OASIS (GL)

A sharp pain in her chest forced Avalon’s eyes open. She gasped, falling back against the seat as the memory of their atmospheric escape crashed down on her. Beside her, Sky slumped to the side, unconscious, held in place only by straps. The ship groaned around them, a testament to the miracle that they had made it here at all.

Avalon quickly tapped the screen and replayed the final moments. Somehow, Sky had managed to trigger the magnetic field burst at exactly the right time, blowing apart the pursuing ship’s left engine. As they broke out of orbit, the enemy ships had struggled and veered off course. Theirs, however, had held true, and the autopilot brought them safely to the coordinates the girl had set beforehand.

Wait a minute-

Avalon yanked the emergency release, manually forced the ship door open, and threw herself outside. Her knees and fingers sank into the yellow sand beneath her, and she pressed her palms flat against it, needing to feel its grit, its warmth, its reality. A breath escaped her lips, caught somewhere between laughter and relief. She could hardly believe it. Despite everything that could have gone wrong, they had done it.

They were on the Fire Planet.

The land where Avalon had been born and raised, the second of the escape routes she had once mapped out for herself. The ship sat hidden in a blind spot between the red mountains. The nearest sign of human activity was two hours away on foot. She had searched so carefully for places like this that without them, a ship wanted across the entire kingdom would never have been able to enter unnoticed.

The mountains clustered around them concealed them perfectly. Avalon only realized how far she had wandered from the ship in her excitement when she turned back. Her fever and exhaustion had vanished. Judging by the sky, they had been inside for at least six or seven hours. Being back in her own element had purged the star fever, the elemental sickness that afflicted anyone away from their native planet for too long.

Of course, she had no idea what element Sky belonged to. The girl had spent her entire life on a completely different planet, after all, and Avalon was almost certain she would end up with star fever. Damn it... finding stardust in their current situation was going to be difficult.

When she returned to the ship, she climbed in from her side, unfastened Sky’s restraints, and easily lifted the girl out. Resting unconscious in her arms, white hair scattered everywhere, Sky looked utterly unaware of the world around her.

Avalon’s jaw tightened until her teeth ached. The anger was already there, the same anger that had once driven her to flee these lands she had spent her life in. The terrible grief born from the cruelty and racism inflicted upon innocent people and entire communities. Sky had spent her whole life in darkness because of what humans had done, and she had not committed a single sin.

Carrying her carefully, Avalon walked for a while before sitting beneath a tree she found nearby. She was certain Sky would wake up sick, so she rested the girl’s head against her lap and tried to make her as comfortable as possible. Too many thoughts crowded her mind. She could hardly believe how much the girl lying in her lap had protected her, even after losing her memories.

Could Avalon have done the same? Could she have saved a stranger fallen from the sky? She had no idea. She probably could never have trusted someone with the same unwavering faith Sky had, never opened her arms so warmly the way Sky did. Sky believed in miracles and invited them in, a kind of faith Avalon wasn’t sure she could ever possess. Maybe Avalon could never have done what Sky did in the same situation... but now, she would do anything for Sky.

Still, they had not been able to save Noah. Every time Avalon thought about the fate waiting for the boy, pain twisted inside her chest. The documents she had read in the Black Valley had revealed where Noah would be sent, and now that her memories had returned, everything was finally falling into place.

“I’ll fight for him too, Sky,” Avalon murmured softly, brushing a strand of hair away from the girl’s face. “Believe me. I’ll do everything I can.”

At that moment, Sky began to stir. Avalon straightened immediately and looked into the slowly opening violet eyes. The moment Sky felt the crushing pain in her chest, panic flooded her. She had expected to wake up as always and find herself staring at the woven ceiling of her room, but instead there were yellow mountains surrounding her, yellow and red mountains, like some cruel joke. And Avalon’s sky-blue eyes, the orange within them deepened until it nearly swallowed the entire color.

Sky shot to her feet, a strangled sound escaping her lips. “Breath,” she gasped, staring at Avalon with frantic eyes. “I can’t breathe.” Her hand clawed at her chest as she collapsed to her knees. The ground was wrong, yellow, sandy, melting between her fingers. This wasn’t home. This wasn’t Valor. And Noah wasn’t here.

Her chest grew heavier and heavier. She clenched the soil tightly in her hands. She could not stop thinking about how foreign it felt.

Avalon rushed toward her. What had happened? Couldn’t she adjust to the air here? But Avalon herself hadn’t struggled this badly on Valor. Had something happened during the journey? Aside from the wounds from prison, Sky didn’t seem injured. Then again, she had looked bloody and disheveled from the beginning. Was she having a breakdown?

Dropping to her knees in front of her, Avalon grabbed Sky’s arms and tried to meet her eyes, but Sky’s gaze remained fixed on the ground. Her shoulders trembled violently with every ragged breath she tried to take.

Everything was wrong. Her entire life, everything she had known, believed, trusted ,every person she had loved, had all been a lie. The image of the Old Spirits handing over one of their own children so coldly, as casually as making a trade, replayed endlessly in her mind alongside the terror in Noah’s eyes. She wanted to scream. She wanted to destroy everything.

Sky couldn’t breathe. She collapsed forward onto her elbows, onto the strangely yellow earth. She didn’t know where she was, and she couldn’t even ask. She had left Noah behind. She needed to go back to Valor and bring Noah home, but this yellow ground felt like it was swallowing every part of her. Sky wanted to tear the earth apart atom by atom. She wanted to close her eyes and open them again back on Valor, where she could still save her friend.

“What...” Avalon whispered as the ground beneath her knees began to shake.

What?

“Sky?” she asked, suspicion creeping into her voice.

The tremors grew stronger and stronger, yet nothing was happening to Sky. No part of her was glowing. Avalon lunged forward, grabbing Sky’s chin and forcing her face upward. Violet eyes overflowing with tears had lost their usual darkness and now gleamed brightly.

“Core...” Avalon breathed in astonishment.

Sky was doing this. Sky wascausingthis. She was a Core elementar.

A violent second tremor slammed into the ground, knocking Avalon backward and dragging her away from Sky. A massive cloud of dust swallowed the air.

“Sky!” Avalon shouted desperately, trying to climb back to her feet. How could someone who had lived her entire life unaware of her powers possibly be this strong?! “Please calm down! Everything’s okay!”

Grabbing onto the deep-rooted silk vines embedded in the earth, Avalon dragged herself toward the girl. Sand floated around Sky in the air, her glowing violet eyes fixed ahead in a trance while tears streamed endlessly down her face. By now, her entire hair was glowing.

At this rate, she was going to cause a massive earthquake.

“Sky!” Avalon shouted again, but Sky couldn’t hear her voice. She needed to reach her. She had to bring her back quickly. Either Sky would tear the planet apart, or people investigating these unnatural tremors would find them and drag them away. Earthquakes never happened on the Fire Planet. This time, Sky might not even get the kind of life she had managed to survive on Valor. Avalon would never allow that.

Digging her nails into the ground, Avalon forced herself forward inch by inch. Again. Again. Finally, she got close enough to reach Sky’s hand. Fighting against the shaking earth, she stretched her arm out and grabbed it.

The earthquake weakened instantly.

But it didn’t stop.

Avalon finally managed to stand and seized Sky by the arms.

“Sky. Listen to me, it’s Avalon, your gift from heavens, your miracle. I know you’re hurting, but we’re going to save Noah. We are his only chance, hell, we are the only chance for the entire system now, and if you don’t calm down, they’ll come for us.”

The tremors weakened, but they still wouldn’t disappear completely. Avalon didn’t know what else to do. Instinctively, she understood the unbearable pain and fury Sky was feeling. She was grieving just as deeply herself. Slowly, she opened her arms and pulled the girl into an embrace. Her fingers slipped through Sky’s hair while her other hand rubbed gently across her back.

“Everything’s going to be okay,” she whispered against the girl’s ear. “Please trust me.”

Avalon heard Sky sob.

“Trust me,” she said again.

The quake slowed. And as it slowed, Sky’s tense muscles finally began to relax. Eventually, the shaking stopped completely.

