June 7th, 2349

"Almost two hundred years after leaving Earth, our society has already begun to look the same as before. We've built houses, shops, entertainment areas and work buildings, as well as machines that we had back on our old planet and some others that we've invented later. Though most of us who had immortality were missing home, we've adapted to the new environment later on and went through life as nothing happened. I mean, I wasn't the only immortal one. Many more like me were there.

And as for me, during those two hundred years that I was given to live, I did suffer losses, but also enjoyed the time I had. We used to say that "Life is short", however it felt like eternity for me since I couldn't die. Well... that's the meaning of immortality, isn't it? But what I mean is that... life began to not have a meaning to me, as if I had no purpose better than just living eternally. If I was meant to live forever, then what exactly was the point of living? I didn't fall into depression, don't get me wrong, but I've started to see a cycle that I was meant to relive over and over again. Every day, I was standing with my mechanical companion by my side, went to work and came back home to wake up another day.

So, I've decided to end that cycle and change something about my life. I've met more and more people, even if I knew I was meant to live the moment they will all die, I have started helping others in need and refused to just be a working rat for the rest of my life. And well I did, as I have met the love of my life not long after. Her name was Nova, a human born in this planet with an intelligence that I've admired myself, and such a kind soul that I was afraid I could break it if I lost my focus.

We've lived a long period of time together after we have met, even if it felt... weird. This feeling came from the fact that I was a human born on Earth almost two hundred years ago, while she was born here, on a planet that I was forced to adapt to because of what happened to my home. It's true that her ancestors were humans from Earth like me, but it felt wrong either way. I was more like an alien in this planet, while those who were born here considered it their mother planet... But even so, I have fallen in love with this woman and I've decided to continue my life with her by my side until Death will take her away from me too. I was happy with her. A woman that made me feel like I'm the luckiest man alive. I gave her everything and we even managed to get engaged after a few years. But little did I know what was going to happen.

On February 21st, 2344, an enormous gas cloud has conquered the lands, affecting a part of the population's biological system completely, making all men alive being unable to reproduce ever again. Such disaster had a cause so vague that it led to the hands of justice to be involved and look into the case. Speculations have told that someone from our kind wished to bring us extinction, since no man could have any child ever again, leading to our kind reduce over time. However, no matter how much the case was investigated, the criminal was never found, even gaining the name "Phoenix".

Even so, some of the people didn't care about this situation at all, saying that immortals are able to live forever and with them humanity will continue to exist. That is correct, but at the same time, not being able to create new generation won't help us with anything. On the other hand, in my case, I've started to believe that I am truly lucky, as my wife was already on the edge of giving birth to our daughter before this attack happened. So even if I wasn't able to reproduce ever again, I still managed to have a child in time. And I sure praised the Lord for this miracle.

A few months after the attack, my daughter was born healthy and with no problems caused by Phoenix. Nova and I named her Vera, name that means "faith" as a result of my miracle. I swore from that day on after I have seen her for the first time that I will protect my little daughter no matter what happens to me. My little miracle from God, brightest star on the dark sky... Vera was a playful child who sometimes reminded me of how I used to be back home, but also had the intelligence of her mother. When she was little, my mechanical companion and I used to tell her stories about Earth and how I got to live here, always getting her attention and excitement about it to the point that she even wanted to study the stars at night, thinking that she might find my home on the sky. I was joining her every night alongside my machine, hearing her joyful voice that was talking to me about random stars she was seeing and forever asking me if I found out where my home is so that I could show her. To my regrets though, I've never managed to ask astronomers about the position of our old solar system on the sky to tell her the answer, but I've tried every night with her to find it on our own.

This was a life that I've cherished when I had it, even after I took her to have her scans and revealed that she was immortal like me, knowing that one day her mother will die and we both will remain alone in this world. I've imagined a life that was a wonder, almost too good to be true. I knew I had to face losses and I was ready for that day. I was ready to be by her side when her mother won't be with us anymore. However... I've never imagined that I will lose them both at the same time...

On June 7th, 2349, five years after the first Phoenix attack, some people have reported a strange fog very far away from our city that was slowly coming our way. But this was no simple fog at all. After a few sights taken with binoculars, fear has begun to rise again. The "fog" in cause was actually a large storm-like wind, capable of destroying everything that comes in its way... and which also included a specific gas that was proven to disable our whole mutation regarding the immunity to injuries, all in a wind that let them travel freely. It was as if history was repeating itself over and over again. The same panic that I've lived on Earth came now to HN-1C. A threat similar to what destroyed my home was coming towards my family. And the same strategy of running towards space being put in action. Just like the moment I left my home...

But this time, I wasn't just a hopeless child, clueless of what's happening around me completely and letting others lead the way. I wanted to be helpful in a way or another, knowing how it affected Earth in the past and how much it could affect us in the future now. So, while others were running towards the abandoned spaceship that didn't guarantee any launch since it has never been used for two hundred years, and since we've focused so much on rebuilding our society back that we didn't have time to rebuild another one that could save ten million people at best, I just hoped that my family could survive... while I will go to save the only source of reproduction of our kind."

