The Year 5020
Humanity has fallen into calamity. A realm of darkness shrouds the entire Earth, its lands poisoned by deadly toxins known as Radi—the remnants of the Million Ashes War that took place eighty years ago.
Now, the once-thriving planet is nothing more than a barren wasteland, with only sparse vegetation clinging to life. Some creatures still lurk in the shadows, surviving alongside the Iron-Walkers—artificial intelligence entities unaffected by the toxins.
The last remnants of humankind fled to the skies, living aboard an enormous, ever-soaring ship. It has been there for so long that no one remembers how it all began. These people, known as Sky-Nomads, are the final survivors of the human race, passing down their existence from generation to generation.
Among them is a young man named Oath, piloting a mini-capsule airship. He descends to the Old World—the forsaken land below—to gather supplies and hunt, a task that must be done daily.
Oath is lean but strong, unmatched in physical prowess among the Sky-Nomads. His black, glossy hair flows gently as he descends. As he roams the wasteland, he checks his status—a feature enabled by a microchip implanted in every person's forehead. This advanced technology has aided him more times than he can count.
[Status]
Health: 100
Fatigue: 0
Strength: 1520 points
Agility: 1350 points
Intelligence: 875 points
"You shouldn't go alone, Oath! I'll come with you like yesterday!" a young woman calls out from behind.
"Jisu, you don't need to come," Oath replies calmly. "This is my job. Your interference isn't necessary."
Jisu ties her radiant silver hair into a ponytail, the pinkish tips shimmering under the dim sky. "You know I'm more useful than most of the other guys, right?"
Oath smirks, tapping his iron spear. "Airi is more than enough."
Jisu pouts, crossing her arms. "Is this how you treat your childhood friend?"
Oath maneuvers his airship closer to hers, reaching out to pat her head. "Sorry. It's just fun to tease you."
Jisu averts her gaze, cheeks flushed. "Is it just me, or is the sun scorching hot today?"
Oath chuckles, noticing her sudden shyness. "We're heading to Sector X."
"Like yesterday?"
"Yeah."
"Will we see Maxwell?"
"If time permits."
"Yes! I need to return the book he lent me."
"I'm sure he's got more ancient junk to show off. That guy loves his artifacts."
The two land at their designated hunting grounds. Oath issues a command:
"System command: Open the void."
A small black portal materializes. One by one, he collects resources, dropping them into the dark abyss.
"Careful. Don't fall into that thing yourself," Jisu warns as she sets up traps.
"I know. But even if I did, I'd just climb back out."
"You shouldn't mess with black hole technology, Oath."
"If you really want to be useful, you could lend me a hand, you know."
"Don't give me extra work! And besides, you're way heavier than me!"
"Not so sure about that," Oath teases, smirking.
Jisu hurls two rocks at him.
"Ow! What was that for?"
"For body-shaming!"
Of course, it was just a joke. Jisu was incredibly slender, able to squeeze through tight spaces with ease. Oath had even lifted her before—twice, in fact. But she still took offense, storming off ahead.
"Hey, I was joking! Come on!" Oath calls after her.
Ignoring him, Jisu hops into her mini-capsule and speeds toward Maxwell's cabin.
----
"Ahahaha! So that's why she's pouting since you guys arrived!" Maxwell laughs, adjusting his glasses. He claps his thin hands together in amusement.
Maxwell is a peculiar man. His existence is unknown to the rest of the Sky-Nomads—only Oath and Jisu know about him. They discovered him living alone in a small cabin in Sector X during one of their expeditions. They assumed he was a survivor of the Old World, but he denied being one of them. Even now, his true origins remain a mystery.
One thing is certain: Maxwell is unlike anyone Oath has ever met. He calls himself "the Nostradamus of the Ancient World" and is obsessed with lost knowledge. His vast compendium contains history, forgotten sciences, legendary art, and even folktales.
Despite living alone, Maxwell is never lonely. He has two cats, Aga and Igo, and he tends a small farm, cultivating his own food. He even built a water filtration system and a robot that harnesses atomic energy—a power source that keeps his home running.
