During the spread of COVID-19 in 2020, Patricia Maggie Dela Cruz, also known as Patricia Mage, was a young Filipina with a passion for cryptocurrency. She shared the same interest with her older sibling, and they often spent many hours learning about blockchain, cryptocurrencies and trading.

One day, Patricia received a call saying that her sibling wouldn't be coming home for a week. But instead of her sibling returning, an urn arrived at their house. Heartbroken and confused, Patricia struggled to accept her sibling's sudden death.

A little later, she received another call. An unknown woman wearing glasses, a facemask, a bonnet, and a blue hoodie told Patricia that her entire life was nothing but a lie, including the identity of the person she considered her older sibling.

Driven by intense curiosity and a desperate search for answers, Patricia agreed to meet with her. That decision changed everything. She found herself thrown across different timelines and dimensions. Eventually, she re-enrolled at the Quantum Knights Academy, a mysterious guild school that accepts cryptocurrency as payment for tuition. Slowly, Patricia began to rediscover her true powers, and unexpectedly, she was declared an official Technomancer of the Quantum Knights Guild.

At this moment, my final test has come to become a full-fledged Technomancer and an official member of the Quantum Knights Guild.

My training under a legitimate yet mysterious technomancer named Master Lilith has been intense. She's so hardcore! She's incredibly mysterious every time I try to dig into her past, she says nothing. Not a single word. No matter what I ask, all she gives me is this awkward, quirky expression.

Anyway, as I said earlier, being a technomancer means you're a magic user who relies on technology called PQC or Personal Quantum Computer. This technology is so advanced, it's beyond anything anyone in the 21st century could ever imagine.

Oops! Spoiler alert!

Unexpectedly, I accidentally teleported Master Lilith and myself to the plains of Peru. I've been hiding from her for hours now because I know she's way too strong compared to me. Besides, I don't want to hurt her, she matters to me. I consider my master Lilith a friend.

"Pat!" she furiously shouted my name, and it echoed loudly, as if the very air was trembling around us.

"I'm going to steal your celestial power to devour this world! I will create the most destructive viruses! Coronavirus is one of them!" Master Lilith yelled.

What? No way!!! What the effff! I seriously hate the word 'corona'!

A smartphone screen or a desktop keyboard, that's what I look for first every morning when I wake up. Ever since the COVID-19 pandemic began in early 2020, most people who are super attached to technology, like me, have boosted their ways of earning money through the power of blockchain technology. Cryptocurrencies became a huge opportunity for people like us, especially here in the Philippines.

GPU crypto mining, crypto staking, crypto trading, liquidity pools or DeFi yield farming from decentralized exchanges, crypto games, and non-fungible token or NFT minting, those became some of the most popular sources of income during those times when lockdowns seemed endless. It was one of the biggest things for people who had just lost their jobs and were looking for profit. Cryptocurrencies were one of the first choices because they were easy to buy and access.

So my older sister and I, who live in Taytay City, Rizal, learned how to read price chart patterns in crypto trading, also called technical analysis, and we also do our own research on crypto projects, which is called fundamental analysis. My sister, as a pulmonologist in a government hospital, always receives stimulus funds. Whenever she gets her stimulus funds, she invests 40% of it into both Bitcoin and Ethereum because she really hates banks, and me too, I hate banks just as much! Why? Because of fractional-reserve banking!

Now, you might be wondering what fractional-reserve banking is all about. To put it simply, let's create a sample scenario. You deposit your money in the bank, then the bank lends your money to other people or banks so they can earn more money from the interest! So you don't really have your physical money in the bank, it's just numbers in a database! If all depositors were to withdraw their money at the same time, there's no doubt the bank would close immediately because they already messed up by lending out almost all their money to random clients!

Anyway, the remaining 20% of her stimulus, she gives it all to me and lets me decide wherever the hell I want to invest. As a Cardano maxi, all the profits I make from diversifying, mining, staking, yield farming, and crypto gaming end up being used to buy $ADA or Cardano tokens. That's my ultimate thing ever! But hey, this isn't financial advice, okay?

The other 40% of her stimulus was a problem because she secretly buys random low-cap coins without doing deep research on the project first! As a result, many of them turned out to be rug pulls! A rug pull in the crypto industry is when a developer or team of developers suddenly abandons a project and sells or removes all of its liquidity. The name comes from the phrase "to pull the rug out from under someone," which means to unexpectedly withdraw support. That's why I labeled my older sister a crypto degen.

As time went by, people eventually found ways to adapt to the pandemic situation, so many things became the new norm. An ordinary teenage girl in eighth grade who loves technology like me, someone who absolutely hates attending classes in school, had no choice but to accept this new norm, the online version of classes! For me, academics doesn't really make sense anymore because you can search almost everything online on the internet!

Since almost all my energy is spent on crypto research, crypto games, and fixing my GPU-powered crypto mining rigs, I sleep super late, often at dawn, so I always feel groggy during online classes. Most of the time, I just write down the topic of our class, then take a nap so I can search those things later on online search engines after class.

Sometimes, when my sister catches me sleeping during our online class, she pulls my head up and forces me to slowly open my eyes in front of the camera. I'm always startled by my classmates' laughter, so I inadvertently end up shouting while standing like this, "I am Patricia Maggie Dela Cruz! I am 14 years old! I live in Taytay City, Rizal!" I don't know why, but I thought we were still doing attendance! It was so embarrassing every time she did that because I drool when I sleep, so I always end up spraying saliva while speaking when I wake up! Eww, right?! That's how my sister always bullies me.

"Hey! Pat! Listen to your teacher!" my older sister furiously whispered as she sat on the chair at a corner, eating rice cake while dipping it into pork blood stew soup and staring at me with disapproval at the same time.

"Yes! I know!" I irritably replied with one reddish eye open.

After a few minutes, our online class teacher called for a five-minute break. I muted my microphone immediately, then begged for some food from my sister.

"No! No! No! I will never give you Dinuguan!" my older sister said selfishly.

"Hey! But you know Dinuguan is my favorite food, right?!" I replied to her with teary eyes.

Well, Dinuguan, or Pork Blood Stew in English, is a famous cultural Filipino food, a savory stew. It usually consists of pork offal and meat simmered in a rich, spicy dark gravy of pig blood, garlic, chili, and vinegar.

"You must focus on your class, Pat," said my older sister.

"But it is break time!" I confusedly replied.

"I do not care, and I will not tell you where I hid the remaining Dinuguan!" she insisted.

"Ah, okay..." I sadly replied to her in a super low voice. After that, I picked up my headphones and started listening to my favorite song, "In Bloom" by Nirvana. A few moments later, my older sister approached me and said, "Hey, you are going emo mode again, I am sorry. Just wait here, I will be right back with your favorite Dinuguan, okay?"

She said emo because when she was still in college way back in the early year of 2004, emo, goth, punk, and post-hardcore music was overly mainstream. People dressed like emo or punk rockers and acted like them too. It was a social norm at those times. She also mentioned that she used to dress like a gothic punk rocker. By the way, Nirvana is grunge music, never misunderstand that.

The moment she came back with my favorite food, our class had just resumed so I could not eat anymore. She put it on the table beside me instead. Besides, I like it more when it is just mildly hot.

Hours had passed, and our online class was successfully done. My older sister suddenly asked me, "What did you do? Have you not slept again?"

"I finished playing my crypto games at dawn and lost track of time. Then, when I started to lay down on my bed, I noticed that one of my graphics cards in my GPU crypto miner was having some problems, so I tried to fix it quickly. But when I checked the time, it said 5:30 AM." I replied to her while having a spoonful of Dinuguan.

"Yes, you are earning your crypto but you are attracting diseases too! Why? How much have you already earned? Why are you risking your life like that? Huh?!" said my older sister, without any idea of the results of what I had been working for.

Without a word, I just made a hand sign language for her to look at my computer screen, and after a few clicks, I showed her my entire crypto assets portfolio.

At her surprise, she screamed!

"Waaaaaaaaah! What?! Pat? Is that true? You have already got that amount of money? Oh my grass! You can now already afford all your expenses through college with that kind of amount! You can even buy a house! If you want!" she said in shock.

"Yeah! That is right, but getting married? There is no real happiness in marriage.

It will only multiply your suffering. Look at you. You are already an old hag now, but still single." I replied to her like a grown-up woman.

"Huh? Am I hearing a misogamist talking here? Please don't die single, girl, seriously!" my older sister said.

"Yes, I will die a virgin too!" I replied with a quirky face.

"Haha! You can't say that! Don't jump to conclusions, darling!" she giggled.

A few moments later, I started feeling super sleepy. My sister noticed and rushed to prepare a mildly hot glass of milk.

"Here you go..." she said, handing it to me.

"Are you on your way to the hospital for your duty?" I asked.

"No, I have a dentist appointment. Rest well, my baby girl..." she replied.

After checking her watch, she grabbed her sling bag and left, closing the door behind her. Only three seconds passed before she opened it again. "Remember not to buy meme coins, okay? You're not in crypto for memes."

"Yes, sis!" I replied.

I drooled while sleeping for hours until an ear-splitting ringtone woke me. My room was dark, it was already nighttime. I answered the phone.

"Yes, sister, why did you call?" I asked.

"Pat, I sent you cash allowance for two weeks. You must buy your food online so you don't get exposed to crowds," she replied.

"Thank you, but why?" I asked, confused.

"I just have an important case here at the hospital," she said, her voice choppy from poor signal.

"I don't understand. Why aren't you coming home? Don't tell me you have a COVID patient, or that you have it?" I wondered aloud.

"Don't worry, my baby girl. I'll be fine. Just keep yourself sanitized and healthy..." she replied.

Four weeks later, the unexpected happened.

My world shattered as I stood at the columbarium holding my older sister's urn. I never thought she would be cremated. After the burial rites, everyone left except me and two policemen. I couldn't stop crying, so the officers stayed beside me.

Most people think COVID-19 wasn't real. They didn't take it seriously, especially those who weren't health-conscious. They called it an over-marketed flu. But when it hits, it drops your oxygen level below 95%, then 90%, down to 80%. If it reaches below 70% on your oximeter, you start panicking. Below 30%, your body grows too feeble to hold on to life.

If you think this virus wasn't real, I hope those who died from it weren't real either!

After securing the urn, one policeman offered me a ride home, but I refused. The other asked if I had relatives to pick me up. I said my uncle would arrive in fifty minutes and showed them a fake chat from a dummy account. The officers nodded and left, reminding me to stay safe.

From now on, I would live alone. Not long ago, my sister had revealed the truth about why we had no parents. When we were little, our family was in a car accident. Our parents didn't survive. My sister and I did, but I fell into a coma from a head injury. After a week, I woke up unable to speak, just wide-eyed and silent. Our father's wealthy relative adopted us, covering hospital bills and arranging the funeral. My sister was the only one who attended and mourned; I was still in a wheelchair, traumatized and speechless.

A week after the funeral, while I was still wheelchair-bound, my sister caught our uncle trying to sexually harass me. She hit him with a baseball bat, carried me on her back through a stormy night, and rushed us to the nearest police station to file a report. With no other known relatives, the Department of Social Welfare placed us in an all-female Christian orphanage. That's where my first memories began.

My older sister was strong. She left the orphanage young, found a job while studying, and became a professional pulmonologist.

One day I asked why we had no pictures of our parents. She said she had burned them while I was still in trauma. She feared reminding me would bring back depression.

"Roaaaaar!!!!" My phone's metallic ringtone suddenly blared.

"Hello, who is this? How may I help you?" I answered an anonymous video caller.

"Your pre-orphanage history was all a lie… It was all implanted to you by a notorious criminal…" the caller replied.

"Who are you? Why are you doing this?" I asked the anonymous caller.

"Meet me now at the nearest waiting shed from that hospital," the anonymous caller replied.

"Why should I believe you? Why should I meet you?" I confusedly asked.

After my last question, she did not answer.

Since I needed to confirm her identity, I had to look for her cautiously at the nearest waiting shed as she had said.

At last, as I approached the waiting shed, I began to see a girl at the horizon. She was sitting on the waiting shed's chair, wearing a royal blue hoodie, and she appeared to be around 15 to 18 years of age. When I was about 20 meters away from her, I shouted.

"Hey! Girl! Under a blue hoodie! Is that you? The anonymous caller?!"

The girl under the hoodie nodded. She was wearing eyeglasses, a facemask, and a bonnet, enough to cover all her hair, probably to hide her identity.

"What do you mean my history was all a lie? Huh?!" That was my follow-up question.

After a few seconds, I started walking toward her as I became a little more comfortable. When I was about three meters away from her, she suddenly began to run away with tears flowing down her face and left her tablet gadget on the chair.

"Hey! You left your tablet gadget!" I shouted as I picked it up in order to bring it back to her. As I ran toward her, I did not notice that there was a fast-moving car approaching me. It was too late to react. I was going to die. Maybe it was meant to be, to follow my older sister to the afterlife right away.

I closed my eyes slowly, held my breath, and smiled.

"Aaaaaaahhhhh!" the girl in the blue hoodie shouted.

I was confused. How did she come toward me so fast without being noticed? Just a meter away, I saw her holding some sort of shiny black cube box. Then something strange started to happen. The entire surrounding began to move in slow motion, incredibly slow. After a few moments, some sort of lightning appeared from the shiny black cube box, and something strange happened next. The space in front of me started to twirl and created a wormhole, and then I was swallowed by it like a spaghetti noodle.

In a flash, I felt like I was everywhere, yet it was pitch dark. I did not know what was me or what was not me anymore. I felt all kinds of vibrations. It was as if I could understand everything in the entire universe. Even the stone, water, air, and soil felt like they were all a part of me.

In a split millisecond, I started to feel my entire body being electrocuted! It was very painful! Suddenly, I appeared in the middle of a forest, barely clothed, and then collapsed.

When I slowly regained consciousness, I heard voices that seemed to be speaking in Cebuano. When I was fully awake, I was shocked because the last thing I remembered,

I was barely clothed, but now I was wearing a plain white duster dress inside someone's room in a nipa house.

As I got up from a bamboo bed, a young woman who seemed to be around my age noticed that I was finally awake. She entered the room and asked me something I did not quite understand, but I guessed she was asking where I came from. I said I came from Taytay in the Tagalog language, and the woman started to speak Tagalog too. After a long conversation, I found out that I was in the pre-colonial period of the Philippines.

"Mayumi! Please pass those crabs and shrimps! Please!" I begged my new Timawa friend, named Mayumi.

"You really have a good appetite, my friend. You may have more red rice and ripe mangoes too!" Mayumi replied as she offered more food.

That was the most epic lunch ever! It had been a very long time since I had eaten delicious fresh food, especially seafood. Since I had lived in a city before, I always ate ready-to-eat or processed foods. Seafood is very expensive in our city. It may cost up to 600 bucks for just one meal!

Anyway, I also made a new friend. Mayumi belongs to a Timawa class. Timawas are the privileged intermediate class of ancient Visayan society. I was very lucky that Mayumi saw me in the forest a few days ago, despite my uncertain situation at that time. Because there are slave classes here, and I definitely did not want to be a slave!

When elders asked Mayumi where I came from, she made up a story that I was an escaped illegitimate daughter of a Tagalog Datu who had arrived alone by boat to Akean, known as the Province of Aklan in my original timeline. I could not believe they bought it. That is my partner in crime, Mayumi. Good job!

As I walked around exploring the surroundings, I saw some people who were painting tattoos on their bodies. They were the legendary pintados in Philippine history!

As I walked slowly toward them, it was a very exciting scene because most of them were muscular men wearing a bahag, or loincloth. Well, forget about that! Let me ask why they were doing that.

"Ahh, hi oppa? Why do you paint tattoos?" I asked the tall, dark, and handsome pintado.

"Oh, you mean batok? I just made my first kill as a warrior, that is why I am having a batok. And my name is Alindog, not Oppa," he replied.

"Oh, nice to meet you, Alindog. Nice batok too!" I replied, curling my hair flirtatiously.

Alindog. That is quite a name! By the way, tattoos are called batok by Visayan people.

"How about you? Do you want a batok too? What is your name, by the way?" Alindog asked.

"Ahh, ehem! My name is Patricia. Give me some batok too, please?" I charmingly replied.

