Tap, tap, tap.
In the bone-chilling winter, a towering spire stood alone.
The one who named this tower was an unbeliever, so he called it:
Babylon.
This tower was, in truth, a research institute. Outside stretched endless, barren snowfields, and in the blizzard, not a single human figure could be seen.
But at that moment, a girl appeared on the outer balcony, her footsteps lost in the howling storm.
Her purple hair cascaded to her heels, and her golden eyes gazed into the endless blizzard.
The girl wore a white tank top, with bandages wrapped around her hands and lower legs. Despite the bitter cold, her clothing remained thin and inadequate.
Ahchoo! The girl sneezed adorably, rubbing her nose.
"It's a little cold, huh?" she remarked, stretching lazily. She glanced around one last time, as if trying to etch this breathtaking scene into her memory.
She had to return to the institute. If she stayed out too long, she'd be discovered.
She couldn't come and go as she pleased.
Because she was an experimental subject at Babylon Labs.
Her name was—
Sirin.
She could venture outside the institute because she possessed a special ability, a divine Authority granted to her by the gods.
Yet even with this Authority, Sirin hadn't left the institute. For within its walls lay something she coveted.
She turned, ready to return to her room.
But then she suddenly looked up at the dimming sky.
Something was falling from the sky, moving so fast that Sirin couldn't make out what it was.
But it's going to hit right here!
Sirin watched the object hurtling toward her, frozen in place. Though she possessed extraordinary powers, at her core, she was still just an ordinary girl.
She wasn't a warrior, but a girl, so she instinctively closed her eyes instead of teleporting away immediately.
As if closing her eyes would make her invincible.
But after a few moments with her eyes shut, she still hadn't been crushed. Even Sirin, with her current abilities, would be crippled or killed by something falling from that height.
She cautiously opened her eyes, only to see a night sky.
It's afternoon. Why am I seeing the night sky?
Her body stiffened as she realized the sky was writhing.
No, this isn't the sky. Sirin finally understood: the "sky" before her was a palm, resembling the night sky.
Massive fingers were embedded in the ground, and Sirin found herself trapped in the hollow of the palm.
The palm began to shrink, and something fell, landing on Sirin.
Sirin was pinned to the ground, her back pressed against the icy earth. She saw a face.
So beautiful.
Is it a girl? No, it's a boy.
The naked blonde man on top of Sirin had lines on his face that resembled the night sky.
Dark yet captivating.
But Sirin hated him. She hated all adults because they were all selfish.
Sirin pushed herself up with her hands, the blonde man still asleep, his eyes closed, his weight pressing down on her.
Humans, don't just lie on top of me!
Then Sirin suddenly realized: Could this be the thing that fell from the sky?
She could feel the man's breaths. He was still alive. But could anyone really survive falling from the sky?
Could he also have been given power by the gods?
Or is he a god himself?
A god who fell from the sky.
Sirin shoved the blonde man off her, his weight making it hard for her to breathe. As she stared at the man on the ground, her gaze inevitably drifted to a certain area.
She instinctively covered her left forearm with her right hand.
Forearm?!
Sirin's face turned bright red, her mouth hanging open. The sight of the man's... things—one on the right side of his left leg, one on the left side of his right leg—shocked her deeply. She had never seen anything like this before.
This is completely different from what girls have!
Are boys really this... extreme?!
She covered her eyes with her right hand, but her curious gaze still peeked through the gaps between her fingers.
Ugh!
The sight was too shocking. She kept her eyes covered and squirmed.
After a long moment, she finally lowered her hands, her face flushed with shame.
Forcing herself not to look at that strange area again, she examined the rest of the man's body. Sirin noticed strange patterns on his skin.
They were beautiful, jet-black patterns like the night sky.
For some reason, staring at these patterns made her heart race, as if this man might devour her whole.
As if he was her superior, leaving her no choice but to kneel at his feet.
Could he really be a god?
The absurd thought crossed Sirin's mind as she gazed at his face. If he was a god, he was certainly a very handsome one.
Judging by appearance alone, he looked no older than seventeen or eighteen.
Sirin's gaze moved from the man's face to his left hand.
Apart from the patterns on his skin, the blonde man looked human. But his left hand was a translucent dark color, like the quantum-attribute monsters.
Sirin crouched down and carefully poked the man's left hand with a finger.
It was soft, like jelly.
Poke, poke, poke.
Sirin poked it several times, then boldly pinched it between her thumb and forefinger.
Bouncy, bouncy! So much fun!
Suddenly, the hand transformed into several tentacles and wrapped around Sirin's hand.
The sudden change startled Sirin, making her fall back onto her butt. She was already wearing thin clothes, so her rear made an intimate contact with the cold ground.
Sirin grimaced, whether from the cold or the fall, who could say.
But the man's left hand suddenly changed back into a palm, as if nothing had happened.
Sirin shuffled her small bottom across the icy ground, eyeing the blonde man warily. He had genuinely frightened her earlier.
But his eyes remained tightly shut, showing no signs of waking.
Sirin rubbed her hips. Her frame was slender, with little flesh on her hips.
After a moment, she cautiously approached the blonde man again, keeping a safe distance from his left hand, afraid it might turn into tentacles and scare her again.
This time, she glanced around. There was no one nearby, not even a camera.
Her face flushed slightly, but her eyes widened with curiosity as she reached out and gripped the strange object.
She pinched it, squeezed it, and rubbed it. This was her first time seeing something so bizarre, and since no one was around...
As she thought this, she suddenly noticed a pair of emerald-green eyes.
Otto opened his eyes, staring at the scene before him in shock and disbelief.
He had been caught in a compromising position.
Otto: ???