The sound of the propellers spread through the city like a whisper from above. The dull, rhythmic noise made the windows tremble. Then, the citizens looked up to the sky. Massive black shapes burst through the clouds — giant machines, like drones, hurtled southward.
Inside, the atmosphere was vast, almost clinical. Everything had been designed for tactics. A team of soldiers in black armor stood ready. Their movements were precise, nearly silent.
The commander, recognizable by the red scarf tied at his hip, received a transmission.— "Target in sight, Commander", crackled a voice in his earpiece.
Several kilometers away, something strange stood in the middle of the desert. A ship, shaped like a dented egg, smoked softly under the sun.
The commander frowned.— "Don't fire. Deploy the recon squads."
At once, the ships slowed. Cables were released. The soldiers slid down like shadows, landing in a cloud of sand. They immediately formed ranks, weapons raised, silent and focused.
Then, the door of the unknown vessel opened.And she appeared.
A young girl stepped out, hands raised high. She didn't seem hostile. Her red hair fell like living fire, and her eyes reflected a strange light. Every line of her body followed a beauty that felt almost unreal — As if the universe itself had calculated her proportions. Even dust-covered, even with blood-stained lips, she moved with a grace that froze time. The soldiers didn't react right away.They stared at her, dazed. Because before them stood something new.Something unexplained.
Then the girl spoke, her voice soft yet clear:— "I'd like to meet the Eternal Mitasoa Joary."
— "Who?" asked one of the soldiers, confused.
But immediately, a voice slipped into the commander's earpiece.It came from headquarters. Calm. Direct. Final.— "Bring her in, Commander. No questions."
And so, the girl was taken away by the forces of order.
The room looked like a hotel suite. The bed was wide, the sheets clean, the floor smelled of fresh wax. But the walls were too smooth. There were no windows. Only a white light, shadowless, and a door that never opened.
The girl sat at the edge of the bed. She held an apple in her hand, but didn't eat it. She stared at the ceiling as if she could read a sky there. Behind a one-way glass wall, a man was taking notes. Sober, tense. An analyst.He scratched his screen with a stylus, eyes never leaving the girl locked inside.
Then, slow and deliberate footsteps approached him. A woman. Her clothes were simple, but her presence was imperial. People stepped aside and bowed as she passed.
It was Mitasoa Joary. The Eternal.
— "So this is her… the stranger who knows me?" she asked without looking up.— "They say her name is Karen, Your Grace".— "Karen?"— "Yes, just Karen. And… a warning. Despite appearances, she's not human."Her red blood cells have nuclei.
— "What?"— "And that's not all… She seems calm, but she's been connecting to every known network for six hours now.Even the Mpitsikilo's systems… She's scanning everything.We only noticed an hour ago.
If she wanted to destroy us, she could've already.But instead… she's learning. That alone is extremely, extremely dangerous."
Mitasoa smiled at first. Her gaze fixed calmly on Karen through the glass. And then, she entered the room.
Karen slowly turned her head. Her red hair slid over her shoulder. She bowed, too, before Mitasoa.
— "Pleased to meet you, Your Grace", she said gently.
Mitasoa was intrigued, though not entirely surprised.— "Pleased to meet you, Karen… Well, I must say, you're stunning."— "The compliment is mutual. This planet Earth… is perfect."
—" Come now, Karen. Nothing is perfect."— "No, I assure you. It's only 1521, and your drones look like starships. I saw orbital satellites on my way here. Your internet is already at 5G.And your political, economic, diplomatic situation… is at its peak."
— "You flatter me, little Karen. But all of this… we owe it to my brother. And anyway… you're here because of him, aren't you? How is he?"
Karen lowered her eyes.Silence fell. Long. Heavy. Loaded.
— "Karen… are you alright?"— "Your Grace.Your brother… is dead."
A chill swept through the room. Mitasoa didn't reply right away.
— "Dead, you say?"— "Yes. While passing through Galaxar 8.0, in the Andromeda Galaxy...
We got caught in a galactic war. The main ship was pulled toward a black hole. He used the last reserves of power to send me here."
— "Hah. That's impossible. His IQ is over 200. With his extrapolation level, he could predict 300 years into the future with 98.89% accuracy. If he sent you here, it means he had a plan. A twisted one. I refuse to believe a guy like him would die in some ridiculous war.
