furnace in Sectors could melt it. No hammer could reshape it. Counterfeiting a Dab was impossible.

Which meant control of currency was absolute.

"So this is a ten-Dab coin?" Tyler confirmed.

"Yeah," Tansy replied. "There are one, five, ten, fifty, and one hundred Dabs. I’ve only seen a hundred-Dab coin once."

Rose added proudly, "You can buy a loaf of bread for two Dabs. Depending on the bread."

Tyler nodded slowly, calculating.

The sisters finished spreading the blankets on the rooftop floor. The evening air had grown colder. Sector nights were unforgiving once the sun disappeared.

Rose tugged at Tyler’s sleeve. "You can come squeeze with us if you want. My sister is very warm."

Tansy’s face turned red instantly. She bonked Rose lightly on the head again.

"Go to sleep."

They huddled together under one blanket, whispering briefly before their voices softened.

Tyler remained seated a short distance away.

After a moment, he stood and took the second bedsheet. Without a word, he draped it more securely around both sisters, tucking the edges so the wind would not slip beneath.

He turned his back to them quietly. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

The rooftop fell into stillness.

Tyler lowered his voice to a whisper.

"Gacha."

An interface shimmered into existence before his eyes —visible only to him. Translucent panels of light arranged themselves neatly in the air. Symbols rotated briefly before settling.

Then, in his hand, a simple copper pot materialized.

"Hey, buddy," Tyler muttered with a faint smirk.

He looked down at the ten-Dab coin in his other hand.

He dropped the coin into the pot.

Moments later,

He was carrying five identical Coins.

[Ding—]

Golden letters appeared in the air before him.

His eyes sharpened.

"Here comes my first task," he murmured.

The glowing text stabilized.

[Mission: Prevent Tansy’s father from further infection.]

[Time Remaining Until Full Infection: Four Days.]

Four days.

Tyler glanced back at the sleeping sisters.