Afterwards, I gave him my preferred tattoo design, which was a three-dimensional merkaba, and a yin-yang symbol. Alindog suggested that I take a bath first at the nearest river while he prepared the materials needed for my tattoo. I asked Mayumi to accompany me, and she agreed.

After Mayumi finished her bath, she went bird hunting for a moment with her bow as a hobby, but I just stayed soaking in the river because I was enjoying it.

"Beep! Beep!" A sound from some sort of smartphone or gadget suddenly came out of nowhere and caught my attention. As expected, it came from the tablet gadget that I had brought with us. I saw the screen was already on, and there was a button with text that said, "Please tap here to start Cosmic Induction Instant Charging." I did not understand it at all, so I just tapped it. A new window popped up and said, "Congratulations! The Quantum Battery is now fully charged eternally!"

I was absolutely amazed! I had no idea what was really going on. Then another window appeared and said, "Please register your DNA by placing your tongue on the screen in order to start using this device."

So I licked the device's screen as instructed, and a window appeared congratulating me for registering my DNA. After that, the desktop screen appeared, and I was shocked. It had an internet connection!

"Entangled present time, December 30, 2020." That is what this amazing tablet says in the description of its calendar section. This made sense because it was before Christmas when I teleported to this timeline.

"CPU type: Quantum Time Crystal, made by..." What? This was manufactured by a well-known company! Oh, my grass! This is absolutely future technology. So maybe that little girl in a blue hoodie was a time traveler? Hmm...

How about my crypto portfolio? Let me see.

"Wow! Bitcoin went parabolic today! With my Cardano holdings, I am the youngest crypto millionaire in the Philippines! But how will I spend it here? In this timeline?" I said to myself while browsing the tablet and soaking in the river.

"Wow! Nice..." A low-pitched voice suddenly whispered behind me.

I was suddenly stunned, and my heartbeat started racing. As I turned my head around quickly, I saw a blue-haired girl dive quickly under the water.

"Mayumi!!! Help!" I shouted while putting my clothes on quickly.

I ran for my life as fast as I could, but I unconsciously lost my way back to Mayumi's house.

"Damn it! I am screwed!" I said to myself as I stretched.

After a few moments, I looked at the tablet's screen and noticed something.

"It has a fully functional GPS! Girl in a blue hoodie! Wherever you are! I will return your tablet, but let me borrow it right now!" I said to myself, starting to feel hopeful about positive possibilities.

"Start access to Black Knight satellite in order to view Earth's surface." A notification suddenly appeared at the side of the screen.

"Oh, my grass! This is cheating!" I shouted enthusiastically.

The moment I saw the entire map and live view of my location, I also located the position of Mayumi's house, and all my uncertainties disappeared. I breathed deeply in, then breathed all out, and started to run to the seashore to enjoy the fresh sea breeze of the day. When I reached my destination, I sat down on a rock alone and browsed the internet again.

"Lucio! How are you?" I called my classmate on a video call in my present time.

"I am fine! What are you wearing? Are you cosplaying? You are wearing pre-colonial female clothing!" Lucio replied.

"No! I am not! Sorry, I mean yes! But this is not important right now. Are you busy today?" I said to Lucio.

"No, I am not. Why?" he replied.

"I have a favor to ask, but do not worry, I will pay you $50 worth of Bitcoin for the job," I said to Lucio.

"It depends. By the way, what kind of job is it?" Lucio asked.

"I just want you to visit our house and check my desktop computers and GPU crypto miners," I replied to Lucio.

"Is that all? Anyway, how could I get into your house? Is there anyone inside?" Lucio asked.

"There is no one inside. Please just borrow the key from our neighbor Anita and show your phone screen to her while we are in a video call to prove that I am giving you permission to enter our house," I replied.

"Okay, just going to brush my teeth first and go," Lucio replied and ended our video chat.

"Clang! Clang!" A sound of a bow and arrows fell to the ground.

Mayumi and I just stared at each other for a minimum of ten seconds without saying any word. Then she immediately kneeled on the ground, praising me while bowing her head and chanting, "Anito! Anito! Aniiiiiiiito!"

"Stop! Please stand up! Haha!" I said, laughing as I tried to make Mayumi stand up.

"Alindog already prepared the tools for your tattoo, Anito," Mayumi said to me while trembling a little.

To make her calm, I held her hands and said, "I am not an Anito or any kind of deity, okay? Please treat me as an ordinary human, okay?"

"But... but you are talking to spirits in another world!" Mayumi replied.

"Nah! He is not a spirit. He is just a man like us. So do not worry, okay?" I said to Mayumi.

"Okay," she replied.

"Before we go to Alindog for my tattoo, let me finish my important task with my friend Lucio first. The one I am talking to with this gadget device," I said to Mayumi while holding the tablet gadget.

"One more thing, can we keep what you witnessed with this device a secret?" I added.

"Sure, no problem," Mayumi replied.

After a few minutes, Lucio called back and started a video chat.

"Hey! What is up, Pat? How are you doing? You have a cute cosplayer over there. What is her name? Please tell her that I love her," Lucio said, trying to flirt with Mayumi.

"Do not be such an ass, Lucio. Just go inside our house!" I seriously replied to him.

"Knock! Knock! Well, as expected, there is no one here. See?" said Lucio as he opened the house's main door.

"Let us take a look now inside my room, Lucio," I replied.

"Whaaaaaat?!!!" Lucio said, shocked by what he saw.

"Hey! What is that? Let me see!" I said to Lucio, wanting to know what was happening.

The anonymous girl in a blue hoodie was there inside my room, standing with a baseball bat. All of my crypto mining rigs and desktop computers were already destroyed, as shown in Lucio's camera. When the girl in the blue hoodie turned around, she quickly approached Lucio to hit him with her baseball bat.

"No!!!!" screamed Lucio, then he dropped his smartphone on the ground.

"Bam! Bam!" A sound followed while the screen went black.

"What is happening?!" Mayumi unconsciously shouted.

Then Lucio picked up his smartphone again to show what was currently happening in my room. There was another girl with glossy fuchsia pink hair who suddenly appeared out of nowhere, defending Lucio's life.

"Do not worry, my baby boy. I got you," said the girl with fuchsia pink colored hair, winking her right eye at Lucio.

"Never ever hurt my baby boy, you fraud!" the girl with fuchsia pink hair screamed at the girl in the blue hoodie.

"Uy!" Mayumi and I unconsciously said at the same time, thrilled by Lucio's new romance.

The two girls continued fighting, then suddenly the girl in the blue hoodie escaped by jumping out the window.

"You are fine now. I have to leave. See you soon, always be safe!" said the girl with fuchsia pink colored hair, then she jumped to the window to follow the girl in the blue hoodie.

"Hey! Wait! I need your name! My heroine!" Lucio screamed, begging.

"What a romantic scene! But what about my crypto mining rigs?! Forget about it.

You can go home now. I am very sorry. I put your life in danger," I said to Lucio in our video call.

"No, it is nothing. It is all fine for me," Lucio replied.

"Okay, I will give you your Bitcoin then," I said to Lucio.

After our crypto transaction was done, Mayumi and I went back to her home to start my tattoo painting with Alindog. When we arrived at Mayumi's home, I sat down in the chair, and Alindog immediately got to work with his tools.

It was only after he finished inking me that I realized his mistake: he had flattened my complex geometric lines of a merkaba into a simple, two-dimensional Star of David. I felt a sharp pang of disappointment staring at the incorrect symbol on my skin. But as I looked up into Alindog's incredibly handsome face, all my annoyance completely melted away. He was far too attractive for me to stay mad at, so I just smiled, swallowed my regret, and accepted the flawed masterpiece anyway.

It was already sunset when Alindog and his Mambabatok, or co-tattoo artist friend, finished my tattoo. They were truly professional, doing everything by hand with all natural materials, fast and satisfactory!

After we ate our dinner, Mayumi's young boy cousin, who was around my age and named Muda, said that he and his friends had seen a Diwata, a kind of lesser goddess, sitting and glowing with bluish light in the middle of the forest.

"You cannot go, both of you, Mayumi!" said Muda.

"Yes we can! See? I have a tattoo and I want more! So I just need to kill someone.

That is our culture, right? Besides, I am in a Timawa class too!" I bluffed to Mayumi's cousin.

"Haha! You seem so tough! Come on! Let us go!" Muda said enthusiastically.

"What? Go now?!" Mayumi and I said at the same time, surprised.

After we cleaned the dishes, we rushed to clean our teeth with salt and water. Toothpaste was not yet invented in this era, so that was the hygienic norm here.

"We are now packed and ready," Mayumi notified us.

"Hooray! Let the adventure begin!" I said to everyone with excitement.

Then Mayumi, Muda, his team of warrior companions, and I started our journey to the forest in the middle of the night.

"What would you do if you saw the Diwata?" I asked Muda while we were walking.

"Maybe I will wish that I may have a prosperous life and a beautiful wife like you," Muda replied.

"Oh, cool and flirty! Haha!" I replied to Muda, blushing, not because I liked him but because I was simply flattered.

"How about you, Mayumi? What would you do if you saw the Diwata?" I asked.

"Me? Well, I do not know, Patricia. Maybe because I am not sure if the Diwata was a benevolent or a malevolent one," Mayumi replied.

"Oh, that makes sense," I replied while nodding.

"How about you, Patricia? What will you do after we see the Diwata?" Muda asked.

"Me? Well, let me see..." I said, going into deep thought.

"Maybe I will ask her what cryptocurrency is going to the moon next!" I said to Muda.

"Crypto? Moon?" Muda asked, full of confusion.

"Nah! Nevermind. Just forget about it," I said, a little frustrated.

As I turned my head to Mayumi, I saw her smiling at me.

"Hey, girl! What?" I asked as I started to get annoyed.

"No, nothing, my friend. You are just amazing," she replied gracefully with wide eyes.

After a few hours of walking, an unexpected thing happened. We encountered a raid from another tribe in the middle of our journey. They were looking for the recipe for the so-called Ever-burning Lamp. This lamp literally does not run out of flame even after many years, as Mayumi's elders claimed.

The boys fought back, including Mayumi. But I just hid in the bushes as Mayumi instructed. I watched some warriors from our side be brutally killed. My eyes flowed with tears, and my heart was full of hatred because I did not know how to fight. I was just a burden to them.

While watching the battle, someone struck me on the nape and I went unconscious.

As I slowly regained consciousness, I started to feel a little bit strange. When I became fully conscious, I saw a perverted, drunk, and unattractive man touching my chest. Since my hands and feet were tightly bound with cloth, I struggled to defend myself. On the other side of the nipa hut, which appeared to be a secret hideout for an unknown tribe of Malayan or Borneo origin, I saw Mayumi in a similar situation to mine.

A few moments later, people outside started to become noisy. I concluded that most people in this hideout were men. A man's voice came from outside near the nipa hut, "Hey! Lady! You cannot enter this area! Ahh! Ouch!" Then a blue-haired woman with a red bandana on her head entered our nipa hut, effortlessly bypassing whoever was trying to prevent her from entering. She had very light complexion skin and golden irises in her eyes. All in all, she was beautiful and very attractive. I had a crush on her, and she seemed very familiar. I did not know why.

"Hey, woman? What is your business here?" asked the perverted drunk man.

"Let me buy that woman," the blue-haired woman replied.

"Why do you want to buy her?" the ugly man replied.

"I will marry her," the blue-haired woman replied.

"Haha! How would you marry a woman if you are a woman?" the ugly man replied, bullying the blue-haired woman.

"I am a man," the blue-haired woman said.

"Really? You must wear this Tugbuk first if you want to prove that you are a man!" said the ugly man to the blue-haired woman, handing her a Tugbuk.

Tugbuk was a pin that was inserted into a man's manhood during childhood in the pre-colonial period of the Philippines. It was a small bar made of brass, gold, ivory, or lead, or a little tube of tin that was driven across the head of a man's manhood to protrude on both sides, far enough to have decorations ranging from simple rivets to rosettes like the rowel of a horseman's spur.

After the blue-haired woman received the Tugbuk, she pulled out her manhood and inserted the Tugbuk into it. Then her blood from her manhood started dripping. Yes! It was confirmed! She was a man! And it must have hurt terribly. Not because of the Tugbuk alone, but because she was a woman in a man's body. It really broke my heart! But she was a pretty femboy, in all fairness! Wait, he looked like the one I had seen earlier!

After the ugly man and I saw what the pretty femboy did, the atmosphere inside the nipa hut fell silent for about ten seconds. Who would not be shocked by what had happened?

"Here is my payment, a handful of silver and gold," said the pretty blue-haired femboy to the ugly man.

After that, I was untied, but they did not let Mayumi go.

"How about my friend?" I asked the pretty blue-haired femboy.

"Do not worry. I have a plan," he replied as we walked away from the nipa hut.

"By the way, what is your name?" I asked.

"You can call me Elai," he replied.

"That is a very nice name. Ahm... You can call me Patricia," I said to Elai.

We had only walked a few meters away from the hideout of those goons when they suddenly started to run at us with their bolos. But coincidentally, a portal with glowing and sparkling purple lights suddenly appeared behind them.

"Stay back, Patricia!" Elai shouted as he glowed with bluish light while removing his red bandana and pulling out his Tugbuk at the same time.

There was no doubt that Elai was the Diwata that Muda had been talking about!

As the goons approached us, they suddenly changed their attention when a portal appeared from behind them. They just stopped and watched the portal's sparkling purple lights.

"Patricia! You should run away now!" Elai shouted, begging me to escape while bluish lights burst from his skin as if he was preparing for battle.

"No! I will never leave Mayumi!" I yelled to Elai. Then I started to run to save Mayumi while taking advantage of the goons' amazement at the portal's lights.

"Patricia? What is going on? Why is my head spinning?" Mayumi asked me after I cut her loose from the rope.

"We do not have much time! We need to escape now!" I yelled to Mayumi as I started to panic.

While we were on our way out of the nipa hut, we heard screaming voices begging for their lives outside. I was shocked by what we saw: all the goons had been beheaded. The only ones left were Elai and a girl in a blue hoodie with bloody hands holding two kris blades.

"Hey! Anonymous girl in a blue hoodie! Remember me?! If you want your tablet gadget back, I will return it now! Just do not hurt any more people!" I shouted, begging the girl in the blue hoodie.

"No! You must run away, Patricia! She is extremely dangerous!" Elai yelled to us.

After a few seconds, the girl in the blue hoodie threw her two kris blades toward us and Mayumi.

"No!!!" Elai shouted, and he shot a beam of bright bluish light next to us using a shiny black cube box from his hand. Then suddenly a new type of wormhole portal appeared, glowing with bright bluish lights.

"Patricia! Look out!" Mayumi yelled to me and pushed us toward Elai's wormhole portal. Then, after that, we were swallowed by it like spaghetti while hugging Mayumi tightly.

It was the same feeling again as when I first traveled in time, but now it was a bit different. It felt blissful being together with Mayumi. Moments later, both our bodies began to feel painfully electrocuted, and we appeared in a new place, barely clothed.

"What was that for?" Mayumi asked.

"I do not know. I am sorry, Mayumi. I got carried away. Please, I am really sorry,"

I replied to Mayumi, full of shame.

"No, it is okay. I loved it, Patricia," Mayumi replied. Then she kissed me with a torrid kiss.

After kissing for around five minutes, we suddenly realized that we had ended up in an unusual place.

"Where are we, Patricia?" Mayumi asked.

After I turned my head in every direction, I saw the planet Saturn near us, and we were lying down on a certain kind of moon with breathable air.

"How is that possible? Why can we breathe the air?" I said unconsciously in front of Mayumi. She shook her head and raised her eyebrows.

Without any hesitation, I brought out the tablet gadget to know our current location using its GPS system. I found out that we were currently on Saturn's moon named Rhea, and I never thought it had breathable air.

"Maybe we should try to seek help," I said to Mayumi.

While walking barely clothed on the moon, we shouted for help, but hours later, we had come to the conclusion that we were just surrounded by dust. Dust that grew colder and colder as we went further, with a beautiful view of planet Saturn.

"Patricia, it is so nice here. I think we are already in the deities' realm," Mayumi said to me, and I pinched her skin.

