Caleb checked over their supplies with methodical precision, running down the list one final time.
"Water purification tablets?"
"Check."
"Medical kit?"
"Check."
"Energy cells?"
"Check."
Mira stood beside him, confirming each item as he went. The spacecraft was in rough condition, but it would have to do. Their liftoff was smooth, the hum of the engines steady despite the occasional flicker in the controls. Caleb didn't comment on it, but he knew the ship was barely holding together. Still, they had no other choice.
As they soared further from the central district, away from the facility, the air inside the cockpit remained tense. The weight of their escape had not yet lifted. Then, as if the universe itself refused to let them go so easily, a sudden barrage struck their ship. The impact rattled the hull, warning lights flaring across the control panel.
Caleb gritted his teeth, adjusting their course. "Hold on. The stabilizers are failing."
Mira gripped the side of her seat but remained calm. "Can we keep going?"
"We don't have a choice. But we need to land—soon."
Guiding the damaged spacecraft through the atmosphere, Caleb spotted the ruins of an old city on the outskirts of their trajectory. It was their best shot. With careful maneuvering, he managed to land the ship near the skeletal remains of once-thriving buildings.
As the dust settled around them, Caleb exhaled, running a hand through his hair. "We need to find replacement parts before this thing completely gives out."
They stepped outside, the air thick with the scent of metal and earth. Caleb stole a glance at Mira. Her earlier breakdown had stayed with him, unshaken from his mind. It wasn't just about making sure she was functional—he needed to know she was okay.
"How are you feeling?" His voice was even, but there was a rare softness underneath.
Mira turned to him, her expression steady. "My mind is clearer. I know what I have to do."
Something had shifted in her. The weight she had always carried seemed lighter, as if she had finally made peace with something within herself. Caleb watched her for a moment longer, searching for any lingering shadows in her gaze. Finding none, he gave a small nod. "Good."
They began searching the wreckage, sifting through piles of rusted machinery and discarded scrap. At one point, Mira pulled out a twisted piece of metal, holding it up with a dubious look.
Caleb raised an eyebrow. "You think that's a part of our ship?"
She tilted her head. "No, but I think it could be used as a makeshift weapon."
"Now you're thinking ahead." Caleb smirked, shaking his head as he continued rummaging. "You always had a habit of preparing for things that might never happen."
Mira paused, her fingers tightening slightly around the metal piece. "Maybe. But some of them have happened."
He glanced at her, sensing something more behind her words. "The visions?"
She hesitated before nodding. "They come and go. Memories of things I've never lived. But some of them... they're real. They've happened. And if I can recognize those, I can use them to our advantage."
Caleb listened intently, letting her words settle. He thought back to his own experiences—things he had long dismissed as fragments of an overworked mind.
"I've seen things too," he admitted. "Not visions, but dreams. Beyond the far edges of space, through tunnels of time... a blue planet. Like Philos, but not Philos. The people there live differently. There's life everywhere. The sky stretches endlessly, and everything moves... naturally. It feels familiar, like I already know it. But more than anything..."
He hesitated before finishing, "More importantly, it carries the unique aura of rebirth."
The thought lingered in his mind, connecting itself to something deeper. Similar to what my power—Construo—is supposed to be.
Mira studied him in quiet thought. A connection was forming between them—one neither of them could yet explain, but both could sense.
They were two sides of the same coin. Their experiences were different, yet intertwined. His dreams, her visions—pieces of something larger than themselves.
After repairing what they could on the ship, they ventured further into the city's ruins, searching for additional supplies. The streets were cracked and overgrown, nature reclaiming the remnants of what once stood tall. Crumbling structures loomed over them, their skeletal remains whispering stories of a lost past.
Then, a voice reached them.
"Lingshir was once as lively as the central district. Now, it's rare to see a new face."
They turned toward the source—an old woman, her eyes sharp despite her weathered face. She stood just beyond the wreckage, watching them with quiet curiosity and caution.
Mira and Caleb exchanged a glance.
Perhaps this city had more than just broken remnants to offer.