It was a serene night; the starlight flickered beneath the moon, shining a warm, gentle light.
At the same time, Garret was sleeping in his bedroom.
Lost in reverie, a bizarre vision unfolded in his dream.
The universe stretched farther than the eye could see—a calm and empty area.
Then, the disturbance.
Unusual white spots appeared and slowly occupied the black canvas.
And Garret could only watch it, as if a spectator with no voice.
In a fleeting instant, the unstable, glitching white spot completely swallowed everything.
Such a distorted dream.
――✧ Chamber of the Authority ✧――
Suddenly, Garret flinched awake, his heart pounding from the bizarreness of his trance.
He stretched, heavy eyelids scanning the vast bedroom
Why now?
His faint, deep voice echoed in the silence as he knuckled his eyes.
The nightmare of the white spot consumed the universe, still ghosting his mind.
To shift his focus, Garret gradually reached for the phone on his headboard.
When he touched it, the coldness of its surface deepened the confusion in his thoughts.
A moment later, the sensor on Garret's phone detected his touch, and its screen illuminated, casting a neon-blue light into the darkness of the room.
The number in the corner displayed the current time. 05:50 AM "Almost... 6 o'clock?" His voice resonated in his mind.
After a brief consideration, Garret realized that it's better to start his day instead of just lounging around in his bed.
Soon, he tapped open the 'Home Manufacture' app.
His screen faded for a slight moment before the app activated.
His gaze scanned through the various features of the apps.
Whether it was light bulb management, security management, or general furniture management.
Then, he hesitated, taking a short breath.
"Turn on the light, please."
As his word finished, all of the lightbulbs were turned on.
The room, once swallowed by darkness, was now brightened with the dazzling lights.
Garret hauled himself upright, the lights stabbing through his eyes, and he blinked against the glare.
Then, he noticed something playfully floating next to the polished wooden table as his gaze drifted towards it.
Cubie-Chan's neon blue core materialized, encased in a delicate lattice of polished alloy.
Across its surface, incomprehensible glyphs pulsed with soft luminescence.
With a sudden flicker and a faint, two thin lines of light assembled into playful eyes.
Beneath its eyes, there was a light curve that seemed to be a bright grin.
And on the surface, there was a pink bow perched at its corner.
"Good morning, Garret-kun ◕‿◕✿"
Cubie-chan's sweet, high-pitched voice echoed through his bedroom.
"Yeah, good morning, Cubie."
Garret replied, giving a small wave in greeting, a smile appearing on his face.
As the realization struck her mind, Cubie-chan's eyes changed into star shapes.
"But, you know, I've been wondering for a long time, how are your parents doing? I haven't seen them much."
As soon as Cubie-chan finished speaking, Garret's bright smile faded into a forced one.
His gaze dropped, his hand began to tremble, almost dropping his phone.
Then he let out a bitter chuckle.
"Uh... they're probably... doing well, I guess. But let's focus on something else, shall we?"
As he took a deep breath, a high feminine voice floated through his ears.
"Oh, right! Are you excited? It's the first day of cosmic ranger academy today!"
Cubie-chan clapped her glowing, floating hands, her eyes widening.
"A little," his voice smooth, his gaze pierced on Cubie, who was bouncing around, approaching his bed with excitement and brightness.
"And, um... I heard the food at the academy is really delicious, right? If so, I'm going to devour it all!"
She exclaimed, a slight smirk playing on her lips, her eyes turning into images of a spoon and fork.
"Yeah, it's really good. But you don't have to eat like you're going to war, you know? I'll have to fix you if something happens,"
Garret's wide smile spread across his face, as he gently patting the bed with his left hand.
"It's fine! I'm not scared. Eat first, fix later."
"Then if they charge you for the repair, don't forget to find the money to pay me."
Garret deadpanned, causing Cubie-chan, who was energetically bouncing, to suddenly freeze.
A wave of pressure filled the air, making her even more stressed.
Suddenly, her spoon and fork pupils dissolved into two straight lines.
Garret's smirk deepened, amplifying her anxiety.
"Okay, okay! I'll eat gently," she said.
After Garret gave a fony grin, he stood up, going to take a shower.