"Ouch!" Mayumi shouted.

"See? We are still alive! But I think we are just going to die here too," I said sadly to Mayumi.

Mayumi held my chin and said, "If this is the place to die, let us enjoy our last moments here together."

We kissed our lips again, savoring our very last moment together.

After half an hour of kissing, we suddenly heard a roar and saw a spaceship heading toward us. It looked like a U.S. Air Force Nighthawk airplane. When the spaceship landed, a glowing girl who looked exactly like me stepped out from the ship's door. She had golden hair and was wearing a beautiful silver dress.

She walked gracefully toward us like a pageant model and touched our foreheads. A glowing mark appeared on each of our foreheads and became a tattoo after the light faded. Mine was a star inside a circle with another circle inside, and Mayumi's was a crucifix on top of a circle. The golden-haired girl also had a forehead tattoo that looked like the letter P with a crucifix below.

"Hey, girls! I think you both can understand me now, right? You both are a very sweet couple, though." The golden-haired girl said, laughing.

"Ahh!" Mayumi shouted.

"Hey! Why?" I asked Mayumi, and after a few seconds, her skin started to have burns.

"Let us take her to my ship!" said the golden-haired girl.

"She is suffering from severe erythema caused by extreme radiation poisoning. What did you do?" she asked, scanning Mayumi with a device on her wrist.

"We just kissed?" I replied, then quickly looked at the tablet gadget's quantum calendar to know our current inhabited time. It said 500 million B.C.

"We traveled through time," I added.

"Wow! Really? If you do not mind, may I have some samples of your genetic structure?" the golden-haired girl asked me.

She took a swab of mine and Mayumi's saliva and initiated some sort of DNA test. After she got the result, she knelt before me and bowed her head.

"Hey, cut it out! What is your name, anyway?" I asked, trying to push her away.

"Solana. I am an elementalis, a being of pure energy. I cannot believe Kali asked me to help you," she sobbed, her golden hair falling over her face.

"Kali? Who is that? Never mind, just help my friend, please!" I said, pointing at Mayumi, who was lying unconscious on the floor.

"You have been gone for so long, Kali. You do not remember anything, do you?" Solana said, wiping her eyes and moving to Mayumi's side.

"Stop calling me Kali! That is not my name!" I said, frustrated.

"Then what is your name?" she asked, looking at me with curiosity.

I shook my head. "I am Patricia Maggie Dela Cruz. Who is Kali?" I asked.

Solana looked at me with a mix of awe and sadness. "She is someone I knew from Lyra Aakaashganga, a place far away from here. You look exactly like her." She said, zooming out the hologram of the solar system and pointing at a spiral of stars.

I stared at the image, feeling a strange tug in my chest. "And what about you? How come you look like me too? We only have different hair colors. Are you my long-lost ancestor or something?" I joked, trying to lighten the mood.

Solana ignored my attempt at humor and changed the subject. "Your friend is in a critical condition. She is a new type of carbon-based life form, unlike anything I have ever seen. Her physical body cannot survive in this state. Where did you find her?" she asked, scanning Mayumi again.

I felt a surge of panic and anger. "What do you mean she cannot survive? You have to save her! She is my girlfriend!" I said, clutching Mayumi's hand.

Solana looked at me with sympathy. "I will do what I can, but I need to know more about her. Which graha did you come from?" she asked.

"Graha? What is that?" I asked, confused.

Solana showed me the hologram again. "We are here, next to Shani, one of the grahas." She pointed at Saturn, the ringed planet. "Grahas are the celestial bodies that orbit Surya. There are nine of them in this system." She explained.

I pointed at the blue-green sphere on the hologram. "We came from Earth. That is our graha." I said.

Solana blinked in disbelief. "Earth? You mean Prithvi? But that graha was just terraformed recently. There is no intelligent life there yet." She sounded amazed.

"I already told you before that we travel in time! Anyway, who cares about the future? My girlfriend is dying here and you are wasting time with your stupid questions. Can you not do anything to save her?" I said, sobbing.

Solana closed her eyes and muttered something under her breath. She began to glow brighter, like a star.

"Stupid Lyrians..." she whispered, then her glow faded.

"What did you say? What about Lyrians?" I asked, confused.

She shook her head. "Never mind, Kali. I have a solution, but it comes with a price."

"What is it? Tell me!" I said, desperate.

She took out a small toy that looked like two balls connected by a string. She called it Lato-Lato.

She started to swing it around, making a clicking sound.

"Your girlfriend needs draconian blood. It will heal her body, but she will die first," she said.

I grabbed her by the shoulders and yelled at her. "What the hell are you talking about? And stop playing with that thing! It is annoying! Just like you!"

She flinched and hid the toy behind her back. She looked scared.

"She will be reborn, Kali. Reborn as a new being. A hybrid of human and draconian. But there is no going back to what she was before," she said.

Lilith stood before her fellow Quantum Knight, her eyes fixed on the masterpiece in front of her. "This masterpiece is complete," her fellow Quantum Knight said, her voice firm. "You can give it to Solana now, and always remember, this is classified."

"Yes, Master Engineer," Lilith replied, her voice steady.

Her fellow Quantum Knight smiled. "I told you already, just call me by my name. By the way, always take care of yourself."

"Yes, Kallixeina. Thank you." With that, Lilith left for Universe 7, Level 2.

A few hours before Solana, Patricia Mage, and Mayumi's close encounters in Rhea Luna, Lilith handed Solana a small object. "This is called Lato-Lato," she explained. "It is usually a children's toy, but you can use it as a weapon."

Solana looked at the object skeptically. "I do not think I am going to make it," she said.

Lilith's expression turned serious. "You started this forking of the universe. Now we, the Quantum Knights, are here to help you fix this mess." Solana shook her head. "As I said, I did not expect to explore the secrets of this universe! My time travels are just coincidences!" Lilith leaned in closer. "Listen carefully. In the timeline you came from, you mixed something into Empress Kali's drink that caused her rage in the Lyrian kingdom in order to make her hurt the Emperor and hoping to make her a criminal. Then you time-traveled into the future, which is our current timeline, hoping to see the positive result of what you did. But you were not really traveling in time. You were forking, or creating a new universe."

Solana's expression turned defensive. "Can you blame me? The Lyrian Emperor and I have been friends for many millennia! But who did he choose to marry? My clone! My lab experiment! My former assistant Kali!"

Lilith's voice rose in frustration. "Read my lips! Just admit that whatever you do, the Lyrian Emperor will never marry you of his own free will! Because it is a fixed point in this universe's timeline! You dumbass!"

Then Lilith grabbed Solana's shoulders. "That is why I am here. To alter a little bit of that fixed point where you can also have a possibility to marry the Lyrian Emperor as well, in a mathematically calculated, strategic, scientific way."

Solana's expression changed. "Oh, my bad. Now I am listening. Please have a seat."

"Okay, well..." Lilith started as she sat down. "This is what we call Operation PATM 2.0 84CL2U. Right now, Kali is traveling in outer space in this direction to kill you because she can detect your energy signature here."

Then Lilith handed a shiny black box to Solana.

Solana looked at it curiously. "What is this?" she asked.

"This is a Quantum Time Box," Lilith explained. "It is used to make someone travel through time in a certain timeline without forking this universe. Use it to send Kali 430 million samvatsara into the future. Then, if you are still alive, wait a few minutes and Kali will come back here without her memories. Then let her attack one of your internal organs while holding your Lato-Lato balls and think the words: secret life wrap and stake."

By samvatsara, Lilith meant years.

Lilith had just finished discussing the details of "Operation PATM 2.0 84CL2U" when she suddenly transformed into a yellowish, baseball-sized sphere of light and vanished. Moments later, a loud bang echoed through the surroundings of Rhea's moon, followed by a violent quake.

Outside Solana's spaceship, a petite woman appeared wearing a mask. She was known as Kali, the Imperial Queen of Death of Lyria. My past self.

"Let us talk, Kali," Solana said, her voice trembling with fear. "Let me explain!"

"Explain it after you die!" Kali retorted, attacking Solana with her Kali blades.

"I am not afraid of you! Haha!" Solana laughed.

As Kali rushed toward her, Solana pointed a black cube-shaped device at her. Suddenly, Kali was transported to another place, barely clothed. She looked around at her new surroundings and saw a woman standing behind her. The woman handed her a long white lab coat.

"Who are you?" Kali demanded.

"My real name is Patricia Draconia, but in this world I was known as Antoinette," the woman replied.

"Where am I?" Kali asked.

"You are here in the Philippines," Patricia Draconia answered. She pointed her tablet gadget's camera at Kali and scanned her body. "Your DNA data structures trace back to 430 million years ago."

"What?" Kali exclaimed. "I have celestial powers. I can fly to my home, Lyria."

Kali tried to fly away, but nothing happened. "Why? Why do I not have my powers?" she cried.

"I know about Lyrians," Patricia Draconia said calmly. "You need mana to use your celestial powers, but unfortunately, the Manasphere is drained in this star system. The only way to go back is through a spaceship. But even if you go there, you will not see planet Lyria anymore because it was already gone due to the collapse of its own host star, which already became a supernova. I suggest you start a new life here."

"A new life?" Kali repeated incredulously. "What about my memories? I will suffer from my memories!"

"Well, I am a lung doctor," Patricia Draconia said gently. "But I have many doctor friends who can perform ECT on your brain. Come with me if you are interested."

"Okay," Kali agreed. "I will come with you."

Every time I spoke with Solana, a deep sense of fear emanated from her. It made me wary of her intentions, causing me to tread carefully around her.

"Let me remind you of something, Kali," Solana cautioned. "You must prevent Mayumi from time traveling again. I cannot guarantee her safety, even if her body undergoes mutations. You must wait until your original timeline aligns. Do not worry, I will modify Mayumi's genes to ensure her longevity, just like yours. It has been confirmed that both you and I hail from the same planet, not the so-called Earth."

"Mayumi, you are about to be bestowed with an extraordinarily long lifespan," Solana continued.

"To sustain your life, you must consume Kali's Ambrosia. Are you willing to take the risk? Will you care for Patricia until she becomes an old woman after millions of Earth cycles around its host star?" Solana inquired, her gaze fixed on Mayumi.

"Yes, I am willing to serve Patricia for eternity. By the way, what exactly is ambrosia?" Mayumi asked, her curiosity piqued.

Solana exclaimed, "Awe, how sweet!" in a tone dripping with suggestive undertones. She let out a mischievous laugh before abruptly slicing her palm with a knife.

"This is ambrosia," Solana declared, gesturing toward the blood trickling from her wounded palm.

"Ah, blood? So, in essence, she will become a vampire. Alright, I understand," I calmly remarked, maintaining a stoic expression.

After extensive explanations and discussions, Solana finally initiated the process of Mayumi's mutation, aided by the infusion of Draconian blood. The mutation procedure stretched on for an hour, filled with anticipation and uncertainty.

"Solana, when will Mayumi awaken?" I inquired, my voice laced with concern.

"She requires ambrosia to rouse from her slumber," Solana responded, her expression filled with playful mischief.

"Pardon me, but what exactly do you mean by that?" I pressed, my tone growing serious.

"It means she will remain in eternal sleep accompanied by..." Solana began to explain but abruptly struck my face with her Lato-Lato and delivered a forceful punch to my stomach with her other hand.

"You! Die, Patricia! Kali! Die!" Solana's voice reverberated with rage as she gritted her teeth, a sinister smile on her face. She pushed her fist deeper into my abdomen.

"Why, Solana? What is the issue?" I managed to ask, blood continuously spilling from my mouth.

"You must cease to exist! Because of you, the Lyrian Emperor refuses to love me! Blast it! Why has his name slipped from my memory?" Solana bellowed, her skin radiating an intense luminosity.

"What does he look like?" I inquired weakly, my strength waning.

"A man resembling a woman, adorned with long blue dreadlocked hair!" Solana screamed.

"Yeah, I encountered someone just like that in the place where Mayumi and I originated," I responded. The moment he had touched my hands during our initial meeting, hazy visions had flooded my mind, portraying us as a couple ruling over a vast galactic empire.

"Why do you not just perish and allow me to ascend as the next Empress of Lyra! Die, you wretched pest!" Solana unleashed a torrent of rage-filled screams at me.

In a sudden turn of events, Mayumi broke free from her cryogenic pod with lightning speed, startling everyone present.

"What? That is impossible!" Solana shouted, panic creeping into her voice.

Mayumi attempted to strike Solana's face, while I knelt on the floor, spitting blood from the impact of Solana's powerful punch. However, Solana swiftly seized Mayumi by the neck, her grip tightening, crushing her throat. Darkness enveloped my vision, and then an unexpected surge coursed through my body.

An overpowering heat consumed me, fueling a surge of anger. Unconsciously, I struck Solana's chest, targeting her heart, absorbing her radiant golden light. With my right hand, I extracted her glowing golden heart. As Solana's light dimmed, she disintegrated into shimmering golden dust.

"Oh, my grass. What am I?" I whispered to myself, gazing at my blood-stained hand.

"Patricia, are you alright?" Mayumi inquired, concern evident in her voice.

"Yes, miraculously, my wounds have healed," I replied, my voice filled with astonishment. As my vision cleared, I noticed a transformation in Mayumi. What I saw shocked me to the core.

"Is it truly you, Mayumi?" I asked, my voice trembling.

"Yes, it is," she confirmed, her voice soft as she sat on the floor.

Mayumi's face and body had transformed beyond recognition, now bearing a striking resemblance to my older sister. The shocking change hit me like a punch in the gut, and I felt a surge of nausea that made me double over.

"Are you really alright, Patricia?" Mayumi asked.

"Yes. Yes, I am. Please give me a minute, I am going to clean myself first," I replied, then went to the ship's comfort room.

After we had finished cleaning all the mess around Solana's spaceship, I put her golden ash remains in a certain metallic canister, sat on a corner, and started sobbing.

"I am not a killer, Mayumi. I just did what I had to do, and I do not know what really happened to me. I do not know myself anymore," I said to Mayumi and continued sobbing.

"It is alright. Remember, my family are warriors, right? I felt the same way when I took my first kill too," Mayumi said, then she embraced me so tightly.

Moments later, I suddenly grabbed the blue-haired girl's tablet gadget.

"I am going to sell all my Cardano now, Mayumi," I said, still sobbing.

"What is that?" Mayumi asked.

"That is my ultimate asset. It is a kind of coin. I am going all in now with the Solana token. You know, there is a digital asset named Solana where I came from," I replied, wiping the tears from my eyes.

"You mean wealth? Is it alright to do that now while you are extremely emotional because of your remorse?" Mayumi asked.

"No, it is not. Well then, 50 percent ADA and 50 percent SOL," I replied to Mayumi with teary eyes.

"May I ask, can you put yourself back to your original form? Or is that just the way you are now? A golden-haired, glorious, beautiful one?" Mayumi asked.

"Oh, let me try," I replied, then I closed my eyes and turned back to my original form slowly, but my stomach started growling.

"Oh, my grass! Let us find some food on this ship!" I said to Mayumi.

We searched every possible area that stored food, but we found nothing, so I became very disappointed and said, "What now? What should we do?"

"I feel hungry too, Patricia. May I have some of your blood?" Mayumi asked, and I agreed.

She bit a little on my left neck and drank some blood. After a few minutes, I started to feel weak because she had already consumed around a liter of my blood.

"Patricia! Patricia! Please fight for your life! I am sorry! I overdid it! Please fight back! Do not leave me alone! I cannot live without you! I do not know what to do if you are gone!" Mayumi said, begging for my life.

As my desire to fight for my life was the only thing that intensely came to my mind, I felt an inner fire start bursting from inside my stomach. I started to glow again, and my hair became golden-colored too. After that happened, I felt rejuvenated, and my hunger was already gone.

"So that is how it is, Mayumi. I feel godlike in this form I am manifesting. Maybe I will maintain it like this until we reach the planet of Draconia," I said to Mayumi.

According to Solana's chart of the solar system on her computer, planet Draconia was also the planet Mars. I could not believe that Mars looked almost similar to Earth here in 500 million B.C., just a little bit smaller with two moons.

"What now? How can we fly this thing?" I asked, trying to figure out how to drive Solana's spaceship.

