“As expected…”
Tang Coco’s voice dropped like dusk mist, her gaze lowering to the red-haired girl in a crimson Mech, carving arcs of light through a swarm of Dark Energy wielders.
“But… how did you even get here?”
Her question fell like a stone in a still pond. If they lived in a high-tech world, why did they appear in hers?
“We come from different space-times.” The red-haired girl’s tone was steady, like a bell at dawn. “After I Energy was harnessed as a Mech power source, the scientists didn’t stop. On that girl’s body, they found something new.”
“Something new?”
Tang Coco’s words trembled like a thin blade in winter air.
“Mm. The Armor.”
She pointed at the combat-bright plating hugging the red-haired girl, metal gleaming like fresh snow.
“That Armor wasn’t made in this world. It formed from her innate I Energy. So they guessed I Energy might open another space.”
“Soon, with the girl’s help, they built a transit device like a gate through space-time. The first test worked. They sent a probe, and it brought back information from another time.”
“…”
Tang Coco kept silent, and the darkness around them ripple-shifted to match her thoughts, scenes unfurling like ink on rice paper.
“They found an Earth in that space-time with resources untouched, mountains and seas like unclaimed treasure. The success was too big, so the government sealed the info away. But Dark Energy wielders grew and gathered, a tide swelling against the state. The government struggled to resist. In the end, they chose negotiation—let the Dark side move to your space-time to live.”
“The Dark Energy wielders agreed. The government smiled, like spring after frost, and said yes.”
“But the government had a plan in shadow. They embedded the girl among the Dark Energy wielders. Once they entered the space-time tunnel, she would act. Trap them in the corridor, leave them to die between worlds.”
“!”
Shock hit Tang Coco like a cold wave. The red-haired girl kept going, her words steady as falling snow.
“At first, it went smoothly. Three shuttlecraft carried over three thousand Dark Energy wielders into the tunnel. Then came the break—betrayal inside the government. The Dark side learned about the girl. They prepared devices to stop her sabotage.”
“She had no choice. She burned everything she had and started killing. Two shuttlecraft were shattered in the tunnel, torn like paper in a storm. On the last craft, half the Dark wielders died. But she paid a terrible price. Pushed beyond limit, her body failed. I Energy detonated, a starburst in a narrow night. It killed swathes of Dark wielders and ruined most of the shuttle’s systems.”
“The craft fell, torn and smoking, and crash-landed on Earth. But the time was wrong. Too early. There were no humans yet. Only sea and stone.”
Tang Coco saw it—she had seen it before—an iron whale plunging into the ocean, the memory surfacing like a leviathan.
“So they came to Earth before human civilization.”
Her voice was soft, like rain against bamboo.
“She should have died in the blast.” The girl’s eyes held a quiet fire. “But a miracle happened. The Fate Clock. No one knows what it is. No one knows its purpose. You can only obey its arrangement like snow obeys winter.”
“When she woke, she found herself inside a boy’s body…”
The red-haired girl looked at Tang Coco, the gaze a lantern in fog.
“I see…”
Tang Coco kept her head bowed. She finally understood how they arrived. Why inside her? Only the Fate Clock could answer.
“But there’s another problem.” Her brow tightened like a knot in silk. “From what’s happened lately, we know some Dark Energy wielders survived. If they were alive when Earth had no humans, why didn’t they take the planet? History would be different now.”
“I don’t know. Only they can answer. I had already lost consciousness.”
The red-haired girl shook her head, like a willow letting go of wind.
“And the Fate Clock might be tied to my father…”
Tang Coco frowned, doubt thick as fog over a river.
“Maybe it’s because of me that you became a girl. But this isn’t bad. I am, after all, very pretty~”
The red-haired girl laughed, sunlight breaking through cloud, teasing to ease Tang Coco’s heart.
“Haha~ Are you bragging?”
Tang Coco laughed too. Knowing the why felt like setting down a heavy pack.
“So? What will you do next?”
The red-haired girl stepped up to her. The world around them folded into pure black, like ink swallowing paper. Only two girls remained.
“Am I still alive?”
Tang Coco’s eyes flickered like a candle in wind.
“Of course. You don’t die that easily. Otherwise the Fate Clock loses its meaning.”
The red-haired girl smiled, warm as tea.
“…”
Tang Coco sank into thought, still water holding moonlight. The other girl didn’t disturb her, waiting quietly like a shrine cat.
