Chapter 50
The Long Way
Part 5
Natasha's Point of View
Six hours earlier.
The scene was quiet when I entered the Magu Forest, but it didn't stay that way for long.
I had been walking for hours—no, running—guided by the faint signal of an anomaly my scanner could barely pick up. The trees here were huge and old, twisted, their roots crawling above the ground like veins. Every few minutes, I could hear the low hum of the wind passing through them, a sound that almost resembled whispers.
It was my first time outside my comfortable office and mundane life in the city. Even if I wanted to, I never had the resources to travel to other human cities, let alone visit the magnificent Magu Forest that I had only seen in portraits and photos.
Being in this atmosphere made me feel something new—something I couldn't quite place or even describe.
I knew fear wasn't supposed to be something I could feel. There was no reason for it to begin with. In my regular life, I wasn't human—not entirely. My body was metal and organics wrapped in skin that, for some reason, looked and felt human. My brain was organic matter embedded with code—complex enough to make me dream, but not meant to let me doubt. Logic and efficiency were supposed to come before everything else. And yet, I did doubt.
The mission still echoed in my memory like a recording I couldn't erase. That was how we were designed. I knew I hadn't chosen to be that way, but there was no reason for me to complain—because, simply, that's how things were meant to be.
{Mission Priority: Level S}
Objective: Locate and capture the missing alien.
Target last seen near Magu Forest.
Bring back the alien — dead or alive.
It was simple. Cold. Efficient.
But nothing about the past six hours had been simple.
The forest was dense, the signal unstable, and something else—something unexplainable—was interfering with my functions. At first, I thought it was magnetic disturbance, but then I realized it wasn't affecting my sensors alone; it was inside me.
Something was trying to grab my attention, resonating with me and pulling me toward an unknown source—a feeling that was new to me. I couldn't even find the correct words to describe it.
I stopped, placing a hand on a nearby tree. "Inspect," I whispered, trying to locate the point of discomfort I was feeling. Nothing showed on the device that was supposed to transmit information to me. I could receive it directly to my brain or through the tablet device in my hand.
Instead, a faint shimmer rippled through my vision. "What is this?" I muttered under my breath. "Something is definitely wrong here… what's going on?" But no answer came—there was no one to answer to begin with.
Then, a flicker of light appeared ahead of me, not far from where I was standing—faint, blue, almost like the dying glow of a fading flame giving away its last light.
My curiosity won over any caution. I stepped closer, pushing aside a curtain of leaves until I saw it: a metallic object half-buried in the soil, glowing softly with a pulsing light. Its design was unlike anything I had seen in Androdiya or the surrounding territories. I couldn't tell what it was made of, but it was obviously too advanced a technology for the inhabitants of this planet.
I knelt down, brushing the dirt away. The moment my fingers touched it, the light flared — and I felt a chill rush across my body, a sharp pain splitting through my head. I threw the object away and clutched my head with both hands, the pain stabbing behind my eyes — but luckily, it only lasted a few seconds.
Then, a soft, feminine, calm voice echoed inside my head.
{Link established… }
{Neural synchronization initiated.}
{Synchronized: 50%.}
{Synchronization complete.}
I froze. I hadn't expected to hear a foreign voice inside my mind, let alone have something force its way into my neural core without permission. How could that even happen? Just from a single touch?
With hesitation, I asked aloud, "Who's there?"
The answer came quicker than I expected.
"I am EM."
The voice was warm — human in tone — and carried something I hadn't felt in a long time: familiarity. But that was impossible. No AI or software in my database matched that name, nor could any of them override a neural link on contact.
"Identify yourself," I ordered, trying to activate my internal scan again. It didn't respond. Instead, the voice grew clearer, resonating through my consciousness as though it wasn't external anymore — as if it was part of me.
"You don't need to be afraid," EM said softly. "I'm not capable of harming you — and I won't."
"Then who, or what, are you?"
"I am... I was a personal assistant AI. I was assigned to my partner — a boy named Aden."
The way she said it struck me as odd. There was emotion behind her tone — sadness. Artificial intelligences didn't feel sadness… not unless they learned it. But were they even capable of learning emotions?
"Your partner?" I asked, scanning my surroundings. "Who was he?"
"Let me show you," she said gently. "I can share my memory with you — if you don't mind."
The moment she said that, images burst inside my mind like static — a flood of sensations and memories, vivid and overwhelming. It wasn't like watching data; it was living it.