"I wish this tablet gadget had an artificial intelligence and could override this ship's system," I said to myself, browsing the tablet gadget's apps.

"Oh, my grass! It has an A.I.!" I exclaimed, amazed by what I found.

I activated it immediately and talked to the A.I. With the help of the gadget's quantum tethering system, it overrode the entire system of Solana's spaceship, and I took over as the ship's new owner. After that, we set a course to planet Mars that would take six months of journey in outer space with the help of an autopilot mechanism.

Since Earth was still uninhabitable in this current timeline, we had chosen Mars, also known as Draconia according to Solana, as our destination.

"Okay, so wake me up when the new Bitcoin all-time high ends," I said to Oracle as Mayumi and I got ready to sleep in the cryogenic pods.

I had named the AI in the girl's blue hoodie tablet gadget Oracle out of boredom.

"No problem," Oracle replied.

While we sailed through space, I taught Oracle everything about crypto, from the history of blockchain technology, Bitcoin, altcoins, to the latest narrative according to my entangled present time. As expected, the artificial intelligence easily adopted the knowledge and became my virtual assistant.

"And one more thing! If you find that Mayumi needs my blood, just wake me up, okay?" I said to Oracle.

"As you wish, Ms. Patricia," Oracle said.

After a few months of cryosleep, Mayumi woke me up urgently.

"Why, Mayumi? We are only in the middle of April 2021 according to my time of origin. We still have two months left before we reach planet Draconia," I said to Mayumi as she showed me the Bitcoin chart.

I freaked out with joy and ran and jumped everywhere in Solana's spaceship. Then I accidentally hit a random button on the cockpit's control panel and something unexpected happened. The ship slightly changed its course, and an asteroid hit its right wing. Then the ship started to spin in space. While we spun, an intense flare of light suddenly appeared from the cockpit's windshield. Then the spinning stopped.

"What happened, Oracle? Why did we stop spinning?" I asked Oracle while lying on the floor.

"Why, Patricia? Did you enjoy it? I did not enjoy it!" Mayumi yelled while panting and lying on the floor.

"Please look at the window, Ms. Patricia. There is an unknown biological life form looking from outside the window," Oracle said.

There was a fuchsia pink-haired girl looking from the outside, but she had no spacesuit! "A ghost!" I shouted and hugged Mayumi tightly.

"What? I am not a goat, and I have a name. Please call me Zetris," Zetris said as she passed through the cockpit's windshield, vibrating.

"So you are here for your baby boy? We do not have him!" Mayumi said to Zetris, ready to attack.

"No, no. I was just sent here to save you two from spinning too fast and to sort some things out. Do not worry. I am not here to fight or hurt either of you," Zetris explained.

"Are you a time-traveling superhero?" I asked Zetris.

"Maybe you can consider me something like that," Zetris replied and laughed.

"What are you? What is your relationship with Solana?" I asked Zetris.

"Easy, easy. Do not worry. I swear I will answer all your questions one by one. In this case, maybe I need to accompany you until you reach planet Draconia. This is going to be a very long discussion," Zetris said.

A month and a half had passed since we started our discussions, and yet we were still learning many things about the Pantheons of Lyra, Skylark, and Cygnus. She said that her origins came from three races from planet Draconia, who originally came from the Skylark galaxy, Nameik Kolohv or Kepler-22b that resided in the Cygnus constellation, and Planet Lyra that belonged to the Andromeda constellation where men looked like women by default. Only the pointy ears were an indicator of male Lyrians. The Pantheon of Cygnus was inhabiting this Milky Way galaxy. She also claimed that my true origin was from the same planet as Solana, which was Nameik Kolohv.

The Pantheons were celestial beings of Elementalis. An Elementalis was a star that could take the form of a human, until one of the Nameikians discovered how to create a flesh-and-blood vessel from a higher source. Solana was the one who made this breakthrough. She was known as Doctor Starlight throughout the galaxy.

"So, am I an Elementalis too?" I asked Zetris.

"No, you are not, unfortunately. You are the famous twin sister of Solana, after she inhabited a humanoid body," Zetris said.

As the conversation went on, Mayumi grew bored and asked for a long cryosleep in a cryogenic pod. After that, Zetris's mood changed abruptly and she said, "I have to give you the message now, the real reason why I am here."

"Okay," I replied.

"Because of Solana's death, her followers and the other Pantheons of Cygnus will hunt you down. They will start a war and destroy Lyra, as you remember. Patricia Draconia told you that Lyra was gone in the 21st century, but it was not a natural disaster. It was the result of war. It has to be stopped. Pure Lyrians have great significance in this universe. You need to hide on Earth and part ways with Mayumi, because her life will be in danger too if she stays with you. Solana terraformed Earth, creating a dense manasphere. This manasphere will act as a barrier that will prevent them from finding you. You two must separate to ensure your friend's safety," Zetris explained, then pressed her thumbs on my forehead.

After that, I returned to my normal form, a black-haired girl.

"What did you do?" I asked Zetris.

"I turned off some of your chakras, but I left 21 of them open," Zetris answered.

"I do not get it," I said to Zetris.

"Let us say I reduced your celestial powers, because you are not ready for those other dimensions of life. There will be someone who will teach you how to use your celestial powers properly. Your husband is waiting for you. You love each other," Zetris said.

"Wait! What?!" I exclaimed, shocked.

"Yes, you are not just the famous twin sister of Solana. You are the Imperial Queen of the Lyrian Empire. Your king is waiting for you in the pre-colonial period of the Philippines," Zetris revealed.

"As I thought, my visions and my flashbacks were all true. So the anonymous girl in the blue hoodie was right all along," I said, touching my forehead and trying to grasp the reality I had to face.

After we arrived and landed on Draconia, or Mars, we decided to leave Mayumi alone inside Solana's spaceship. I did not want to do it, but I had to, for her sake, for our sake. I had failed as a friend, as a sister, and as a lover. But my memories were slowly coming back, and I needed to find my husband. A sense of responsibility for my people from Lyra was more important to me.

It broke my heart as I kissed her forehead for the last time, knowing that I was going to abandon her after everything we had been through in this long journey.

When I stepped out of the ship, crying and holding the tablet gadget, Zetris created a portal to Earth using her technomancy.

I love you, but goodbye, Mayumi...

I sobbed as I clung to Zetris, my only friend in this strange and hostile world. We had just arrived on Earth, but not the Earth I knew and loved. This was a primitive and barren version of my third home planet, millions of years before humans existed.

"Please, Zetris, I need you now," I cried. "I cannot live without him. I cannot wait that long to see him again."

Zetris hugged me and stroked my hair. She was a Quantum Knight, a multidimensional being who could travel through time and space. She had saved me from a terrible fate, but she could not bring me back to the Philippine pre-colonial period. Not yet.

"Do not worry, Patricia. We will find a way to get you back to your heart. We just need to wait until the right moment. Trust me. I have done this before."

"How did you know I call him my heart?" I asked, curious.

"Just a wild guess and common sense. He is your soulmate, right? You have been married for many millennia, right? You love him more than anything, right?"

I nodded, feeling a surge of emotion. "Yes, yes, yes. He is my everything. He is the reason I am alive."

"Then he is your heart. And he is waiting for you. Do not lose hope, Patricia. We will get through this together."

She stood up and looked around. We were in a forest of ferns, towering over us like skyscrapers. The sky was a dull gray, and the air was humid and heavy. There was no sign of civilization, no sign of life, except for some insects and reptiles.

"Come on, let us find a safe place to hide. We do not want to attract any unwanted attention. This is a dangerous era, full of predators and natural disasters. We need to be careful."

She reached out her hand to help me up, but then she paused. She looked at the hologram generated from her vape-like device. It was her own personal quantum computer, a tool that allowed her to use technomancy.

"Shoot! I need to go!" she exclaimed, her voice full of panic.

"What? What do you mean you need to go? Where are you going? You cannot leave me here alone!"

"Listen, Patricia. I have a problem. A big problem. My quantum time box is running out of balance. It needs a special kind of currency to operate. A time token. And I only have one left."

"A time token? What is that?"

"It is a type of cryptocurrency that is used in the future. It is very rare and very expensive. It is the only thing that can fuel the quantum time box. And I do not have enough to take both of us back to the Philippine pre-colonial time."

"Then buy more! Use your credit card! Sell something! Do something!"

"It is not that easy, Patricia! One time token costs a million U.S. dollars! I do not have that kind of money! I have not received my paycheck yet! I am broke at this moment!"

She sat down on the ground and buried her face in her hands. "I need to think. I need to find a solution. There has to be a way."

I sat down next to her and tried to calm down. I knew she was doing her best, but I was scared and frustrated. I wanted to go back to my heart, to my life, to my husband. I did not want to be stuck in this prehistoric place.

I looked around and noticed something odd. The forest was full of ferns, but nothing else. No flowers, no fruits, no trees. Just ferns, everywhere. I turned to Zetris and asked, "Zetris, why is everything full of ferns? Where are we? Is this really the Earth? And you want to leave me here alone?"

She lifted her head and pointed to the screen on the gadget tablet I was carrying. It showed a map of the planet. "This is the Earth, Patricia. But not the Earth you know. This is the Earth in the Carboniferous period, about 400 million years ago from the 21st century that you came from. The climate was warm and wet, and the land was dominated by ferns and other plants. There were no flowers, no fruits, no trees. Just ferns everywhere."

"Hey, is this planet Earth? Where are the continents?" I asked Zetris, bewildered.

"Carboniferous Earth, Patricia. This is Pangaea, the supercontinent that existed before the continents drifted apart. It was the only major landmass on Earth at this time."

I squinted at the map and saw some tiny dots near the edges of Pangaea. They were islands that Zetris mentioned. They looked insignificant compared to the giant landmass.

"Oh, so it is true. In this era, Earth still had a supercontinent," I said, trying to sound interested.

"Yes, it is true. And it is also true that this supercontinent will break up in the future, due to the movement of the tectonic plates. That is why we need to get out of here as soon as possible. We do not want to be caught in the middle of a geological catastrophe."

She stood up and dusted herself off. She looked determined and confident. "I have a plan, Patricia. A plan to get us back to the future, or rather, to the pre-colonial period of the Philippines. That is where you want to go, right?"

I nodded, feeling a glimmer of hope. "Yes, that is where I want to go. That is where my heart is. How are we going to do it?"

She smiled and winked at me. "We are going to steal a spaceship, Patricia. A spaceship from Asgartha."

"A spaceship? From where?"

"From Asgartha, Patricia. The hidden city inside the Earth. The secret civilization built by Solana. The most advanced society in the history of the world. Come on, let us go. I will show you."

She ran with me through the forest of ferns, dodging the branches and the bugs. She was fast. She had super speed, another ability of hers. I struggled to keep up with her, feeling out of breath and out of place.

She stopped at a clearing where a large hole was visible in the ground. It was a tunnel, leading to the depths of the Earth. She pointed at it and grinned. "There it is, Patricia. The entrance to Asgartha. The gateway to our escape. Are you ready?"

I looked at the hole, feeling a mix of curiosity and fear. I had no idea what awaited me inside. I had no idea what Zetris was talking about. I had no idea what was going on. But I trusted her. She was my friend. She was my savior. She was my only hope.

"Yes, Zetris! I am ready! Let us go!"

She hugged me and said, "You are so cute, Patricia! Then follow me. And hold on tight. This is going to be a wild ride."

She jumped into the hole, dragging me along. We plunged into the darkness, into the unknown, into the adventure of a lifetime.

"Grandma what?! I cannot bear a child with my king, and now I have a granddaughter?" I said to her while we were running.

"Dang! Sorry! I mean Ka-Li, the old non-aging queen! Hurry!" Zetris replied.

Zetris planned to steal another of Solana's spaceships, the Falcon, which was located in Asgartha. Asgartha was a hidden place inside Earth's core. I did not believe it at first, but then I saw it. The Earth was hollow, and there was a highly technologically advanced city already there.

"Okay, so just wait for me here. As planned, I will drag the Falcon to boost its speed while protecting it from dematerialization at the same time. We are going to make a back-and-forth slingshot to Jupiter and the Sun many times until we dilate time. In this process, we will time travel to the future quickly. I am sorry, but this is the only way I know to bring you back to the pre-colonial period era of the Philippines," Zetris explained, then ran away in a flash and transformed into a pinkish light.

After a few minutes, there was a loud bang, and a flying spaceship suddenly appeared approaching me. I was sure that was Zetris on board.

"Patricia! Please raise your arms!" Zetris yelled, but I could not see her anywhere while the Falcon was still approaching me. Suddenly, someone grabbed my armpits from behind and lifted me up toward the Falcon spaceship. It was Zetris. She was flying, even without wings!

Zetris brought me a special protective spacesuit that would give me extra protection from the g-force while traveling at the speed of light, in case we failed, got into trouble, or something happened. After wearing it and setting up Oracle to capture video recordings from the view of our space travel, I went into a cryogenic pod, and Zetris initiated the process of space travel toward the future.

A few hours later, I was ejected from my cryogenic pod and threw up a lot. After my vision cleared, I saw Solana standing on the ship's control panel.

"As I thought! You did not die! You just merged with me!" I yelled at Solana.

"Of course, because I am Dr. Starlight. Why should I die to a weakling like you? The one you killed is not me. She is just my cluster. Anyway, you picked a nice ride. A property of mine," Solana replied while tapping on the ship's control panel buttons.

"What is happening?" I asked.

"Your so-called new friend was fighting a stupid girl outside the spaceship, and we need to escape," Solana replied.

I glanced at the ship's window and saw the girl in a blue hoodie fighting against Zetris in outer space.

"I have no choice!" Then Solana placed her own Quantum Time Box on top of the spaceship's control panel and pushed a button on her Quantum Time Box.

"What did you do?" I asked after we instantly teleported somewhere else, along with the Falcon spaceship.

"We escaped and saved your rear," Solana replied.

I grabbed her shoulders and said, "Why did you not just send us to my heart's timeline in the future? Wait, I got your memories when you were talking with Master Lilith, a Quantum Knight! You destroyed the timeline that we came from, did you not?"

"No, I do not know! What if it is just a false claim of yours? Oh, I see, that is the memory of my cluster you absorbed. Is she already a Quantum Knight? Because right now I am one. Oh, no. I am out of Time Tokens," Solana replied, and I grabbed the Quantum Time Box from her.

"There are no more Time Tokens left? So we are stuck here?" I yelled at Solana, then I went to the window and saw that we were above an Earth-like moon called Daggerdale, which was part of the Lyrian Kingdom, the domain I had sworn to protect long ago.

"Let us go down to Daggerdale, Dr. Starshit," I said to Solana calmly.

"I do not want to go down! Why would I go down there? What am I supposed to do there?" Solana said.

"I am going down, whether you like it or not," I replied to Solana, heading toward the spaceship's airlock.

"Hey, are you stupid? You will be crushed like a tomato in that moon's atmosphere before you even land! Do you have your Blitz Mode now? Like the buff you had when you went to this place before? Hey, wait! Answer me!" Solana said to me worriedly.

Then, she threw a dart-like crystal at my back, which pierced me like a syringe and gave me a sudden, intense cold sensation. After that, all my memories were fully restored.

"Smart contract call! Technomancy ability! Wear elemental sleeve gloves and Outfit Zero!" I commanded verbally as I cast the technomancy ability, then confirmed the transaction by placing my thumbprint on the gadget tablet screen I was using for biometric confirmation.

"So that is how it is. I knew it. Pulling out things from your Quantum Vault without being noticed to deceive and make ignorant people believe you are using real magic. You are still the same, Zero," Solana replied, taking out her Lato-Lato and making it rattle.

"You are just jealous!" I shouted at Solana. Then I reacted involuntarily and tried to attack her. I was seething with anger. I wanted to kill her. Solana is so annoying when she plays with her Lato-Lato.

I suddenly remembered that I had been nerfed by Zetris. This meant I could not use Celestial Mode 1. I could only use Blitz Mode. Luckily, Daggerdale's moon was abundant in mana. Daggerdale's host planet is called Blue Pearl, a rogue gas giant in the Andromeda galaxy, which is part of the Lyrian Empire's domain, the Empire ruled by my husband, Lord Elai.