Oath flops onto the couch, still chuckling at Jisu's reaction. Meanwhile, Jisu sits in a corner, flipping through a tablet.
"Alright, Jisu. I'm sorry. What can I do to make it up to you? Anything," Oath says.
"Yeah, tell him!" Maxwell chimes in with a grin.
Jisu pauses. "...Anything?"
Oath nods.
Jisu hesitates, then blurts, "What if we… did the reproduction task together?"
Silence.
"Wha—WHY?!" Oath's face turns red.
"We-well… It's one of the gods' great tasks. And … you haven't chosen a partner yet, right?"
"That's true, but this is so sudden—"
"You don't want to because I'm fat?"
"Jisu. No! I...,"
Oath steps closer, looking into her eyes. "Are you sure?"
Jisu averts her gaze again. "...Yes."
Maxwell watches, amused. "Ah, to be young," he sighs. "You two are turning seventeen soon, right?"
"If you don't mind … let's do it as soon as we get back to the ship," Jisu says quietly.
Oath nods, still flustered.
---
That evening, after securing their hunt, Jisu and Oath return to the Mothership—the vast, ancient vessel that serves as home to the Sky-Nomads.
The ship, soaring endlessly through the sky, houses around eight hundred villagers, from the youngest children to the oldest elders. Its brown metallic hull carries centuries of history.
The villagers are busy decorating the ship with welcoming signs. It is not for Oath, but for the gods who will visit them later. The decoration such as statues from iron and gold. Some of them raise up flags to greet the gods.
"Oath, we've been waiting for you," the village chief greets him warmly, arms open. "Thank you for completing these chores… alone… again."
Oath hugs him back.
Jisu glares at the chief.
"Ah, I mean… Thank you, both of you," the chief corrects himself.
"I'm starving. Tell them to cook well," Oath says.
"Don't worry! We'll prepare the finest meal for you. Just transfer the goods to the ship's account."
"On it."
Oath activates a command, transferring the collected resources into the Cloud System—a digital storage powered by black hole technology.
In this age, all physical items can be converted into data, stored in the Clouds, and later re-materialized when needed. This revolutionary system ensures nothing is wasted—one of the last great remnants of humanity's golden age.
"We received a package from Oath. Let's get to work, lads," the head chef, Spizero, gave commands to start the chore.
The chefs are working hard. They are quarreling with the fire and spices to cook a meal for the entire ship. Despite the advances of technology in cooking, the head chef is a traditional man. He chose to cook using a manual stove and things existed back then in the 21st century. It took them quite some time. While they are cooking, Oath and Jisu go back separately to their own room to clean up.
Jisu pulled the tip of Oath's cloth before that. "Oath, are you sure about the thing you've mentioned before? If you feel uncomfortable, then I think we can postpone it."
"Well, I think sooner or later we would have to try. It's better to do it now."
"But, I don't want to force you," Jisu averted her gaze towards another direction.
"No, it's okay," Oath looked back towards the eyes of his childhood friend while holding her shoulders. She's been a good company, what harm would it do if they're about to do this?
"I don't think that I'll do it with anybody else."
Hearing that, Jisu's eyes glowed radiantly. "So ... am I that special to you?"
Oath nodded his head. "You're my only friend, after all. I'd rather do it with someone I trust."
Jisu can't give an answer to that. She flustered, either to complain about the word ' friend' or to be happy that she could be trusted. She decided not to talk about it and shrugged it off. She touched Oath's nose instead.
"What's that for?"
"Nothing. Okay, see you later!" She smiled.
With that, those two were getting inside their own room.
After the gods descended to this ship, long ago, the instructions from them are very clear. There are two commandments:
1. The population of the ship must maintain the daily life of the ship.
2. The population of the ship must reproduce.
These two are the greatest commandments. Of course, from time to time, the gods bestow upon them more rules. But it's never as serious as those two. With that, the population of the ship has cultivated lots of things for their daily survival.
As for the second rule, the chief mentioned that those above 16 years old, may participate to tackle this responsibility. It is mandatory for all the residents of Sky-nomads to participate. They may choose their partner. However, the child later would be kept in a tube to be nurtured for three years. Then, the parents of the child will raise the kid after those three years. If the parents of the kid were to be taken by gods, then the kid would have drones and robots to take care of the child's needs. The cycle will then continue.
