Lost Radiance

Human settlements were built around the Pillars of Light. Humans extracted a type of energy similar to electricity, and this type of energy led to the development of modern-day technologies.

Magic was once one of the greatest gifts given to humanity, but in the new world, magic had now become forgotten.

Over time, strange stones began to emerge from the Pillars of Light; they resembled small rocks and could be found in the caves beneath the Pillars; they also began to appear in deserts, forests, plains, and mountains, and they were scattered all over the world. Some of them were hidden in secret places; others lay right in plain sight for everyone to see.

Many people started to gather them as souvenirs, but most of them were unaware of their true value.

As time passed, people began to refer to the stones as ”Radiance ” because of their bright glow. They were used for decoration in homes, and they became popular as jewelry.

Most people thought they were ordinary stones, but the truth is far stranger than anyone could have imagined.

Thousands of years have passed since the beginning of the new world. The sun continued to rise and fall, life was flourishing, and peoples lives were getting better.

But humanity ran into a huge problem. The energy of the pillars of light was running out; the supply was decreasing at a rapid rate.

At the same time, when a pillar of light ran out of energy, all life around it died. When humanity realized the great problem of using the energy of those pillars, it was already too late.

As a result of people fleeing to safer locations, several cities began to merge.

There was no way to replenish the Pillars of Lights power source; the energy would run out sooner than expected, leaving the entire world in darkness. Without the pillars, life couldn continue on Earth.

Thats when mankind started to investigate ways to save the planet.

A group of scientists led by a man named Dr. Alexander Paravel discovered the ability to create an artifact that emits the same type of energy as the pillars.

The creation process was long and difficult,

But they succeeded in making a device that would work in the exact same way as the pillars.

The artifact was called ”Paradise. ” It was capable of producing enough energy to keep a part of the world alive for several years, but even though they had this artifact, everything was only a temporary solution.

From there, the great city called Paravel was born.

It was a place where scientists worked to find a permanent solution to the energy shortage.

Dr. Alexander Paravel decided to give his life for his research.

He sacrificed himself for the sake of his beloved country and his fellow citizens.

His legacy continued on and on until today.

Even though a few pillars remained operational, they were quickly depleted of their power.

And now all that was left was the city of Paravel.

***

*Beep Beep* The alarm went off. Its 8 AM

Shota woke up.

He looked around to find that he was still asleep in his bed.

A moment later, he remembered that he had to get up; he needed to go to work.

He got up and prepared for the day.

After brushing his teeth and taking a shower, he dressed in a white shirt and black pants.

While he put on his shoes, he noticed that there was an envelope sitting on his desk.

He picked it up and opened it.

He smiled.

He took out the piece of paper and read it carefully.

The envelope contained an invitation with the name ”Shota Kano ” written on it. It said hed been invited to a conference at Paradise Plaza.

”What? ”

Shota was confused and thought that someone had made a mistake.

He re-read the invitation and saw that it was signed by his professor.

The boy was shocked.

He quickly got dressed and left his house and headed to get a taxi

”Take me to Paradise Electrics, please. ” He told the driver.

”Okay, ” the cabbie said.

While he was on his way, you could see Shotas reflection while he was resting his head on the window as he watched the buildings go by.

A large yellow pillar could be seen in the background of the buildings, and next to it was a huge building where the ”Paradise ” artifact was.

When he arrived at his destination, the cab dropped him off near the entrance to the building.

The boy walked through the glass doors and was greeted by a receptionist.

”Good morning, Shota. How are you? ”

”Hello, Ms. Kaori. Im fine, thank you. ”

”I heard about your promotion. ”

”Thank you. I was promoted to first-class investigator. ”

”Congratulations! So, you
e going to the conference today? ”

”Yeah, Ive been invited to the conference at Paradise Plaza. ”

Kaori handed him a business card.

”If you ever feel like talking, call me! ”

”Thanks, Ms. Kaori. ”

He walked to the elevator, got in, and went to the R&D floor.

He headed straight to his office and sat down behind his desk.

He turned on his computer and checked his email.

A new message appeared in front of him.

”Your package is on its way, ” the sender wrote. ”Youll receive a notification once it arrives. ”

”Finally ”

He was excited.

A person knocked on the door of Shotas office

”Good morning, Shota! ”

”Hi, Professor. ”

”Congratulations on your promotion. ”

”Thank you, Professor. How are you? ”

”Im doing very well. ”

Professor Kondo was in his mid-40s, with short brown hair and blue eyes. He wears glasses and has a friendly face. He was the director of research and development at Paravel Electrics and also Shotas former boss, mentor, and the person who helped him start his career here.

Professor Kondo was the reason that Shota was able to get to where he was today.

”I have a delivery for you; come with me. ”

He led him into his office and showed him the box.

”Here you are. ”

He opened it up and took out the contents.

Shota looks at whats inside.

There were three objects in the box that looked like crystals.

”Why do you need these? ”

”Im not sure yet, but Im pretty sure it will help us solve our energy problems. They
e known as ”Radiance. ”

”How can they do that? ”

”They emit the same type of light as the Pillars. But only a small amount. ”

”Haha, you are the only one who sees something in those useless stones, Shota. But you
e a smart kid, so I trust you ”

”Thank you, Professor. ”

”Now, tell me how the glove experiment is going. ”

Shota got up and walked towards the window.

”Well, I can really say much about the project itself, but I think we
e close to a breakthrough. ”

”Tell me more. ”

Shota explained the idea behind the glove and how it worked. He was creating an artifact that would allow them to recharge the crystals from the pillars.

”So, you
e using the glove to make energy flow to the pillars? ”

”Exactly! Thats why I need the Radiance. ”

”Why can you use the glove to charge the objects directly? ”

”We can do that because the technology doesn work that way. We don know exactly how energy works. The glove is just a tool to test the hypothesis. ”

Professor Kondo nodded. ”Very good, Shota. Very good, indeed! Keep working on the glove, and let me know when its ready. ”

The two men had a laugh together, as they had done many times before.

Professor Kondo was impressed by the young mans intelligence.

Shota was a hard worker and always seemed to be thinking of new ideas. He had a creative mind and a sharp intellect.

”Well, Shota, I should get going, ” Professor Kondo said.

”Yes, sir. Have a nice day. ”

Professor Kondo waved goodbye and left the room.

Shota went to the testing area, where there were several employees testing the gloves.

One of them caught sight of him and approached him. ”Hey! Shota! Good to see you! ”

”Hi, Mr Yamada. ”

Mr. Yamada is an employee who works in the R&D department with Shota. He had been with the company for 15 years and was one of the best testers. He was in his early forties, with short brown hair, brown eyes, and a pleasant demeanor. He was very good at his job and devoted to it. His coworkers held him in high regard.

”Shota! I heard you were promoted! Congratulations! ”

”Thank you. Im happy to be here. ”

Yamada gave him a hug and a handshake.

”Also Im done with the experiments! ”

Shota was surprised. ”Really? That fast? ”

”Yes. ”

Shota was stunned.

”Are you kidding me? What about the readings? ”

”Well, it looks like the gloves work perfectly. They allow you to use this energy, but they still need more power in order to be used. Here, look at my data. ”

Shota pulled up a document on his tablet.

It said that they had successfully tested the glove in a laboratory setting.

He was disappointed by the results.

”We need more tests and analysis, ” he sighed. ”But we
e getting closer. ”

Shota turned back to Mr. Yamada and thanked him for all his hard work.

He then returned to his office and started working on his presentation for the conference.

***

Shota was nervous.

He hadn been out in public for a long time.