Sky had to trust her. And Avalon swore she would protect the girl even from the power inside herself.

“They’ll track the seismic activity,” Avalon yelled over her shoulder, pulling Sky along. “Everyone has an energy signature, they can follow yours!”

“Signature?” Sky panted, stumbling over the uneven ground.

“Using Core powers is a major crime here. And I’ve never seen anyone as powerful as you actually use it before.” Avalon’s words were clipped with urgency. “They’re coming. We have to keep moving.”

“Ah, shit,” Avalon murmured, looking toward the tiny flying machines sweeping over the hills above them.

Thankfully, both of them were fast enough to get away from the area. Avalon, however, looked ready to explode from the tension. She had planned to activate the ship’s self-destruct mechanism and blow it up, but they had run out of time. The ship was going to be found, luckily he put a lot of security systems in place to ensure no one could easily reach Val.

As they ran, Avalon quickly stripped off part of her clothing and handed it to Sky.

“Tie it over your hair,” she said seriously. “Don’t let even a single strand show.”

Even though she understood nothing, Sky obeyed.

After crossing the yellow earth for a while longer, they climbed the hill ahead of them, and below, stretched across the flatlands, was a small settlement. Avalon grabbed Sky’s hand and disappeared into the trees, moving with the certainty of someone who knew exactly where she was going.

When they finally approached the village, Sky nearly stopped breathing. In the middle of everything stood houses made entirely of wood, and the sight stunned her. Trees on Valor were so rare they were practically sacred; people needed permission just to pick up a fallen branch, let alone build houses from them. But this place was filled with trees, and everywhere she looked there were wooden homes.

“This way,” Avalon whispered, crouching down. Sky followed close behind, watching everything with awe as she walked.

After checking their surroundings carefully, Avalon headed toward a small cabin at the edge of the village. Shielding the lock with her body, Avalon focused a thin stream of heat into the mechanism. It glowed cherry-red for a tense second before she snapped it apart, hoping Sky was too distracted to notice the faint scent of scorched metal. Even while stepping inside, Avalon kept glancing around warily.

Sky’s mind had become incapable of processing all the new things she was seeing.

The lights that flickered on through wires connected to the button Avalon pressed. The impossibly soft-looking bed made of some material she had never seen before. The fan spinning above her head. The cool breeze that could never exist on Valor. The fact that the breeze didn’t make the house sway and creak.

Sky collapsed into a wooden chair by the wall. She needed her mind to rest.

Avalon, meanwhile, began working the moment they entered. From one of the cabinets, she pulled out the small amount of stardust she had thankfully brought with her before leaving.

“Swallow all of it,” she said, dropping the powder into Sky’s lap.

Scissors. Contact lenses she had prepared beforehand. Energy suppressants.

Avalon stepped in front of the small mirror above the sink and picked up the scissors. She wasn’t sure how much hair she would need to cut off. Maybe all of it?

Just as she raised the scissors to her hair, Sky suddenly jumped to her feet and snatched them out of Avalon’s hand.

“No,” Sky said.

Avalon blinked in surprise, lowering her arms before turning toward her with a questioning look.

“Your hair,” Sky said softly. Before even realizing what she was doing, she lifted a hand and touched Avalon’s hair gently. “It’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen in my life.” Her voice sounded almost enchanted. “Please don’t cut it.”

Without thinking, without hesitation,

“Okay,” Avalon said.

She stared at her reflection, scissors poised. It was a stupid risk, a fatal vanity. But looking at Sky’s earnest face, a different kind of survival instinct kicked in. She couldn’t break that fragile trust. Not now.

Frowning at herself, Avalon crouched down and pulled hair dyes out from beneath the cabinet. When she turned back toward Sky with the boxes in her hands, neither of them realized anything yet.

Avalon suddenly burst out laughing.

“For the sake of the Eternal Flames, Sky,” she said, holding the dyes out toward the girl staring at them in confusion. “The first thing you’re going to do in the Fire Planet is dye your hair.”

-

After two painful hours, Avalon finally stepped out of the tiny bathroom in the corner of the cabin with brown hair instead of red. Sky’s eyes had turned green with the help of the contact lenses. They had dyed a strand of her hair too, but her silver hair was so pale and stubborn that the color barely showed at all. Avalon had cut up some of the clothes in the cabin to make a head covering, and they had wrapped it around her hair.

“I can’t believe you actually have clothes that fit you,” Sky said, looking Avalon up and down. At last, she had begun recovering from her hysterical breakdown and was slowly returning to her usual calm state of mind, managing to focus only on how to fix things now.

Avalon wore a loose white shirt that hung open slightly in the front. The black pants underneath clung to her legs, covered in far too many pockets, and Sky had immediately fallen in love with the tall black boots she wore. Until now, she had only ever seen Avalon in practical, pieced-together scraps of clothing. Sky had been devastated to see the red hair disappear, but she understood perfectly well why they needed to stay hidden.

“I can’t say the same for you,” Avalon replied with a grin.

Sky was wearing the smallest blouse Avalon owned, and even that nearly reached her wrists and knees. Underneath it, she still had on the black shorts from beneath her original pants, though they had completely disappeared under the oversized shirt. People on the Fire Planet would probably find the style ridiculous, but Avalon couldn’t stop watching the way the sleeves kept falling over Sky’s hands every time she moved her arms and finding her adorable.

For a brief moment, Avalon was grateful they could laugh like this. She doubted they would have much time left to smile. Her expression quickly turned serious soon after.

“Repeat it for me,” Avalon said, crouching down in front of Sky’s chair.

“I’m the child of two Air citizens who live here. My mother and father work in Ardian’s energy systems. I’ve been using stardust since the day I was born,” Sky recited. Avalon nodded approvingly.

“And...” Sky paused to think. “I studied at the Central Air Academy in Ardian. Now I’m traveling around the planet with you.”

“Exactly.” Avalon straightened up. “As long as you don’t forget those details, we’ll be fine. The stardust and energy suppressants should hide your signature for now, but we urgently need more supplies. Since you’re a cusp, you need far more than normal. If anyone asks, it’s extremely important that you have no connection to earth and that nobody realizes the earthquake came from you.”

Sky nodded again despite understanding almost none of it.

“Are you hungry?” Avalon asked.

“Very,” Sky answered immediately, nodding enthusiastically.

Together, they left the cabin and walked toward the center of the village. Nobody turned to stare at them. Most people had black or red hair and were tall and broad just like Avalon. The women alone were twice Sky’s size. Most eyes glowed with intense shades of orange mixed with blue. Everyone wore clean, neat clothes, and someone had paved the roads with stones so walking didn’t feel like stumbling over uneven ground.

Still overwhelmed by culture shock, Sky kept glancing around excitedly until Avalon finally had to tell her to calm down a little.

Avalon held open the inn door for her, and together they walked beneath the dim lights glowing along the wooden walls toward an empty table and sat themselves. While Sky nervously wondered what would happen next, someone approached and asked what they wanted.

Sky immediately thought they had committed some terrible offense by walking inside and requesting food. Whose house was this anyway? How could they just barge in and demand a meal?

But Avalon simply ordered some stew and drinks from the woman, who smiled and walked away. Even stranger, a few minutes later she returned carrying exactly what they had asked for, setting the dishes down in front of them before wishing them a pleasant meal.

“But will there still be food left for them?” Sky asked, staring at the massive plate before her in disbelief.

Avalon laughed, though there was something almost painful about it. Sky had no idea, did she?

“This is a business,” Avalon explained. “They sell food here, and in exchange they earn these.”

She placed square metal coins and paper bills on the table.

“Money,” Sky murmured, studying them carefully. She had a vague idea of what money was supposed to be, though the only currency she knew in her life was stardust. “And then?”

“Then the owner gives that money to someone else to get what she wants from them. That’s how the cycle works.” Avalon barely managed to hold back another laugh. Sky looked absurdly funny pushing one of the metal coins around the table with the tip of her finger.

“Okay,” Sky finally said, lifting her head after abandoning the money. “Then enjoy your meal.”