For Oath himself, he has no parents to begin with. Since he was born, he had been nurtured by the technologies around him. The drones and robots take care of his daily things, until the age he can take care of himself. Oath always has a special place for the robots. They don't have names, but Oath calls them father and mother, mimicking Jisu's habits.
For Jisu, her mom was taken away when she was a young age. Her father is still with her. But he has a sinister view towards the gods. He disliked the gods, and he didn't feel peaceful when he knew that his wife had been taken. Perhaps, this is the start of that grudge. Jisu's father always indoctrinated his daughter with thoughts that she should not believe in gods. In a more extreme way, he once said that Jisu should never leave the ship. This has sparked a fire of arguments between them. Jisu disagrees with her father, and viewed his dad as a mere lunatic.
"You're home early, Oath," said his father.
He is a humanoid robot with two legs and four hands. His entire body was painted with silver.
"Yeah, we don't want to lose our way back like the previous time," Oath opened his shirt and began to enter the clean-up chamber.
"Do you know that the gods will visit us tomorrow. I suggest that you don't go anywhere, son," said his 'mother'.
His mother is also a humanoid mechatronic which embodies the shape of a woman. It has vibrant yellow color.
"But if I don't hunt tomorrow, the villagers might have a difficult time to eat for the next day."
"I believe they understand. We have piles of goods in the kitchen. It's the accumulation of extra supplies you have gathered."
Oath sighing in desperation. "No, I will go down tomorrow. Please don't start this debate again. I'm still starving."
"Son, what you've done to the village is enough. You need to-"
"No! I'm leaving this ship. It's my responsibility to take care of the people in here. The gods understood my assignment. Even if they visit us tomorrow, they would let me stay here like last year."
That sentence ends the debate. Oath had finished using the chamber. He puts on his fresh clothes to gather with Jisu and have a feast.
"It's up to you, son. We just want the best for you," said the dad.
Both Oath's parents walked closer to Oath.
"My body has become rusty, son. I'm afraid I can't take care of you when you keep on staying in here," said the father.
"We love you, that's the thing you need to know, Oath!" Oath's mom hugs him.
All of the arms they have wrapped Oath's lean body. Oath can't help but be calm, and embrace both of his parents. "Okay, okay, I get it, Mom, Dad!"
The steely-cold arms of theirs gave Oath goosebumps when they touched his skin. But he knows that this is the warmest place here.
---
After the delicious dinner, Oath entered Jisu's room. Jisu is busy choosing the garment she is about to wear. When she noticed Oath had arrived, she pressed a button to clean up the scattered clothes lying everywhere in the entire room.
"He-hey," Jisu waved her hand.
"Hey," Oath walking closer to his friend.
After the bath, Jisu looked effortlessly beautiful. Her black hair looks soft. It mixed well with the faintly dark skies out there. The moon reflected the shapes of the clouds, though supposedly it's not visible to anyone. The window of her room let out a breeze of wind from the desert. It's a truly mystical view. Jisu stood there with her red, small lips. Oath noticed she puts on a make-up. Her one-piece glamorous charcoal dress wrapped her like an elegant souvenir from heaven. It's a little revealing here and there. And the sole purpose she wears it, so Oath can like her more. Oath's favorite color, after all, is black. Even the scent of the whole room smells like Oath's favorite scent: rosewood.
"You changed your hair?"
"Because you like it like this, right?"
"I like what you are."
"Really?"
"Yes, I prefer the natural shape of you."
"But my initial hair won't match with this dress."
"Jisu, you can wear a T-shirt, and I still find you attractive. I don't want you to do it because I like it. I want you to do it because you like it too."
Jisu, again, can't give an answer. "If you say that," Jisu opened the system command. She reverted her hair to be back to original.
"You look stunning," Oath said to her.
"Tha-thank you."
For a moment, they are looking at each other. Their eyes locked, mesmerized by each other. Is this what couples always feel when they are in one room together?
"So ... um, what should we do after?" Oath asked her first.