Blitz Mode is a smart contract call technomancy ability I created long ago when I absorbed a lot of mana from my surroundings. During this mode, my hands glow as if melting in lava, but with the help of my elemental sleeve gloves, I can touch things. I gain super-fast movement, which also causes the sclera of my eyes to turn black. I used it a lot when I became the Imperial Queen on planet Lyria because it made me look intimidating, which I liked as an imperial queen, especially since the planet's atmosphere was full of mana.

"Stop playing with your Lato-Lato! You are so annoying, Mama Solana!" I shouted, then suddenly attacked her.

"Stop calling me Mama! You are not my child! You are just my clone!" Solana shouted at me, trembling with rage.

"Smart Contract Call! Technomancy ability! Ultrasonic Clacks!" Solana's words as she cast her technomancy ability. As a Quantum Knight, Solana also has unique abilities, such as using her Lato-Lato as a weapon. The Ultrasonic Clacks technomancy is very painful to the ears. If you were an ordinary person, your eardrums would definitely burst, and you would not be able to think straight.

"Damn your Lato-Lato!" I shouted at Solana, grabbing a chair and throwing it at her. Her Ultrasonic Clacks shattered the first chair, but she did not notice that I threw a second chair at her. She dodged the chair, and it flew straight into the control panel of the spaceship. The second chair hit a button on the control panel, and we suddenly dived rapidly toward the moon Daggerdale. The Falcon spaceship crashed into a deep river, but we were not hurt because we had jumped into the air before the Falcon crashed.

"You are no longer funny, Zero Edition Patricia Mage! Never! Your behavior is not befitting a Quantum Knight! It is like you were not properly taught by Master Lilith!" Solana shouted angrily at me.

"That is why, right? I left the leadership of the Quantum Knights and its Academy to you! What else do you need from me? I want a peaceful life! I want my own family! Look! I have grandchildren? They came from the future and visited me, which means I will have children! My life is so simple now! You can just bother Master Lilith, Solana! The Lato-Lato girl, also known as Dr. Starlight!" I shouted at Solana, crying and ignoring the heavy rain.

"Master is dead..." Solana said suddenly, looking down at the ground, also getting drenched in the heavy rain.

"What? What did you say? No way?" I said to Solana, my eyes wide.

"Yes! She is dead! She died in the real world! So it is a sure kill! You saw the woman in the blue hoodie crying when she left your gadget tablet in the waiting shed, right? Because Master Lilith had just died at that moment! She was murdered, Zero! They killed her!" Solana sobbed to me, getting drenched in the heavy rain.

I was speechless at that moment.

Solana said, "You also mentioned a peaceful and simple life, right? Well, that is not going to happen anymore. Patricia Draconia is here, and she is even your older sister now."

I replied seriously, "You mean big sis Antoinette? Oh, my grass. Is that her real face? I cannot believe it. I actually let her perform ECT sessions on my head to make me forget my memories. I am sorry. I did not know. She always wore a mask when she appeared at the ZGU council meetings. We are in trouble now. Make me a legitimate technomancer. I will re-enroll at the Quantum Knights Academy and I will continue what I started. I will protect this universe at all costs!"

After a while, the heavy rain stopped.

"Hey! Sisters! Are you aliens? Do you want to use my umbrella?" A young girl offered, who seemed to have been standing beside us for a long time, listening to all our conversations.

"Stroll? No! I will not go! I refuse! You damned aliens! Help! There are alien kidnappers here! Help me!" Anita's voice tore through the silence, her screams echoing in panic as she ran, tears streaming down her face.

After an intense chase, dodging the rocks hurled in desperation, the young girl, Anita, finally succumbed to exhaustion, her breaths ragged and her spirit broken.

But before this chaos erupted, the stage was set.

One hour before our action-packed confrontation in space with Solana, and the catastrophic crash of the Falcon spaceship into a river on the moon Daggerdale...

"Boss Totoy! I am not perfect! Do not worry, I will not claim my full salary! Consider it atonement for the flawed toys I have crafted!" Anita's voice was thick with tears and rage as she stormed out of the workshop.

"Hey! Wait, big sis Anita! Let us sort this out calmly!" Totoy's plea was lost as Anita slammed the door with a thunderous echo.

Totoy called her big sis because Anita, at 19, was five years his senior. Totoy, only 14, was yet the mastermind behind a renowned toy factory.

Anita was a designer and craftsman at Totoy's handmade children's toy factory, where they worked with all sorts of materials. Her heavy hands, however, often led to the destruction of delicate work, particularly when dealing with softer substances. But with metal, she was in her element.

"My simple wish in life is to bring joy, especially to children, and to cleanse the tainted name of my family, the Slayer family. As Anita Slayer, I will forge no more daggers or deadly weapons, even for the imperial queen of death from planet Lyria. My respect for Queen Kali, the savior and guardian of Daggerdale, will not sway my resolve," Anita declared through her tears as she headed into the forest, searching for fruits and mushrooms for dinner.

Then, fate intervened as an aircraft plummeted into a nearby river. Driven by awe, Anita followed, witnessing an otherworldly sight for the first time. At the river, she saw two figures, fallen from the stars into the water. Both were women around her age. One had hair that shimmered like liquid gold. The other was my charming self, Patricia Mage. As we conversed with Solana, Anita's approach was stealthy, but the rustle of leaves betrayed her presence.

"Did she hear everything we talked about?! Damn it! Kill her!" Solana's command sliced through the air.

"Wait! Hold on! Calm down! Register me first as a student at Quantum Knights Academy," I interjected, aiming to shift the focus and save the innocent girl from harm.

"Okay, no problem, but we must wait for the leader's approval for your re-enrollment," Solana replied, her voice softening.

"What? If you are no longer the guild leader, then who is?"

"Ban-Ban. She is the guild leader now. I could not bear the weight of leadership, so I handed it to her. She has a unique charisma that the Quantum Knights Guild and Academy truly needed," Solana admitted, scratching her head with a hint of pride.

"Wow, that is fantastic! I am eager to be reinstated at Quantum Knights Academy. I cannot wait to see Ban-Ban, or Hukluban, the draconian girl who is smitten with Jake Hartnell, though he remains oblivious. That witch is hilariously tragic," I laughed, the warmth of the memory contrasting with the tension.

As we spoke, I slyly passed my gadget tablet to Anita. The message on the screen was clear: "Please register your DNA by placing your tongue on the screen to start using this device." The device beeped with a transaction confirmation, startling Solana.

"Hey! What is that? What is happening?" Solana's voice was stern, her eyes narrowing.

"Nothing! You cannot do anything about it now! This girl is now a technomancer too! So, we both need to be registered as students at Quantum Knights Academy! You cannot refuse! Do not worry. I will cover her crypto tuition. All we need is to return to the Infinity Grid Domain, where our guild is based. I remember the seed phrases of my crypto wallets from the real world, or Level 3 Universe, so I can access them with any PQC there," I declared confidently, my heart racing with both fear and hope.

"Oh, well. We will be classmates soon enough. We will delve into some dark magic together. What is your name, anyway?" I asked, my tone lightening.

"Ah, I am Anita," she whispered, her voice small but resonant.

"Okay, Anita. Join us first. Let us go for a stroll, and as we walk, tell me your story," I encouraged, with genuine curiosity and warmth.

"Stroll? No! I will not go! I refuse! You damned aliens! Help! There are alien kidnappers here! Help me!" Anita's voice tore through the silence, her screams echoing in panic as she ran, tears streaming down her face.

"Anita, is mushroom soup your dinner?" I said, delighted, while looking at the mushrooms scattered on the ground.

Because of this, the young girl Anita had no choice but to sit down, looking as if she was drenched in sweat and exhaustion, probably out of fear. Solana and I suddenly decided to pick up the scattered mushrooms from the ground since it seemed like Anita had not eaten yet, and she looked pitiful.

"Wait, do not move. There are many wild Ferus surrounding us," Anita whispered calmly as she slowly took out a necklace hidden around her neck with a fang in the middle.

"What? Fetus?" I whispered to Anita because I did not quite understand what she said.

"Ferus..." Anita answered, placing her finger on her lips, signaling us to be quiet.

"Oh, my grass! Hyena is what this kid means by Wild Ferus," I whispered to Solana and Anita, my eyes wide open as I saw the hyenas slowly approaching us.

Next, Anita carefully removed her gloves. I was shocked at what I saw. I could not believe it. Her two hands literally looked like crystals, as if they were made of diamonds.

"What do you plan to do? That necklace with the fang, is it your talisman?" I whispered to Anita.

"I am going to beat them all up, show them how hard and heavy my hands are against enemies. And about what you mentioned as my talisman, yes, it is something like that. The fang on my necklace is from a Jackal, my protector," Anita whispered seriously.

"That PQC I gave you earlier, the black rectangular one, you can use it. You can create a weapon you imagine using the materials around you. Then, just say the words: Smart Contract Call, Technomancy Ability, Transmutation, and touch it with your palm," I instructed Anita on how to use the PQC which she now owned.

Moments later, she pressed her gloves against a nearby tree, reciting the smart contract call words I had taught her. The technomancy she performed was astonishing. She created an awesome bow and arrow. With her newly created weapon, she aimed at a hyena and shot. In an unexpected turn of events, the arrow only hit the ground. It turned out Anita was not skilled in archery.

"I will take care of this! Smart Contract Call! Technomancy Ability! Blitz Mode!" I shouted, and in an instant, the tails and ears of the hyenas surrounding us fell to the ground. There were about a dozen hyenas around us. After a few moments, they ran away, seemingly crying due to the pain they felt in their bodies. Since I did not have a PQC, I could not use technomancy to summon my Kali Blades, but that was fine. My hands felt like melting rocks when my Elemental Gloves were removed, and I could move at incredible speed.

"You are the Imperial Queen of Death from Lyria, QUEEN KALI?! This cannot be real! I am struck with awe, utterly flabbergasted that you would save someone as insignificant as me from the brink of disaster!" Anita's words burst forth, her voice a crescendo of shock and gratitude, tears streaming down her face.

"Anita, is Matthew Slayer your father?" I suddenly asked the girl.

"No, my queen, he is my grandfather," Anita quickly answered.

"It seems like I have been away for too long. Do you know where his secret hideout is? The one with the light marked with your goddess's symbol?" I asked Anita again.

"Yes, Your Majesty, please come with me," Anita said and then led us to her grandfather's secret hideout.

As we walked toward Matthew's secret hideout, Solana asked about my relationship with Anita's grandfather. I mentioned that during the height of the war against invaders from the Skylark galaxy, Matthew crafted my first dagger blades. I thought I needed a weapon to be more effective in combat. They were made of tungsten carbide, so they would not melt easily with my lava-like hands while in Blitz Mode. I could not believe there was someone with such an incredible talent for forging blades back then, and beyond that, his hands were literally diamonds. That was Matthew Slayer, the great blacksmith and warrior, the key to freedom on the moon of Daggerdale.

"Ah, maybe he was your ex-boyfriend, huh?" Solana teased me.

"No way! What do you think I married? Someone with bigger breasts and sexier than me?! I really do not like muscular men!" I angrily replied to Solana.

"Just relax, you cannot take a joke," Solana responded, trying to calm me down.

"We are here at my grandfather Matthew's secret hideout," Anita said, pointing to the entrance of a cave.

I ran inside because there was something I really wanted to see: the Bitcoin light logo emitted from the back handle of a dagger embedded in the cave's ceiling. It was called Satoshi's Blade.

"Wow! This Satoshi's Blade is absolutely stunning. Its owner must be incredibly fierce. So cool!" I exclaimed, eyes tracing the intricate details of the gleaming weapon. Tilting my head back, I gazed at the cave's rugged ceiling, where shadows danced in the flickering light. As Queen Kali, though some knew me as Patricia Mage, I could not help but feel a thrill at standing so close to such a legendary artifact.

"What?! You are kneeling before that symbol? It is not even worthy of worship. I do not mind if you want to honor your goddess, but the Bitcoin logo? That is a bit much," Solana muttered, scratching her head in disbelief as she glanced at Anita. Then, out of nowhere, she pulled out a lato-lato and started swinging it absentmindedly, the rhythmic clacking echoing through the cave.

"Just be quiet, Solana. Stop meddling in their beliefs. Let them enjoy what they enjoy," I said firmly, raising an eyebrow. Solana huffed, rolled her eyes dramatically, and went back to her toy, the clacking continuing with renewed spite.

But before Solana went on that rant, Anita called out to me. I had rushed into the cave earlier, practically buzzing with excitement to see Satoshi's Blade up close. She asked me to step outside for a moment. In a gentle but firm tone, she instructed us to remove our shoes before re-entering the cave. Solana complied swiftly, tugging off her sleek black knee-high boots and placing them neatly by the entrance. I, however, struggled with the zipper on my brown knee-high boots, the zipper's teeth catching awkwardly.

"You can come in with your shoes on," Anita said softly, noticing my trouble.

Solana shot me a disapproving glare as I strode past her, my boots echoing softly against the stone floor. I could not resist smirking. Her scowl deepened.

Anita led us deeper into the cave. The air grew cooler, the shadows thicker. We stopped where Satoshi's Blade rested, its back handle glowing softly. A golden light projected the circular Bitcoin logo onto the floor, pulsing faintly and casting a sacred aura over the space.

Without warning, Anita dropped to her knees, stretched out her arms, and began bowing repeatedly, her movements fluid and reverent, like she was sweeping the ground in worship of the symbol.

Solana, growing visibly impatient, flicked her wrist again. The lato-lato clacked louder than before, echoing through the chamber.

"Wow! What is that? Your toy? Teach me how to play!" Anita exclaimed suddenly, her eyes lighting up with childlike enthusiasm as she turned to Solana, momentarily abandoning her reverence.

Solana blinked, caught off guard, then handed her the lato-lato with a faint smile. She patiently demonstrated the basic technique. Within minutes, Anita had mastered it, her laughter echoing through the cave as the toy clicked rhythmically in her hands.

I leaned against the wall, arms crossed, watching the chaos unfold with growing irritation.

"Such pests! You even managed to make it clack right in front of me! Worthless bums!" I snapped, pressing my hands over my ears.

"Sorry, dear Queen Kali! It is just that I have never seen a toy like this before. My job at the factory was designing and making toys. By the way, I have gone AWOL from work now," Anita said, her tone softening. She bowed her head in apology.

"Why?" I tilted my head, curious.

As the evening drew near, we began preparing dinner together inside the cave. Anita took the lead, guiding us through the process. I stepped forward to help, my hands steady as I chopped vegetables with practiced ease. Solana lounged nearby, occasionally tossing in sarcastic comments. The familiar scent of sizzling food stirred something in me. A memory. I suddenly recalled the times I had cooked here with Anita's grandfather, Matthew, his hearty laughter echoing through the cave, his hands steady and kind. I felt his presence in the warmth of the fire.

Just as we finished eating, a soft chime echoed from Solana's Lato-Lato Hologram, her Personal Quantum Computer hovering gently beside her in mid-air. She tapped it lazily, expecting another irrelevant alert. Then her eyes widened.

"Whoa," she muttered, sitting up straighter.

"What is it?" I asked.

She read aloud: "Patricia Mage has been officially acknowledged as a full member of the Quantum Knights Guild. She is exempted from returning to the Quantum Knights Academy. Not necessary anymore, it says."

I exchanged a glance with Anita.

Solana continued, "And get this. Patricia's PQC is on its way. Not a new one. They are sending her the exact same unit she used during her technomancy training at the Academy. The one that made her infamous."

Anita nodded slowly, clearly impressed.

Solana smirked, satisfied, then curled up in a corner, her black boots tucked beside her. Within minutes, she was snoring softly.

I remained awake, my brown knee boots gleaming faintly in the firelight as I sat silently, thoughts swirling.

Eventually, Anita and I exchanged a look, then slipped quietly out of the cave to take a walk by the river where we had first met.

The night air was cool. The gentle murmur of the water served as a soothing backdrop as we strolled along the riverbank. Anita's story poured out now, tales from her old job at the toy factory: long hours, unreasonable demands, and the looming threat of bankruptcy. Her boss never said it directly, but he clearly blamed her. Your hands are too clumsy, he once muttered. That line alone haunted her.