And he sure didn't lie, as the same chaos that was happening back on Earth now is present on this new planet. Everyone rushes towards the abandoned ship, while him and his mechanical friend are the only ones that run towards the opposite direction, until even his family finds him. As a consequence, he hears his wife screaming his name in the chaos, which makes him stop and change his first destination while being pushed by the people running.

[Nova]-...Leo!! Leo!!

[Leo]-Nova? Nova! Nova, I'm here! Nova!!

He could barely see her in the chaos, but he managed to get to Nova, who was holding their daughter in her arms, both of them scared.

[Nova]-Leo, we have to go! It's not safe here anymore!

[Leo]-Nova--

[Nova]- --We have to go, Leo! Come on! Hurry!

[Leo]-Nova--

[Nova]- --Please, Leo! We have t--

[Leo]- --I'm not coming with you, Nova!

With these words, the woman's face almost turns into sorrow, ready to cry out of fear caused by the situation, but also fear caused by his words.

[Nova]-...No, no, no! Please, Leo! We have to get onto the ship!

[Leo]-Nova, listen to me! I'm not going with you! I'm going to the machine to guarantee our species lifespan! You have to listen to me! Please! This is for our daughter!

[Nova]-No, please! Please! Leo, plea--

[Vera]- --Dad...?

And not only the woman was scared for good, but also the daughter that was listening to the conversation and was witnessing the chaos around her, causing tears to fall from her eyes. Truth to be told, he was scared too, but he didn't want to admit it. So, he looked into his daughter's eyes and tried to ensure her peace.

[Leo]-Vera! Vera, everything is going to be okay! Please don't cry! Daddy's gonna be with you! You just need to watch the night sky and find his star! You can do that for him, right?

[Vera]-*sob* M-Mhm...

[Leo]-Don't cry, don't cry...

He then kissed her on her forehead, then he kissed Nova on the lips very shortly, before backing off quickly and doing a final command.

[Leo]-...Friend, please take care of them both.

[Nova]-Leo, please!

[Machine]-THE COMMAND HAS BEEN REGISTERED. Understood, Leo! Nova, please come with me!

[Nova]-Leo!!

And with that command... the machine has taken the woman by the hand and started leading them both towards the spaceship, while Leo was watching them fade into the chaos, hearing his daughter's voice for the last time...

[Vera]-...Daddy!!!

...before starting running towards his initial destination without looking back.

"...I have left them my only living memory of Earth to protect them, knowing how it has been by my side from the very beginning, while I have started to run and save what I had in mind, hoping that at least they will survive.

What I've wanted to save exactly though was a machine that was created by my kind after the first Phoenix attack, caused to appear by our inability to reproduce. However, this was no machine that I have knew how it worked. This machine was special, a mystery to me and to many more of my kind about how it functioned and how it managed to be created. A machine that... could create souls.

A few months after the attack, my kind wished to find a solution to our new inability and try to create it. Yet no matter how many studies have been done to make a machine that could actually create a living soul, we still couldn't invent such thing. However, our luck was by our side the moment we've stepped foot onto this planet, and that was the people with mutations of the brain. They were our only chances to create such a fictional machine, even if we still thought of it to be impossible.

So, groups of those people have gathered together, coming with numbers as 12 or 14, but whenever they saw that they cannot succeed with such low numbers, they were bringing even more people. This has been on for days, until it got to around a thousand people contributing to this misery and trying to get such a machine to function. And when it get to that number, all of those from the thousand came together and combined their powers, in order for them to be stronger. Unfortunately, being such a pain of a device to create, those whom struggled the most have either fainted from exhaustion... or even died. They've succeeded in the end, but for their success that day, four hundred people have lost their lives in order to give their full power to the machine that creates souls. Our only hope of rebirthing our kind.

That's why I didn't want to let it be destroyed from the strange storm, as it was the only chance of my daughter to not suffer from a world in which only a few would remain, even if it meant for me to give my life in the process. I've rushed towards the small building in which it was present in hope that I will be able to take it with me in time onto the ship, though I had very few minutes left until the disaster would come into our city and destroy everything. Even so, I have hoped. I have hoped for the best."

So he does. He goes towards the machine, where he finds it unguarded since everyone already left towards the ship, rushing next to it and trying to take it into his hands. Problem is that, the machine is huge, and heavy as a consequence. After all, this machine does create a human body in the form of a baby in which it inserts a soul, so it would be no doubt why it was created this way.

Even so, there was no coming back now. He tried a few times to take the machine, but it wasn't even moving. Then, he tried looking around to see if he can find something that might help out with protecting it, yet still in vain. But when it was for him to go back next to the machine, the wind already came, destroying the building in which he was entirely and throwing him into the machine itself so heavily, making him unable to move properly.

He was still awake though, struggling to even open his eyes because of the wind. But when he looked back at the machine, behind it he could see the spaceship also struggling to launch into space, which horrified him for sure. He stared at it as if he saw Death Itself, even started screaming...

[Leo]-...FLY! FLY, DAMN YOU! FLY!!

...before an object came flying towards him from behind that was carried by the wind, hitting him severely and causing him to lose consciousness in just a few seconds.

"...But no matter how much I've hoped for God to forgive our sins, fate struck us down. I have fallen unconscious after begging Him to save my family, while a warm feeling was moving around my body. Feeling that I was able to feel even if my brain shut down."