“Phew—”
Tang Coco let out a long breath, a cloud leaving her chest, and smiled.
“In that case, let’s do what we’re meant to do. Together.”
“I’ll avenge my father. And you want to cleanse this world of all Dark Energy wielders.”
“Can you accept that so easily?”
The red-haired girl watched her, eyes calm as autumn lakes.
“Heh~ I’m still a big man at heart. I’m not that fragile. Since we’re one now, we share one goal.”
Tang Coco’s smile was clear, a blade shining in daylight.
“Good. Worthy of the Fate Clock’s choice. Your resolve is high.”
She smiled back, then leaned closer, like a moth seeking flame.
“Then—from now on—”
Her whisper brushed Tang Coco’s lips like feathers.
“Let’s truly become one.”
She kissed Tang Coco. Two girls, identical save for hair and eyes, met like twin moons crossing.
“I’ll stay in the depths of your heart. Call me when you need me.”
Her voice was gentle, a bell under water.
Light burst from her skin, dazzling as first snow. She dissolved into white particles, streaming into Tang Coco. Tang’s black hair brightened, strands gleaming like frost, and slowly turned into long silver-white.
“Phew—”
After a long while, Tang Coco opened her eyes, calm as dawn.
“So… we’re finally one.”
She placed a hand over her chest, feeling a steady drum.
“Host’s spirit-body fusion complete. System entering upgrade. I Energy will shut down to begin the upgrade.”
A voice rose from the dark like a chime. A white-haired little girl stepped out of the shadow, waist-high to Tang Coco. Her long white hair mirrored Tang’s new silver, her blue eyes clear as glacier ice, her features delicate and doll-like. The voice was the system AI she knew better than her own breath.
“You’re not…”
Shock flashed in Tang Coco’s eyes like lightning.
“I assist the Host in managing I Energy. My name is Marilyn.”
The mechanized tone came from the little girl’s lips, her face blank as porcelain.
“You have a name and a body? How did I not know?”
Tang Coco stared, wonder like starlight.
“Previously only forty percent of I Energy was active. It couldn’t render my form.”
The little girl spoke plainly, each word like a bead.
“I see…”
It still felt unreal, but after so many impossibilities, Tang Coco accepted it quickly, like water taking the shape of its bowl.
“The system will upgrade next. The Host will be unable to use Anomaly Power for a while.”
“What!?”
Tang Coco’s exclaim cracked the night like a whip.
“Don’t worry, Host. To prevent danger during the upgrade, Marilyn has been physicalized. I’ll protect the Host in reality.”
“Wha—what!?”
Too much came at once, like thunder following thunder.
“Is she a robot?”
Tang Coco asked, curiosity breathing like a cat.
“You’ll know when you wake.”
The little girl left a hook in the water and smiled with her silence.
“…”
Tang Coco’s expression drew black lines, patience thinning like paper. She sighed.
“When will I wake up?”
“The system cannot determine. During upgrade, treatment programs are offline. External medical care is required. Wake time cannot be estimated.”
“…”
“Then what do I do?”
She asked dully, like rain asked the roof.
“The Host needs to modify and upgrade the I Energy Mech.”
Light flared in front of Tang Coco, slicing the black like swords. Rows of Mechs stood at attention, more than a hundred, steel forests under a pale moon.
“Uh… isn’t that too many?”
Tang Coco’s mouth twitched, a corner of cloud tilted.
“If it feels like too many, you can stand there and daydream. I’ll go check my body.”
The little girl’s figure vanished like a wick snuffed.
“Come on! What kind of system talks to its master like that!”
Tang Coco shouted into the dark, her voice echoing like a drum in a canyon.
The next day, the sun climbed like a golden coin over rooftops. After last night’s emergency rescue, Tang Coco’s body was out of danger. She lay in Ningxin’s room, wrapped in bandages like soft white vines. Li Muyan sat by the bed, watching Tang Coco’s flawless face like someone guarding a rare jade.
“If you were an ordinary girl, how happy you’d be…”
Li Muyan stroked Tang Coco’s cheek, touch as light as falling petals. Her own wounds were healed, a black dress draped like night water, yet sorrow lingered in her eyes like hidden rain.
Click.
The door opened. Ningxin stepped in with breakfast, steam curling like morning mist.
