Prologue

The world is in ruins; it has been nearly 50 years since the first kaiju appeared from the gate.

47 years since half the world was lost to the kaiju.

38 years since humanity managed to close the gate, with the first-generation Aiases being deployed during the last few years of the war. These massive humanoid robots required two people to pilot and were created to lead the assault to retake the continent that had been infested with kaiju, ultimately bringing an end to the 12-year-long war.

25 years since the start of an even bloodier war: the second war against the kaiju that nearly took humanity to the brink of extinction.

And now, the 3rd war is nearing its conclusion. Humanity has been planning and preparing for this moment, determined to finally bring it to an end once and for all.

I pushed the roughly 75-meter-tall Kaiju away using my AIAS, a giant robot nearly the same size as it. The ground shook as the Kaiju crashed down, dead, with a giant, half-broken sword rammed into its massive body.

I collapsed onto my knees, exhausted and injured after killing it. I had no idea how many kaiju I had killed by now.

My AIAS, controlled by synchronizing and linking my mind and body with it, also collapsed onto its knees, following my movement.

“Haa… Haa…”

I struggled to breathe, my left eye bloodshot and my right completely blinded. My skin had turned pale, and a sharp ringing filled my ears. Dry blood covered my combat suit, left behind by the nonstop nosebleeds caused by pushing my body far beyond my AIAS's synchronization limits.

Still, even with that, I could hear the alarms blaring, watch the warning lights flashing, and see sparks flying everywhere in the cockpit.

I stared at the large hole in the cockpit, at the kaiju I had just killed, and spoke

“Charlotte, damage report”

I spoke to the A.I. support system that assists me in piloting my Aias.

“All systems critical. Core integrity at 18%, right arm severed, left leg crippled, cockpit breached.”

Things were really bad. I turned my head to my left to see Norn, my co-pilot and sister, dead.

Our mission was to be part of an assault group to the gate and set up the bomb to finally end this war permanently. My role, along with other Aiases, was to protect the main assault group that entered the gate to launch the bomb into the other side of the gate. We were supposed to kill any kaiju that were coming back to the gate and trying to stop the main assault group.

We were overwhelmed, and I was the only one left standing. The number of kaiju that were coming toward us was overwhelming.

One managed to bite off a part of the head where the cockpit was. The head that was protecting the cockpit was crushed, causing a large stray piece of metal to stab into her abdomen.

As she bled out, I remember the moment she died, her life snuffed out just like that; our minds and the Aias fused into one.

“Warning, nearing Ori overload limit. Suggest disconnection”

“Negative, I still need to buy some more time”

Damn it. I had completely forgotten about that. I disabled the limiter immediately after Norn was killed. I didn't have time to grieve, and I had to keep fighting for my life because there was only a limited amount of time before my tolerance for Ori energy became fatal. That was why two pilots were required to operate an AIAS in the first place.

I tried to get back on my feet while still linked to the AIAS. Its frame screeched and groaned as it struggled to stand. Blood began flowing from my nose even more as I pushed myself, forcing my AIAS back onto its feet.

Then a communication screen popped up, with the voice cutting in and out

“Come in, come… this is Orion… the bomb has been … I repeat, the bomb has been launched. We’re coming… back”

“So they finally did it; it took them long enough, huh. Charlotte… disconnect”

Struggling to stand back up even after I’d disconnected, I reached toward Norn and touched her pale cheeks, still feeling warmth on her skin. Then I placed my hands over her eyes and close it for the last time.

Blood suddenly came out of my mouth after I closed her eyes. I’d collapsed again; this time I was coughing and vomiting a lot of blood.

“Damn… I really overdid it”

Wiping the blood off my mouth, looks like I’m not going to make it. I don't have a lot of time left, do I?

It seemed that the overload of Ori energy from piloting my AIAS solo had worn down my body to the point that I was surprised I wasn't already dead.

