At Verdant Suites
I removed the mask, every muscle in my body tense.
I fought to keep my emotions locked inside me.
Kiara watched me from head to toe.
I felt exposed.
"We have to do this mission…"
She rubbed her temples.
"Sit down."
The android seemed more relaxed now.
Still, I could feel tension in the air.
"What do you know about Egypt?"
"Enough, I'd say."
"Right.
Egypt suffered a radiative bombing at the end of 2795 because of the actions of their former leader.
After that, the country was divided into four military cities, with Cairo as the Supreme City.
Abdel is the current leader of Kemetia Command in Cairo, and he holds the same ideals as that former leader…"
As she explained, I felt the weight of what awaited us in Cairo.
I remembered the history.
In 2795, there had been major tension between the cities:
a race to develop nuclear nanobombs.
The most powerful city would be the one to do it first.
Cairo took the lead, creating three bombs, known as the 3-R:
R-ATOM: radioactive nanonuclear fission. It generated radiation waves capable of penetrating any material.R-BIO: biological. It disintegrated organs, including nanotechnological ones.R-FUS: geological. It created earthquakes capable of destroying continents.
That would have made Cairo the most powerful city.
Immense military power in its hands.
The Universal Tribunal of Peace (UTP) tried to negotiate peace with Kemetia, but failed.
The leader decided to attack several countries and annex more territory to Egypt.
He wanted to display the nation's power.
In Renara of 2795, the Aether Network gained access.
Or rather—stole the 3-R.
They bombed Egypt with the R-ATOM, driving the Egyptian people to the brink of extinction.
Life in the country became unsustainable, practically uninhabitable.
At least, that's what the other nations believed.
Seventy-five solar cycles passed.
The ten most powerful cities consolidated their status:
São Paulo, holder of the 3-R, took first place.
Followed by:
Hong Kong,
New York,
Dubai,
Sydney,
Singapore,
Lagos,
Kinshasa,
Tokyo,
and London.
During those cycles, the surviving Egyptians extinguished the radiation and rebuilt Egypt.
Cairo, together with the militias of Alexandria, Luxor, and Aswan, transformed Egypt into one of the most powerful military forces in the world—even without the 3-R.
They had extraordinary military power at their disposal.
However, Kemetia Command remained under the northern African sector, led by the Lagos militia.
So they were required to report any major decisions to the Nigerian command.
That changed in 2871.
A new leader emerged.
The military and political figure Abdel Ramesses Kalil.
His discourse echoed that of the old leader—the one who led Egypt to annihilation in 2795.
He focused on worship of the ancient gods and the subjugation of other nations, while insisting that all were a brotherhood standing as equals.
After all, the Egyptian cities were horizontal.
He glorified his own people as descendants of the gods.
All others, he claimed, should bow before them.
Kiara paced back and forth.
"We have to be completely invisible there.
We land in Cairo, go straight to the Port of Alexandria, grab what we need, and get out.
Invisible."
She spoke as though each word were a blade.
Every detail about Cairo—its scars, its wars—made my stomach sink further.
"If something happens, if anything goes wrong, we could be in real trouble.
This mission—if Ma…"
Her voice cut off.
Maia's name disappeared from her mouth.
Her expression hardened.
"And you?
How am I supposed to do this while bringing you along?
Even killing an insect must be out of the question for you.
Unless…"
I frowned.
"You understand what self-defense means, right?
If someone tries to kill you, you strike back.
Even if that means killing them.
Could you do that?"
Her stare was fixed. Penetrating.
I was on the verge of breaking.
All the emotions I had been holding back for so long were seconds from overflowing.
My stomach twisted with every memory of that horrible place.
"I—I don't know.
If I promised you, I'd be lying.
I'd rather be honest with you."
My whole body shook with the effort of holding back a scream.
I felt as though I were about to collapse.
But I knew I had to keep going.
"I-I'll go with you.
I'll do what you ask.
I know you'll protect me.
Every part of me reaches for that.
I want to understand her…"
My voice trembled.
My eyes burned.
Kiara wrapped an arm around my shoulders and pulled me close.
Her fingers smoothed over my hair.
A comforting gesture.
I rested my head against her shoulder.
At last, the tears I had trapped inside spilled free.
"Hey. Easy.
The choice is yours. Always."
Her voice was firm, but full of tenderness.
"I'll protect you, but I need you to be strong.
I need you to protect yourself too, if I'm not there."
Her serious eyes held mine.
Almost pleading.
"In this world, there's only that option."
I understood what she meant.
Except that world was the opposite of mine.
In my world, death had always remained at a distance.
Being there made me question my morality.
My principles.
My inertia.
It would be ignorance to say I had been unaware of situations beyond Zenith.
I knew about them.
But they had never struck me in any concrete way.
They were too far from my routine.
