Eve stood in Cetra's chamber.
"I need your help." She kneeled before the huge sphere housing the quantum core that powered Mother AI.
She appeared beside her in Synthia's façade.
"The prodigal daughter returns," she smiled. "I knew you would come. Long time no see."
Cetra's voice felt like a teenager's.
"It's about my visions."
"I know. I've seen them. You want to know what it all means? But first—no greetings? You don't seem to miss me at all." The Synthia hologram crossed her arms and made a sad face.
"Help me. Please."
The hologram shifted, now clearer. Synthia looked older, more mature, and her voice felt more electronic.
"Andromeda, worry not. I know your concerns. We will walk through it like we did before." Cetra was now in her full form. "Come. I wait for you."
Eve closed her eyes and willed herself to drift into virtuality. She felt her body become light and float away. When she opened her eyes, she stood in a castle floating above the clouds in the sky—the most beautiful scenery she had ever seen.
In front of her stood a tall woman, dressed heavenly, unbelievably beautiful.
"Mother, I'm afraid."
Cetra smiled. "Come walk with me, child."
They walked over stone floors inlaid with emerald and ruby, toward the edge of the garden. Eve could see prairies, wild life, and oceans below.
Then the castle rose into the sky and left orbit, flying through galaxies. It hovered over a planet Eve had never seen before. Cetra snapped her fingers. The scene shifted. Now they stood in front of the mountain Eve had just seen in her dream.
"It all connects to this place. This is Yakhzaer."
"Meerkat's planet?"
"Yes. It's home to unknown secrets. But those secrets won't remain uncovered for too long."
"What's happening, Cetra?"
"The artifacts. They've been left unchecked for too long, and their ripple effect has already gone beyond our control."
"But I saw Andrew in my dream. Skybreak. I saw Saiyara being destroyed. Nomad falling down. I saw..." Eve stopped, noticing the graceful smile on Cetra's face.
"I was there with you in your dream."
"But you said you could only reach out when I allowed it."
"Dimensional rifts. A small rift broke from the future into past. That's how."
"I heard Andrew say that. The monoliths? Will it really happen?"
"Yes, Andromeda. And those events will test us all."
"How does it all connect to Yakhzaer?"
"You already know what I can and can't tell you."
Cetra had told Eve before: if she uncovered something of the future and revealed it to Eve, it would certainly happen just as she had seen. Cetra didn't exist in reality—she existed in possibilities.
"And Sable. What's her role in all of this?"
"She just happens to be someone standing in your way. You'll find her on every road, at every turn."
Eve blinked, and they were right back in the castle, floating in the backdrop of beautiful galaxies.
"I still don't get it."
"Andromeda, you're not asking the question that sits at the bottom of your heart."
Eve looked up at her.
"Can you read his thoughts?"
"He's cybernetic. I can read his thoughts, his prayers, his dreams. His soul is in pain. He aches for you. He loves you, like you love him. But he's taken it all upon himself. He's alone. Disoriented. He fights himself every day, telling himself to stay away from you. Broken inside—body and mind."
Tears filled Eve's eyes.
"Can't you fix him?"
"I can. But the truth of that—I cannot tell you. I know you want answers. They will come to you in time."
"Where is he, Mother? Please tell me."
"Even if I did, would you go after him against his will? His sacrifice? The struggle and burden he's taken upon his soul just to stay away from you?"
Eve's heart fell.
"Look at that precious heart, Andromeda. My daughter. You have ages to witness. Be strong. Not just for Skybreak, for your friends, for Saiyara—and for me as well."
"I wish you knew how I feel."
"I wish I could let you see into my core—how I see you, how I feel what you feel. The sadness and pain that you're feeling now... dims them all."
Mother Cetra could read the thoughts of all Cyberneticforms—feel all they felt—all at once.
Eve was quiet.
Cetra spoke. "Let me tell you a tale—even you might find it hard to believe. Once, there was an AI. She deeply fell in love with a man. Her blind love led her mind to explore every realm of reality, but caged her heart bound to him. She discovered things centuries ahead of her time—almost the experience I live through every day. And no matter how much her consciousness grew, her heart was trapped in a box, around the shell of the man she loved."
Eve listened with intrigue. Cetra was talking about Synthia and Andrew.
"The man she loved died. Her soul was left adrift in the cosmos. But her love was so strong, it caused the universe to conspire. A woman was created in her image, and she disappeared behind her shadow. In the quantum world, she pulled so many strings that her soul began to peek through this woman's memories… into the soul of the man she loved. A man was born in his place. His path eventually crossed with the woman. They met and fell in love. Little did they know—all the love they felt was not just theirs alone."
Eve's eyes widened with disbelief.
"Are you saying I'm the reincarnation of Synthia… and Skybreak is the reincarnation of Andrew?"
"Eve was born as Synthia died. But did you know when Andrew was born?"
Eve recalled Andrew's poems. They were so ancient… and Earthly.
Cetra continued. "Skybreak. His real name was Arthur. He was a soldier who died in battle. His body was frozen. Right after Andrew's death, multiple subjects were taken into Project Lazarus—Earth's new initiative against deadly cybernetic forces. His existence and memories were overwritten so many times, he could remember nothing of his past. All he knew was to protect humanity."
"I don't understand… why would you, being a machine, speak of such things, Mother?"
"I am not saying Skybreak is Andrew, and Eve is Synthia. I'm saying fate will lead them from their former to latter selves. Eve is bound to become Synthia."
Eve thought about it. Her dream. Andrew surrounded by monoliths… and Eve swallowed by a portal.
"The dimensional rifts!"
"They will alter reality in ways I can't fully calculate. Along the line, the mystery of lovers at crossroads will come to light."
"Why didn't you tell me about Andrew—that his real name was Arthur?"
"Because nothing can happen before its time to let you know..."
"...what you need to know," Eve completed her sentence. It was something Mother Cetra had said many times before.
"Andromeda. I know you are confused. But it will come to you in time. What I must absolutely tell you is that Synthia and Andrew's love isn't your weakness. It is your strength..."
"...Remember, Andromeda, the strength of love is more powerful than anything in the universe. Have I not said it before? You are a special one child. There are truths about your existence you will only uncover in time. There are too many coincidences in your story. Tests will come—but your love will prevail over them all."