The synthetic beer establishment was located in the upper corridor of District 3.

  Under a low-intensity sign hung an entrance door with reduced vibration noise.

  Stepping inside, a faint blue light filled his vision.

  Dimmer illumination than elsewhere in the city.

  A space brightened just enough not to be sacrilegious.

  People had become hazy shadows beneath that light.

  Elion sat down without speaking.

  His friend had already arrived. Mars.

  The boy who had been assigned to the same group in religious school.

  When other children recited doctrine, Elion asked questions,

  And when everyone else kept silent, only Mars said, "That could be possible." That was the beginning.

  "You look... rather tired today,"

  Mars spoke first.

  Elion did not answer. A high-protein enzyme fermentation liquid with added alcohol. The foam was thin and didn't linger.

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  The sound of glasses clinking occasionally came from nearby tables.

  At regular intervals, like mechanical sounds.

  They reached his corner seat as faint echoes.

  He picked up his cup and swallowed a sip. It wasn't bitter.

  It was close to tasteless, with only a slight fermentation sensation stimulating his tongue.

  "Do you still go to that area?" Elion looked up.

  "The dark place."

  "Yes."

  Mars didn't smile.

  He knew too. That the place was sacrilegious.

  The sounds from outside the city didn't reach here.

  The soundproofing on the walls was perfect, and there was no music.

  People spoke softly and drank quietly.

  "You've become too quiet. You used to laugh sometimes." Elion turned his head.

  "There was nothing to laugh about."

  A moment of silence passed.

  The sounds from outside the city didn't reach here.

  The soundproofing on the walls was perfect, and there was no music.

  People spoke softly and drank quietly.

  Mars stared at his own cup.

  "I wish you could see what you want to see," his voice was soft.

  "But sometimes... it might be better not to see."

  Elion's expression remained unchanged.

  Mars's words were a warning.

  At the same time, it was a way of distancing himself. Elion understood.

  Mars tried to understand him, while also trying to avoid him.

  Such a dual perspective was a familiar sensation to him.

  That night,

  Elion left without emptying his beer glass for the first time.

  And on his way back, he muttered as if talking to himself,

  "Light cannot be everything."