"I ... I don't know. From what the chief ever told me, we should read this guide if we want to understand the process," Jisu opened another system window.
"Ah, I see," Oath scratching his head. "Why didn't he give this to me?"
"Maybe because he knew you were a hunter-good for nothing-man. You won't bother to read it anyway, won't you?"
"Well, not until today," Oath looked at the window in confusion.
Replying to that, Jisu chuckles. "It's unusual for you not to know what to do. You always take the lead in hunting and gathering."
"Nobody can be an expert in anything. This is my first time."
"Me too!"
"So, what should we do here?"
There are only eight pages of the guidebook. Or to be precise, the guide 'virtual book. It's short. Shorter than any guides for hunting and gathering. But for Oath, this is torturous.
"Okay, the first step is that I need to do this. And, and you need to do ... this?" Oath pointing towards the first picture.
"Wha-! Oookay," Jisu closed her eyes.
"This is, a 'kiss'. Hmm, it's not that unfamiliar. Seems easy, so far," Oath is holding Jisu's hand.
It startled Jisu for a second.
"The-then, I need to lean and touch your lips with my lips. Can this be the way to make a baby?" Oath keeps asking questions.
"I ... I don't know! Just follow the picture."
"Well, who should touch whose lips? You, or me?"
"Maybe, ju-just as long they are touching, it doesn't matter who would do it first!"
"Okay. Here goes, a kiss," Oath leaning his body closer to Jisu. He is also closing his eyes.
Slowly, the distance between them becomes shorter. Jisu kept closing her eyes. She can't look, even if she wants to. She can feel the warmth of Oath's body growing stronger. Then, for a quick two seconds, their lips met.
Jisu has been blushing all this time and has become like a boiled crab. Oath can't help but be flustered, too.
She quickly pulled herself from Oath. Then they are gasping for air. Both of them opened their eyes again.
"Okay, we're good with step number one. That wasn't too bad," Oath quickly looked again at the floating window.
"Ye-yeah! Yeay! Step number one, done!" Jisu laughed nervously.
"What's step number two?"
"Oath, I think you flipped too far!"
Oath flipped the page to the last one, and they immediately regret it. The picture is showing something they cannot comprehend for some moments.
"Wha-what is this?! Is he crazy? Why would he ... he-"
"This is so embarrassing!" Jisu can't hold down her voice.
"What the hell is this?!" Oath is holding his head. His entire body is burning like crazy.
"No ... no way! I can't do this!" Jisu quickly distanced herself from the floating window.
She stood up, ran, and quickly leaned towards the window that displayed the vast sky outside. She was gasping for some air.
Oath's heart beating so loud. He can feel his blood streaming beneath his skin. He never felt like this, except at the time when he was fighting against a Chamalasaurus, a humongous and dangerous iron-walker.
"Should we continue? Maybe the second step is not as embarrassing as this one," Oath potted up an idea.
"But eventually, we need to do the last step, right?"
"Yeah ... that's for sure," Oath grinning helplessly. This is stressing up both of them.
"I ... I think we can stop for now! What if we ... we sleep? I think we all need rest for things that are happening today, right?" Jisu is laughing nervously.
"Yeah, I think it's the best for now."
"We-well, good night."
"Good night!" Oath walked down the path to the front door. He opened the automatic slide door with a press of a button, then he left the scene hurriedly.
The silence in the room was heavy. Jisu changed her clothes into her comfy t-shirt. She threw herself onto the bed and tried her best to sleep.
She let out a long sigh. Her tender hand covers her eyes, while her head is still figuring out what's going on.
"I wonder, what would've happened if ..."
She tried her best to let go of all the exhaustion by sleeping. With that said, she could not sleep for the rest of the night.
---
The next day, Oath continued his daily routine as usual. He woke up early, before the sun rose. The low whirring voice of his mini-capsule has awoken some roosters. Even they are surprised by how early it is for a human to start their day. Some of the villagers used to call him the 'Grand-modern Adonis', taken from ancient Greek mythology, a story from the Old World.
As he has predicted, Jisu can't accompany him today. She must have overslept. It's a pity, after what happened last night. Oath cannot let go of his thoughts for a second.