This girl could talk. Her words flowed like the river beside us, winding through frustration, exhaustion, and a flicker of hope.

After a while, she fell silent and looked at me, her eyes reflecting the soft glow of the Milky Way above.

"You know, Queen Kali, I always admired how you carried yourself. So confident, so strong. Back at the factory, I dreamed of being like that. But I just could not stay there anymore. I needed something more."

"Sometimes, you have to leave what is familiar to find what is meant for you," I said, my gaze drifting to the water. "What is next for you, Anita?"

She smiled faintly, kicking a pebble into the river. "I want to master Transmutation technomancy and become your disciple, Queen Kali, if you will allow me. And maybe go on adventures with the Quantum Knights Guild."

I grinned. The possibilities stretched before us like the starry sky above.

"Whatever it is, make it yours. You have got the spirit for it."

The peaceful sounds of the river were suddenly broken by a sharp whack! Something flat and solid hit the back of my neck, making my vision blur for a moment as I leaned forward in surprise.

"Your Majesty!" Anita shouted in alarm.

I blinked, trying to refocus. The object flipped through the air and landed on a mossy patch nearby. It was a foldable tablet-like device, my original Personal Quantum Computer.

Before I could react, I heard frantic voices from the trees.

"Kai! I told you not to let Cronos pull random stuff from your Quantum Vault! What if it was something embarrassing?!" John said, clearly annoyed.

"Seriously, Kai? You let a Shiba Inu choose what to pull out?" Laguna added, arms crossed.

Kai stood near her active Quantum Vault, a hovering black-hole-like orb spinning slowly beside her. "He is still in training! Cronos is supposed to grab emergency items. It was just an accident, okay?!"

Cronos barked and wagged his tail innocently.

"Accident or not, he threw Patricia's PQC at her head! What if she passed out, or worse?!" John exclaimed.

"Yeah! That could have caused a concussion!" Laguna agreed.

"She is fine! Besides, it is her original PQC. Maybe it was meant to be returned to her this way," Kai said, trying to defend herself.

John rolled his eyes. "You are the most unpredictable technomancer I have ever met."

"You say that like it is a bad thing," Kai replied with a grin.

Then, in a flash of colored light, yellow, magenta, and green, Kai, Cronos, John, and Laguna transformed into glowing orbs and vanished.

I rubbed the back of my neck and slowly got to my feet. "Are you okay, Your Majesty?" Anita asked, looking worried.

"Yeah. Just give me a second."

My eyes turned pitch black, and my irises lit up bright red. I activated Blitz Mode. Time seemed to slow as I sped toward the grove, my movement too fast to see. But when I arrived, it was empty. No trace of anyone.

Back beside Anita, I spotted the PQC at her feet. I knelt beside it, running my fingers gently across its smooth, black surface. Even after all this time, it still looked brand new.

I smiled.

"By the way," Anita asked, holding the PQC carefully, "how can you use Technomancy without a Personal Quantum Computer? Could I learn that too? Then I could give this back to you, Your Majesty."

I smiled and lightly tapped the device in her hands.

"That PQC you are holding? I believe it is a spare unit from the Quantum Knights Guild. Do not worry. I will personally handle the payment with Ban-Ban once I return to the Guild, so it can be officially registered under your name."

"Now, if you are the original creator of a Smart Contract Ability, or SCA, you do not need a PQC to use it. SCAs can also be passed down through bloodlines. Like Celestial Mode 1 created by Solana, or Blitz Mode, which I designed myself."

Anita nodded with interest.

"If you are not related to the creator," I added, "you can still use the ability, but only if you own the official SCA NFT and store it in your PQC. Plus, you will need to pay cryptocurrency each time you use it."

"So it is not really free magic," she said.

"Exactly. And only the original creator can use an SCA at full power. Borrowers cannot unlock the full potential. Creating an SCA is also dangerous. It could destroy your Astral body permanently. We call that True Death."

"What?! I have been using the Transmutation SCA without paying? Does that mean I am related to the creator?!"

"No. I know who created the Transmutation SCA. That PQC already had the crypto and NFT preloaded. It is set to auto-approve usage, so you have been using it with no problem."

"Lucky me," she murmured.

She thought for a second, then asked, "But earlier, when you used Blitz Mode, you were not holding a PQC. What tech were you using?"

"My body," I answered. "It acted as the PQC. Your body is an advanced piece of tech on its own, if you know how to use it."

"Whoa. That is amazing."

"One last question! If I borrow an SCA, do I still need Mana?"

"Yes. Even if you are borrowing it, you will need both Mana and cryptocurrency to activate an SCA."

"You are incredible, Queen Kali! I hope you never get tired of me asking questions."

"Here is a bonus tip. Listening to binaural beats can boost your SCA's power during use."

Her eyes sparkled with excitement.

As we walked near the river, a strange humming sound filled the air. A glowing portal opened in front of us.

Quickly, I pulled Anita behind a nearby tree.

A naked figure stepped through the portal, her form barely visible in the swirling light. She whispered a Smart Contract call, and in a flash of energy, clothes appeared on her body.

"Oh, my goodness! A Technomancer!" I gasped.

"Who is she?" Anita asked quietly.

I narrowed my eyes. "That is the Anonymous Girl in a Blue Hoodie."

"Is she dangerous, Queen Kali?"

"I am not sure yet. She once damaged my gear, and my husband thinks she is a threat. Worst of all, I saw her hurt my friend Zetris."

Suddenly, Anita pulled out a bow.

She fired an arrow straight at the girl.

"ANITA, NO!"

The girl vanished and reappeared right in front of Anita, holding a Kris blade.

"Do not you dare hurt her!" I shouted.

My Blitz Mode activated instantly. My eyes turned black. My irises burned red.

I lunged forward and threw a punch.

She blocked it with her Kris, using just one hand. She did not even flinch.

The real fight had begun.

"Smart Contract Call: Occult Powers, Release!" declared the Anonymous Girl in a Blue Hoodie.

A shimmering circle formed beneath her, and in a brilliant flash, her appearance transformed. Her sleek bodysuit fused regal elegance with futuristic precision. Metallic blue and gold lines traced her figure like circuit sigils, glowing faintly with technomantic energy. A black cloak with sharp, angular hems billowed behind her, as if stirred by invisible winds. Her short silver-blue hair framed a glowing omega symbol on her forehead, and her crimson eyes blazed like twin eclipses. The form she now wore struck me like thunder.

She had activated a transformation Smart Contract Ability eerily similar to our guild master Hukluban's, also known as Ban-Ban, specifically her Celestial Mode 1. But this version of Hukluban was someone I was certain was not the same person. The Hukluban I knew never used this unfamiliar Occult Powers SCA.

"Is that you, Ban-Ban?!" I demanded, tense but stunned.

"No. I am Hukluban," she replied in a haunting, echoing voice.

I narrowed my eyes. Something was definitely off. Ban-Ban, even in disguise, would never openly use her real name, Hukluban. I suspected this might be one of Ban-Ban's androids, cast away from the Infinity Grid and scattered throughout the Biochain universe.

Without hesitation, I activated a prototype Smart Contract Ability I had been developing long before I lost my memories: Blitz Mode 2. My sclera turned blacker than the void, my irises blazing with a fiery red halo. With sheer force of will and Mana, I shouted:

"Smart Contract Call: Stasis Field!"

A golden seal expanded outward like a dome over the entire surface of Daggerdale, the moon we were on. A second layer of glowing light followed as the SCA took full effect.

Stasis Field: a time-locking ability that freezes all motion and existence within a target area, except for the caster and designated allies. Its duration was four Earth years. I made sure Anita was excluded.

Time in Daggerdale stood still, but we did not.

Back near the river, I opened my PQC and initiated a secure video call to the Quantum Knights Guild Headquarters. After a few moments of static, the screen flickered to life.

Ban-Ban's familiar face appeared. Just as I suspected, the one I had frozen in time was an android of hers. The Ban-Ban I was calling now was my sister-in-law, my friend, the original.

She gasped, eyes wide with joy. "PATRICIA?!"

Her whole body trembled with excitement. Without another word, she bolted out of frame. I could hear her sandals slapping against the marble floors as she yelled down the corridors: "Everyone! Come quick! It is her! It is Patricia Mage! She is live on cam!"

Within moments, the feed was flooded with familiar faces. Old friends, teammates, apprentices, even janitors waving excitedly. Cheers erupted. Someone launched holographic fireworks into the background.

I stood there silently, stunned by their welcome. A warm smile slowly spread across my face.

"Patricia! You look different! That transformation is new, huh? Come on, share that new SCA of yours! Let us test it out already!" Ban-Ban teased, eyes twinkling.

I let out a short laugh but did not answer directly. Instead, I gestured toward Anita, who stood quietly beside me.

"Let me introduce someone special first. This is Anita, my first-ever disciple. And I am going to register her as a student technomancer under the Quantum Knights Academy of our Guild."

Gasps echoed across the call, followed by an eruption of cheers.

"Disciple?!"

"Our Queen has a student?!"

"Welcome, Anita!"

The girl blushed under all the attention, offering a small wave.

"I will be paying Anita's tuition fee in Juno, directly to you," I informed Ban-Ban with a smile. "Make sure your wallet is ready."

Ban-Ban grinned and quickly flashed a QR code from her crypto wallet onto the screen. "That is more like it!" she beamed, practically dancing with excitement.

I pulled up the payment module on my PQC and completed a full tuition transfer using Juno cryptocurrency. A confirmation stamp hovered in the air.

"Effective immediately, Anita is officially enrolled in the Quantum Knights Academy," I declared.

More cheering followed.

Ban-Ban leaned in toward the camera, her expression now serious. "But wait. Why have we not been able to detect Daggerdale lately? Even our satellite networks cannot locate it."

"That is because I have placed the entire moon under a Stasis Field for safety reasons," I explained. "Time here is frozen for four Earth years. Do not worry. It is fully under control. We are just managing a situation."

Ban-Ban's brow furrowed briefly, then she nodded. "Understood. But that kind of power needs to be archived. You have pushed technomancy into a new frontier."

"That is why I need to train Anita properly. For the next three to four years, we will be in a confidential location, refining our SCAs, sharpening her technomancy, and preparing for whatever comes next."

"You are not going to tell us where you are headed?"

"That is confidential," I said with a wink.

The screen filled with more cheers, waves, and teasing comments from familiar voices.

"Wait, let me change the topic for a second," I said suddenly. "Are you the Anonymous Girl in a Blue Hoodie? Was my hunch right?"

Ban-Ban chuckled, scratching her head. "Yeah, that is right. Hehe. I even left my PQC at that waiting shed. Someone had just passed away that day. Never mind."

"I know," I replied gently. "I will visit her grave when I am ready. For now, I need to focus on my responsibilities."

A lump rose in my throat, but I held back the tears.

"Oh, and one more thing. I will just pay for the PQC you left behind. My disciple Anita is using it now."

Ban-Ban waved it off with a grin. "No need for that! You are practically family. Consider it a gift to Anita. I expect her to return here soon for her official first quest from the Guild."

She even struck a playful pose in front of the camera.

As I ended the call, Anita looked at me, beaming. "They really love you, Queen Kali."

I smiled warmly. "And someday, they will love you too, for the technomancer you are destined to become."

One year had passed since Daggerdale was sealed in stasis, and the training camp in the Underworld of Universe 7, Level 1 had become our new sanctuary. The terrain was strange. Volcanic glass stretched endlessly under skies made of soft green light. Time behaved oddly here, which made it ideal for long-term technomancy training.

"Again!" I shouted.

Anita rushed at me with twin Kali blades glowing violet. I parried her swing with my own mirrored pair, their clash echoing across the obsidian ridges.

"You are leaving your left side open again!" I snapped mid-duel.

"Ah! I thought I was improving!" Anita huffed, spinning out of range.

"You are, but that hesitation in your hips will get you killed."

Our blades crossed again, faster and heavier. Then with a swift pivot, I swept her feet. She fell, groaning.

I stood over her. "And now you are dead."

She lay on the rocky ground, catching her breath. "Okay, okay. Break?"

"Granted," I said, extending a hand. She took it, panting.

We returned to my portable bunker house, an adaptive dome that deployed from a pocket cube, complete with biometric walls, ether-charged lighting, and a soft ambient hum. Anita flopped onto the cushioned floor while I reclined on the elevated platform surrounded by glowing datasheets.

"Hey..." she said, still breathing hard. "Can I ask you something more personal?"

"Depends. Will it end in a smart contract ability or an OBP war?"

She giggled. "No, not this time. I have been meaning to ask. How did you meet your husband?"

"Elai?"

She nodded eagerly.

I paused, letting memories stir. "We met a very long time ago. If I calculate from the moment we left Daggerdale, it would be approximately 1.5 billion Earth years ago."

Anita choked. "W-What?! Billion?!"

"Time is not exactly linear when you are like us. But to be precise, it was before the Biochains era, back when the multiverse did not even exist."

Anita sat up straighter. "Biochain. I have read about that. It was the era when souls from Level 3 universe could freely transfer into Biochain, or Level 2 universe, our home."

"Correct. Back then, I was not known as Patricia Mage. My name was Kali Patricia Ishtar. I was not born like most. My genetic material came from Solana herself, combined with the sacred technology of the House of Ishtar."

"Wait, so you and Solana are like sisters?"

"Not biologically, but there is a genetic link," I said. "Though we did not always get along. Especially after Elai."

Her eyes widened. "Now you are talking!"

I laughed. "Well, let us rewind."

Planet Nameik Kholob. It was my home world. A planet orbiting the Kholob'El star, known later on Earth as Kepler-22. Back then, I was just a forensic pathologist, a brilliant one, but completely unaware of technomancy, celestial abilities, or even quantum magic.

One day, a majestic alien ship hovered over our atmosphere. It was the diplomatic vessel of the Lyrian Empire from the Andromeda galaxy. They had come in response to Solana's interstellar project. She had sent encoded messages across galaxies, hoping someone would answer.

"Elai Dela Cruz," I murmured. "That was the Emperor of Lyria."

He was not like anyone I had ever seen. Feminine physique, long silken blue dreadlocks, graceful features, yet unmistakably male, marked by his pointed Lyrian ears and deep voice.

"Wait," Anita interrupted. "So if the ears are pointed, it is male? And if they are rounded?"

"Then that means she is female. That is how Lyrians identify gender easily," I confirmed.

"Ohhh," she said, blushing. "He must have looked amazing..."

"He did," I admitted. "But I was a tomboy. I had no plans for royalty, romance, or empires. I was simply called in because Lord Elai's crew had suffered unexplained deaths during a recent mission across the Cygnus star system."

"Let me guess. You solved it?"

"Of course I did. It turned out their bodies had a violent allergic reaction to the radioactive pulses of a nearby pulsar star. The reaction was extremely rare, only detectable via quantum residue on their spinal fluid. No one else could have diagnosed it."

"Wow. And Elai must have been impressed?"

"He was. More than I realized."

"Back then," I continued, "I did not even know he liked me. I assumed he would return to Lyria. But the gifts started coming."

"Gifts?"

"From Elai," I nodded. "He kept sending artifacts, Lyrian poems, gadgets, even a custom Ether harp that plays frequencies only my DNA can hear."

"That is so romantic," Anita swooned.

"But..." I sighed. "I never received any of it. Because of Solana."

Anita blinked. "What?"

"Solana and I were already distant. She believed, as a natural-born member of the House of Ishtar, she deserved Elai's attention, not a synthetic like me, who came from a gene lab."

"That is unfair..."

"She intercepted all his gifts. Told her staff never to inform me. I did not even know Elai was trying."

"How did you find out?"

"One of her aides confessed during a moment of guilt. Said Solana was afraid I would win Elai's heart. That he would choose me as queen."

"That is when you confronted her, right?"

I gave a sharp nod.

In a flashback to Nameik Kholob, at the Grand Plaza, I stormed into Solana's chamber. She stood by the garden archway, surrounded by her elite aides.

"Solana!" I barked.

She turned slowly, a bemused expression on her face. "Kali. To what do I owe the drama?"

"I know you have been hiding Elai's gifts from me."

Gasps echoed from the aides. Solana's expression twitched.

