Echoes of the Past

A warm wind blew across the soft hills covered with bright green grass, caressing the surface as if the universe itself was breathing peacefully. Iridescent flowers, whose petals emitted a bluish glow on contact with the breeze, danced softly under a crystalline sky, and in the background, a futuristic city rose amidst the perfect harmony of steel and nature. It was Utopia-7, the last bastion of a civilization that thought it had mastered the cosmic balance.Technological towers covered with vegetation vibrated with living energy, as if they shared the pulse of the Earth itself.

"I remember those days when the whole universe breathed hope. Joy was infinite... or so we thought. Now I know that even in the brightest light shadows are hidden."

From the heights, the city looked like a perfect model. Until it ceased to be. For a second, the contours of the skyscrapers trembled, tearing the veil of the tangible. A crack opened in the air, ephemeral but impossible to ignore.

From then on, the anomaly repeated itself: space vibrated slightly, as if reality were a badly stretched canvas. In those instants, between the flicker of a streetlight and the next, something materialized. It was not human, not even organic: a black silhouette, faceless and formless, fading away before the mind could register it. Then the world regained its facade of normality, as if the darkness had never breathed through its cracks.

The sky gradually becomes deeper, more vast... until it begins to crack. A cleft snakes through the firmament like a freshly opened wound, and within it, something that does not belong to this world is glimpsed.

The translucent dome that covers the city reflects the last shades of the day and Korrin runs out of the school with a group of children among the intelligent buildings that whisper as passersby pass by.

He pauses for a moment, looking up, far above the dome, a line of light vibrates fleetingly in the sky.

Korrin paused, his hair tousled in the wind. Above the city dome, a line of light vibrated across the sky like the fluttering of a cosmic dragonfly. He squinted, trying to follow its trajectory, but the flash faded.

Korrin: Did you see that?
Korrin asked, pointing to the void where the light had been. His friends kept running, laughing at something Kaito said. Yuki, the most observant, turned back for a moment.

Yuki: What?
Yuki asked looking at Korrin in confusion, but Korrin shook her head. 

Korrin: Nothing... I have to be late for Dad's lab!
He had lied sprinting between the buildings that whispered encrypted data as passersby passed by.

Inside the highest tower of the city which is called the Dawn Spire, a prestige of civilization, a scientist stands, he stops abruptly when he notices the holograms in his laboratory flickering and distorting. Dr. Elias raised his head abruptly as the holograms flickered. A low hum, like the roar of a buried beast, shook the surgically ordered instruments on his workbench. His eyes were riveted on a warning panel that only he could see: "ANOMALÍA GRAVITACIONAL EN SECTOR 7-B. NIVEL DE AMENAZA: ██████".

Dr. Elias: Not again...!

He muttered, closing the message with a curt gesture. Hearing the scuff of feet behind the door, she forced a smile. Korrin was there, nibbling at the hem of her dress and gazing at the hologram with startled eyes.

Dr. Elias: Do you want to take a closer look?
He asked without looking, knowing it was Korrin, She walked in, Korrin took a step, then another, until she was standing next to him.
Korrin speaks in a low voice due to his shyness but at the same time because of his fascination with the hologram.

Korrin: It's beautiful...
Fascinated by the ship's hologram. Korrin extended a finger, and as it brushed against the hologram, the ship's core emitted a sonic heartbeat that resonated in her bones. Strands of energy coiled around her hand like snakes of light, projecting unfamiliar symbols that danced between the two.

Korrin: Dad, look, she's alive!
Dr. Elias held his breath. That reaction was not programmed... Was the quantum core detecting something in her? But he hid his concern behind a soft laugh.

Dr. Elias: Of course he recognizes you, little one. After all, it will be your home someday.

What you see there is not just a ship. It is the dream of generations... A mobile city, an ark, a bridge to other worlds.

Dr. Elias stands up from his seat and walks over to where Korrin was sitting and then pauses momentarily before continuing to speak.

Dr. Elias: And someday, if you want to, you will learn to fly it.

Korrin: Could I really daddy?

Dr. Elias: Sure. When I get back from Andromeda... I'll show you. It won't be long now.

Before speaking, Korrin lowers her head as if disappointed in herself.

Korrin: But... I'm afraid of engines. They are so noisy...

Dr. Elias bent down to Korrin's height to comfort her.

Dr. Elias: Motors are like fireflies. They are noisy but harmless if you treat them with care.

After those words, Dr. Elias took out an artifact from his robe pockets, which turned out to be a small blue crystal key, with internal filaments that seemed to move like a living nebula, which he handed to Korrin.

Dr. Elias: Keep it safe. Someday, this key will give you courage... or open a door for you when you need it most.

Korrin held it with both hands, not daring to speak. The crystal vibrated softly, as if breathing.

After that Dr. Elias stood up to get back to work on his research.

Dr. Elias: Now go with your friends. I don't want you to be late for your holo-game tournament.

You promised you'd beat that kid with the frizzy hair, didn't you?

Korrin looks at her father with a smile.

Korrin: yes daddy I'm going to crush him this time!

Before leaving, Korrin took one last look at the hologram. That ship was now turning, showing an escape route marked in red: a winding path through unknown constellations. Her father, concentrating on adjusting coordinates, did not notice that she memorized each point. However, when she looked at him, he smiled at her again.

Dr. Elias: I love you, my little explorer.

He said to his daughter Korrin without looking away from the computer, but Korrin in a low but audible voice said.

Korrin: I love you too, daddy....

Korrin emerged from the lab with the crystal key burning like a slice of night sky in his pocket. As he ran toward the meadow, he passed a group of engineers loading armored containers marked with stamps reading "SECTOR 7-B: URGENT CONTAINMENT." One of them, upon seeing it, pressed a picture of his family to his chest before closing the box with a metallic click.

In the meadow, Kaito and Yuki were arguing about how to catch firefly-hologram. Korrin joined them, but every laugh of his was a little more forced. The key core vibrated to the beat of his pulse, as if recalling the forbidden symbols he had seen.