As they ate, Avalon didn’t miss the amazement in Sky’s expression. On Valor, Avalon had eaten the finest meals reserved for honored guests, yet none of them had ever tasted as good as the cheap stew sitting in front of them now.

“That’s fire beer,” Avalon said when she noticed Sky sniffing the mug in her hands. “It might burn a little when you drink it, but you may end up liking how it feels.”

“Why are we drinking this?” Sky leaned closer and whispered nervously. “What if I get dizzy?”

“You’re drinking it,” Avalon said, leaning back in her chair, “because we need to reduce the energy you’re giving off. Once you finish eating, we’re leaving.”

Sky nodded and buried herself in both her food and the drink currently setting her throat on fire.

“Go on, then,” she said. “What exactly is all of this?”

“Where do I even start...” Avalon rubbed her forehead and leaned against the table.

“From the beginning,” Sky replied around a spoonful of food.

“Alright. It starts with a planet we destroyed, a place called Earth. We fled across the universe and found this system.” She gestured around the inn. “But it wasn’t a perfect new home. Stay on the wrong planet for too long, and you get sick. We call it star fever. An elemental imbalance.”

“Is that what was wrong with you on Valor?” Sky asked, her voice low.

“Exactly. I’m Fire element; this is my world. You’re Earth. Being on Valor nearly killed me. The only cure is the stardust your people are forced to mine.” Avalon’s voice hardened. “They built this system on four planets for four elements. Fire, Air, Water, and Core. And for those who didn’t fit, they built a prison: the 5th planet. Valor.”

“Valor is part of the system?” Sky asked, thinking about the planet where she had spent her whole life.

“It used to be. Not anymore. I’ll explain that part later.” Avalon pointed at herself. “I’m from the Flame Planet. I was born with access to the fire element. And you,”

“I’m a hybrid,” Sky interrupted before drinking her beer again. “The old spirits told me.”

“Exactly. You’re a hybrid of the earth element and another one, though we still don’t know what your second element is. The problem is...” Avalon leaned forward. “Hybrids like you are so rare on this planet they’re treated like myths. Dangerous myths. Look around. Do you see anyone else with white hair and violet eyes?”

Curiously, Sky lifted her head and looked around the inn. Most people had brown or red hair. There were dyed colors here and there, unusual shades too, but none of them were white.

“No,” she answered.

“Because that color combination is unique to cusps,” Avalon explained. “And we hid your hair because cusp people aren’t allowed to exist within the system.”

“What?” Sky laughed in disbelief. Since birth, she had been told everyone around her was either a Thirteenth or a cusp. Then she realized Avalon wasn’t joking. “What about the Thirteenths?”

Avalon exhaled slowly. That was where the real problem began.

“The Thirteenths,”

She stopped mid-sentence when she noticed the pair entering through the door out of the corner of her eye. They wore the red uniforms of government agents, but unlike anything Avalon had seen before. Instead of the usual stiff, rigid design, theirs were sleek, flexible, and fitted tightly to their bodies. The long fabric trailing behind them flowed like silk brushing against the floor. Instead of grand shoulder pieces, protective woven armor covered their shoulders.

The thickness of the black belts around their waists made Avalon’s skin crawl. She was almost certain weapons were hidden beneath them.

These were members of the special government unit tasked with hunting down hidden cusps and Thirteenths.

The worst possible people they could have encountered.

The Hell Duo.

From the looks of it, they had only come for food for now, but it was only a matter of time before they noticed them.

They needed to leave immediately.

“Sky,” Avalon whispered without taking her eyes off the girl, “don’t look now, but we need to get out of here without the pair who just came in seeing us. Calmly head toward the bathroom in the back and leave through there. We’ll meet outside.”

Sky felt her muscles tighten, her stomach burning with anxiety, but she managed to control the surge of panic rising inside her and nodded. Slowly, she stood up and walked toward the bathroom with the most casual steps she could manage. The moment she stepped inside, she shut the door and looked around, her pulse so loud in her ears she could barely think.

How was she supposed to get out? The tiny window above was nowhere near large enough for her to squeeze through.

Frantically, she ran her hands along the wooden walls, pushing, searching for any weakness. One plank shuddered under her touch. A tremor, no bigger than her own panicked heartbeat, ran from her fingertips into the wood. With a dry crack, the board splintered at the nails and came loose in her hands.

The sound of voices near the door suddenly made her tense. For a terrifying second, she thought someone would burst in and find her standing there holding a wooden plank. When the voices moved away again, she let out a shaky breath. They weren’t right outside the door anymore, but they were still close enough to hear her.

Sky reached toward one of the sinks with running water. Each time the water splashed loudly, she quietly hit the wooden boards again and again. She turned the faucet on countless times, striking the plank over and over until finally it cracked open slightly, letting bright light spill through from outside.

Sky exhaled deeply and smiled in relief.

After pulling the board away completely, she carefully squeezed herself through the opening. She was outside the inn now. Through the fully open window, she could both hear and see the pair sitting nearby.

The moment she realized the woman had turned in her direction, Sky immediately threw herself flat onto the ground.

“You felt it too, didn’t you?” she heard the woman say. Her voice was rich and commanding, but there was something disturbingly shameless about the way she spoke.

-

“I can smell it,” the boy across from her said, his voice threatening, almost like the hiss of a serpent. “Call the creature.”

Sky heard the girl answer with the most beautiful, melodic voice she had ever heard in her life. For a moment, she thought the sound itself would drag her under. Her head spun, her body softened, and as the girl’s song continued, Sky nearly drifted off to sleep right there on the ground.

What snapped her back to reality was the roar erupting from the other side of the inn, along with Avalon appearing behind the wall.

“Sky!” Avalon whispered frantically, motioning for her to come closer.

Sky shook her head sharply and tore herself free from the trance. She could hear heavy footsteps approaching, hear the shocked cries rising from inside the inn. Blinking rapidly, she pushed herself forward with her arms, and the moment she reached Avalon, Avalon grabbed her wrist and shoved her around the side of the wall.

“Get on! Now!” Avalon hissed, pointing toward a vehicle hovering slightly above the ground, balanced on two upward-facing wheels at the front and back.

For a second, Sky froze in confusion. Then she realized Avalon was pointing to the empty space behind her. She grabbed the hand Avalon offered and hauled herself onto the seat. The moment she sat down, Avalon started the vehicle at full speed. Sky immediately wrapped her arms around Avalon’s waist.

“Where did you even get this?!” she asked in panic.

“Stole it,” Avalon answered, slamming her palm against a panel. “Come on, come on...” she muttered, her fingers flying across the controls. Finally, a shimmer distorted the air around them, the vehicle’s cloaking field slowly blending them into the sky.

“Look down,” Avalon said grimly. “You need to see what’s following us.”

Sky lowered her lavender gaze, and a few seconds later her eyes drowned in the widening darkness of her own terrified pupils.

The creature roared in answer to the girl’s haunting melody, and the sound hurt Sky’s ears. The massive black beast coiled in flames circled around the girl and boy standing side by side outside the inn. Its long, serpent-like body gleamed with black scales. Enormous burning wings rested against its body, though it didn’t seem to need them to glide through the air. The atmosphere around it felt cursed and heavy. Its flames were not lively or warm, they were crushing, terrifying, destructive.

As the creature screeched and circled them, the girl standing below let her jet-black hair whip wildly in the wind. Her eyes were blood-red, and the way she stared upward into the sky made it seem as though she already knew exactly what was happening.

Her gaze pierced straight through Sky.

Even though she knew they were invisible, Sky felt completely exposed beneath those eyes. She wanted to run from the stare of someone who technically wasn’t even looking at her.

As Avalon sped away, Sky saw the creature finally stop circling and curl itself around the girl’s feet like a loyal beast settling down beside its master. The giant boy standing next to her watched silently, as if waiting for orders.

But the girl never once looked away from the sky.

-

They traveled until the vehicle finally ran out of fuel. About an hour later, Avalon lowered it behind a building and parked it out of sight. They had arrived in the center of the planet’s Third District.

