Eve stood on the balcony, watching the gardens. Saphherine approached her.
"You're thinking about Skybreak, aren't you?"
It had been over two years since Skybreak left without a word. Not a day had passed when Eve didn't think of him.
In her ageless life story, the love of a man was something she believed wasn't in her genes. Skybreak changed that.
"No, Saph, not right at this moment. You know this palace holds so many memories. Sometimes, they bundle up and eat me away."
"This is also your home. Home is where memories are."
"Once, Anya stood right there where you are, carrying you in her cradle. You must have been a year and a half then. And right here, Mira and Elara. You see that garden? I was walking in that garden, talking to Kinze about Hamad. Hamad's gone. Kinze's gone. Mira's gone. Anya..."
"I'm still here."
"You know, standing here back then, Mira and Anya suddenly became worried about my loneliness… my loveless life."
"They talked to you about it?"
"Yes, immediately after."
"What did you tell them?"
"I told them loving a man wasn't possible for me."
"And…?"
"It was true. Until Skybreak."
Saphherine knew Eve was hurting, and there was no way to comfort her. So instead of offering solace, she redirected Eve's attention.
"Commander, there's been another attack on the Amorfati outposts. It was Sable."
Unlike Mira, Saphherine was a little cold. She just said and did whatever she needed to, to keep Eve from drifting too far.
"Sable..." Eve's saddened face tensed, anger crinkling her brows. "I just don't know what to do with her. She just won't die."
"We'll figure it out. How should Nomad respond?"
"We leave in two days."
As Saphherine left, Skybreak's thoughts surrounded Eve once more. Not just because she missed him—she needed him. She could have used his help against Sable. Together, they were invincible.
That night, Eve slept, drowned in thoughts of the past, and drifted into Dreamland.
Skybreak was screaming her name. There was darkness. The scene shifted. Monoliths surrounded Skybreak. Eve was trying to reach him, but a portal was pulling her away. Electricity, chaos, lightning, and blinding flashes of light.
"Eve!!!!!"
The scene changed. Synthia stood in the garden. Eve watched her from the balcony. Synthia pointed to the sky. Eve looked upward. The sky rumbled. Thousands of burning ships were falling. Then, one ship crashed onto the top of the palace.
The scene shifted again.
Eve was inside her Soul Drifter. No one was around her. She was piloting. Through the viewport, she could see Cetra 9 crumbling apart in explosions.
"No!!" Eve screamed.
The blastwave from Cetra 9 engulfed the Soul Drifter. Everything went black.
Light returned as Eve blinked her eyes open.
Sal Parlos.
People were running in panic. In the sky, thousands of IC ships launched missiles toward Sal Parlos orbital station. Noora ran toward Eve and held her in an embrace.
The scene changed again.
Eve stood in a desert. Alone. Saphherine's motionless body lay in the sand, a dagger pierced through her chest. Sable stood over her, laughing wickedly.
"You can't save your friends."
Eve ran toward her. "I'm going to kill you!!!"
The scene shifted again.
Eve was running, holding a child in her arms. Demons and human-likes fled as unknown armies rained fire on them. She looked at the child—it turned to dust in her arms, blowing away with the wind, leaving only the clothes behind.
Suddenly, she felt a tug. Meerkat was pulling her. They both ran toward a mountain surrounded by strange bioluminescent trees. The ground beneath them cracked open. They fell into darkness.
With a loud thud, Eve hit the ground.
She looked around.
A human world she had only seen in Synthia's memories. A peninsula, a valley, an ocean view… grasslands. This was Earth.
Eve saw Andrew running with a woman, chased by a small girl. They were laughing and cheering. The wind was cold and felt beautiful.
Suddenly, they stopped and looked at Eve. The wind died. The sun grew darker under an eclipse.
Andrew ran to Eve and grabbed her.
"You can't be here. You don't belong here."
He started shaking her violently, shouting, "The dimensional rifts! You must go now!!"
Andrew's face glitched as he kept yelling, "Wake up, Eve! Wake up!"
Andrew's face glitched into Skybreak's. "Eve, wake up!!!"
Eve woke up screaming, "Skybreak!"
She was in her room at the palace. She looked around. Her body was covered in sweat.