Rebooting process initiated.

Reformatting in progress…

25%...

Edyra drifted in and out of consciousness, her mind flowing freely through fragments of memory. Faces she had loved flickered before her. Laughter, warmth, and light filled her heart. Then, they were gone, replaced by echoes of battle, loss, and pain long buried.

50%...

Suddenly, she was soaring high above the world. Beneath her, the twinkling lights of Axiune gleamed like a swath of stars. Her heart ached at the sight of her home, so radiant and full of life.

As quickly as the castle had appeared, it began to change right before her eyes. Her beloved capital was swallowed by the rampant growth of a new one, followed quickly by another, and another, and another. Civilizations came and went, replacing each other in the blink of an eye.

75%...

Edyra turned, sensing movement behind her. From the darkness, a misty figure emerged. As she was drawn closer, the figure’s body was illuminated by a familiar blue light. It was built of a solid, polished silver, each plate and contour outlined with a lustrous gold trim. Its smooth, sculpted limbs and armored joints flexed with a fluidity much more like human muscle than artificial machinery.

Mana pulsed through the figure as though it had veins, flowing in elegant channels across its torso and slender streams down its arms. The liquid sapphire concentrated in twin pathways from its neck to its sleek, angular helm, powering the figure’s pointed, faceless mask.

Most striking of all were the wings, unfurling from behind the figure’s broad, powerful shoulders. Each blade shimmered with light as it clicked into place, almost as if the figure was adorned by massive crystals. Its sharply tapered legs hovered slightly off the ground, giving the already intimidatingly tall figure an even more grand appearance.

99%...

The figure slowly extended a clawed hand forward, beckoning the warrior. Edyra hesitated, but was mesmerized by the warmth radiating from the machine before her. Something about the figure felt safe and familiar. Edyra gathered her courage and tightly grasped the figure’s hand.

Eden rebooted successfully.

With a jolt, Eden awoke. It took a moment for her vision to stabilize, but as it did, she found a wide-eyed woman standing before her, frozen in disbelief. The exhausted warrior gathered what little energy she had to weakly raise her arm, which led the stranger to dramatically flinch backward with a startled cry.

“No way…” The woman breathed, her hazel eyes alight with wonder. “It… It just moved!”

It..? Eden glanced down, her puzzled gaze resting on her outstretched hand. It was her hand… right? A hollow ache formed in her chest as she stared at the metallic appendage before her, flexing it instinctively. She turned over her hand, curling each mechanical finger into her palm with the soft whirr of servos clicking into place beneath the plating.

“I can’t believe this!” The stranger exclaimed, her giddy awe cutting through Eden's perplexity. “The lost weapon was actually real!”

“Lost..?” Eden’s voice rose from her throat as a faint whisper: uncertain and fragile.

“And it can talk?!” The stranger nearly shouted, her jaw agape. Within moments of her revelation, the woman rummaged through several of the pockets of her bright blue suit, procuring a smooth, glossy slate. The device chirped to life with a soft beep as a bright red light shone from the backside.

“Do you have a name?” The stranger pressed, tone sharp with boundless curiosity. “When were you made? Who is your creator? What do you last remember?” Each question came faster than the last, making Eden’s head spin more than it already was.

“Enough.” Eden slowly rose, the soft hiss of shifting metal filling the otherwise silent chamber. Eden was towering over the odd woman, but she seemed to have no fear in her fiercely determined gaze as she defiantly continued to point the slate upward. “Where… is the king?”

“King?” The stranger tilted her head thoughtfully. “There hasn’t been a king on this planet since… Well, it’s probably been at least a thousand years!”

Eden’s hand shot out, gripping the woman’s suit tightly at her chest plate, hoisting her slightly off the ground. The stranger yelped, the slate slipping from her grasp and shattering against the stone floor below with a sharp crack.

“Do not lie to me, or you will regret it.” Eden growled, grip trembling with a restrained fury. “I’ll ask again. Where is the king?”

“I-I didn’t lie!” The woman stammered. “If the stories are true, the kingdom of Axiune vanished nearly a millennium ago! It’s a mystery I’ve been studying my entire life, I swear!”

“I gave everything to protect my kingdom.” Eden muttered, her voice heavy with disbelief. She harshly met the woman’s gaze, searching desperately for any trace of malice in her eyes. Eden could find none, only seeing fearful sincerity reflected back at her.

Eden reluctantly released the stranger, who landed roughly on the floor. “For you to suggest I had failed… It’s unthinkable.”