This was where Avalon had grown up.

Avalon jumped off the vehicle with practiced ease and told Sky to follow her before disappearing into the narrow streets.

Sky was seeing a city for the first time. She tilted her head back, and back, trying to see the tops of buildings that scraped the clouds. A vehicle without wings roared past, making her flinch. On the side of one tower, a woman made of pure light smiled down at her, mouthing words Sky couldn’t understand. She was in another world, completely and terrifyingly lost.

When they reached the main street, the endless crowd completely captivated her. People who resembled Avalon physically moved through the streets without even glancing at one another. They carried small devices that produced glowing holograms whenever touched, spoke to invisible people through them, and stepped into capsule elevators before vanishing into endless buildings stretching toward the sky.

“This place...” Sky said while half-jogging to keep up with Avalon. “It’s nothing like the village we landed in.”

“That’s right, that village is very old indeed.” Avalon nodded. “The Fire Planet never destroyed the settlements built by the first people who lived here. Unlike Air, which was completely rebuilt from top to bottom, you can still find a lot of history here. Fire people are deeply connected to their traditions. Do you see what the people are wearing?”

She did. Most of the people passing by wore long red garments without sleeves, tied at the waist with ribbons that fluttered behind them.

“That’s one of Fire’s traditional outfits. It was inspired by the Dragon Gods from the earliest beliefs.”

“Dragon gods...” Sky murmured quietly to herself. Nothing about them resembled the gods she knew.

“This way.” Avalon led her into another narrow alley.

Sky trailed a few steps behind her, head turning at every unfamiliar sight, trying to take in enough details to make sense of where she was and what any of it meant. They moved through increasingly darker streets until the futuristic scenery faded into older, worn-down buildings. After nearly thirty minutes of walking, Avalon stopped in front of a tall, narrow apartment building with flickering lights.

Avalon entered the passcode and led them up seven flights of thin stairs. Sky thought she would have died from lack of breath if she hadn’t spent her whole life fighting to survive already. Finally, they reached an old brown door, and Avalon slammed a fist against it.

“Set!” she called out.

At first, nothing happened. Then came the sound of something crashing inside the apartment, followed by hurried footsteps. Sky realized someone was sprinting toward the door.

When it flew open, they were met by a young man with cigarette smoke curling from his mouth. Sky immediately coughed from the smoke she had never experienced before.

“Lone! Dude, where the hell have you been?! What happened to your hair?”

The boy’s face lit up with excitement as he grabbed Avalon by the arm, dragged her inside, and wrapped her in a tight hug.

“Do you have any idea how worried we were? We’ve searched every damn hole for weeks, and the government’s been looking for you everywhere! What the hell did you do?!”

“Hey, calm down.” Avalon laughed softly and patted the boy’s back.

Sky couldn’t help thinking once again about how beautiful Avalon looked when she smiled.

“There’s a lot to explain,” Avalon said before pulling away from the hug and gesturing toward Sky.

The apartment owner turned toward her with questioning eyes.

“That’s... a girl,” he said carefully.

“Yeah, and...” Avalon pointed toward the head covering wrapped around Sky’s hair. “Can you take it off?”

Sky untied the cloth from her head, and silver hair spilled down across her shoulders.

“Holy fuck. A cusp.” The boy’s pupils widened more and more as he stared at her. Even the craziest person on this system wouldn’t dye their hair white. The risk of accidentally getting caught was too high. This had to be a cusp, a real one.

Setter spoke, his voice filled with disbelief, unable to make sense of what he was looking at. “Avalon, you... Just get inside.”

-

“I don’t have any energy suppressants left,” the orange-haired boy muttered, placing a huge bottle of alcohol and some stardust on the tiny table, in front of Sky. “This is all I’ve got. I’ll arrange more tomorrow.”

“Thanks,” Avalon replied, dropping onto the couch.

The room was covered wall to wall in layers of graffiti. Warm air drifted in through the slightly open balcony doors, making the curtains sway. Every corner of the tiny, old apartment was packed with decorations and random objects, as if the place itself carried years of memories inside it.

Meanwhile, Sky sat perfectly straight with her arms and legs pressed together, looking like a statue that had no idea what to do. From the short exchange between them, she had gathered that the boy was one of Avalon’s old friends, and apparently involved in some illegal businesses. Sky had no idea what legal or illegal was here.

“Relax a little,” the boy said, sitting across from Sky and sliding the bottle toward her. “You need to drink that if you want your energy to settle down.”

Sky nodded quietly, leaned back, and raised the bitter drink to her lips.

“Sorry, Sky,” Avalon said, laughing under her breath. “Looks like you’re going to spend a lot of time drunk in Flame.”

“So basically you’re the one who’ll suffer,” Sky replied with a faint smile before taking another sip. “I’m a terrible drunk. At least that’s what Noah always said.”

Noah. Sky felt her chest tighten, tears trying to push through her eyes. She closed them and tried to gulp. She didn’t see how Avalon noticed the shift in her behavior, how she watched her closely with knitted brows.

“Now,” the orange-haired boy interrupted, finally dragging Avalon’s attention back toward him. “Start from the beginning.”

Avalon took a deep breath and stared silently at her fingers for a moment. Then she leaned sideways, took the bottle from Sky’s hands, drank straight from it, and handed it back. Sky merely watched her with questioning eyes.

“Where do I even begin...” Avalon rubbed at her forehead.

“The Thirteenths are real,” she finally said.

The boy across from her cycled through about five different expressions of shock in seconds.

“What?” he blurted, nearly launching himself off the couch. His orange eyes sparkled with excitement, and the speed of his breathing and the grin spreading across his face made it obvious how enormous this revelation was.

“It’s called Valor. The place is full of cusps and Thirteens.”

“So there are living Thirteens...” The boy covered his mouth in disbelief and leaned closer to Avalon like he didn’t want to miss a single word.

Beside them, Sky awkwardly sipped her drink, unsure what to do while hearing herself discussed like this.

“That’s right. They spend their entire lives mining star dust and training for combat to maintain their physical strength. The previous bombings devastated the planet; barely even a single plant grows naturally anymore. The water sources dried up long ago, and the climate has become unbearably arid. Because of the mines, they breathe and live in stardust, and not a single person is aware of their element. The officials they call the Old Spirits have been deceiving people all this time with ghost stories and nonsense about some gods.”

Sky’s violet eyes widened as she stared first into empty space, then at Avalon herself.

What was she saying?

Avalon was calmly explaining that Sky’s entire life, every belief she had ever held, was a lie, as casually as if she were giving a scientific lecture.

“The Watchers tracked my ship as I crossed the border. They shot me down as soon as I hit the atmosphere.” Avalon’s voice hardened. “I crashed, lost my memory. It was a miracle I escaped. But the rumors were true, Setter. The human experiments must be real, because I saw two traded 13s and a cusp with my own eyes.”

“And the ship had the Galactic Union’s logo on it.”

Avalon paused when she sensed a strange shift in energy. Feeling eyes fixed on her, she turned toward Sky and suddenly didn’t know what to say.

She hadn’t meant to say it all like this, especially not in front of Sky. But seeing a familiar face after so long, the words just spilled out, a torrent she couldn’t stop. For weeks, the horrifying truth had been hers alone to carry.

“Just listen for now, okay?” Avalon said softly, looking at Sky with eyes full of empathy. She was speaking about discoveries tied to another planet, but to Sky, these were her entire belief system, her family, her childhood. “If you have questions later, I’ll answer all of them.”

“She doesn’t know what’s going on?” Setter asked in confusion, glancing back and forth between Avalon and Sky. “I thought she was one of the people helping you,”

The realization hit him all at once. Setter’s eyes slowly widened as he turned fully toward Sky and stared at her carefully.

“Avalon... I thought you kidnapped this girl from somewhere, but...” He looked between the two of them again. “Don’t tell me you brought this girl out of the 5th planet. Don’t tell me this cusp is actually from Valor.”

“Hi,” Sky sighed, awkwardly lifting a hand. “I’m Skylar, but you can call me Sky. And, uh... you’re right.”