Besides… what even are you, exactly?You're not human. But you're not like us either."
Karen closed her eyes.A quiet sadness passed across her face.
— "I'm an artificially created biological being. As you brother used to say...I'm a "Karen." And that's all."
The man behind the glass couldn't believe his ears. His hands moved on their own, tracing out words he barely understood. Each sentence dropped into the room like it tore down another piece of what he thought was real. But he kept writing. Because it was too vast not to.
Mitasoa, on the other hand, remained still. Straight as a blade. Immovable like a mountain.
— "Incredible…" she said, raising her eyebrows."That pervert actually made a girl… to travel with him.Reassure me — he's not using your body, is he?"
Karen flinched. She blushed like a rising sun.— "No, no… no. He… he doesn't do anything like that…"Then, in a breath softer than a sigh:— "Even though sometimes… I wonder what stops him…"
— "What? You mean…"— "No! No, what did I just say…? I… forget it."
Mitasoa burst out laughing.A clear, ringing laugh that sliced the air like a waterfall.
— "You're a funny one, little Karen. Just as funny as the one who made you."
She regained her composure, gently — like folding a fan.— "How old are you? You intrigue me."— "Me? I'm 476 years old."
— "WHAT?!"
It was Naivo, the man behind the glass. His voice had slipped out before he could stop it. He immediately straightened up, eyes wide as planets.
— "I'm sorry, I…"— "Don't worry, Naivo," said Mitasoa, amused. "It's not every day we get to be surprised, is it?"
She turned back to Karen, hands clasped behind her back.
— "My brother left us barely 24 years ago. And you're talking about more than 500… maybe even 600 years. That's why I say — his death is simply impossible."
She walked slowly, laying down each word like a step.
— "We came here 2,121 years ago. Even then, he was… near-divine. Then he returned to our original timeline. Which means he's traveling between universes.
So when it comes to a simple black hole... that just sounds ridiculous to me."
She stopped. Closed her eyes. Inhaled.
— "No matter. That won't help us find him. Hmm… So… what am I supposed to do with you, Karen?"
Karen knelt soundlessly. She bowed her head with respect.
— "That's for you to decide. You're my new mistress."
Mitasoa blinked.
— "Wait… you see yourself as my brother's property?"— "Yes. That feels right. I'm his creation. And he gave his life to save me…… even if…"
— "Even if?"
Karen shook her head. Strands of hair fell over her eyes.
— "No, nothing. I place myself in your hands."
Karen had left her cell. She now had a room of her own — a real room, in a discreet wing of the base, where off-duty spies usually stayed. It wasn't a cage anymore, but it still wasn't quite freedom.
She spent her days in front of the glass wall, watching nature as if for the very first time. The trees, the clouds, the birds… everything seemed to fascinate her.
Meanwhile, Mitasoa was speaking softly with young Naivo.
— "I still can't believe that you and your brother… You changed the world's past to create this one. So there's another universe where Mags isn't a superpower, Your Grace?"
— "There most certainly is, little Naivo," Mitasoa replied. "But let me reassure you: there are even worlds where our country shines… without my brother or me ever interfering.however this one… this one is special."
She raised her eyes to the sky, as if searching for memories among the stars.
— "In our original world, around the year 1500, Diego Diaz, a Portuguese explorer, had just discovered Madagascar. People were only starting to believe the Earth was round. America? Barely known… You see the difference."
— "So we took a leap in time", Naivo murmured.— "And not a small one."
Naivo sighed.He watched Karen, sitting cross-legged on the floor of her room, gaze lost in the flight of the birds.
— "I think, Mistress, it would be best to let her live a normal life.This girl… she's only known a futuristic, isolated world, with just one person to speak to.She may be 476 years old… but deep down, she's still a child."
Mitasoa looked at Karen too.She said nothing. But a gentle smile appeared on her lips.
— "Look at her", she said. "She probably never had the chance to admire a planet from the inside."
Karen was looking up at the sky.Shimmering tears trembled in her eyes. Not from sadness — just the raw emotion of beauty.
Then Mitasoa stepped closer.— "Karen."
The girl turned her head.— "Yes?"
— "I think it's best if you go live with a family."
Karen nodded without hesitation.— "Alright. And… what's my mission?"
Mitasoa let out a quiet breath.She smiled.
— "Make sure… your family is okay."