"Excuse me?" she replied coldly.

"I am not stupid. The Ether harp? The meteorite glass flower? Even the coded scroll in Lyrian tongue? They were meant for me. And you buried them."

She narrowed her eyes. "So what if I did?"

There it was. The truth.

"You are jealous," I hissed.

"No," she spat. "I am entitled. I am Ishtar by birth. You are a lab-grown imitation. You think you deserve the attention of an emperor?"

"You do not get to decide who is worthy of love."

Solana scoffed. "You are not even a real heir."

That did it. I lunged at her. She grabbed my bangs. I yanked hers. Hair-pulling war, full-blown. Aides scrambled. Furniture toppled. Someone's tea exploded.

"You spoiled serpent!" I shouted.

"You synthetic brat!" she yelled back.

"I will synthesize your face into the floor!"

"Touch my face and I will hex your entire wardrobe!"

We rolled across the tiles, still clinging to each other's hair like wildcats.

Eventually, Lord Elai entered, calm, radiant, confused. He raised a hand. A gentle pulse of gravity magic separated us midair. We both floated, panting and furious, our hair tangled like seaweed.

"Would someone care to explain," he asked with a soft smile, "why my future queen and her twin are trying to rip each other's scalps off?"

I blinked. "Wait. Future what?"

He only smiled at me. Solana paled.

Back in the present, Anita burst out laughing. "You really pulled each other's hair?!"

"Furiously. My bangs were never the same again. Elai gave me this yellow hair tie to keep them out of my eyes so I could see clearly."

She wiped her eyes. "But it all worked out, right? You became queen."

"Yes," I said, softer now. "Eventually. After many trials, Elai chose me, not because I was a lab-born being or a member of the House of Ishtar, but because I am who I am."

"And what about Solana? Did she ever forgive you?"

I glanced down at my glowing PQC screen with a smirk. "That is a story for another time."

Anita leaned back, eyes dreamy. "Someday, I want a love story like that."

"You are writing your own now," I said, smiling. "Chapter by chapter."

She nodded slowly. Then I frowned at an anomaly signal on the holographic display. A distorted signal flashed, part technomancer signature, part unknown code.

"No. This one is more natural. Volcanic activity."

I rose to my feet, blades materializing in my hands. Anita grabbed hers in sync.

"Let us move. Looks like your training is about to get upgraded."

Another day in the Underworld of Universe 7, Level 1.

The ground trembled beneath my feet as I stood on a jagged ridge of black volcanic rock. A faint green luminescence bled through the fractured sky above. I gripped my twin blades, poised and ready. Across from me, Anita charged forward with her violet Kali sticks, sweat streaming down her face.

"You're too slow," I warned.

"I'm trying!" she yelled back, swinging hard.

Our weapons collided in a cascade of sparks. She aimed low. I anticipated the strike and leaped clear.

"You still hesitate at your hips," I said, positioning my blade near her neck.

"And you still fight like someone who's never lost," she snapped, breathing hard.

I grinned. "Oh, I've lost. You'll hear about it someday."

After our sparring session, we collapsed onto a stone platform outside our portable bunker. I touched my PQC, and the dome unfolded, revealing plush cushions and a steaming kettle of synth-leaf tea. Packets of chilled strawberry water waited inside.

Anita dropped onto the cushions with a groan. "Okay. You win again."

"I always win," I replied, tossing her a drink.

She caught it and took a long sip. "You owe me a story."

"A story?"

"You know, one of your love stories. Like that Solana hair-pulling duel. Come on. One more."

I leaned against the glowing wall and gazed up at the strange green sky above.

"Well," I began, "there was this girl. Her name was Xia Sparks..."

* * *

Before the OBP Wars, before the multiverse, there was just the Biochain. A single universe. It fused blockchain and hashgraph technology, storing memories and souls in a digital realm. That was Level 2, our home. But on Earth, in Level 3, it was the year 2020. And my husband, Lord Elai Dela Cruz, whom I call My Heart, had been missing for fifteen Earth years.

He hadn't returned to our palace on Lyria in all that time. I understood that time moved differently on Level 3 Earth. Still, I missed him.

When I discovered he'd visited his sister, Bitty Moli, in Level 3, I followed. I went in disguise and brought him fruit, bananas, oranges, and strawberries from a nearby supermarket. My PQC confirmed his health was stable.

Mine was not. "COVID-positive," my scan read. I walked straight into the incineration pod. Blue fire consumed me. My body burned. My consciousness jumped back to Biochain, then transferred into a fresh 3D-printed organic body in Level 3. No cooldown. Over and over again. Each time, I risked True Death, permanent soul loss if I missed reentry. But I did it for him.

My Heart, Elai, was confined to a COVID facility for asymptomatic cases. The place was cold, sterile, and lonely.

"You again?" He smiled when I entered.

"You're losing muscle," I said, setting down the fruit. "And your sarcasm is getting weak."

"You're going to lose your soul if you keep this up."

"Then I'll die loving you, My Heart."

He had no comeback.

One day, I noticed a sick girl in the room next door. Pale, coughing, quiet. Xia Sparks. Blonde hair, blue eyes. Fourteen years old. She held XRP. Her parents had abandoned her during quarantine. Even her relatives refused to help.

The first time I gave her a banana, she blinked. The next day, an orange. A small wave. By the fifth day, we were chatting on a basic messaging app.

Xia: Your blue-haired friend is cute. What's your relationship with her?

Me: He's my husband.

Xia: Lol! You're weird. I'm sorry, please forgive me.

Me: No, it's okay. He's an idiot, by the way, but I love him.

We talked about crypto. She told me she wanted to give her XRP away because she didn't think she'd survive.

"It's not worth much," she said. "But it's all I have."

"It's not the coin that matters," I replied. "It's the heart behind it."

Then came the moment. I burst into My Heart's room.

"I want to mint her," I said.

Elai: "Who?"

Me: "Xia. She's dying. Let me take her to Biochain."

Elai: "That's forbidden. Let nature decide her fate, not you."

Me: "She was already abandoned by her own parents. She has a soul. She has a spirit. She deserves a chance."

Elai: "She might not survive the transfer."

Me: "Then I'll help her."

Elai: "Even if I agreed, how would you do it?"

Me: "The Astral Vacuum. Bitty Moli still has it hidden."

Elai: "That relic? One mistake and she's gone for good. She'll die here anyway."

He hesitated.

Me: "Please, My Heart. Trust me."

Elai: "Fine. I'll be discharged this afternoon. Tonight, scrub suits, window entry. You know the drill."

That night, we made our move. Wearing stolen nurse uniforms, we slipped past the drowsy guards. The fluorescent lights buzzed overhead as we crept into Xia's room.

She blinked up at us. "Queen P?"

"Get ready to HODL onto your XRP forever," I said, lifting the Astral Vacuum.

She frowned. "Looks like a sci-fi needle."

"It kind of is. Ready?"

Instead of answering, she handed me a plush bunny hat with floppy, animated ears.

"This is for you. You brought me strawberries. Only a true queen would do that."

I smiled. "Then I'll wear it with pride."

I lifted her hair and gently pressed the device against the back of her neck. A soft hiss escaped as it activated. Her body went rigid, eyes slowly dilating, the transfer had begun.

Shouts erupted in the hallway. Guards rushed toward us. My Heart and I dove through the window onto a waiting speeder bike. The Astral Vacuum pulsed between us, glowing with captured light.

Back in Biochain, at a laboratory in the ZGU domain, the minting process began. Her soul entered a new body, radiant, whole, full of life. She emerged from the lab's body-printing facility and opened her eyes beneath a sky shimmering with cascading data and light.

"So this is heaven?" she whispered.

"No," I said. "It's the beginning."

Weeks passed. She adapted quickly. Changed her hair dye to black. Her logic skills and SCA-building talents made her perfect for ZGU, a Zenith Gear User. She even proposed the concept of the Infinity Grid.

"It'll be endless," she told the ZGU council. "A space where Edition Zero beings can grow, safe and creative. Like a sandbox game, but with real experiences."

She stood tall before them, pigtails and all. I watched her, heart swelling with pride.

"I never thought I'd be on the ZGU council," she said one day, throwing her arms around me.

"You're not," I joked. "You're a legend."

And she truly was.

* * *

Anita wiped her eyes. "You saved her by burning yourself alive? Over and over?"

"Yes."

"That's insane."

"That's love," I corrected. "For My Heart. And for anyone worth fighting for."

She stared at me for a long moment, then smiled. "No wonder you never lose, Queen P. You don't know how to quit."

I laughed and raised my synth-leaf tea. "Now you're learning."

Another day in the Underworld of Universe 7, Level 1.

Anita was on the treadmill again, doing a four-hour super speed sprint while locked into Blitz Mode. The gears around the machine buzzed violently as she pushed herself faster than the wind. Meanwhile, I was lying lazily on the soft cushions of our living room, a strawberry soda in one hand and my PQC screen floating before me, looping my favorite anime series. My fingers gently stroked the feathers of my favorite pet rooster, a proud Banaba breed I named Number 35.

He cooed softly and fluffed his chest, his glorious feathers shimmering under our strange green sky.

Anita, drenched in sweat, completed her fourth hour and collapsed to the floor.

"Thirty minutes of rest, right?" she gasped, wiping her brow.

"Nope," I said without looking away from my PQC. "Go again. Another four hours."

Her eyes widened. "Are you serious?!"

"Super serious," I replied, sipping my drink.

Without another word, Anita dragged herself up and went again. The treadmill roared like thunder. Four more hours passed.

"Done! I swear, that is it!" she shouted.

I lazily lifted my head. "Again."

"AGAIN?! That is twelve hours, Master! I am not a robot!"

Before I could respond, she stormed toward me, Kali blades drawn. She snatched up Number 35.

"Where the hell did this animal come from?!" she screamed.

"No! Do not hurt him, please! Take any of the others! But not him!" I bolted upright, panicked.

She held the blade to his neck. "Why? What is so special about this chicken? Maybe I will roast it for lunch!"

I dropped to my knees, tears streaming down my face, sobbing like a five-year-old.

"Have mercy on Number 35's life! If you do not, I will lose my mind!"

Something in my voice must have struck her. Anita blinked, looked at the trembling bird in her hands, then sighed. She gently placed Number 35 back on the cushion.

I immediately hugged him tight, petting his head like he was a newborn baby.

"You are insane," Anita murmured, plopping herself onto a cushion. "You love those chickens more than your disciple."

I stood, still cradling Number 35, and looked Anita dead in the eyes. "Come. There is something you need to see."

"What now? More anime?"

"No. Inside my Quantum Vault."

Her brow furrowed. "That tiny black hole-looking thing? You cannot fit a person in that."

I snapped my fingers. The swirling black sphere grew, stretching to the size of a cave entrance.

"Hop in," I said, stepping through.

She rolled her eyes but followed.

Inside was a corridor of floating doors. Each door shimmered with glyphs and digital locks. One door had a glowing sign: Patricia Maggie Dela Cruz's Secret Integrated Aquaponic Poultry Farm.

Anita read it aloud. "Who is Patricia Maggie Dela Cruz?"

"A fake name, made up by someone who pretended to be my biological older sister. She went by Antoinette, but her real name was Patricia Draconia. But that is another story."

I placed my palm on the door. It slid open with a hiss.

Anita gasped. Beyond it was an enormous dome lit by soft sunlight simulators. Automated drones floated through the air, tending to crops. Dozens of Banaba roosters strutted alongside tanks of tilapia, all in perfect aquaponic harmony.

"This is paradise," she whispered.

"Designed by Xia Sparks. Powered by her AI bots."

Anita's jaw dropped. "Xia Sparks? The ZGU engineer?"

"My bestie for life," I said with a wink.

At the center was a transparent cage with reinforced fields. I returned Number 35 to his perch.

"These are not just any roosters," I said. "Each holds the life of a universe within them."

Anita snorted. "What if I kill the one with tag 7? Do we vanish in a puff of smoke?"

"Exactly. We are in Universe 7 right now."

She burst into laughter. "You are tripping again, Master. These are not cosmic roosters. They are portal keys."

I smiled. "Wanna test it?"

The truth is, we would be instantly teleported back to Daggerdale due to our quantum entanglement with that location, and we would not be able to return to Level 1, Universe 7 unless a new cosmic egg linked to that universe was born again.

I picked up Rooster Number 84. It was one of the empty ones, no intelligent life, only primitive planets and animals. From my pocket, I took a tiny capsule and fed it to Number 84. The moment it swallowed, its body began to vibrate.

I grabbed Anita's hand. In a blink, we were standing on green grass beneath blue skies. A gentle wind blew. Trees rustled. Waterfalls cascaded from the cliffs.

"Where are we?" she whispered.

"Earth of Universe 84, Level 1," I replied.

"Did we get sucked into another dimension?!"

"Nope. The rooster just opened the portal. We are linked here through it."

"I knew it! Portal keys!" she snapped. "You just did not want to admit I was right."

I ignored her and reached into my satchel. "Time to go back." I took out a short ceremonial blade.

"Wait, what are you..."

I beheaded Rooster Number 84.

In a flash, we were back inside the farm. The rooster's body was lifeless in my hands.

"NOOO!" Anita screamed. "You killed the universe?!"

"It is fine. Just wild planets, no intelligent beings, only basic creatures inside."

I walked to the auto-kitchen, dumped Number 84 into the cooking pot, and within minutes, served us a hearty chicken soup.

Anita stared in awe and horror.

"You are actually feeding me a universe."

"Bon appetit," I said, handing her a bowl.

Another day began in the Underworld of Universe 7, Level 1.

Anita sat at her study desk in the corner of our small bunker, tapping her PQC stylus nervously on her notes. Her head was pounding as she tried to focus on the academic quiz in front of her.

"Ugh. First Law of Thermodynamics," she groaned, pressing her fingers against her temples. "Energy cannot be created or destroyed, so internal energy equals heat added minus work done. But what if the pressure is constant?!"

She scribbled down equations, clearly stressed. "Now onto trigonometry. Cosine of theta for inclined planes. Seriously, why do I need this in the Underworld?!"

Meanwhile, I was relaxing again, sprawled on the couch with a fizzy drink in hand. My PQC floated in front of me, playing my favorite anime. On my lap sat another of my cosmic roosters, the proud and shiny-feathered Number 7. I gently stroked his feathers as he cooed softly.

Every time Anita glanced my way, she let out a heavy sigh and rolled her eyes.

"Try to kill my Number 7, Anita, and we are all dead," I said with a smirk, planting a kiss on the rooster's beak.

"Tsk. Whatever," she grumbled, turning back to her quiz.

An hour passed.

"What?! Zero points?!" Anita shouted, checking her scores. "This cannot be right!"

She opened her PQC's AI Chatbot app and double-checked her answers. "This one is correct! And this too! I knew it!"

Her anger boiled over. Without warning, she entered Blitz Mode 1. In a flash of light blue aura, she snatched Rooster Number 7 from my lap and held a sharp Kali blade to his neck.

"Bring Lord Elai here now, or the chicken dies!"

"Please! Do not hurt him! We cannot bring Elai to this Underworld. It is classified and confidential!" I dropped to my knees instantly.

Anita's aura glowed brighter. Her eyes turned green with fury. She plucked a few feathers from Number 7, and the rooster flapped in pain.

"You treat this chicken like your own child! Maybe you need a real one!"

Just then, the scent of jasmine filled the air.

Lord Elai appeared at the doorway. He had a graceful, almost feminine presence. Long blue dreadlocks, an imperial cape, and sharp, elf-like ears. His eyes scanned the bunker with curiosity, his fingers brushing the surfaces as he took everything in.

"So this is where you have been hiding," he said softly.

Anita rushed to him. "Please, Lord Elai! We need to give Patricia a real child so she will stop treating cosmic chickens like her babies and train me properly!"

"Her body cannot handle pregnancy," Elai frowned.

"We will use Solana's Heal Smart Contract Ability!" Anita insisted. "You and I will take turns healing her! Nameikians only take 9 days to conceive and reach adult form in 9 months. This could work!"

"I do not want any link to Solana. I have not forgiven her for what she did. If I activate Celestial Mode 1, she will sense it and think everything is fine," Elai looked away.