Setter collapsed backward onto the couch, convinced his arms had turned to rubber. He reached for a cigarette, lit it with shaky hands, and stared at the ceiling lamp in disbelief.

He had stopped believing in gods as a child, but the sheer shock forced the words from his mouth anyway.

“In the name of the Great Dragons... Avalon, what the hell have you done?”

-

“Human experiments?” Sky asked quietly as she watched Avalon spread a thin mattress out on the floor. Setter had prepared the back room for them before finally going to bed. According to him, he needed to wake up early in the morning to find energy suppressants for Sky on the black market.

Sky had already finished the massive bottle they had given her, and now she felt light from the alcohol, but unbearably heavy from everything she had learned.

“Human experiments...” Avalon repeated under her breath after her. Once she finished arranging the bedding, she sat down on the floor and looked up at Sky sitting on the mattress. “They’re experimenting on humans to cure star fever. They’re trying to understand why it happens...”

“You mentioned trades.” Sky felt a sharp pain twist through her chest as she remembered Noah’s bound hands and the desperate look in his eyes, begging for help.

“Yeah. They hid and raised all of you on Valor this whole time. Cusps are raised as slaves meant to operate systems that only work through the combination of two elements. And the Thirteens...”

“They’re taken away for human experiments?” Sky asked. Avalon nodded.

Her head was already spinning, but every new thing she learned felt like another piece of the universe collapsing on top of her. At last, she had reached the world beyond the sky she had wondered about since childhood. She had always imagined it as an adventure full of lights, happiness, and discovery. Instead, all she had found was heartbreak.

“Yeah.” Avalon took a slow breath and lay back onto the mattress. Her gaze drifted across the star-shaped patterns decorating the ceiling.

Sky lay down too, staring up at the same stars. If Avalon had never appeared, she would be lying beside Noah on the warm ground at this exact moment, watching the sky together. Completely unaware. Wrapped in the peace of ignorance.

“Are you angry at me?” Avalon suddenly asked.

“What?” Sky couldn’t stop herself from smiling at how ridiculous the question sounded. “Why would I be angry at you?”

“Because I fell from the sky and destroyed your whole life,” Avalon answered, laughing softly after hearing Sky laugh.

“The thing I thought was my life was already destroyed.” Sky wiped the tears gathering in her eyes with the back of her hand before Avalon could see them.

But Avalon didn’t need to look at her to know she was crying. She wished she could stop those tears somehow. She wanted to erase Sky’s pain, but right now there was nothing she could do.

“So what now?” Sky asked, her voice quiet. She pushed herself upright, her violet eyes finding Avalon’s. “This whole system... it’s all built on lies. On my people’s suffering.”

“It is,” Avalon said softly. “And I want to tear it all down.”

Sky’s hands curled into fists in her lap hard enough for her nails to bite into her skin. The grief inside her still felt unbearable, a raw wound torn open again and again, but beneath the sorrow, something hotter had begun to burn.

Anger.

Resolve.

“Then teach me,” she said quietly, though her voice grew steadier with every word. “Teach me how to use my elements. If there’s a war waiting for us, then let me fight in it.” Her violet eyes locked onto Avalon’s. “I’m with you.”

Avalon forgot how to breathe for a moment. It was a raw rush of emotions, something that burned down from her throat all the way to her stomach.

She couldn’t remember ever feeling this happy in her life. Not when her first girlfriend held her hand. Not when she finally attended the festival she had dreamed about for years. Not when she kissed someone for the first time, or watched the movies she had counted months down for.

None of it came close to this.

Because for the first time in years, Avalon didn’t feel alone.

She had spent her entire life chasing this feeling without realizing it, a person who looked at the same broken world and still chose to fight beside her. Someone who understood the weight of the fire burning inside her instead of fearing it.

She had spent her entire life searching for the exact happiness she was feeling right now, and she never could have imagined she would find it somewhere so far outside the boundaries of normal.

“We can do this,” Avalon murmured, slowly nodding as she lay back down beside her. There was something bright and unwavering in her voice now, something almost dangerous in its certainty. “No... we will.”

So this is it, she thought.They told me my whole life that love was sweet and romantic, but instead, I’m falling in love with the fight and resistance inside someone.

Sky lay back down too, and for the first time since everything had begun, she closed her eyes feeling even the smallest trace of peace.

“Goodnight, stranger.”

“Goodnight, Sky.”

-

When morning came, Sky woke to a breakfast table covered with foods she had never seen in her life. The more names she heard, the less she understood. Kaynari milk. Lava chicken eggs. Black lavender jam.

Still, every single thing on the table was the most delicious food she had ever tasted, and she couldn’t stop herself from finishing the entire plate.

“Want some more?” Avalon asked, adding more food to Sky’s plate. As she leaned over, her hair, now a soft brown, fell across her face. Sky noticed the blue in Avalon’s eyes had faded, leaving the orange to glow with a new intensity. It was as if the planet itself was claiming her.

Sky was more terrified than she had ever been in her life, and yet somehow more peaceful too.

If they escaped this system that refused to accept her for being a cusp... if they managed to build a world where everyone could live peacefully... if they saved Noah and fixed everything...

Maybe then she would want mornings like this with Avalon forever.

Her cheeks flushed at the thought, and she quickly shook her head before turning away.

“Did something happen?” Avalon asked, frowning slightly as she looked at her.

“Nothing,” Sky replied quickly, finishing the milk in front of her in one gulp.

“Good morning, space travelers!” Setter announced loudly as he walked into the room.

Sky and Avalon both looked up from the kitchen table. Avalon grinned so widely all of her teeth showed, and once again Sky found herself unable to look away.

Ever since Avalon regained her memories, Sky hadn’t seen her smile this much. How hard would it really be to create a planet, no, a whole system, where Avalon could smile whenever she wanted?

And it would be worth it, wouldn’t it?

If the future forming in Sky’s mind became real, then maybe she could always see Avalon smiling like this.

Setter walked over to the table and slapped Avalon’s raised hand in greeting. Then he formed a circle with his thumb and index finger, lifted the remaining three fingers to his forehead, and waved his hand. It had to be a Fire-specific greeting. Every minute Sky spent here taught her more than an entire lifetime on Valor ever had.

“For this lovely little cusp lady,” Setter said, dropping a bag in front of Sky. “Energy suppressants and star dust.”

Sky thanked him, opened the bag and swallowed one of the same pills Avalon had given her before.

“This is barely anything,” Avalon muttered, shaking her head as she picked up the pouch of star dust.

There it was. Her smile vanished just that quickly.

“There wasn’t any more,” Setter answered, running a hand through his orange curls before leaning back in his chair and lighting a cigarette. Smoke curled into the air as his orange eyes reflected the storm of thoughts in his head.

His gaze told Avalon something was wrong.

“They’re stockpiling it,” Avalon sighed, leaning back.

“You mean those conspiracy theories you told us about the Thirteenths?” Setter asked.

Avalon shot him an irritated look. “I literally went to the planet and saw it myself, and you’re still calling it a conspiracy theory? According to the documents in my father’s archives, they’re planning to completely destroy Valor so they can end Deep Sleep once and for all. If the human experiments succeed, they’ll be able to cure star fever and eliminate the Thirteenths entirely. Since they’re hoarding star dust, they must be getting close to a result. Probably as a precaution.”

“Wait.” Sky dropped the fork in her hand. “Destroy Valor? What are you talking about?”

“Ah.” Avalon exhaled and rubbed her forehead. Her fingers brushed the hair tie around her wrist before she gathered her brown hair into a ponytail and turned toward Sky.

“When humanity first settled in this system and started using the planets’ resources, their powers began to evolve too. Each planet appointed its own rulers, and for a while everyone lived peacefully. People moved to the planet tied to their element and built lives there, protected from star fever. But not everyone could survive on Valor, the 5th planet. Those who didn’t belong there got sick much faster than the others. The people of Thirteen, though, never experienced star fever at all. Thirteenths can survive on every planet, and they control Empti.”

“Empti?”

