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Echoes of Méter

aabianconi
21
chs / week
The average realized release rate over the past 30 days is 21 chs / week.
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Synopsis
Before the world crumbled, he watched in silence. From the heavens descended those who called themselves evolution. They made the island in the center of Mether their home and, little by little, pushed all other races down. Androids dominated, imprisoned, exploited. Kings fell. Dragons awakened. Gods abandoned their aloofness and took up arms. The war took on mythical proportions. And yet, it wasn't there that it all began. Far from the sacred islands and grand stages, on the forgotten periphery of the human kingdom of Eva, lived Sarah. A girl too ordinary to be noticed. Too strong to fit in. Sarah didn't want to save worlds. She just wanted to exist without asking permission. Between school, the friendships that kept her going, and the simple comfort of home, she grew up learning to endure stares, judgments, and silences. Until the day everything was taken from her. When the adults who should have protected her revealed their true faces. When her body and her destiny ceased to be her own. The darkness that followed didn't just come from outside. It settled within. As Sarah learned to survive in a world that treated her like an object, echoes of an ancient war stirred in her blood. Long before, when the sky tore open over Atlantis, a woman named Symphony danced against the end and crossed a portal with a single plea echoing in the void: "Survive." And Meter, the Mother who watched all, decided that silence was no longer an option. None of this was prophecy. None of this was divine choice. It was resistance. Between irreparable losses, painful memories, and enemies who ask for no forgiveness, Sarah walks through Meter, a beautiful and cruel world that reveals itself little by little, not as a heroine, but as someone who refuses to be broken. Ruthless when necessary. Human when she can't help it. Discovering that continuing to live is sometimes the most violent act that exists. Because some stories aren't about saving the world. They're about not disappearing within it. And even in the worst hells, if you sow a smile, perhaps it's still possible to reap something resembling happiness.
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Chapter 1 - Prologue

— So that's it? Is this when the future crushes us and replaces us?

From the center of the arena, Shymphony watches the blue sky tear apart.

— If they are the heralds of evolution... — the hoarse voice continues, unwavering. — ...I will make them remember that this world will resist.

Ships of various sizes pass through the portal, taking over the sky and the courage of all who witness such an abnormality.

As she casts a distant look toward Méter, all she sees is a silhouette beside the tree.

— So this is your answer?

She feels the deafening silence that has taken hold of her Mother.

— So be it, I know exactly what I am going to do!

Shymphony turns her gaze once more to the portal, while several small vessels begin to approach the ground all across Atlântis.

Before the metal even touches the ground, they fall.

Androids.

Animals and humans run in despair. Some hide, others throw themselves into the currents.

Shymphony leaves the arena, heading toward one of the ships nearby.

— Hey, wait, what are you going to do?

— Sarah, with her dagger in hand, finds her amid all that chaos.

— I don't have time to explain. But I ask you once more, dance for me!

Without fully understanding, Sarah accepts the request and runs after Shymphony once again.

As they get close to the ship, several androids stand in their way. Sarah takes the lead. Her dagger shines intensely, lightning begins to take over the area. When the first android is struck and falls stiff to the ground, the others are forced to dodge almost as if they were dancing, as they move in to engage.

One android after another, all of them there succumb. And with a centralized discharge of energy, Sarah aims upward and hits the ship, which falls powerless.

— No more! — whispers echo almost inaudibly from her mouth.

— Good work, now I need to get there! — Shymphony points her fist and her shield toward the tear in the sky.

Sarah begins to understand what needs to be done and sees the ship as her answer. After taking off, they approach the portal. Shymphony, standing atop the ship, vibrates her fist with such force that it generates an energy field, growing more intense with each second.

— It was very good to meet you, Sarah. I hope that one day you achieve your goal. How I wish I could see you dance more times. — Tears stream from Shymphony's eyes.

Sarah's gaze does not turn away from her even for an instant. Her clenched fist opens, futilely trying to grasp her.

— One more time... — Again, whispers.

— Sarah... — Shymphony begins to speak, but interrupts herself for a moment. — ...you know what needs to be done, I'm counting on you.

Only silence, physical and mental, echoes in that rising chaos. All the androids, in their ships and on the ground, watch that falling star challenge the sky. Even animals, humans and non-humans, stop their despair to observe such insolence.

Near the tear in the sky, the ship begins to break apart. When it gets close enough, Shymphony gives one last push, leaping toward the portal and making the already shattered ship change its trajectory, heading north.

— Survive!

— Survive!

 

One last mental plea echoes from both of them at the same instant, before everything collapses.