"Oh, how I love you…"
The world spun, but one being still held it.
Humanity—meant to walk with the Earth, not rule it—was destroying its mother. Rivers of oil flowed into unreachable space, but still they found their way onto hands once pure and blue. Untainted water tried to cleanse those hands beneath the surface of the planet, but no one noticed. No one could see her.
Like a soul, she remained unseen.
"Yet you do not take care of me... Must you be so toxic to me?"
Storms came. The land cracked. Time passed, far quicker for her than anyone else. Decades felt like days. Humanity's present faded into memory, and memory was all the future would recall.
"Grandmother… are you sure you want to sleep?"
A luminous figure sat before her—shimmering like a star, faceless and without a body. Despite the brilliance, their presence carried only a dull expression. A child of the new world, disappointed in the old.
"Do not worry," she whispered. "Everything will be alright... for all of you."
[Upon the Earth]
The sleeping mother returned.
She descended to the planet she once held aloft—not as a force, but as a woman.
Though her design once defied biology, she now took human shape. Not truly human—but something close. She was a reflection of the collective will of mankind. And though that will had no gender, she wore the form of a woman.
"Ma'am, you can't just walk around like that! Even if this is a beach—"
A voice cut through the breeze.
She turned, slowly.
An older man approached in loose-fitting beachwear. His concern was genuine. His gaze didn't wander. He wasn't looking to shame her—only to help.
"I'm sorry, young man," she replied gently. "I lost my clothes in the ocean, and it's gone too far out to retrieve them."
It was a lie. A soft one. She had no need for clothes, no shame in her body—but kindness demanded that she blend in.
"What are those clouds...?" he mumbled, staring blankly. "Ah—wait! I think I've got some of my wife's things in the car. Clothes she never wears anymore."
She stared at him for a long moment.
Then smiled.
The clouds that curled around her form shifted—gentle veils that concealed what humanity deemed intimate. Only those bound by love could see past them. Only those meant to remain forever.
"I'm back!" he called, out of breath, arms full of garments.
She hadn't moved.
Her eyes still lingered on the sky. But she took the clothes with soft hands. The clouds dispersed as she dressed, and the man would forget they were ever there.
"I must ask..." she said, voice clear. "What is your name?"
He blinked. "Ah... Carl. You?"
"You may call me Mara. That is the name I was born with. But I prefer Kaida now."
There was something otherworldly about her.
As she walked past, water rose to her feet but never touched them. Her steps left no prints. Her presence stirred no wind.
"I hope this world stays peaceful… like my life."
[System Activated]
[Initiating Sequence...]
"A system? Looks like my children have learned to turn stories into structure. How entertaining."
[Please accept a Path]
She looked at the glowing text floating midair with irritation.
This... thing. Trying to assign her a destiny?
"Why should I be the one to choose a path?"
[...Because you have to.]
[How—MM!]
"And who gave you the right to decide what I do?"
[I—]
[Connection Lost... Reestablishing...]
Her gaze hardened, then softened again. She sighed.
The beach was empty now. The wind was cold.
She walked alone until her feet met pavement—the edge of civilization. Cities had changed. Languages had changed. Humanity's culture had transformed, and already, it was beginning to decay again.
"What do you get out of watching me?"
[I observe the entire planet. I am the System—built to grant humanity power. I selected you as a starting point.]
"Well, I'll give you this: good taste.""But poor judgment."
"I'm not interested. Give your powers to someone else. And vanish before I find you and throw you off a rooftop."
[Y-Yes, ma'am.]
She wandered deeper into the city. People stared at screens, oblivious to the sky.
Then, it cracked.
The ground trembled. A thunderous vibration shook the buildings. From beneath, a massive pillar burst forth—covered in symbols neither ancient nor modern. Its colors clashed with the heavens, like oil on water.
"Everyone, evacuate!"
Screams filled the air. But the pillar began to sing. A low, humming frequency that pulled people in. The more they ran, the stronger it called.
The world buckled.
Tsunamis surged. Tornadoes formed. Oceans rose. Reality bent.
Kaida sighed, brushing rain from her shoulder. It glittered like diamonds, but left her untouched.
"I really should've just deleted that system…"
["I think you should leave."]
"The hell do you mean, I should—"
Space twisted.
She was gone.
When her eyes opened, she stood on grass—damp, soft, real. Her toes curled into the soil. Above her, the sky was the wrong shade of blue.
The mountains looked medieval. The towns resembled feudal Japan. Yet nothing felt familiar.
It wasn't her world anymore.
She had no idea where she was.