Lights flickered on.
One after another.
From the entrance all the way to the far end of the chamber.
Blinding white.
Cold. Sterile.
Lifeless.
Ning shielded his eyes for a moment before forcing himself to look.
Rows upon rows of towering machines filled the room. Black metal racks stacked to the ceiling, blinking with countless tiny lights. Fans roared like a constant storm, pushing hot air through the chamber.
Cables ran everywhere.
Across the floor.
Up the walls.
All of them—
Leading to the center.
A single container.
Bathed in a faint blue glow.
"…Is that…?" Ning's voice broke before he could finish.
Inside the liquid-filled tank—
Something floated.
No.
Not something.
A brain.
Perfectly preserved. Suspended in fluid. Wires and tubes connected to every part of it, pulsing faintly with light.
His father nodded silently.
That was answer enough.
Ning's legs felt weak.
His mouth opened, but no words came out.
Only tears.
"How… could you…" he finally managed to whisper.
"I couldn't."
The answer came immediately.
"You know your mother," his father said, his voice trembling now. "This… all of this… was her will."
Ning's eyes widened.
"She forced me into it. Planned everything. Even this…" His father gestured toward the chamber. "Even her own death."
"No…" Ning shook his head. "No, that's not—"
"She chose this!" his father snapped, louder now. "She killed herself so this project could live!"
The words hit like a hammer.
Ning staggered back a step.
"I didn't do this…" his father continued, quieter again. "I wouldn't have dared. But she… she believed in it. In saving humanity. In giving us a future."
Ning's fists trembled.
"So you abandoned me…" he said hoarsely. "For her dream?"
Silence.
"And I…" his voice cracked, "I destroyed it…"
"You destroyed nothing." his father stated.
Ning froze.
"The second satellite has already been on its way for years," his father said calmly. "Your mother anticipated failure. She planned for redundancy."
A pause.
"It will reach Nelenia in about a year."
The room suddenly felt colder.
"So everything… continues," his father said. "Exactly as intended."
Ning's gaze slowly drifted back to the tank.
To her.
"All you have to do… is leave her be."
The hum of the machines grew louder.
Almost suffocating.
His father stepped closer, a heavy metal pipe in his hand now.
"I can't stop her," he admitted quietly. "And I won't."
For the first time—
He looked broken.
"Without her… there is nothing left."
Ning's chest tightened.
"Father…" he stepped forward, grabbing the pipe. "You still have me."
The metal clanged softly as he pulled it from his father's grasp.
"You're not alone."
His father didn't resist.
Didn't even look at him.
Ning turned.
Step by step.
Toward the container.
Each footstep echoed louder than the machines.
Louder than his own heartbeat.
Until he stood right in front of it.
His reflection stared back at him through the glass.
Distorted.
Broken.
His grip tightened.
His knuckles turned white.
For a moment—
He could almost hear her.
Laughter.
Warmth.
Fragments of a past that barely existed.
"Ning!"
Bao's voice cut through everything.
He stood at the entrance, battered, bruised, blood smeared across his face.
"…Is that what I think it is?" he asked.
Ning didn't turn.
"…Orbisterra," he said quietly. "Or my mother."
Bao stepped closer.
Slowly.
Carefully.
"…Give me the pipe," he said. "I'll do it."
Ning spun around.
"Stay away from me!" he shouted, shoving Bao back.
The pipe pointed straight at him.
"She's my mother! You're not going to kill her!"
"She's already gone!" Bao fired back.
"No!" Ning's voice broke. "She's still there! She has to be!"
Aika stepped forward from the doorway.
"…Ning," she said softly, "denying it won't change the truth."
"Don't," his father added quietly. "Don't run from reality."
"I… I can't…"
His arms trembled.
The pipe shook violently.
"I don't want to…"
Before he could collapse under the weight of it—
Aika moved.
She stepped in and pulled him into her arms.
"It's okay," she whispered.
Gently.
Steady.
Like calming a child.
Bao stepped beside them.
Silent.
Present.
Aika placed her hand over Ning's.
Bao did the same.
Together—
They lifted the pipe.
Ning's entire body shook.
Tears streamed endlessly down his face.
"We can't bring her back," Aika whispered.
"But we can carry this burden with you," Bao added.
Ning closed his eyes.
For a brief moment—
Everything stood still.
Then—
With a broken scream—
They swung.
The pipe crashed into the glass.
A sharp crack split through the chamber.
Liquid began to leak.
Lights flickered wildly.
The hum turned unstable.
And somewhere deep within the system—
Something… reacted.