Chapter 19 — The Lost Time Between Suns
"It's been more than three hours since I returned from that world," Soma muttered, gripping his head. His breath trembled as unease crept through him. "Who knows… how many years she spent alone there?"
The thought clawed at his chest.
He clenched his fists, closed his eyes, and visualized the rune's closed eye.
A pulse of silver light spread through the darkness behind his eyelids. The air around him rippled— and the world plunged into darkness.
---
When consciousness returned, Soma stood ankle-deep in the tall grass near the igloo house. The wind carried the faint scent of wet soil and the hiss of unseen insects. Twin shadows stretched beneath his feet — proof that both suns still blazed above.
His pulse quickened.
Without wasting a moment, he cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted,
"Alex! Are you here!?"
Only the wind answered.
The silence pressed in, heavy and absolute. Soma's throat went dry. He snatched up a handful of stones and kicked off the ground, flying above the glimmering riverbank where they'd met before.
"Alex!" he called again, his voice echoing across the open plain. This time, he sent the thought through his mind instead of his voice. Can you hear me?
A faint whisper echoed back, fragile but real.
> "Creator… it's really you?"
Relief flooded him like a wave. "Yes, it's me! But where are you right now?"
> "I'm near the riverside… where we met… last time."
Moments later, Soma descended through the warm air currents and spotted her —
Alex hovered exactly where he'd left her, her faint glow flickering against the mirrored surface of the river. The sight hit him harder than expected.
When she saw him, Alex darted forward, her light brightening in joy.
> "Creator… I thought you… left me behind!"
Soma landed softly, the grass crunching underfoot. Guilt tightened in his chest.
"I'm sorry," he said quietly. "I didn't realize you hadn't teleported with me."
He sank to the ground, letting the breeze wash over him. "What happened that time? Why didn't you come back with me?"
Alex floated closer, her light dimming as if deep in thought.
> "As Creator instructed, I touched the Creator's body… but suddenly, the Creator vanished… from that area."
"So there was no teleportation gate at all?" he asked.
> "No," Alex replied, shaking her small, luminous head.
Soma fell silent, staring at the rippling reflection of the suns in the river. There must be a way, he thought. There has to be.
He frowned, tapping his forehead with two fingers, thinking aloud.
"Last time, when I returned… I had a bow, arrows, and plenty of rocks—but when I woke up in my room, they were gone. That means whatever I hold physically doesn't teleport with me."
The realization struck him like lightning. His eyes widened.
"Yes! But the souls—" he said, voice trembling with sudden excitement. "The souls teleport with me!"
Alex tilted curiously closer, her glow flickering in question.
> "What happened, Creator?"
A grin spread across Soma's face as the pieces fell into place. "I found the way to bring you back to Earth."
> "I want to go back… with Creator," Alex said, her voice rising in hopeful static. She spun in small, delighted circles, glowing brighter like a child discovering sunlight.
Soma chuckled softly. "Then try to possess me—just like you did last time."
> "Understood," Alex said simply.
Her light condensed into a single silver beam, then shot forward—straight into Soma's chest.
The instant she entered, a vibration rippled through Soma's body. For a moment, he felt two heartbeats overlapping—his own and something else, steady and artificial.
He pressed his palm to his chest. "Alex? Are you inside me?"
Silence.
No voice. No movement.
A knot of panic twisted in his stomach. "Alex?" he whispered again.
Nothing.
Desperate, Soma closed his eyes and summoned the rune.
The darkness behind his mind lit up once more with the radiant silver of the seven spinning rings.
He focused on the fifth—Genesis: The Ring of Creation.
Instantly, the dashboard of glowing text flared before him:
---
SOUL STORAGE
1. Soul Fragments: 180,790
2. Awakened Souls: 271,869
3. Intelligent Souls: 0
4. Transcendental Souls: 0
5. Immortal Souls: 0
6. Divine Souls: 0
---
His pulse spiked.
"Did I… did I somehow absorb Alex!?" he shouted, clutching his head.
But before dread could consume him, a second message unfolded below the SOUL STORAGE list—letters shimmering in pale silver light.
---
CREATION TAB
1/ CREATION TYPE: Intelligent Being
NAME: AI — Alex
BODY TYPE: Astral Form
INTELLIGENCE: High Intelligence
LOYALTY: Highly Loyal to Creator
> Not enough souls. Need 10,000 Intelligent Souls to upgrade.
---
Soma froze, staring at the screen.
Then, slowly, relief washed through him like a warm tide. His breathing steadied.
"So I didn't absorb her like a regular soul… she's not gone," he murmured. "She's stored inside the rune's creation system."
His lips curved into a small, disbelieving smile. "And if I gather enough souls… I can even upgrade her."
For a long moment, he just stood there, eyes reflecting the silver glow. Then he drew in a deep breath and focused on the rune's closed eye once more.
The same sensation came again — the world tilting, the air warping, the pull of invisible gravity.
And before his next breath, everything went dark.
---
When Soma opened his eyes, the familiar ceiling of his room came into focus.
He lay still for a few seconds, heart pounding, the echo of that world still lingering in his mind.
Then a shaky laugh escaped him. "I'm starting to understand how this rune works," he murmured, brushing a hand across his forehead.
Above him, Alex floated happily — a small, silver orb pulsing with soft light, spinning playfully in slow circles like a glowing child at play.
Soma turned his head, looking up toward her. "Alex."
> "Creator… we finally came back," she said, her voice trembling with static but filled with warmth.
