Five Years Later

Cipher ran across the barren planetoid, Maya chasing after him.

They weaved between rocks and craters, laughing as they played.

Then Cipher collapsed.

His body hit the ground and went still.

Maya skidded to a halt beside him.

"Ma! Cipher died again!" she called out.

Zhu Que watched from a distant cliff, her arms crossed.

She sighed as Cipher's eyes fluttered open and he sat up, looking around in confusion before Maya tackled him back into their game.

Looks like it wasn't all that special, she thought.

She had observed Cipher for a long time now, hoping to discover something unique about his constitution.

But there really wasn't anything.

He was just immortal. That was it.

Apart from that, his talent was worse than mediocre. He wasn't even particularly smart either.

This was a failure.

Maya walked up to her, carrying Cipher in her arms. He had died again mid-game.

"Mom," Maya said softly, "is there really no way to heal Brother?"

Zhu Que looked down at the small girl.

"It's not that he's sick, per se..." she began, then sighed. "Well, there is a way."

"Tell me! Tell me!" Maya practically bounced on her feet.

"He just keeps dying because this planet we're on - while not as bad as deep space - still isn't fit for a mortal."

"Mortal?" Maya tilted her head.

"Yeah. Don't worry about it." Zhu Que waved her hand. "Just drop him off somewhere on a planet favorable to humans and he'll be fine."

Well, she thought privately, until he gets old and his body fails and he has no choice but to die... but his unique constitution won't let him stay dead for longer than a second.

An eternity of dying and reviving. Over and over.

What a pitiful existence.

"Where's that?" Maya asked eagerly.

"There's a planet called Earth. It has other mortal humans on it, so maybe that would work."

Maya's eyes lit up. "Then I'll go live with Brother there!"

She turned and was about to fly away…

Zhu Que caught her by the back of her clothes.

Maya's limbs flailed in the air as she tried to escape, kicking and struggling.

"Let me go! Let me go!" she screamed. "I have to save Brother!"

Zhu Que stared at her.

This girl...

She called her "Ma" when she wanted something. Now she was acting like they didn't even know each other.

Suddenly…

A bright red aura exploded around Maya.

The energy was intense. And she felt it was familiar.

"M-M-Must... save... Brother..." Maya growled through gritted teeth.

She ripped free from Zhu Que's grip.

Zhu Que's eyes went wide.

Then Maya's eyes rolled back, and she collapsed to the ground, unconscious.

Zhu Que stood frozen.

"That was..." she murmured.

Then her lips curled into a wide smile.

This aura... it's just like the Lady's.

How could I have forgotten?

The Lady's power - her very existence - was fueled by her love and obsession for her senior brother back then.

That meant...

I can grow the same seed in Maya by giving her an obsession.

"An obsession..." she whispered, her gaze drifting to Cipher, who was just now waking up again.

Her smile turned wicked.

"Well, well, well. Maybe you're not so useless after all."

…

She carried the two children and appeared on Earth in an instant.

Green forests. Blue skies. Teeming with mortal life.

This will be where everything goes down, she thought.

She laid Maya gently on the grass, then placed her hand on the girl's forehead.

"First, I'll seal all your cultivation and memories."

Golden light flowed from her palm, sinking into Maya's mind.

For this to work, she needed to play everything out perfectly.

Let Maya grow up as a mortal. Let her bond with Cipher naturally. Let that obsession develop roots so deep they could never be removed.

Her expression twisted into something wicked.

"I'll let you develop that obsession fully," she whispered, "then take it right in front of you."

She gazed down at the sleeping girl.

"My Lady... you'll have to wake up when that happens."

Then Zhu Que threw her head back.

And laughed.

…

Present day.

Maya stood opposite Amélie.

Both of them were breathing heavily. The ruins of Europe stretched around them - craters, collapsed buildings, scorched earth.

Amélie wasn't looking much better than her. Half her wings were gone. Her third eye flickered weakly. Blood dripped from her nose and fingers.

Maya glanced toward the sky.

Cipher had said he would teach the outsiders a lesson. The projection had gone off a while ago.

Would he be in trouble?

She gritted her teeth.

She needed to end this soon and go help him.

Her hands trembled. Her body screamed in protest. She had pushed herself far beyond her limits.

Then she made a decision.

She was going to use her final trump card.

She didn't know if she'd survive it. But there was nothing else she could do.

Just as she was about to activate it…

Something happened.

The world began healing.

Buildings rose from rubble. The ground sealed itself. The fires extinguished. The entirety of Europe - everything they had destroyed - was being remade before her eyes.

It was as if someone had reversed time.

Reversed time.

Reversed time.

Time.

Time.

Time.

The words kept ringing in her ears.

Her head throbbed.

The flickering golden clocks in her eyes suddenly brightened.

Then they went dim.

She clutched her head, gasping.

Images flooded her mind.

Endless void. Trillions of years. Concepts being born and destroyed. A golden-red wisp drifting through the river of time. A phoenix. A dragon. A baby named Cipher. A mother who wasn't really a mother. Seals. Memories. A mission she had forgotten.

Everything came rushing back.

Everything.

She lowered her hands.

Then she smiled.

"I'm back," she murmured.

Amélie stared at her, confusion evident on her battered face.

Had she finally gone mad?

Maya looked at her - really looked at her - and her smile widened.

"Damn," she said softly. "Haven't seen that face in eons."

Amélie's confusion deepened.

Maya extended her hand casually.

"Oh, and by the way - that's mine now."

The book in Amélie's grasp trembled.

Then it floated out of her hands entirely, drifting through the air toward Maya.

Amélie's eyes went wide with shock.

She tried to reach for it, tried to speak - but exhaustion finally claimed her.

Her golden third eye flickered once and went dark.

Her wings dissolved into motes of light.

Her eyes rolled back.

She began falling.

Maya watched her descend.

She had to admit - Amélie had been a little annoying. That arrogant attitude. That overconfidence in the book's power.

But after seeing that face for trillions of years...

She had grown a little fond of her.

Besides, Amélie had been a worthy opponent. Maya had looked down on her initially, believing she was only strong because of the book. But surprisingly, she had survived just as long as her - even without fully understanding her own power.

She was indeed worthy.

Letting someone she once considered her equal die such an anticlimactic death...

It didn't feel right.

Maya waved her hand.

Amélie's falling body halted mid-air, then floated gently toward her. Maya caught her, then teleported her somewhere safe with a flick of her wrist.

She exhaled slowly.

"Now then..."

She turned around.

Cipher floated before her.

He was staring at her.

His mouth opened, but the words seemed stuck in his throat.

"S-Sister?" he finally managed.

Maya's expression softened.

All those years. All those eons. All that suffering and waiting and forgetting and remembering.

For this moment.

She spread her arms wide.

"Brother..."

He rushed into her embrace.

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