TheRedStripedZebra
In the ash-lit slums of a fractured world, pain is currency, and every citizen is wired to bleed for their survival.
The Ceremony marks the beginning of adulthood - a sacred ritual where a Noceris chip is drilled into the brain, linking nerve endings to a glowing wristband that counts every scream, wound, and sorrow. Suffering fuels the economy. Compliance is salvation.
But not for everyone.
Novara has never fit in - angry, restless, and desperate for something real. When her Ceremony arrives, she runs, vanishing into the ruins and chasing whispers of the forbidden: the Null, those who live outside the system.
Rivi, a null who cannot generate credits, hides scars deeper than anyone knows, forced to make impossible choices when the system threatens those she loves.
Caelum, born in the higher class and destined to lead, begins to question the system he's meant to uphold - especially when compliance turns to violence.
And Auren, a devout high priest in-training, finds his faith unraveling as he learns what the church actually means
As their paths collide, loyalties are tested and every decision could mean death - or freedom. Together, they must choose: stay in a world where agony is virtue... or dismantle it from within.
Gripping and visceral, this cyber-dystopian story explores control, belief, and what it means to resist in a world built to break you.