Eden clasped her fists shut as her wings methodically unfurled from her back. Each segment snapped into place one by one, illuminating the cavern with pulses of eerie blue light.

“I will see this for myself.” She announced, the thrusters in her legs sparking to life and hurling her upward. Rock shattered and rained down from above as Eden crashed straight through the layers of stone with minimal effort.

“Wait!” The stranger cried, shielding her face from the debris. When the dust settled, she quickly scrambled to her feet, snatching up her previously discarded tablet that clung to life with a faint glow. Her fingers flew across the screen, tapping furiously at various commands and prompts. Moments later, two drones whirred to life, darting into the hole overhead in pursuit of the weapon’s fading blue glow.

Eden burst through the crust of the world, rising higher and higher until the atmosphere grew thin around her. For a moment, she hovered in silence above the vast horizon. The land below was utterly unrecognizable. Gone were the elegant spires and turreted towers of the capital. Gone were the flowing banners and carved sigils of her kingdom. Gone were any traces of the home she had loved so dearly.

In their place stood an unimaginable jungle of shimmering silver towers, each illuminated with what must be hundreds of harsh, artificial lights in dozens of colors she had never seen. Countless pathways wound between them, spiraling from the ground in gravity-defying patterns and teeming with mobs of oddly sleek carriages that effortlessly soared through the air.

Was the stranger right? Had she truly failed?

The memories of her final battle were fleeting, vague shadows of the past. She desperately searched and scanned for answers through each fragment in her mind, but all she could recall was the haunted stare of King Zel’neth as the chamber closed before her and the unbridled fury that had empowered her during the fight.

She slowly sank back to the ground below, unable to fully process the grief overwhelming her. Though she felt the urge to cry, it was impossible for tears to flow from her body of cold metal. When had she become this machine? And why did it feel so natural?

In a move of pure instinct, Eden spun around with her right arm raised, pointing her crosshair straight at the hole she had emerged from. What must’ve been mere milliseconds later, the stranger’s drones flew out from it at a breakneck pace. Eden locked onto one, firing a hail of bullets from her arm-mounted cannon, many of which hit their mark. The drone began to smoke, one of its propellers utterly shredded by the barrage it had taken, and spiraled to the ground in a small explosion.

Eden shifted her attention to the other drone, which had vanished from her view while she was fighting. She spotted it in the distance, its blaster heating up with the potential to attack. Eden quickly calculated her next move, dismissing her gun and summoning her claws. She lunged straight for the drone with killer intent, hoping to interrupt its attack.

Instead of immediately striking, the drone flew up into the air directly above its assailant, firing the beam toward the ground. Despite her best efforts to change course, Eden couldn’t halt her momentum enough to dodge out of the way, and was stunned by the drone’s beam, short circuiting her processors. Unable to move, all Eden could do was look up as the drone warmed up yet another attack.

“Wait!” cried a familiar voice. The drone stopped. As much as she wanted to flee, all Eden could do was look toward the direction the sound came from. “I… Phew… Gosh, there wasn’t anything about your insane speed in my findings…” The winded stranger huffed, stopping herself right in front of Eden.

“What do you want?” Eden sharply questioned, a whirlwind of emotion. Part of her wanted to learn more of what this stranger knew, but Eden was trained to be cautious. For all she could tell, this woman could be yet another enemy, especially since those drones had just attacked her.

“Let’s start over.” The stranger said, offering a warm, cheerful smile. “I’m Dekker, an archaeologist, scientist, and overall brilliant mind.” The raven-haired woman beamed, shaking her head as she cracked a genuine laugh. “Sorry, sorry. Couldn’t help myself.”

“You didn’t answer my question.” Eden cut in, still wary of Dekker’s antics.

“I was just getting there!” Dekker whined, crossing her arms. Her expression grew softly solemn before she next spoke. “You’re… not really from this time, right? Let me help you.”

Eden did not respond. The woman was right. This world was strange, and she was missing crucial information about the outcome of her battle against the Xeth. Were there any survivors? It could be useful to find allies… even if she wasn’t quite sure what that meant anymore.

“I know this is a lot to take in, but if there’s anyone in this world that knows even just a little of what you’ve been through, it’s me.” Dekker extended her hand. “So please. I’ll tell you about my world, and you tell me about yours. Deal?”

A moment of silence stirred between them as the scientist pleadingly stared down Eden.

“You will help me find my people as well.” Eden reluctantly demanded, maintaining a harsh, guarded tone.

“Deal!”