Chapter 4: Those Who Still Remember
Zhao Yuchen returned to his quarters that night, but sleep did not come.
He sat by the wide window of his room, gazing at the stars beyond the artificial atmosphere of the clan's space station. Somewhere out there... Earth waited. Not a dream. Not a myth. Real.
The memory of the glowing blue dot on the old star map burned behind his eyes.
But along with it came doubt.
He clenched his fists.
"If it's real… why have we done nothing?"
"Why does everyone avoid speaking its name?"
Just then, a soft knock came at the door.
"Yuchen?"
It was his younger cousin, Zhao Nian — a quiet boy, always clutching ancient books like they were treasure. Yuchen opened the door, surprised.
"I heard," Nian whispered. "Grandfather showed you the forbidden map, didn't he?"
Yuchen frowned. "You shouldn't know about that."
"I've been reading old logs. The records the elders sealed after the Great Departure. The ones no one checks anymore." He stepped inside, his eyes shining. "Yuchen, they've always known. Not just about Earth's location… but that it's still alive."
Yuchen stiffened. "Still alive?"
Nian nodded and pulled a thin, cracked tablet from his robe. It activated with a flicker of golden light. On the screen, a faded voice recording began to play:
> "...the planet pulses with qi once again. Our probes were absorbed, and our scouts never returned. The Verdant Code is spreading. Earth rejects entry. Until the Divine Seal awakens… we dare not approach."
Yuchen sat down, stunned.
"They stopped going because Earth itself rejected us?" he asked.
"More than that," Nian said. "Earth chose to close itself off after the betrayal. After the war. But she wasn't destroyed like they claimed. She changed."
He tapped the screen again. Images blinked to life — ancient spirit forests rising over ruined cities, crystal towers growing like veins through deserts, oceans swirling with faint blue auroras.
"She became something else. A seeded world. Alive, conscious, dangerous."
Yuchen stared at the images, heart pounding.
It was no longer just about reclaiming a home.
It was about understanding why that home had closed its heart.
"I have to go," he murmured.
Nian looked up. "You're really going to try?"
"I have to. If Earth is still out there… if she remembers us… then I'll answer her."
He rose, walking back to the window. The stars no longer looked silent.
They looked like they were watching.