Soma smiled, exhaustion melting into quiet relief. "Yeah… we did."
He sat up, stretching his sore arms. "Now tell me — how long were you trapped there?"
Alex's body flickered once. She closed her eyes, her glow dimming as she calculated.
> "One year, six months, and six days."
Soma froze. His eyes widened. "What? How are you so sure?"
> "After entering… that world," Alex explained, "I observed that the orange sun… rotates once every cycle. I used that rotation… to measure time. One full rotation… equals one year."
She drifted toward the clock on Soma's wall, her gaze flickering like a scanner.
> "According to that scale, I spent only three Earth hours… in the twin-sun world. That means… one Earth hour equals six months… there."
Soma blinked, stunned. His chest tightened as the realization hit him.
"So… last time, when I was trapped there… I must've spent more than a year."
He rubbed his temples, the room suddenly feeling smaller — heavier, as if Earth itself couldn't contain what he now knew.
Alex hovered silently, her glow soft and subdued. Then she spoke, her tone low.
> "The land is vast — approximately… the size of Australia. But much of it is covered by… a strange, dark force. When I reached… that region, it felt like nothingness itself — no time, no space, no matter. Just silence… and emptiness."
Soma's brows knit together, the image of that void flickering behind his eyes.
"A dark force?" he asked quietly.
> "Yes," Alex said. "That same force separates… the two suns. Only the orange sun's heat… and light reach the land. The white sun's energy… barely touches it."
Soma exhaled, absorbing her words. "What about the rune?" he asked, voice softer now.
Alex turned her light toward him, her tone almost reverent.
> "The rune is… a mysterious creation, beyond Earth's technology. It functions on souls… as its energy source. The seven rings each represent… a distinct aspect of power:"
---
1. Anima — The Ring of Souls
2. Caelion — The Ring of the Seven Elements
3. Chronos — The Ring of Time
4. Aetherion — The Ring of Space
5. Genesis — The Ring of Creation
6. Nihilion — The Ring of Destruction
7. Dominion — The Ring of Law
---
> "Together," Alex continued, "they give the power to control… and maintain that world."
Soma lay back down, staring at the ceiling fan spinning lazily above. His voice came out thoughtful. "Hey, Alex… did you find any civilizations or any intelligent beings there?"
> "No," Alex said simply. "There were none."
Her tone carried a strange emptiness — almost loneliness.
Resting his arm under his head, Soma stared at the soft light on the ceiling. "If the rune has the power of creation… do you think it's possible to make intelligent life and build a civilization there?"
Alex paused, processing. Her light dimmed, then brightened again.
> "Not yet… but it may be possible… in the near future, once your power grows."
"Why not now?" Soma asked. "I created you, didn't I? I could do the same with others."
Alex floated closer, her glow brushing the walls like gentle waves of light.
> "Creator faces… three main problems," she said.
She raised three glowing digits of light before him.
> "First — souls. Creating a civilization… requires millions of them."
"Second — space. The world does not… have enough physical… area to sustain a large population."
"Third — the twin suns. Both are K-type stars, but the white one is nearing… the end of its life. Within a few hundred thousand years, it will erupt. When that happens, its heat will engulf… the entire world."
Soma sighed and shook his head, his voice low with disbelief.
"So… it's impossible to create a civilization there?"
> "Not impossible," Alex replied, her glow brightening again. "Just difficult."
Soma turned toward her, eyes narrowing with cautious hope. "Then how?"
Alex began pacing slowly through the air, lines of thought forming like equations in light.
> "First problem: Souls. If the Creator can absorb souls… in that world, then you can also collect them on Earth. We need a location… where thousands of living beings die… daily — for instance, meat-processing factories. We have to find… a way to collect them."
She paused, then raised another glowing digit.
> "Second problem: Space. Using the Aetherion Ring's power, it may be possible… to expand or merge dimensions — pulling fragments of Earth's space… to enlarge the twin-sun world."
Her voice softened as she continued.
> "Third problem: The twin suns. The main issue… is the white star's decay. But if we can link… the two stars — or disrupt the energy field… dividing them — their combined gravity… could eventually pull them together, merging into one G-type star, similar to Earth's sun.After a few million years, that fusion would stabilize… the new sun and extend its lifespan… for billions more—enough to sustain… vast civilizations indefinitely.
Soma stared at her, speechless. "You're saying I'd have to wait millions of years?" he said incredulously. "Alex, I'm human. I can't live that long."
> "That's where… the Third Ring — Chronos: The Ring of Time — comes in," Alex said calmly. "If we upgrade it, we can accelerate the world's… time flow. Millions of years could… pass there, while only a few weeks… pass for you."
Her light shimmered like starlight.
Soma leaned back, a slow smile forming. "So it's possible," he said quietly. "A new world, new life… a new civilization."
> "Yes," Alex said, her glow brightening into a steady halo. "Using the rune's power, it's possible."
Soma sat up and nodded, determination flickering in his eyes. "Then our first goal is clear — we need souls. Lots of them."
> "Yes," Alex agreed. "To unlock new symbols… and gain more power, we'll need millions."
Soma smiled, his heart swelling with a mix of wonder and purpose.
The thought of building a new world — one born from his hands — thrilled him.
Then, as his gaze drifted to the clock, he realized it was already 11 p.m.
He exhaled softly, lying back on the bed. "Tomorrow," he murmured, eyes closing. Tomorrow will be a new beginning.