And changing into neat clothes, prepared for his first day of semester.
――✧ Chamber of the Authority ✧――
He's back.
Garret stood before Cubie-chan.
Her gaze fixed on Garret new look, the young boy with his academy uniform.
A white collared long sleeve shirt and a red tie were covered by a black suit coat.
Contrasting with long trousers held up by a leather belt with a silver buckle.
Looking down, one could see polished brown boots that were neatly laced.
"Oh my gosh, Garret you're really handsome, you know!"
Cubie-chan whispered softly, her eyes sparkling, a soft grin playing on her core.
"Well, it's not that much, Cubie."
"Whoa, but still, I miss that young boy who wore sweet, frilly pink pajamas with jingling cat bells more, though~~"
Cubie-chan's words made Garret bring a handkerchief to cover his face, a gesture of pure embarrassment.
Before he spoke in a chocked voice.
"Cubie... you... don't tell anyone about that, okay?!:
The image of this becoming gossip among nosy people flooded through his mind.
"Okay, okay! Won't tell,"
Cubie-chan said
Garret gave Cubie-chan a thumbs-up for keeping his secret.
He picked up his phone and looked at the holographic clock on its screen.
The neon green number displays:
06:30 AM
After acknowledging the time, he looked at Cubie-chan's surface.
"Assembly at 7:30 AM. Let's go to the teleport centre."
Cubie-chan nodded and moved its core closer to Garret.
After that, the two companions walked down to the stairs to open the front door.
The sound of Garret footsteps resonated on the polished stairs.
As they approached the ground floor of his mansion, Garret and Cubie-chan found a large door before them.
Garret took a slight breath, then glanced over.
Cubie-chan's holographic hand—a flickering blueprints of light—repeatedly caressing the door.
Its sensory system registered the coldness and smoothness of the door's polished surface.
Garret paused for a brief moment before letting out a soft smile.
Then, he gripped his phone, his fingers tap on the 'Home Manufaction' app.
As soon as the loading screen finished, he tapped the 'security management' icon before uttering softly to command it.
"Open the door, please."
Not that long, his door slowly opened, revealing the scenery outside.
A wide road, glowing with neon light, stretched past his mansion.
within the street, the cybercars raced down at high speeds.
Garret's gaze fixed at the folded wing of the cars, next to its gleaming silver surface, strong and durable.
In fact, it could remain intact even harshly crashing into a skyscraper.
"That's so cool, bro! when I grow up, Can I get one too?"
Garret mumbled, his gaze following the car.
As the realization struck him, he recognized — he actually needed to go to the Cosmic ranger academy.
Garret swiped at his face, cleared his throat and said.
"Let's go, Cubie. Follow the sidewalk."
Garret and Cubie-chan walked along the luminescent footpath.
Occasionally turning their gaze to admire the cityscape.
That's cool.
Cubie-chan whispered in her thought.
After slight footsteps, the teleport centre loomed to their eyes.
A vast structure of white chrome, with semi-circular shapes attached to its side like wings.
Shimmering energy fields radiated in the distance, emating a low hum of chords.
As Garret walked into the teleport centre, he encountered a low flashing green light on the floor.
Many people filled the space—some were students like him, some were working adults, and a few tourists.
Yet all stood in queue on the glowing green floor.
Waiting to scan their phones at the pass code terminal, before boarded the teleportation elevator to their location.
Garret himself was standing in the middle of the queue, the air around him thick with the crowded.
"Garret-kun! what time is it now?"
Cubie-chan pulsed softly.
Her holographic hand resting on her bow on the corner of her core.
Hearing her voice, Garret pulled out his phone to check.
"Uh... almost 7 o'clock," he replied
As the line inched forward, his eyes remained fixed on his screen.
Not long after, Garret was now at the front of the queue, his gaze fixed on the pass code terminal.
Actually, it's just a hard card attached to the wall.
After Garret scanned his phone there, a voice uttered.
"You have paid 1 ICD, have a safe travel."
Cubie-chan, floated beside Garret, her eyes changing into a bright star shape, her core pulsed.
"Garret, why did you only pay 1 ICD?"
"Well Cubie, usually people under 18 pay less for services,"
He gave a small nod.