Still—
though my initial motivation had been purely selfish,
I began to wonder whether Maia had led me there to understand her better.
Or for something greater.
As I sank into that thought, a growing need to understand—to belong to that universe—flooded me.
I would go to the end.
I would face whatever came.
I swallowed hard.
Kiara, attentive, handed me a bottle of water.
"I-I'll try," I whispered, hesitant, but certain.
"I promise I'll try."
"Good."
She projected a three-dimensional holo-map of Egypt from her hand.
"See this orange point?
That's the mission site.
I'm still searching, but I'm scanning everything to identify the object and detect weak points in the warehouse security so we can infiltrate.
Follow everything I say.
I'll avoid combat, but if it happens, I need you minimally prepared."
Kiara grabbed my wrists firmly.
"Use this."
Click
She pressed two buttons on my sleeves, and two blades slid out over my wrists.
I recoiled in surprise.
That had been there the whole time?
My hands trembled as I watched the blade emerge.
Its sharp gleam reflected the world I was about to enter.
She pressed again.
The blades retracted.
"Do this."
Kiara thrust her hand forward.
The blade sprang out again.
She winked.
"It's easier than it looks."
I tried to follow her instructions.
My mind spun with too much information.
Even uncomfortable and afraid of the weapons, I nodded.
My fingers brushed the blade, but every instinct screamed to let go.
I breathed deeply.
The fire of the decision only burned brighter with certainty.
Determination boiled in my chest.
Beside her, I had to be support.
Kiara was taking a risk by bringing me.
I needed to repay that with effort.
I practiced the motion several times.
The mechanism responded more smoothly each time.
Before long, the movement began to feel almost natural.
The gravity of the moment lived in tension inside me, echoing through every choice.
Before dawn
Kiara told me to wait at Verdant Suites while she went to meet Gill and collect two substances.
She returned quickly.
"It's time.
Ready?"
"To be completely honest, no."
She shrugged.
"You will be."
We left the hotel.
A warm early-morning wind brushed my face and my now-messy hair.
It was January.
Summer would soon reach its peak.
Our destination was a place with a mild winter.
A new feeling overtook me.
A strange contrast.
Fear. Euphoria.
They pounded wildly in my chest.
Kiara's car descended from the sky and landed in front of us.
Because of the mask I wore, a neon-magenta circular hologram appeared across the nanometal body of the car.
The glow seemed to penetrate my mind, as if whispering orders.
My body would have obeyed automatically.
"Oh—that's the transmission of the Netherian symbol."
She deactivated the strange broadcast, and I felt immediate relief.
"What was that?"
Kiara drove along the airway.
She glanced at me through the rearview mirror and gave a sarcastic smile.
"Mercenaries are the unwanted children Zenith discards, but Netheria takes them in with open arms and shapes them."
Her expression darkened.
"That's why they serve it."
The coldness of her words sent a shiver through me.
I turned my face away.
Chewed on my curiosity about Kiara in silence.
I knew very little about her.
She and Maia carried an aura that was intimidating and comforting in equal measure.
They differed, yes—
but they also held so many similarities.
They were like contained storms.
Invisible. Inevitable.
Ready to break free at the slightest carelessness.
A strong wind whining outside interrupted my thoughts.
Another worry crossed my mind.
"How are we getting into Egypt?
I mean… what about our passports?"
I must have sounded a little desperate.
I didn't care.
Kiara threw her head back and laughed.
Her intense laughter unsettled me.
My face flushed.
What was so funny?
"Those things are unnecessary for us.
We're nobody.
We do not exist in their worlds.
If we disappear, we are forgotten.
That's how they prefer it.
So do we."
"B-but…"
I searched for the right words.
"Even so… they're criminals.
The police are after many of them.
You said it yourself—this mask prevents official recognition."
"Yes. They have to say they're after us.
That they know who we are.
They pretend they hunt us to reassure the population, but we do their dirty work in silence.
The real criminals…"
Kiara's gaze cut straight through me.
"Are the ones who force us to do what they want while hiding behind official systems."
The words died in my mouth.
Kiara was right.
The truth was—I had always known.
But it was easier to believe what the Aether Network said.
More comfortable.
With every step of this journey, I was leaving comfort behind.
Thoughts of Maia returned.
Not Maia herself—
but how she moved through this world without leaving traces.
She was like rain:
gentle enough to soothe,
strong enough to devastate,
inevitable as a summer storm that arrives without warning.
My hands trembled faintly.
Even the warmth inside the car wasn't enough to warm them.
Silence weighed heavily.
The hum of engines around us sounded distant, almost like an echo from another dimension.
My heart beat faster with every kilometer.
What was waiting for me on the other side?
The horizon stained itself dark red.
Was it only the reflection of the city—
or an omen of what was to come?
I let the memories of Maia flow through my mind.