The Myth
Somewhere in the void.
A half-destroyed planet drifts in silence. Broken buildings stand scattered across the surface, leaning, collapsed, or barely holding themselves together like something abandoned long ago.
A girl runs through the ruins, her steps quick and light despite the uneven ground beneath her.
Pirates chase her.
“You’re not catching me today,” she says, a grin forming on her face as if this is all just another game to her.
Boots slam against metal behind her. Fast. Closing in with every second.
She spots the ship ahead, half-hidden between broken structures.
“Start the ship!”
No response.
“START IT!”
She pushes herself harder, forcing more speed out of her already tired legs.
She jumps.
Slides through the open door.
Her hand slams against the control panel.
The door shuts behind her with a heavy sound.
Silence.
“Phew…”
She exhales, catching her breath.
Then, without hesitation, she grabs the pilot by the collar.
“Move.”
A brief pause.
“I’m flying.”
The pilot stares at her, still trying to process everything that just happened.
“What the hell was that?”
She doesn’t even look at him, already flipping switches and bringing the ship to life.
“Why are pirates chasing you?” he asks, still shaken. “You said this was just business.”
She leans back slightly in the seat, completely focused on the controls.
“Well… it was business.”
A small pause.
“Then it became… aggressive business.”
He blinks, confused and irritated.
“That doesn’t explain anything.”
She shrugs like it’s not her problem.
“I may have taken something.”
“May have?”
She sighs lightly.
“Okay, I definitely took something.”
“What did you take?”
She glances at him, her expression suddenly serious.
“Something they clearly didn’t want me to take.”
“That helps no one.”
She grins again.
“Relax. If they wanted it this badly, it’s probably important.”
“That’s not comforting!”
She pulls a lever. The ship hums louder as power flows through it.
“Good. Stay alert then.”
…
“Look… you—”
He stops mid-sentence, realizing he doesn’t even know her name.
“It’s Selina,” she says, still not looking at him.
“Selina. Right. Whatever—listen!”
He points sharply at the controls.
“You do not command my ship. You are not allowed to touch anything and—”
He stops again.
His eyes drop.
“…don’t put your legs on the controls.”
Selina slowly lowers one leg.
Not the other.
He exhales deeply, frustration building.
“You keep messing everything up,” he says. “You told me you just needed my ship to travel. That’s it.”
She hums softly, unconcerned.
“And then you get into trouble—”
“I prefer the word adventure.”
“—and now rogue pirates are chasing us!”
She shrugs again.
“They look motivated.”
“They’re going to lock you in a cage if they catch you!”
Selina finally turns to look at him.
Calm. Completely calm.
“Then don’t let them catch us.”
A brief pause.
“I’m flying, remember?”
“Where are we heading now?”
He doesn’t answer immediately.
Then—
“We’re not going anywhere.”
A pause.
“I’m not letting you take this ship anywhere.”
Silence fills the space between them.
He looks away.
“…I’m done.”
“Fine. I’ll get off when we reach where I need to go,” she says, clearly annoyed but not arguing further.
He exhales again, trying to steady himself.
“Where are we even going now? My uncle is waiting. I have to pick him up with this ship—”
He stops mid-sentence.
Looks at her.
“…did you just put your legs on the controls again?”
Selina doesn’t move.
He closes his eyes for a second, trying not to lose his mind.
“I told you not to do that.”
His voice tightens.
Angry. Tired. Completely exhausted.
“Relax, young man,” she says, trying to soften his mood.
“Anger doesn’t suit you.”
He lets out a dry, humorless laugh.
“Easy for you to say.”
A pause.
“This is my ship.”
He looks directly at her now.
“I’m the one who has to panic every time you decide to do something really… really stupid.”
The ship steadies after the escape, engines still humming with leftover heat as it cuts through the empty stretch of space, drifting past broken debris and silent wrecks that float like forgotten bones.
The pilot exhales slowly, trying to calm himself.
“We’re making a stop,” he says, still tense. “My uncle’s waiting. We pick him up and then I drop you wherever you want.”
Selina leans back in the seat like none of this matters.