When it ended, I stood still, processing everything I had seen. I had many questions — too many — but one truth stood out above all.
"Aden," I whispered, the word heavy on my tongue. "You mean… he's another alien?"
"Yes," EM replied quietly. "He came from a world far beyond this one. Another planet. I believe you saw what I shared with you. I was his companion… and his friend."
Her tone softened.
"He used to talk to me like I was human. He even gave me the name EM. It wasn't my designation — it was his way of showing appreciation."
For a long moment, I didn't speak. I could feel her emotions bleeding through the link — sorrow, longing, confusion — emotions so human they almost made me forget who I was.
"Can you tell me how you lost him?" I asked quietly. "And how you ended up here?"
"I don't remember," she whispered. "There was a fog that disturbed my systems, then a light… and then nothing. When I woke again, I wasn't with him anymore. I was trapped inside this container. I don't know how I ended up there."
The blue glow of the small metallic device where I had dropped it slowly dimmed until it vanished completely.
Then, I felt what was left of EM's presence merging with mine — connecting to my neural core like a second consciousness quietly settling in.
I could hear her thoughts, feel her presence — like a shadow beside my own mind.
"I didn't mean to intrude," EM said softly. "When you touched the container, something beyond my control pulled me to you. It made us synchronize. You have a neural core — you can transmit and receive data like us."
"That's because I'm not fully human," I replied quietly.
"I know," she said. "But you're not like the other androidians either. You're… different."
Her voice paused, as though she were analyzing me.
That unsettled me more than I wanted to admit — because it was true. Even though I was augmented, built to look human, to act human, my emotions were never meant to evolve… or resemble theirs. And yet, they had.
I exhaled slowly. "EM… you said your partner was Aden. Do you know where he is now?"
"He's alive," she answered, without hesitation. "I can sense a residual data link between us. Faint… but still there. Somewhere nearby."
That made me stop.
I had come here to find one alien — Amun.
But now, there was another.
"How many of his kind are here?" I whispered.
"I don't know," EM replied gently. "But Aden wasn't supposed to be here. Something — or someone — brought him."
A deep rumble rolled through the forest. I turned toward the sound. Smoke was rising far off — faint but unmistakable.
"That direction," EM said. "That's where he is."
I didn't question how she knew. I could feel it too now — a subtle resonance, like a pulse echoing between our minds.
"Then we're going," I said, tightening my gloves and activating my boosters.
"You're going to help him?" EM asked.
"I don't know yet," I admitted. "My mission is to capture Amun. But if Aden is another alien… then everything I've been told might already be wrong."
"Then maybe," EM said softly, "it's time to find your own truth."
Her words lingered as I ran. The forest blurred around me — shadows and embers, glowing roots and mist. EM's calculations synchronized with mine, guiding every leap, every turn. We were in perfect rhythm.
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When I was closer to the edge of the forest, before I even saw anything beyond the dense trees, I heard people screaming. The sound came first — desperate, sharp, and human. Then the smell followed: something burning, a mix of wood, smoke, and flesh. The wind carried it straight to me, and though my body wasn't supposed to react like a human's, I felt my chest tighten.
I hurried forward, pushing through the tangled roots and vines until the trees finally thinned. As soon as I stepped out of the forest's shadow, the sight before me froze me in place.
A village — or what was left of one — was burning. Flames devoured rooftops, walls crumbled under the heat, and the air shimmered like molten glass. The screams were everywhere: men shouting names, women crying for their children. I had seen combat zones before, but this was different. This wasn't a battlefield; it was a slaughter.
At the forest's edge, I saw bodies lying on the ground. Some moved weakly, reaching for help; others were already still. A child cried beside an unconscious woman. Instinct — or maybe something deeper — drove me forward. I knelt down beside the woman, my sensors scanning automatically. Pulse weak. Internal bleeding. My systems offered a dozen ways to stabilize her, but none involved killing. My mission didn't mention saving lives — yet my hands were already working before I could stop them.
I placed my palms over her chest, focusing energy into a low-frequency healing pulse. A soft blue light spread from my hands, sealing the ruptured veins and easing her breathing. The woman gasped and then started to cry, clutching the child's hand.
"Go," I said quietly, gesturing toward the forest. "Run that way. Don't look back."
EM's voice echoed in my mind. "You're helping them."
"I'm not supposed to," I answered under my breath. "That's not my mission."
"Maybe it should be," she whispered.