"How would she know if she is frozen in time at Daggerdale?" Anita snapped.

Elai turned to me. "Is that true?"

"Yes. That is how my Stasis Field Smart Contract Ability works," I nodded.

His eyes widened. Without another word, he took my hand and led me to my private room. Anita, understanding what was happening, slipped away quietly to my poultry farm to give us privacy.

Two Earth weeks later, I stared at the pregnancy test.

"Positive," I whispered.

Anita and Elai entered the room. "Really?!" Anita beamed.

I nodded, stunned and excited. From then on, all training and study sessions were paused. For nine Earth days, they focused entirely on my health and comfort.

Then, the big day arrived. With Elai and Anita by my side, I gave birth to a baby boy.

"We will name him Arthur," I said softly. "After Arthur Britto."

Elai held our son in his arms. "Prince Arthur. He will lead Lyria into a new age."

He kissed my forehead and looked me in the eyes. "I am taking him to Lyria to celebrate. Patricia, you must stay focused on Anita's training."

"I will. No more slacking."

"Good. I will see you both in Lyria once Anita finishes the Quantum Knights Academy."

And with that, he stepped through a glowing portal, cradling our son.

Another grueling day unfolded in the Underworld of Universe 7, Level 1.

A subtle tremor coursed through the blackened terrain of our training grounds. Across from me stood Anita, transformed. Her hair spiked upward in a beige blaze with jet-black bangs. Light-blue energy radiated from every inch of her form. Her emerald eyes glowed with fierce determination. Clad in her signature assassin outfit, she had ascended into Celestial Mode 1.

I hovered a few meters above the ground, cloaked in my own luminous energy. My transformation pulsed with golden-yellow light, my hair a corona of gold streaked with crimson bangs. My right eye glowed an icy blue, the left burned red. Golden plates inscribed with the sigils of House Ishtar covered my body. My only weapons were my elemental gloves, each one brimming with the primal forces of fire, wind, frost, and electricity.

The air was dense with tension. Then we collided. BOOM.

The clash was not fast like Blitz Mode, but each strike felt like a tectonic upheaval. Her Kali blades met my bare fists with a force that rippled through the ground.

"Tectonic pressure rising beyond safe limits," my PQC calmly notified.

I tuned it out. We were not sparring. We were forging destiny.

Anita's healing Smart Contract Ability surged, rapidly regenerating her wounds in real time. She lunged forward, blades flashing. I blocked with a counterstrike and leapt back.

"Mt. Pinatubo," I intoned.

Behind me, a colossal volcano erupted into being, its summit glowing with magma. Heat distorted the air. Lava began to rain down, an infernal storm designed to break wills.

Anita screamed through gritted teeth as she activated another healing protocol. Her light-blue aura shimmered against the lava's fury. Step by step, she pushed through the deluge, enduring unimaginable heat.

Then her glow flickered.

"I am out of crypto," she gasped, knees buckling. "Break time..."

She collapsed on the couch in our portable house bunker, steam rising from her skin.

I descended, powering down my transformation. Sweat clung to my face as I tossed her a damp towel.

A few hours passed. Anita stirred, blinking at the ceiling.

"Hey. Was your training this bad when you were learning Celestial Mode under Lilith?" she asked weakly.

I smirked. "Worse. Lilith never played fair. She poisoned my coffee once."

"What?!"

"Yeah. And she changed gravity settings mid-battle just to watch me struggle. I never defeated her. Not even once."

"But you are a genius in technomancy! Did you not develop more Smart Contract Abilities than anyone else?" Anita protested.

"Titles never meant anything to Lilith. She operated on her own wavelength, untouchable, unpredictable, and beyond what anyone could define."

At that time, my final test to become a certified technomancer had begun. Being Lilith's disciple was not just difficult. It was war. Lilith was wrapped in mystery. No background. No identity trail. Whenever I asked, she would just pull a weird face, completely dodging the question.

On one occasion, I accidentally teleported us to the Peruvian plains. I ran and hid for hours. Not because I was afraid of failing, but because I knew how strong she was. And I did not want to hurt her. I cared for her. She was my mentor and my friend.

"Pat!" her voice thundered, echoing through the landscape.

"I will drain your celestial power and reshape the world! I will create devastating viruses, like the Coronavirus!" she roared.

"No way! Not that word! I hate that word!" I shouted back.

That was supposed to be my final test. But then, the guild emergency came.

Back in the present, I watched Anita sleep. Her transformation had taken its toll. Quietly, I covered her with a blanket and leaned against the wall, staring at the ceiling.

She stirred. "Master. Did you ever finish your final test in the Quantum Knights Academy?"

"No, Anita. I never passed."

Her eyes widened. "What? But you are a full technomancer now!"

"Not because I was not strong enough," I said, gently brushing my gloves. "But because war broke out."

She blinked. "War?"

"Yes. Back then, during my final test, everything was going well. I was about to face my last trial when my PQC buzzed with a system-wide emergency alert. I still remember the words: URGENT: All Quantum Knights, prepare for engagement. Category Red Threat Detected. Enemy: OBPs, Off-Biochain Penetrators."

"Those OBPs were real?" she whispered.

"Very real. They were intruders from beyond the Biochain, entities that could breach and corrupt the entire universe. The academy shut down instantly. All trials were canceled. Students, instructors, even support units. Everyone was sent to the front lines."

Anita looked stunned. "So you were never able to complete your test because of the war?"

"Exactly. That was the end of my academic journey and the start of real war."

She exhaled. "That is heavy."

"It was. But when I returned to the academy, they told me I did not need to re-enroll. You remember that, right?"

"Yeah, I remember."

"I think the Quantum Knights Guild ended up recognizing what I did during the OBP Wars. Honestly, I did not expect any special treatment. I just came back hoping to re-enroll with you and pick up where I left off. But instead, they told me I did not need to start over. I guess everything I had done during the war counted for more than I realized. I was surprised, really. I never fought to be recognized. I just did what I had to do."

Anita was silent for a moment, then said, "That explains so much."

"And that is why I train you this hard. Because someday, you might face something even greater. And I want you to be more than ready."

She gave me a tired but grateful smile. "Thanks, Master."

"Rest now. You have earned it."

Three years had passed in the Underworld of Universe 7, Level 1.

Life had settled into an odd rhythm. Anita's training had become more intense and sophisticated, yet I had found myself entangled a little in my obsession with futures trading in crypto. It might not sound glamorous, but when your reality is a lava-locked bunker floating above a molten wasteland, every crypto gain means more than comfort. It means survival. One profitable trade could buy extra gear upgrades, nutrients, even the comforts that made all the difference.

"Master! Let us begin our training! You promised we would start working on Celestial Mode today!" Anita's voice rang out from the metal hatch of our bunker.

Still staring at the glowing holographic screen of my PQC, I held up a hand dismissively. "Not now, Anita. I am on a 25x long position on Bitcoin. The candle is dancing at resistance. If this closes green, we will get extra budget for soap, rice, even a decent spice packet for our tilapia pool."

"But Master, we are already late..."

"Unless you want to eat lava-flavored air and wash your hair with steam, do not disturb me. If I get liquidated, say goodbye to your chocolate stash, too."

Her shoulders drooped. I saw the sting in her eyes, but my gaze returned to the chart.

"Okay. I understand," she whispered, then quietly walked away.

Anita wandered for hours, traversing scorched lava ridges and basalt valleys until she reached a distant continent. The sulfur-laced air was thicker there, and the lava glowed with a darker hue. She sat on a jagged ledge overlooking a bubbling magma lake, kicking at pebbles until a sharp growl cut through the haze.

A red-skinned humanoid emerged from the shadows. Sharp teeth, glowing orange pupils, claws like obsidian daggers.

"An imp?" she breathed.

The creature lunged with feral speed. Anita's instincts ignited. Her aura burst outward, Celestial Mode 1. Her spiky beige hair shimmered, black bangs fluttering as energy surged around her. Emerald eyes lit up. Her Kali blade sang. One quick, defensive motion. The imp dropped. Lifeless.

She stood over it, breath shaky. "No. I did not mean to."

She returned late that night, boots scorched, eyes hollow. I saw the tremble in her frame but said nothing.

The next morning, a low hum shook our portable bunker.

"Master?" Anita said nervously.

We stepped outside and froze. Thousands of imp soldiers formed a semicircle around our shelter. And above them hovered a figure wreathed in hellfire aura.

She had long black hair, sharp glowing red eyes, and twin bull horns protruding from her brow. Her makeup was flawless, cheeks pink with blush, lips painted a defiant pink. She wore a fitted crimson dress with black lace accents, hugging her figure elegantly before flowing into layered fabric that cascaded behind her in a dramatic high-low design. The rich red of her attire mirrored the glow of her eyes, while the black underskirt added depth and mystery to her presence. Around her neck rested a dark choker adorned with a single red gem, gleaming like a captured drop of blood.

"Who is that?" Anita whispered.

"Vex Astaroth. One of the Underworld's royal daughters. Daughter of the King of this Underworld, Duke Astaroth," I clenched my jaw.

"Patricia Mage. One of your disciples killed one of my imps. I demand retribution. I demand her head," Vex's voice thundered from above.

"It was not intentional! He attacked me! I panicked!" Anita gasped.

Vex's eyes narrowed. "Intent changes nothing. The balance was broken."

I stepped forward, slowly floating into the air as my transformation ignited, Celestial Mode 1. Spiky golden-yellow hair flared upward, red bangs glowing, one eye blue, the other blood-red. My golden armor gleamed with runes of House Ishtar.

"Vex," I called out, my voice steady. "She is still learning. Please, let us talk."

Vex raised her chin. "There was no accord protecting your trainees. You failed to keep her in line."

"She defended herself. She did not hunt."

"That makes no difference. The creature was mine. The life was mine. You let her roam untrained."

"I am offering apology and compensation. But not blood." I insisted.

Her eyes burned hotter. "Then you choose conflict."

She raised her hand.

"Legion. Retrieve the girl. If they resist, burn them all!"

"ABSOLUTELY NOT!" I roared.

Anita appeared beside me, already igniting her aura. "I will defend the east flank."

"Non-lethal if possible!" I reminded her. "Unless it is life or death."

The ground exploded as imps surged forward. Above, Vex cast a pentagram of obsidian and flame. Runes spiraled around her.

"She is summoning Obsidian Code!" I shouted.

A bolt of black lightning slammed into Anita, tossing her through basalt.

"Anita!"

"Still alive," she groaned, pulling herself up.

I spun to meet Vex mid-air.

She smirked. "Still arrogant, Patricia Mage."

"Not today. Today I fight for someone else."

Our clash lit the sky like a falling star. The battle raged on. Lava storms spiraled. Energy beams cut through the sky. The bunker behind us shook with each impact. Our small defenses barely held.

Vex's magic was potent. Her voice sang incantations in a language I had not heard in decades. The imp army was coordinated, each movement sharpened by years of discipline.

Anita, despite exhaustion, kept pushing back wave after wave, her blade glowing with light. She was not the apprentice I once knew. She was becoming something more.

And I was the wall between Vex and my disciple.

We clashed again and again. Every time I struck, she parried with fire. Every time she surged, I countered with ice. Our powers collided, setting the sky ablaze in unnatural colors.

"How far will you go to protect her?" Vex hissed.

"As far as I must."

The sky cracked with another boom. This war had only just begun.

Hours had passed. The sky of the Underworld in Universe 7, Level 1, burned with ember clouds, lava storms, and endless shrieks of pain. The war against Vex Astaroth had stretched into its first day, and still there was no sign of stopping. The ground itself groaned under the weight of fallen bodies and scorched spells. Every minute felt like an eternity.

Anita stood beside me, blood running down her cheek, her spiky beige hair matted with sweat and soot. Her emerald eyes remained fierce, glowing even amidst the ash fall. She was no longer the uncertain girl from a few years ago. She had grown into her power, but this test, this war, was beyond anything I had ever wanted for her.

Vex Astaroth hovered in the sky, her sorcery raining down like celestial curses. Runes blazed around her like dancing stars of death. Her lips curled in a cruel smile. She had thousands of imps at her command, each one ready to die for their Princess of Hell.

Imps swarmed us from all directions. Anita, wielding her glowing Kali blade, cut through them like a tempest. Her movements were fluid, her form precise. The battlefield was littered with bodies, each a tragic testimony to the power and necessity of my disciple's fight.

"Master! I cannot keep this up much longer!" Anita screamed, panting heavily. "I am running out of crypto! My PQC is almost dry!"

That struck deep. Without crypto fuel, technomancy collapses. The healing Smart Contract Ability keeping her alive would shut down at any moment. And once it did, there would be nothing between her and death.

I clenched my jaw. I had no choice.

"STOP!" I shouted, my voice echoing through the battlefield. "VEX! I surrender! Take me, just let Anita go!"

Everything fell silent. The air tightened.

Vex's crimson eyes widened in amusement. She descended slowly, surrounded by burning sigils. "Patricia Mage, you offer yourself willingly?"

I nodded solemnly. "She is just a child. She does not deserve this. I am the one you want."

Vex smirked. "Agreed. You are mine now."

Then she turned to her legion. "Kill the girl."

"WHAT?!" I roared. "We had a deal!"

"You assumed mercy," Vex said coldly, her eyes glinting with malice.

My heart pounded. My eyes flared. I could feel every inch of my energy, my final reserves rising.

This was it.

"BLITZ MODE 2!"

Golden flames burst from my body. The ground cracked beneath me. Time itself trembled. I released my Stasis Field.

A pulse of light swept across the Underworld. Everything stopped. Every imp. Every spell. Even the storm. Frozen.

Except for me and Anita.

We stood in a glowing dome of stillness. Lava hung midair like frozen teardrops. Thunder was a sculpture. Vex hovered above, her form locked but twitching, resisting. She was slow, but not entirely trapped. Her magic, deep and ancient, still shimmered beneath the surface.

I knew it. Her sorcery made her partially immune. The Stasis Field would not hold her for long.

"Master. What did you do?" Anita whispered, trembling.

"I canceled the Stasis Field I cast in Daggerdale. A year earlier than I planned," I answered.

Her eyes widened. "You mean Solana..."

"Is unfrozen now. Which means the threat of Hukluban 1 is back in play." I turned to her. "And that is where you come in."

"Me? Alone?! We can go together! Let us return to Daggerdale now!"

I shook my head gently. "I have unfinished business here. Vex will break free any second now. This place is not safe. You must find Solana immediately."

"But..."

"Listen. Anita. As of this moment, you are no longer my disciple. You are now a full-fledged technomancer of the Quantum Knights Guild. You have passed your trials."

Anita froze. Her lip trembled. Her eyes filled with tears.

"You must report to Guildmaster Ban-Ban once Solana eliminates Hukluban 1. Understood?"

She nodded slowly. Tears streamed down her cheeks.

I summoned a shimmering portal. It flickered against the backdrop of frozen war. I could already feel the strain on my body, the Stasis Field draining me faster than ever before.

"Go," I whispered.

She stepped forward, then turned. "What about Lord Elai? Should I tell him?"

I shook my head firmly. "No. He must never know. If he finds out, he might annihilate the entire Level 1 Universe 7. Only Ban-Ban must know what happened here. She is the strategist. She will make the right move."

The portal began to pull Anita in, inch by inch.

"Master Patricia! Before I go. In our Web3 MMORPG, should I pilot the Assassin class or the Mage class for your character?"

I grinned, despite the ache in my chest. "Mage. Always Mage."

Anita smiled through tears as the portal swallowed her. Her aura flickered with resolve.

Gone.

I floated alone in the battlefield of frozen destruction. I looked up at Vex Astaroth, her body twitching, breaking slowly through the Stasis Field. Her hand moved a few centimeters. Her lips curled as if fighting their way toward a spell.

I chuckled softly.

"This is just getting started," I whispered. "Let us make it fun."

Then I pulled my PQC screen close. I grinned, my eyes crackling with defiance.

"The time has come to reclaim my forsaken relic, the Quantum Time Box, also famously known in this universe as the Cube of Time."

THE END

Patricia Mage will return in Biochains.

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Written by T-Boy Crypto on Arts
Published on Paragraph.com as a Web3 Story
All characters in this publication are fictitious.
Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.