Knock knock.
"Mrs. Fleby! Mrs. Fleby!
The brown door opened with a creak.
A middle-aged woman with an apron under the long green dress with floral patterns on it. She gave a motherly vibe. She smelled of flour and rosemary, her hands perpetually dusted white from the morning's baking.
"What is it, Mr. Witspat?"
The man in his 40s took a breath and said,
"Your son...he is in the court…"
"The manager might have called him to introduce him to the lawyer. He is reaching the age of 16 after all."
"No, Miss. He will be on trial in an hour. They are speaking about recruiting your son in the upper sphere academy! Hurry!"
Hearing the word 'trial,' she immediately removed her apron and pushed Mr. Witspat aside and rushed over to her home's gate.
....
In the great court of Chthonia,
"So, Mr. Johan, are you agreeing with this sentence?"
"Yes, My Lord."
The cold blue eyes of Johan gazed at the crowd that was gathered at the court.
His eyes were about to erupt with tears, but he was holding it back.
One can say that my life will be in turmoil after this point. It's not because of me, and I don't know who is it. My decisions are mine,it is. but what's going on here? My ambitions are mine. But why is my path deviating here? And it's necessary to do this regardless of my will and wishes. I have to go to the upper sphere and get a nice job there. I need to find my father!
I have no special talent or connections in anything I could speak of; only by this way can my mother and my sister survive here.
He lowered his head and mumbled, "I hate this Chthonia."
"We will be providing your family with 10 pounds a month, and the travel expenses inside the country are free, of course. As a perk of becoming the Enchanted One, you will be gifted with the details soon. The academy
Dukly Service will provide you all the details."
Arjun, who was standing in the center of the area before the judge in a wooden cage, placed his hands on the handle of the cage and said, "I agree, my lord; I will attend the upper sphere's Dukly Service."
A man in a nice black suit and coat walked over with a black book with some sized blue stones embedded on it, and he raised it near Arjun.
"Make your promise."
"I, Arjun Johandas, son of Mitchel Johandas, agree to the sentences given by the Lord and abide by the rule of Chthonian."
At the same time, when Johan placed his hands above the hard black book and vowed, his mother came in her house dress and talked to guards about entering.
At that time Johan's mother arrived in a horse carriage and climbed the granite stairs hurriedly to reach the court.
She was overjoyed!
She was yelling Johan's name and waving her hand to show her presence. Johan turned his head and smiled at her; he too waved at her.
But Johan didn't open his mouth and just looked at the floor with his head lowered after some time. He suddenly woke up to the reality. The reality of leaving his family!
...
The tears dropped.
His mouth widened and eyes shrunk. He let out a silent scream.
"Sorry, Mother, I have been a useless son all this time. I really want to know about me."
Though Johan knows that she is
"Guards! Let her in!"
The man who is standing valiantly wearing the brown-colored police uniform shouted at the guards standing at the entrance who are speaking with the lady about entering the court during the trial.
"This is not the end; you are not an exiled one. You can visit the Cthonia when you get permission from an enchanted one. We are looking forward to the results."
"In five years, my sister will have finished her degree and will be in a good job. I, on the other side,...
"What they really mean by the exiled one and enchanted one here is diabolic. I do not wish to hear such words. Tsk!"
It's all because of my incompetence. Once I reached age 15, I had this mythical key-like tattoo appearing on my hands' upper side. It was black colored and appeared rarely. But one day, my teacher noticed that. Shit!
I am not good enough to be the one to be selected for this. This is a world that is purely based on talent. Ah, right, you can't even call this a 'world.' The word "underground world" is the most suitable. We live in the country, built under the ground. The only thing currently at my age I can do to live here is to mine! Yes, mine! Or else they must pay the required amount. I can easily mine, but still they didn't teach me the core principle behind using that 'internal spiritual energy.'
This world is illuminated by a source of light; genuinely speaking, I don't know that mechanism. But it's generated by the reactions involving the special core minerals obtained from the mines. It can be mined by the people here without any harm to their lungs or any health defects. But the thing is, it's the strength you need. A special drilling machine is made for mining that blue crystal mineral.
It absorbs your 'prana' and works using that special internal energy. One is born with the energy prana from a child. But it can be exhibited or expressed only by performing sādhanās. Simple, right? but I still didn't learn that.
To sustain a brighter future, the government in the Underworld opened this act of exploring the above sphere and making reports. But all of us know that only 'the selected ones' are at the upper sphere.
My mother doesn't know anything about my father. It's not like I am an orphan, but don't I even need to learn about my father? All my answers lie up there.
From farming to fighting, prana is the life energy here...
It's not time to cry, Johandas!
I can do this!
***
"Why Arjun!"
"I am only wasting time here, Mom; only young 'adventurers' are allowed to explore the upper sphere. That's what the new act says."
"Yes, exactly! Back then only the spineless fellas who wanted to die went up there while making their loved ones living happy just for a few years."
"Mom, they did so because of their unproductivity. They can't earn or make their life out here. The secrets of those adventures…we don't know anything about them. But I am sure a bright future will be laid upon there for me! Just 2 years, then I will return. I will get to know different ways of using the prana energy there; possibly I can become one of the most efficient persons in this world. I am sure I'll train with my full will there!"
"I can only get to know my affinity and principle in the upper sphere now. Tsk, it would be safer if I could continue my progress here. I would be very much interested in research in this aspect while earning 1 or 2 pounds every week." Johandas mumbled inside as he cared for his family, and most importantly, he would miss all connections here!
"It's said that the academy doesn't focus on reading much. Of course there are rumors as well. No one knows...since they prefer to keep this as a secret, but still we, the common citizens of this country, Ceque, don't know anything about that. Most people don't even care about the upper sphere; as here, it's almost heaven for us!"
....
"This is a dystopian split world filled with all fantasy things that no one could think of. I got reincarnated here as a kid with nothing special here. All I want to do is just not bother my new family. I do not wish to lose my 'only' family."
Johandas got reincarnated into this underground world and has been leading a good, peaceful life to this point. Friends, family, sister, and mother—but the thing that doesn't fit in this beautiful picture is his father. Even his mother consecrates the secrets of his father. The only clue Johandas got was the torn pictograph of his father showing the upper sphere as its background.
"I will investigate about my father in the upper sphere once I get a good job. Then I make enough preparations to get my family on the upper sphere, or else I will return to this underground country, Ceque."
Johandas spoke to himself as his thoughts wandered about caressing his family. His mind turned to the side of his flashing past memories.