“A type of energy nobody fully understands yet, Empti users can amplify others elemental energy, take it, use it however they want. It’s not like the other four elements, it’s not like they create something from scratch. They amplify what already exists, turning it into a catastrophic power.” Avalon explained. “It is said to be stronger than the other four elements because of this.”

“Keep going,” Sky said softly when she noticed Avalon hesitate unhappily. Her eyes were fixed entirely on Avalon, absorbing every word like water.

“Around 150 years ago, that’s when fear and jealousy started spreading across the planets outside Valor. People began tormenting the Thirteenths living among them in everyday life, and eventually the Thirteenths fought back. When everyone witnessed their overwhelming strength and endless abilities, they became terrified and imprisoned the Thirteenths they had.”

“The leader of Thirteen at the time was a woman who cared deeply about justice. She was a legendary warrior. The Thirteenths used their abilities to create weapons more powerful than anything the other planets could even dream of, and eventually war broke out between the planets. Thirteen was strong, but it still couldn’t stand against the combined force of four planets. After endless attacks, the planet became what it is today. Dry. Burning. Unlivable.”

“So all of this is the fault of the people on the other planets?” Sky asked, anger boiling inside her chest.

“No, no.” Avalon shook her head immediately. “Ordinary people had no idea any of this was happening. It was the governments at the time who were responsible. But when they turned Thirteen into an unlivable wasteland, they destroyed the balance of the entire system.”

She paused briefly before continuing.

“The system works so that at certain times each year, one planet reaches the peak of its power. When Valor reached that point and there were no living beings left capable of absorbing its energy, when the planet itself died, the balance collapsed. During that period of the year, the other planets suffered the system’s retaliation. That’s when Deep Sleep began.”

“Deep Sleep?” Sky repeated.

“We all go into hibernation for about two and a half months every year,” Setter answered before Avalon could.

He got up and disappeared into another room, returning shortly after with a tangled pile of glowing blue devices and cables.

“We sleep using these. You can either set it at your house or go to a facility to sleep. But every person is tracked and it is mandatory. Everyone across all four planets goes under. It reduces the strain on the system, and since our energy drops to its lowest point, it prevents even bigger disasters.”

“The funny part is,” Avalon said with a bitter laugh, “nobody even knows the real reason behind Deep Sleep. People believe all the ridiculous stories they’re told about health benefits and ancient traditions. Nobody questions it. Not a single person asks why four entire planets sleep for 2 months straight.”

“Except Avalon,” Setter corrected as he sat back down. “Ever since I met this girl, she’s been throwing nonstop conspiracy theories at us.”

“It’s not a conspiracy,” Avalon started, only to give up and roll her eyes.

“So they’re trying to erase Valor to restore the balance of the system,” Sky said slowly, piecing it together. “And they’re experimenting on Thirteenths to cure star fever?”

“Exactly,” Avalon replied. “And that’s why I went to the 5th planet in the first place. I found a way to stay awake during Deep Sleep.”

“How?” Sky asked.

Setter let out a laugh. “The girl sitting next to you is the best information specialist you’ll find around here,” he answered. “Even though interplanetary communication is heavily controlled, she found a way to communicate through encrypted channels. She’s spent years working with other people who suspected something was wrong, trying to figure out the truth. And apparently, during the last Deep Sleep, she managed to stay awake, access her father’s files, and travel to Valor to see if you were real.”

“Are you insane?” Sky asked, unable to take her wide eyes off Avalon.

“I mean...” Avalon muttered before nodding with the expression of someone fully accepting their fate. “I wouldn’t exactly call myself smart.”

“And the only reason you abandoned your own home and even stood against your family...” Sky whispered.

“Was to fix the injustice she saw in the system,” Setter finished for her, nodding repeatedly. “While the rest of us were busy with our own lives, Avalon’s been obsessed with this for years. We even have a friend who calls her a hero.”

“And then there’s you, calling me crazy,” Avalon replied with narrowed sky-colored eyes and a grin tugging at her lips.

“Am I wrong?” Setter stood up and started clearing the table. “By the way, you two...” He turned back toward them after dropping the dishes into the sink. “You can’t stay here for long. Sky’s energy is way too strong, probably because she’s influenced by two elements. Even with suppressants, I doubt it’ll take them very long to track you down.”

“Yeah.” Avalon nodded. “That’s why you need to get us two Water passports.”

“What?” Sky and Setter said at the exact same time.

“Water?” Sky repeated weakly.

“We’re going to the Water planet, Va.” Avalon leaned back casually. “There’s someone there I trust with my life, and we’ll continue the rest of the plan there.”

“Water passports?” Setter smacked a hand against his forehead and leaned against the counter. “If you asked for Air passports, I could get them immediately, but Water? Do you have any idea how careful they are with outsiders? Neither of you have passed any of the medical screenings required to enter Water! Damn it, does Sky even exist anywhere in the system records?”

“Yeah...” Avalon gave her friend a look that clearly said she already knew he would eventually agree. “We’ll need to create an identity for her under a fake name too. But I can handle that part. Hacking Fire’s systems is basically my specialty.”

“Maniac,” Setter muttered, staring at her with defeated shoulders. Avalon had helped him every single time he got himself into trouble over the years. And of course Setter hated the injustice he had now learned existed. He just had never planned on being as reckless and involved as Avalon was.

Still... when it came down to it, he didn’t really have any choice except helping his best friend.

“I″ll go get it,” he announced dramatically as he shoved the dishes into place with far more noise than necessary. “You owe me for this.”

“Whatever you want,” Avalon called after him with a laugh.

Then she turned back toward Sky.

“Ah, Sky. You can take one suppressant a day, but your energy output is still way too high.” Her lips curved into another smile. “How about drinking a little more?”

“Again?” Sky groaned tiredly.

“Do you want to go outside?” Avalon asked, smiling wider now. As long as Sky’s energy stayed under control, Avalon didn’t think there would be much danger.

And honestly, Sky deserved to see the magnificence of Fire with her own eyes.

-

The streets of Flame looked completely different at night.

Sky stood frozen beneath glowing lanterns strung between towering buildings, her violet eyes reflecting rivers of gold and crimson light. The entire city felt alive. Music echoed through every corner of the streets, deep drums beating loud enough for her to feel the rhythm in her chest while laughter and conversation melted together beneath the endless glow of flames.

“What is all this?” Sky asked breathlessly as another explosion of color bloomed across the sky.

Fireworks burst overhead like stars being born. Scarlet, gold, and blinding white sparks rained through the darkness, illuminating the city in flashes of brilliant light. Sky instinctively ducked at the first explosion, but after realizing nobody else was panicking, she stared upward in open awe instead.

Avalon laughed beside her. “Festival of Embers,” she explained. “It happens every year before the hottest season begins.”

Sky barely heard her.

There were too many things to look at.

Streams of floating fire drifted above the crowds like glowing spirits. Vendors lined the streets with carts full of foods Sky had never seen before, spiraled pastries coated in glittering sugar, sizzling skewers covered in scarlet spices, glowing drinks swirling with heat beneath glass cups.

People danced everywhere.

In the center of the street, fire dancers spun in circles while flames curled around their arms like living ribbons. One woman leaped through the air, her red clothes fluttering behind her as rings of fire spiraled around her body without burning her. The crowd erupted into cheers.

Sky stared with her mouth slightly open.

“They’re using their elements publicly?” she asked.

“Tonight’s different,” Avalon said. “The government allows it during festivals.”

One of the dancers snapped her wrist, sending a wave of sparks into the air. The flames exploded into the shape of a massive dragon overhead, its blazing body twisting through the night sky before scattering apart into thousands of glowing embers.

Sky actually gasped.

Avalon looked at her instead of the performance.

The lights from the fireworks reflected in Sky’s silver hair and wide eyes. Wonder covered every inch of her face so openly that Avalon felt her chest tighten painfully.

“You really haven’t seen anything like this before, have you?” she murmured.

Sky slowly shook her head.

In Valor, nights had been silent.

Dark.