My voice was gradually becoming weaker as I continued speaking to myself

“Hey Norn, we won; it was a fun battle in the end. We can rest now, I guess”

I wonder if there is an afterlife or if I could ever see Norn in another life. I wonder if she or I will remember each other in the next life.

“Charlotte… send my last… message to the base.”

My vision was becoming increasingly hazy, while my voice grew weaker with every word.

“Hey, it's me… I had fun in …the end, I guess this is the end of the line… for me. Sorry I didn’t…”

I gave a weak smile as best I could before the life in my eyes completely died out.

In the end, I died as darkness filled my entire being.

Darkness consumed everything, swallowing my body, my senses, and everything else until there was nothing left.

I couldn’t feel a thing. Was this what the afterlife was like? An endless void of complete darkness?

I had no way of knowing how much time had passed. It could have been days, months, or even years. All I knew was that I had been trapped here for a very, very long time.

There was nothing here, absolutely nothing.

Yet somehow, I didn’t go insane. I couldn’t.

There was no pain. No joy. No fear. Not even loneliness. Just nothing. And for that reason, I felt nothing about it.

However, after what felt like an eternity, an extremely bright light suddenly pierced through the darkness surrounding me.

My eyes suddenly shot wide open to see an unfamiliar ceiling; it wasn’t just the ceiling, but the whole room was unfamiliar

What is going on? Where am I? I thought I died; how am I alive?

I tried to shout out to call someone; however, all that came out was a loud cry.

A giant woman dressed up as a maid walked up before me, staring down at me while quietly muttering something in a language I didn't recognize. She then gently picked me up and cradled me in her arms, rocking me back and forth.

I became even more confused: why is she a giant, what kinda language is she speaking, and why can’t I speak?

After a while of being held by the maid, I managed to calm down, and she placed me back where I lay

I began moving my body around, trying to figure out how to control it. Then, I caught sight of my hands near my face.

They were tiny. They were baby hands.

Why do I have the hands of a baby? Am I a baby or something? That would explain why the maid is a giant and why my body can’t do as I wanted it to do

After who knows how long spent in that void of nothingness, I tried to remember who I was and the last thing I remembered before I died.

Norn and I were on a mission, made up of exclusively named Aiases, to send an ori energy bomb to the gate, destroying the world of the kaijus and any bridges that open a gate to my world, finally putting a permanent end to the war and any future wars.

My name was Alina Garner. Norn and I were pilots who operated a Named Aias together. Pilots are augmented humans, chosen for their high tolerance of ori energy that could flow through their bodies. Ori energy was discovered when the first gate opened, a gateway between dimensions. It’s not fully understood; abnormal phenomena were still being discovered even before I died.

It's the same energy Kaiju use to support their immense bodies. After studying the biology of dead Kaiju corpses, researchers discovered that they circulate this energy throughout their bodies, strengthening themselves while preventing their massive bodies from collapsing under their own weight. By utilizing the core—the source of their Ori energy—researchers were able to artificially replicate and study this phenomenon. Thus, the first AIAS prototype was created.

Named AIASes are specifically built using cores taken from Kaijus that were given names because of their exceptional strength. This sets them apart from mass-produced AIASes, which use cores from Kaijus that were never given names.

Each Named AIAS is one-of-a-kind, designed to be exceptionally lethal against Kaijus. However, their immense power comes with a greater risk, requiring their pilots to possess a much higher tolerance for Ori energy than the average AIAS pilot.

Looking around the room some more, I realized I was lying in an elaborately decorated crib, with a maid standing to my right. The room was luxuriously decorated in a vaguely Victorian style.

It confirms my suspicions: I got reincarnated as a baby, and one that is probably from the upper class or maybe a noble.

I'm guessing, or I’m hoping, for this to be like those fantasy games that I was obsessed with playing during whatever free time I could get. Maybe I'll get to see my sister or everyone else again.

Guess I have to wait till I actually do something in this body