“Aw, look at you,” she says, glancing at him. “Still doing family errands in the middle of a near-death experience. That’s commitment.”
He doesn’t react.
“I’m serious,” he says. “We land, we pick him up, and then you get off.”
Selina tilts her head.
“Hmm… no.”
He turns to her slowly.
“No?”
“No,” she repeats, calm, like she just declined tea. “I don’t feel like getting off yet. The vibe isn’t right.”
“The vibe—?” he stares at her. “This isn’t a trip. You don’t stay.”
She gestures around.
“Relax. I almost got us killed and we still made it. That means we’re doing great.”
“That is not how that works!”
She shrugs.
“It worked, didn’t it?”
He runs a hand over his face, frustrated.
“We are not going anywhere dangerous. We land, we pick him up, and you leave.”
Selina watches him for a moment, then sighs dramatically.
“Fine. Fine. I’ll behave.”
A pause.
“Temporarily.”
He doesn’t trust that, but he doesn’t have time to argue.
The ship begins its descent.
---
The place they land isn’t a planet people live on.
It’s a graveyard.
A ruined stretch of land filled with broken ships, scattered metal, and old wrecks half buried in dust. The kind of place where people come not to stay—but to take whatever they can find and leave before something worse shows up.
The ship lands with a heavy thud.
The door opens.
A man is already waiting.
Older. Quiet. Watching.
He steps inside without a word.
“Nothing useful today,” he says, brushing dust from his hands.
Then he looks up.
Sees Selina.
She beams at him like she’s been invited.
“Hi.”
The man blinks once.
Then slowly looks at the pilot.
“You said this was a business drop.”
“It was,” the pilot says quickly.
“Then why is she still here?”
He hesitates.
“She… didn’t get off.”
Selina leans forward.
“I prefer to stay involved.”
The pilot sighs.
“She took something from pirates.”
The man raises an eyebrow.
Selina cuts in immediately.
“Not just something,” she says proudly. “Something they really, really didn’t want me to take.”
“That’s not helping,” the pilot mutters.
She grins.
“They were very emotional about it.”
The man studies her for a second.
Then looks back at the pilot.
“Where are we going now?”
The pilot pauses.
“…I was just about to ask that.”
He turns to Selina.
“Yeah. Where are we going?”
Selina doesn’t hesitate.
“Lumina.”
Silence.
The man’s expression changes immediately.
Not confusion.
Recognition.
Something heavier.
He grabs the pilot’s arm.
“Come here.”
They step aside, away from Selina.
He lowers his voice.
“Is she serious?”
“I don’t know,” the pilot says. “She just—says things.”
“She’s a maniac,” the man mutters. “She just messed with pirates and she’s still smiling about it.”
“I noticed.”
“And now Lumina?” he continues. “You even know what that is?”
The pilot shakes his head.
“Not really.”
The man exhales slowly.
“My father spent years looking for it,” he says. “Decades. Chasing stories, rumors… nothing real. He died without finding anything.”
He glances at Selina.
“And she just walks in here and says it like it’s a location.”
The pilot looks unsure.
“You think she’s lying?”
“I think she doesn’t understand what she’s saying.”
A pause.
“Or worse… she does.”
They both look back at her.
Selina is sitting casually, completely unbothered.
They walk back.
The man crosses his arms.
“Where exactly are you trying to go?”
Selina looks at him.
“Lumina.”
“No,” he says. “Not the name. The place.”
She smiles slightly.
“That is the place.”
He shakes his head.
“You don’t understand. Lumina isn’t a destination people just go to.”
He steps closer.
“It’s a legend.”
The air shifts slightly.
“People say it’s a realm of light,” he continues. “A place with living forests, a sun that doesn’t burn, power that doesn’t belong to this world.”
Selina doesn’t interrupt.
“A divine mother,” he adds. “Her children. Beings no one has seen.”
He watches her carefully.
“All stories,” he says. “All things people say… but never prove.”
A pause.
“No one finds Lumina.”
The pilot glances between them.
Selina leans back slightly.
Still calm.
Still smiling.
“Maybe,” she says softly, “they just didn’t know where to look.”
Silence settles in the ship again.
And this time…
it feels different.