People conserved energy whenever they could. Celebrations were small things, shared drinks, quiet songs, stolen moments beneath dying stars. Nothing like this. Nothing this loud or bright or alive.

Another burst of fireworks thundered across the sky, painting the streets gold for a single breathtaking second.

Sky turned in circles just trying to take everything in. Children ran past her holding sparklers that hissed crimson fire into the air. Somewhere nearby, musicians played fast, chaotic music while strangers grabbed each other’s hands and danced without embarrassment.

And for the first time since leaving Valor, Sky forgot to be afraid.

“This place is insane,” she whispered, unable to stop smiling.

Avalon grinned. “That’s Flame for you.”

Before Sky could answer, someone in the crowd grabbed Avalon by the wrist and pulled her toward the dancing.

“Avalon!” Setter shouted from somewhere ahead of them. “Stop standing around and move!”

Avalon immediately looked horrified. “Absolutely not.”

Sky laughed before she could stop herself.

The sound startled even her.

Avalon stared for a moment, visibly caught off guard by the brightness of it, before something soft crossed her expression.

Then another firework exploded overhead, bathing the streets in blazing gold as the festival carried on around them like the city itself had caught fire.

-

“Do we really have to cut it?” Sky asked miserably, standing in front of the bathroom mirror with Avalon holding a pair of scissors. “I’ve never cut my hair in my entire life.”

Avalon looked at the silver hair falling almost to her hips and nodded firmly. “We can’t risk you getting caught. Your hair gives you away too quickly.”

Sky let out a breath, tossing her hair behind her before downing the drink in front of her. She had gotten used to the taste by now. In fact, she was starting to like the warmth spreading through her chest and the dizzy feeling it gave her. She had always been calm and controlled, but this strange drink made her want to let go of the reins for once.

“I’m going to have short hair,” she murmured, staring at her silver curls with nervous excitement. “Do you think it’ll suit me?”

Avalon felt her heartbeat stutter as she combed through her hair. “I can’t imagine anything that wouldn’t suit you.”

Before she could stop herself, she brushed her fingers against Sky’s cheek, sliding them down softly. The second she saw Sky flinch, panic flashed through her mind. Sky looked just as lost. Nobody had ever taught her how flirting worked, what this stupid ache in her stomach meant, or how to talk to someone she liked.

So she did the only thing she could think of.

“Just cut it already,” Sky muttered before finishing the rest of the bottle in one go.

Had she made her uncomfortable? Avalon cursed herself for losing control for even a second and silently promised it would never happen again. She set the comb down and picked up the scissors instead.

Silver strands fell slowly to the floor.

By the time she finished, Sky’s white hair rested just below her chin. Avalon removed the towel from her shoulders and crouched down to clean the floor while Sky stared at herself in the mirror.

Damn it. Avalon gasped and tried to hide it with a weird cough.

She looked beautiful.

Avalon avoided looking at her entirely, sweeping the fallen curls away before quickly leaving the bathroom. She couldn’t believe herself. If this was what liking someone felt like, then what had she mistaken for feelings before? Compared to Sky, everyone she had ever liked felt laughably dull.

Meanwhile, completely unaware of the chaos inside Avalon’s head, Sky kept staring at her reflection, trying to get used to it. She drank the last few drops left in the bottle and felt the same lightheaded warmth she used to feel on the rare days she drank too much wine back in Valor.

She giggled at her reflection and shook her head just to watch the short strands move.

She felt... light. Carefree.

And she decided she wanted to feel that way with Avalon.

She walked into the kitchen, grabbed a bottle from Setter’s absurd alcohol collection, took two glasses, and set them down in front of Avalon, who was sitting on the couch in the living room.

“For me too?” Avalon asked in surprise.

Sky nodded sweetly. She knew she wasn’t fully in control of herself anymore, but... she didn’t really want to control it either. Everything she was feeling was new, and she wanted to enjoy every second of it.

“What’s this?” she asked, staring at the hologram floating above Avalon’s computer.

“It’s a holographic OS,a cheap one,” Avalon explained, her fingers dancing in the air, shifting the glowing projections. She mimed grabbing something and pulled; a keyboard made of light appeared in front of her. “Setter kept breaking the good ones, so he gets the budget model,” she added with a grin.

Sky grinned too. Setter already seemed reckless and clumsy enough for that to make sense.

“I programmed this myself,” Avalon said, showing her the interface.

Sky barely understood anything but nodded anyway.

“Val?” Avalon called, hoping the system would cooperate.

“Welcome,” a voice replied from the system, making Sky jump in place. She still wasn’t used to strange voices suddenly coming from nowhere.

“I’m accessing the Fire government system.”

“Logging in.”

Sky blinked. “That voice... isn’t it the same system from inside your ship?”

“Exactly.” Avalon nodded while typing rapidly.

Sky refilled both their glasses, the movements feeling slow and deliberate. They’d told her getting drunk would suppress her energy, dulling her mind and body. It certainly made the room feel hazy, but it did little to quiet the storm of revelations in her head.

“Now we’re registering you into the system.” Avalon typed even faster. Sky genuinely couldn’t understand how her fingers moved that quickly. “Done. How old are you again?”

“Twenty-four,” Sky answered. “I think.”

“Then we’re the same age.” Avalon entered the rest of the information before reaching into the holographic system and pulling out a floating camera. “Now smile.”

“What?” Sky stared at her in confusion as Avalon lifted the camera toward her eye. She had never seen a camera or photograph in her life.

“Oh.” Realization crossed Avalon’s face as she lowered it. “Right. It captures a moment. Freezes it, so you can see it again later.” She held it up again. “Just... look here.”

“So it remembers for you?” Sky asked, intrigued.

“Exactly,” Avalon smiled. “Now, hold still.”

Sky forced an awkward smile while sitting stiffly in front of her.

Avalon nearly burst out laughing as she took the picture.

A second later, Sky saw her own face appear on the screen and nearly choked.

“That’s me!” she exclaimed excitedly, reaching toward the image, only for her fingers to pass straight through the hologram.

And when Avalon casually opened another application and changed her hair color to black, Sky looked even more horrified.

Avalon completely lost it at that point. She laughed so hard her stomach hurt. She didn’t think she had ever found anything this adorable in her life.

Meanwhile, Sky stared at her with wide, curious eyes.

“You should laugh more often,” she said suddenly, emboldened by the alcohol. “It looks really good on you.”

Avalon had absolutely no idea what to do with that sentence.

She quickly raised her glass to her lips and turned away slightly, pretending to drink.

Were her hands shaking?

Avalon’s hands were shaking.

Her hands had always been so steady that her mother spent her entire life trying to convince her to become a doctor like her.

Alarm bells started screaming inside her head. Somehow, Sky was ruining her composure completely.

“Isn’t there an easier way to drink this stuff?” Sky mumbled, sinking sideways against the couch. Loose strands of white hair fell across her face as she looked at Avalon through them.

“Want to play a game?” Avalon asked, shutting the system down and turning toward her, sitting cross-legged on the couch. She refilled both their glasses and slid Sky’s toward her. “They’re called drinking games. We make guesses about each other, and if the guess is right, the other person drinks. Deal?”

“Deal.” Sky sat up immediately.

So there were games for this too...

While she spent her life fighting and mining star dust, was this how carefree young people in Fire spent their time?

“I think you have trouble opening up to people,” Avalon said confidently. “Even if you want to trust them, it takes time before you can really be yourself.”

Sky blinked slowly, confused by how accurate the observation was, before taking a sip from her drink. The alcohol combined with Avalon’s presence was making her cheeks noticeably redder.

Avalon thought she looked painfully cute.

“I think there’s more behind this journey of yours,” Sky said after thinking for a moment. “I know you care about justice, but it feels personal too.”

Avalon’s eyebrows lifted in surprise. She wasn’t easy to read, but around Sky she kept letting her guard down. She couldn’t help feeling impressed by the observation and took a drink from her glass.

Avalon thought about the people back in Valor. Sky probably hadn’t noticed it herself, but she glowed. People looked at her wherever she went.

“I think there was someone in Valor you liked,” Avalon said.

