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Shadows of Decryption; Secrets Unveiled

Chương 1: Volume 1. Chapter 1; Severed limbs, Severing ties

The world, it's so unfair. A place that would toss you aside if you don't abide by the norm, a place that screws you over if you're no longer of use to them. A world where the rich get richer and the poor are fucked and left to die.

A place where criminals are good people and just trying to survive.

Everyone's out there, enjoying their lives and I'm here, rotting away in this shitty apartment, working a shitty job at some convenience store, and barely affording to pay rent. The economy really screwed me over!

The date is 2099, California, tech has advanced in recent years to the point where immortality may be a possibility, and most of technology's advances have gone to games creating a shift in jobs, one of the most looked down upon careers soon turned into every kid's dream, and one of them, was me.

A stupid kid with a stupid dream that trusted too many people on his way here a kid screwed over by society, trying to adjust to the norms when they're just moving too fast to keep up.

"That's 3 v 0, Cade, hand over the cash." My back was to the wall, and I resorted to underground gambling to make ends meet, I was terrible at the games, but they didn't even have to cheat me out of it.

"I don't have it," I muttered as the cold steel walls pressed against my neon blue jacket, my lime green eyes to the floor trying to avoid their peering gaze.

"Don't have it?" A man mocked me, Ciax Romero, he was on the fat side, would always have some sort of cigar in his mouth, his hands replaced with cybernetics, wearing the clothing of a mafia leader to feel more important than he actually was, but he was just another street thug.

He snapped his fingers, his men surrounding me with katanas in their hands. I had no way to escape, I was trembling and scared but I kept my face stern and unmoving, no matter what happened, I tried to fake not being a pushover, I tried to be tougher than I actually am but...

"Seems like we'll have to give you a reminder," He muttered grabbing onto my arm, signaling for one of the guards to hand over their blade.

I fell to the ground, my eyes dilated in pain as the feeling of my hand went completely numb, blood gushed out of the wound and I screamed a silent scream, the pain was too much to even form words.

The sound of flashing games and pixels drowned out my silent cries as I groveled to the floor, the neon lights flashing on my pathetic figure.

"This will sell a high price on the black market don't you think?" Ciax mused, my hand lifeless and severed in his, as he looked down on me with a look of amusement, handing his spoils to one of his men. "Well? I don't hear you talking? Did you die from losing a little blood? Wouldn't surprise me."

His mocking voice flooded my mind, adding salt to my already opened wound, I tried to drown him out along with the pain in my hand but it didn't work, I was just, helpless.

"Well? Speak!" I felt a blow to my gut as Ciax shouted, his voice getting irritated the more and more I didn't respond, his assault lasted for minutes on end, every millisecond felt like a minute of pure agony as I writhe beneath this overgrown pig.

Once he had enough he calmed down looking down at me with a look of disgust. "You have five weeks to get my money here, If not well, I'll be back for that other hand of yours to pay it all."

"How am I...going.. to repay that in five... weeks," I muttered, trying to get up from the ground as crimson oozed from my lips and mouth, my teeth stained with blood red.

"There's a tournament happening in a few days," Ciax looked back at me, "Just get third in that and it should be enough to clear your debt."

"You bastard!" I shouted, gritting my teeth in rage as I stared him down, "How am I supposed to win anything with one hand! How will I ever hold control!" Tears stung the back of my eyes at the predicament I was in, my hands clawing into the ground as I continued to curse his name.

"You basically left me to die! How can I.. how," I broke down in tears before this man, my hand digging into the dirt below me as I tried to gain my composure. Ciax just staring at me in disgust all the while.

"You figure it out," He muttered before leaving tossing a flyer into the air, slowly making its way to my pathetic body, his footsteps soon tuned out by the constant ringing in my ears from the pain, the constant feeling of loss in my right arm.

Slowly I got up from the ground, having enough strength to sit up against the wall I was trapped by, my left hand raising to cup my face, the fingers slowly tracing down my features, soaked in tears, a feeling I could never fully experience again in the other.

"Fuck," I muttered looking up to the ceiling, "I'm left-handed too..."

"I'm home," I sighed as I closed the door behind me, my wounded hand bandaged and in my pocket, the place was a mess, an old shack in the middle of a cyberpunk house, and coffee stains were everywhere on the dining table along with bills and other stuff that barely manages to get paid on time.

"Welcome home," A familiar voice called out to me, my older sister Reo, She carried a smile in harsh situations that's rare these days, oblivious to my side hustles she thinks I'm just a little brother who tries his best to help in the safest ways possible.

She had Cyan hair like mine a hint of brown within the bright neon color, her eyes a darker green as opposed to mine.

