Babylonia-08, the last bastion of democracy.
It was the eighth city-state built on Mars-0102 after the fifth great extinction on Earth. The wealthiest had rushed to colonize space, leaving the less fortunate to die in horrible conditions on a dead planet.
Hundreds of years later, the scandal of the abandoned finally broke into the open, and the remaining people were repatriated to Mars-0102. But upon their arrival, they discovered that the long-awaited Eldorado was now, itself, in the same state as the blue planet.
"Bastard!"
Yui shouted as the stranger tried to grab her arm to stop her. She spun on her heel, shifting her center of gravity, narrowly avoiding the man's grasp.
She resumed her wild run, the precious package tucked under her arm. She weaved through the crowd at the open-air market, and in the distance, she could hear the peacekeepers shouting for her to stop.
With all their gear, there was no way they'd catch her.
She veered left into a narrow alley that led nowhere. There, repeating a move she had done thousands of times before, she grabbed the building's air vent pipe and used it like a swing to vault over the wall.
The wind whistled in her ears and made her hair float behind her. She loved the feeling of freedom that coursed through her whenever she was being chased in the refugee camp. It had been built to be temporary, but it had now been 70 years, and nothing had changed.
In reality, Mars-0102 had only one city: Babylonia. The other eight were refugee camps built from scrap metal and cement. Since the refugees had no jobs or homes, they became a cheap labor force for the major corporations.
Some refugees, on the brink of starvation, even lowered themselves to become test subjects for Kame Genetics, never to return from the lab. Others worked sixteen-hour days in the fields, paid only in bundles of wheat.
But when Yui ran through the camp's streets, all her troubles faded. She was free to go wherever she wanted, to do whatever she liked. No one could catch her.
Yui stopped in front of a metal gate, which seemed to serve as a door for a building. She pulled a piece of paper from the pocket of her shorts. The scribbled notes read: "Ez'cac Barber", -3.
She checked to make sure the package was still under her arm and opened the gate. She looked around but saw nothing but a one-meter-wide hole, across which hung a rope suspended several floors above.
She took a deep breath and jumped into the hole.
The walls zipped past her as she fell. Looking down, she was horrified to see the ground rushing up much faster than she had anticipated. She grabbed the rope with both hands and slowed her descent, finally landing hard on the concrete floor.
Her legs trembled. She pinched her cheek to snap out of it.
That was way too close…
Before her stretched a long hallway lined with a dozen doors. From the doorway at the far end spilled a mess of cables and wires. She cautiously approached it and checked the address on the door — it matched the one she had written down.
She opened the door with a motion she hoped looked confident. A long corridor stretched out in front of her, and a faint light glowed from a room to the left, just enough to make out the interior.
Yui called out.
"Hello?"
No answer. Only the soft buzzing of neon lights filled the silence.
"Is anyone there?!"
"Over here!"
A young boy's voice called back from the room on the left. She moved toward it slowly, careful not to trip over the tangled cables on the ground.
What kind of person lives in a dump like this?
As she pondered this, Yui suddenly found herself face-to-face with a woman in her thirties, sitting in a large armchair that looked a century old.
"Well then…"
Yui was about to greet the woman, but with a simple wave of her hand, the woman sealed her mouth shut. No matter how hard she tried, Yui couldn't open her lips.
The woman stood and walked slowly toward her. The pressure in the room intensified, and Yui's vision began to blur. She couldn't tell whether it was due to the woman's powers or her own fear.
As the woman approached, she slowly raised her hand in a sweeping arc and the world began to change. Reality twisted and bent in a thousand different ways. Yui felt as if the ground beneath her feet was dissolving. The horizon darkened, and the room was soon replaced by nothingness.
Yui's feet hit the ground with a jolt. They were now standing on a hilltop, waves crashing against cliffs below.
Yui looked around, stunned. The ocean stretched endlessly in all directions.
The woman spoke calmly.
"Now we can talk."
Yui swiftly reached into her back pocket and pulled out a thin dagger, pointing it straight at the woman.
"How did you bring me here?!"
The woman gave a faint smile. Despite her fear, Yui had to admit—she was stunning. Probably the most beautiful woman she had ever seen. She wore a dazzling white gown, her shoulder-length hair shimmered like silver, and her piercing blue eyes, framed by long lashes, sparkled with an intimidating light. She was so flawless, it made you question whether she was even human.
She was the embodiment of perfection.
The woman noticed Yui staring.
"Don't try to understand me. It would drive you mad."
Yui swallowed hard.
"Who are you? And where are we?"
"I'm nobody—just a woman who happened to step into your story. And as for where we are…"
She blinked.
"We're still in the same place. Still in the same room we were in just a moment ago."
"What?!"
The woman smiled at the girl's disbelief.
"It's just your perception of the world that changed. I only helped a little."
She stepped closer.
Yui raised her dagger.
"What do you want from me?!"
If she doesn't let me go, I'll slit her throat and escape through the trees.
"I only came for this."
The woman gestured toward Yui.
Shit.
Yui felt the package slip from under her left arm — and before she could react, it vanished into thin air.
"No…"
She raised her dagger again.
"Give it back!"
"Impossible. It no longer exists."
"What?"
The woman smiled faintly.
"You'll find another battery, I'm sure."
How does she know it was a battery in the box?
"Goodbye."
Before Yui could do anything, a blinding light flooded her vision. She tried to look around, but the light was too intense. Even with her eyes shut, she could only see white. She raised her hand to shield herself.
A distant sound began to emerge. She focused on it. As she listened, it became clearer.
It sounded like a man's voice.
"There you go… You… Wait…"
Yes, it was definitely a voice.
"Hey… Hahaha…"
No—several voices.
As they became clearer, Yui recognized them. It sounded like the bustle of a marketplace or a busy street.
The light suddenly dimmed, and Yui was finally able to open her eyes, still disoriented.
"Move it, you're in my way."
A tall, bearded man shoved her aside.
She looked around. Nothing was familiar. She was standing in the middle of a commercial street. In front of her, an old lady ran a second-hand shop.
As she looked through the store's front window, her gaze—and blood—froze.
The shop's owner was sitting in a large armchair that looked like it belonged to the last century.