Maybe Ethan. Maybe Mason. Both were attractive in their own ways. And unlike Avalon, they belonged in Sky’s world.

To her horror, Avalon realized she was afraid of the answer.

Maybe she really was losing her mind.

“What?” Sky blinked blankly at first. “Wait. You mean romantically?”

Avalon nodded slowly.

The last thing she expected was for Sky to start laughing.

“Of course not,” Sky said. “Most of us didn’t bother with romance in Valor. Even though Noah tried a few times to court Felicia.”

The mention of Noah instantly drained the warmth from her expression. Her shoulders lowered as she stared down at the glass in her hands.

Avalon noticed immediately.

She would save Noah. She had already promised herself that much. But right now, she didn’t want Sky drowning in sadness again.

“I’ll drink for that one,” Avalon said quickly, trying to pull her attention back. Violet eyes lifted toward hers as Avalon emptied her glass and poured another.

“You like someone too,” Sky accused suddenly, pointing at her. “You definitely do.”

Avalon stared at the half-drunk girl pointing at her and, for once in her life, genuinely had no idea what to say.

Avalon always knew what to say.

Yet in only a few days, Sky had already left her speechless more times than she could count.

Eventually, she decided there was no point lying and downed the entire glass.

Then another one.

“They must be lucky,” Sky murmured quietly.

Avalon thought the lucky one was herself.

“So you’ve never had a partner before?” Avalon asked, starting to feel tipsy. “You’ve never held someone’s hand? Never kissed anyone?”

“Kissed?” Sky repeated in confusion. “How do you even kiss someone?”

“Well...” Avalon froze once again.

Now she was the one blushing, and she knew it.

She could feel the Fire element burning wildly beneath her skin.

“You... hold the person you like,” she muttered awkwardly, “and you lean closer and... press your lips against theirs. It feels nice.”

“It feels nice?” Sky tilted her head thoughtfully. “I wonder how.”

Before Avalon could react, Sky uncrossed her legs and crawled closer on her knees.

Avalon panicked so badly she nearly fell backward, dropping her glass onto the floor.

“You hold them...” drunk Sky whispered, placing her hand against Avalon’s cheek.

Avalon thought her heart might actually explode through her chest.

“And then you lean closer...”

She could feel Sky’s breath against her skin. Their faces were unbearably close, and Avalon couldn’t tear her eyes away from hers.

She had crossed galaxies to reach a planet nobody even believed existed, but somehow this was more terrifying than any of it.

Sky stared at Avalon’s lips with furrowed brows, like she was trying to solve a complicated puzzle.

Avalon swallowed hard.

Then, unable to handle the closeness anymore, she squeezed her eyes shut.

“I’m back!” a voice shouted suddenly from the front door.

Sky startled so violently that she lost her balance trying to pull away and fell straight off the couch onto the floor.

“Sky?” Avalon opened her eyes to find her sprawled on the ground just as Setter walked inside and stopped dead in confusion.

“What are you two doing? Sky, are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” Sky mumbled from the floor before dissolving into giggles.

“She’s drunk,” Setter sighed, walking over and pulling her upright by the arm. He dragged her into the bedroom and dropped her onto the mattress. Sky immediately collapsed face-first and didn’t move again.

“Avalon...” Setter said slowly as he returned to the living room.

His curious eyes landed on Avalon’s bright red face.

“You?”

“Don’t.” Avalon immediately raised a hand. “It’s not like that. Sky doesn’t even understand what any of this means. If she knew what I was thinking, she’d hate me. So shut up.”

“I’m shutting up,” Setter replied, though he was clearly fighting laughter.

If he got the chance, he was absolutely going to tease Avalon about this forever.

He had never seen her this flustered before.

Avalon cleared her throat and reopened the system. “Did the information come through?”

“Yeah. The passports are ready.” Setter tossed them onto the table.

“What’s this?” Avalon picked up one with Setter’s picture on it.

“If I bought three, I got a discount,” Setter said casually. “Figured I might as well get one for myself too. Maybe I’ll come with you for a free ride.”

“What would I do without you?” Avalon laughed, punching his shoulder lightly.

Setter shrugged. “You’d figure something out. So. Where to now?”

“We need to go to my house.”

Setter stared at her. “Avalon, are you insane? Do you have any idea how heavily guarded that place is? Every high-ranking government official lives there, including your father. How exactly are we supposed to get through that security?”

“Security isn’t the problem.” Avalon exhaled slowly. She had already thought through every detail countless times. “There’s a disk I need to retrieve and take to the water planet with me. I had to leave Flame too quickly to bring anything important with me. Though honestly, it’s probably a good thing I didn’t, or everything would’ve been destroyed in the crash anyway. And we’re not finding a ship advanced enough to get us to Va anywhere else.”

Setter reluctantly nodded. A trip to the Water planet took nearly a day. They would absolutely need high-level technology.

“So what’s the plan?”

Avalon stretched lazily, a grin tugging at her lips.

“Where should I begin?”

-

Sky was the first to wake up. Still heavy with sleep, she pushed herself upright and realized Avalon hadn’t gone back to her floor mattress. Yawning, she wandered to the bathroom and splashed water on her face. After struggling far too much to keep her newly shortened hair out of her eyes, she grabbed a pair of scissors without thinking and cut herself thin bangs that brushed against her eyebrows. Once she nodded approvingly at her reflection, she headed to the kitchen for water.

Her body felt unbearably dehydrated. She emptied the glass in one gulp.

She couldn’t remember anything after seeing the bottom of the bottle last night, but she was pretty sure she hadn’t done anything too embarrassing. Then again, even if she had, it wasn’t exactly her fault. The alcohol had worn off now, which probably meant she was radiating energy again. Her hand drifted toward the energy suppressants on the table, but she didn’t want to take another one without asking Avalon first.

While wandering around the kitchen, she discovered something called coffee. Or rather, according to the package, it was an imitation of coffee once made on earth long ago. There was also a miraculous machine that heated water instantly with the push of a button.

“Wow,” Sky murmured as she poured hot water over the granules and watched a brown liquid form. She carefully read the instructions to figure out how it worked.

“Add algae milk powder. What’s algae milk powder?”

After rummaging around for a bit, she found something labeled milk powder, dumped it into the mug, and carried the drink into the living room.

Apparently Avalon had fallen asleep there.

Several empty coffee cups sat scattered in front of her, while the holographic screen of her computer still displayed half-finished work. The apartment was small, but the couches were absurdly oversized. Avalon was stretched across one of them, her long body fitting perfectly, brown hair scattered everywhere as she slept peacefully.

At that moment, a deep sense of comfort settled inside Sky.

What would it be like if her life were always like this?

Waking up in this apartment every morning. Drinking this thing called fake coffee. Water flowing endlessly from something called a faucet while a magical machine heated it for her. Owning a ship that drifted through space and pushing against the limits of freedom itself.

Then she remembered she wasn’t free.

The comfort vanished as quickly as it had come.

People had failed to make room in this universe for hybrids like her or for thirteens. Valor would soon be destroyed, and the only reason Sky was still alive was the magical girl sleeping on the couch beside her.

Whatever Avalon said, she would follow.

She didn’t fully understand what had driven Avalon onto this path, but she knew with absolute certainty that the path itself was right.

Lost in thought, Sky gazed out through the balcony window when she noticed yellow flames drifting upward into the sky. For a moment, she felt mesmerized, watching the fire scatter through the air with reverent awe.

Was Fire always this beautiful?

But slowly, unease began twisting in her stomach.

The last time she’d seen something like this was when Avalon’s hair had turned crimson and she’d begun using her fire element.

Avalon had said using elements openly in the streets was shunned upon.

So what were these streams of light in the middle of the night?

Suspicion crept deeper and deeper into her chest until she abruptly set down her coffee and hurried toward the couch.

“Avalon...” she whispered, nudging her awake. “Is this normal?”

“What?” Avalon blinked blearily, trying to wake up. Once her vision cleared, she looked outside through the balcony.

Panic widened her eyes instantly.

Only one word left her sleepy lips.

“Sky. Get down.”