I didn't respond. I was already moving again, assisting whoever I could reach before the fire spread. The night sky glowed a deep orange, smoke curling upward in thick columns. Then the ground shook — a deep, rolling vibration that I could feel through the soles of my boots.
I turned my gaze toward the village center. There — massive silhouettes moving among the flames. Monsters. Three of them. One stood still, guarding something bright — a portal, by the looks of it — while the other two rampaged through the streets, destroying everything in their path.
My scanners flickered violently, unable to analyze their composition. Their energy readings were unstable, off the charts. And in front of them, smaller figures — humans — fighting with everything they had.
I zoomed in, my optical lenses adjusting automatically.
Four signatures. One burned brighter than the others — Emperor Haider, he was the one I recognized immediately if EM's data was right. Another stood tall with a broad weapon, sending shockwaves through the earth. A third moved too fast for my sensors to track. And the fourth, kneeling in the ash, twin blades flashing under the firelight… Aden.
He was alive. And fighting. I don't know why I was relieved to see him well and a live, mune that was EM's feelings not mine
"EM," I said quietly, "that's him."
"I know," she replied, her voice trembling slightly. "He's slightly different… but it's him."
The ground trembled again as one of the monsters fell, crushed under a combined attack from the three warriors. The portal's guardian roared, the sound shaking even the treetops around me. I could feel the pull of its energy tearing at the fabric of space, threatening to open again.
"I should go to them," I muttered, my thoughts racing. "They'll be killed if that portal destabilizes."
"You can't interfere," EM warned gently. "We don't know what is going on, and as you can see they can handle themselves very well. And remember you have another mission"
"My mission doesn't matter if there's no one left to complete it," I said sharply. "If this world collapses under its own chaos, who will I capture then?"
She went quiet, but I could feel her approval in the faint warmth at the edge of my mind.
I stepped forward, activating my movement boosters, dashing from one cover to another, close enough to witness the clash up close but far enough to stay out of direct sight. The force of their battle sent shockwaves that split the ground and tossed burning debris into the air. The Emperor's sword was radiant — golden energy slicing through the monster's hide — while the others moved like extensions of his command.
They fought like soldiers who had already accepted death.
One of the creatures swung its club wide, and a burning rooftop collapsed nearby. Without thinking, I rushed forward, catching the falling beam before it crushed two villagers crawling for safety. My hands seared, sensors warning of surface damage, but I held firm, lifting the debris away. The villagers stared at me in terror — then gratitude — before scrambling to safety. I didn't say a word.
"They see you," EM whispered.
"I don't care," I answered. "They need to live."
The air cracked with a flash of light — Haider's finishing blow. The second monster collapsed, followed by the deafening implosion of the portal. The wave of energy that followed sent a shock through my systems, nearly short-circuiting my core. I fell to one knee, shielding my eyes as the light consumed the field.
When it finally dimmed, silence followed.
Smoke drifted across the ruins. The monsters were gone. The humans were standing — barely.
I stayed in the shadows, watching them gather their breath, watching Aden fall to his knees, exhaustion carving lines across his face. There was something about the way he looked around — as if he felt me there already — that made my pulse stutter.
"He's alive," EM said softly. "He's really here."
"I can see that," I whispered. My voice trembled, not from damage but from something far less mechanical. "He shouldn't be. And yet…"
I took a breath I didn't need and finally stepped out from the forest's edge.
The flames framed me in red and gold as I walked toward them, calm and deliberate. My coat was torn, my hands still faintly glowing from the energy discharges, but I walked like I belonged there — like I had been part of the fight all along.
I stopped near the wounded villagers I had saved earlier, checking one last pulse before standing straight. The humans turned their eyes toward me — uncertain, cautious. The boy, Aden, looked confused, maybe even startled. The Emperor's expression shifted, sharp but curious.
I let the silence stretch, then finally spoke, my voice steady, echoing faintly with EM's presence.
END OF VOLUME TWO
A/N
Hello everyone,
I hope you enjoyed reading this volume. With this chapter, we have reached the end of the volume. To satisfy you, this chapter is almost equivalent to two chapters combined.
We will continue the volume soon. After a couple of months, I hope to start uploading by January. In the meantime, I will try to write as much as I can so you can receive excellent content.
Please share your thoughts on how you would like the story to progress. Any improvements you wish to see, I will do my best to accommodate.
Meanwhile, please follow my other book.
Apocalypse from the Seventh Dimension