"It is a wonder why most people in the village choose to do that mandatory job instead of hunting," Oath said to himself.
"But," Oath looked at his own reflection in the glass of the mini-capsule.
"If there is another chance, I ... want to experience it. At least once, with her."
After some moments of flying, Oath found an area he had planned months ago. This is the season of mangoes. He knows that after some years of hunting, this month is the season when mangoes grow. The fruits will ripen soon. He could take it, and around this week, the village can have a mango festival.
"Open system command!" Oath is opening his floating window.
He clicks here and there. Then out of his black-hole inventory, he summoned two machines. He called them the Alpha and Beta. They serve one purpose: to gather goods. For Alpha and Beta, they have different ranks in terms of their intelligence level compared to Oath's parents. In fact, there are three levels of robot intelligence robots. Level one, is mostly for iron-walkers. They don't obey anyone. They caused problems wherever they went. They cannot 'think', they follow only a purpose to survive. Then for level two, there will be robots like Alpha and Beta. They can't think for themselves, nor can they talk. But they are useful when the user gives them commands. They just cannot operate by themselves. As for level three, the robots will be who are able to develop a thinking process like humans. They are the most advanced robots. They can even reject humans' commands if they're not aligned with their system or their machine-learning data.
"Gather mangoes! If there are no more mangoes in this area, quickly dissipate into the inventory again."
Alpha and Beta started to work. They have legs like spiders and three tentacles resembling humans' hands to grab objects. These hands can grow longer.
"Okay, all is set now. If there's any danger, you need to quickly hide in inventory! Okay?!"
"Understood, sir."
"Okay, then. I'll be back in an hour," Oath roamed around with his mini-capsule. He left that area and found another area for hunting.
After twenty minutes of flying, he found his target.
"There it is," he whispered quietly.
He quickly turned off his mini-capsule and saved it in his inventory. Oath ducked into the bushes, observing his giant target. Not so far from there, a giant boar was walking around to find mushrooms. This is the urban forest area. There were ruins of the so-called skyscrapers that had been covered, hidden among the vegetation, after thousands of years. Despite its age, some concretes are still intact. The thick fog made it hazy for Oath to follow the boar's trail.
The analysis is complete. The chip planted inside him has made a thorough status analysis of the boar.
The Giant Boar
[Status]
Health: 1000
Fatigue: 10
Strength: 3400 points
Agility: 890 points
Intelligence: 50 points
"It's best to launch a sneak attack," Oath whispered, opening his hand.
"Airi," he called out, his spear out of the inventory. It instantly appeared on his right hand.
"I should not let it run away. This area is close to the intoxicated Radi area," Oath, gazing towards the distant area behind the boar.
"System command, camouflage."
With that command, Oath's entire body is hidden. From far away, there is nothing different. But from a close distance, one could notice that the area where Oath is standing now generates an aura-like distorted molecule. This is yet another futuristic technology that initially existed during the Million Ashes War, the forgotten war, people kept saying.
Oath walked slowly to close the gap between them. The system detected the presence of the target, and it immediately spawned an orange arrow above Oath's eyesight. It's pointing towards the boar. With that, the health points of Oath and the boar have appeared. The system detected combat mode. Airi has four slots to inflict great damage with its feature, namely Critical Pierce. It also has three slots of the Javelin Throw feature. This spear used to be the treasure of the village chief. Then when he knew Oath had a keen skill to hunt, he gave it to him as a legacy from the tribe. Oath cherished his spear from then on. It has been five years from the moment he used Airi. It might not look like it, but Airi is a level-two robot.
Oath quickly hid in the bushes. The boar senses something. It raised its head and began to smell the air. Oath waiting patiently until the boar lowers its guard.
Yet to his surprise, the boar charged instantly towards him.
"Damn it!" Oath dodged the contact. He was so close to getting rammed.
"System command, camouflage off!" Oath looking at the boar intensely. He began to stand up and prepare another charge from the boar.
The system has detected combat.
Combat mode: activate
The giant boar snorted repeatedly. Its heavy breath indicates that the boar is ready for a fight.
So does Oath.
----