"Where have you been? I was starting to worry about you," She sighed, her hand on her hip as she looked at me, her eyebrows ruffled in concern.

"Come on, Reo it's only five o'clock," I muttered, my voice dried and void of all life, in all truth, I was tired, and I couldn't bear to look at her after setting another bill to pay at the table.

"Yeah, and your job ends at three," She folded her arms, her face a bit more stern as she scolded me. My eyebrows furrowed in annoyance, under her lecture. "Look I know I'm not your mother or anything but you can at least tell me if you're going to stay away, I'm you're older sister, and I-"

"Why don't you mind your business?!" I snapped, visibly irritated by her approach. "You're right, you're not my mom and you should just lay off! I have my own life and you have yours, so just get off my back!"

She was left awe-struck, her mouth slightly agape at my words as they exited my lips, her eyes widened from shock.

"C-cade.." She muttered, trying to get close to me, her eyebrows only furrowed in even more concern, "Are you sure you're ok? You've never acted like this before."

"Stay away from me!" I stepped back, my hand hidden deeper into my pockets, a move that only caught her attention even more. The loose bandage wrap peaked out of my pockets, her teeth biting against her lip when she saw it.

"Cade," She repeated, her eyes stung with unshed tears as her eyebrows furrowed over her head. "What's wrong with your arm."

"Nothing," I muttered, my voice starting to calm down as I hid it deeper into my pockets, wincing in pain as they brushed against the fabric of my pants.

"Cade, tell me what's wrong!" Reo raised her voice, her scream turning into more of a plead, her voice cracking under the weight of her worry, "You can't keep hiding things from me! You know how much I care!"

I gritted my teeth, walking straight past her and heading towards the stairs to go upstairs. She looked behind her in disbelief, I never acted this way with her before, and all of a sudden...

"If you're going to be like that then don't even bother coming down for dinner!" She screamed, tears still fighting to break free from their confines.

"One night without watered-down soup doesn't sound too bad," I retorted as I slammed my door shut, leaving her downstairs to herself, her hand wrapped around her chest in an incomplete arm fold, her other hand covering her mouth as the tears finally broke free. The pain that I had inflicted, gouging out her heart with my fist and crushing it in her chest, a pain that can only begin to explain the pain she felt right then.

"I wish I could make things better just like that," She muttered, "I really do, please Cade, forgive me."

I sat down on the floor, my cyan hair hanging over my head as I leaned against my bedroom door, hearing her silent sobs and pleas in the ambiance of my room.

"I really am the worst," I muttered with tired breaths, looking at the flier Ciax tossed at me. The paper filled me with rage, reminding me of my predicament, my fingers crushing into the paper as tears escaped my eyes.

"Reo, I'm sorry," I muttered, but those words only made me hate myself more, the fact that I couldn't say that to her face, the fact that I couldn't give her the apology she deserved after taking me under her for so long, after sacrificing everything for so long.

"I always thought, when I become a grown-up I could help her with a job, but I only made things worse, haven't I, Reo," I muttered, putting the paper down on the floor, my wounded hand laying lazily on the floor as I sat there. "I'm sorry, I'll get first in this tournament, and make things right! I'll win no matter what, even if I have to cheat, trust me."

I got up from the ground and headed to bed, my movements lazy and sluggish until I finally closed my eyes, day and night becoming a blur until I heard a knock on my door.

"Cade, you there?" I heard Reo on the other side. I didn't respond, only getting up to check the time as the sheets cascaded down my figure.

"I'm going to work now, there's lunch in the fridge, don't forget it this time ok?"

Silence enveloped us in a deadly mist, the weight of unspoken words hanging in the air. Reo's eyes held a quiet storm, emotions suppressed but palpable. Her lips, pressed together, betrayed a dance of thoughts within. The world seemed to hush, granting us a moment suspended in time, a minute that felt like an eternity. Reo, with a delicate bite on her lip, seemed to wrestle with the unspoken. Breaking the quietude, her voice, a mere whisper, emerged like a delicate melody.

"W-well, I'll be going now, please, talk to me when I get back?" She pleaded, her words nothing but a silent cry to help, a fragile echo shattering the serene stillness, and with that, she left without a word more, the sound of her footsteps echoing on the pavement outside was a sound that I was all too familiar with.

Sluggishly I got out of bed, my feet dragging against the wooden floor heading to the dining room, my eyes darting over to a letter on the table that didn't seem to be there before, my heart raced at what it could be and instinctively I went to pick it up, reading the contents only to grit my teeth in rage.

"Seriously?" I muttered.