The explosion swallowed everything.
Light.
Sound.
Air.
For one terrifying moment, Aarav felt nothing but violent force tearing through the underground vault.
Steel screamed.
Concrete shattered.
Heat rushed past him like a living beast.
Then—
darkness.
Silence.
Dust.
Aarav coughed violently as consciousness returned.
His ears rang.
His entire body ached.
For several seconds, he could only stare upward at the cracked ceiling above him, barely visible through the smoke.
Chunks of broken concrete surrounded him.
The underground chamber was gone.
Reduced to ruins.
"Aarav!"
A familiar voice.
Rohan.
Alive.
Good.
Aarav forced himself up, brushing dust and blood from his arm.
"I'm here!"
A figure pushed through the smoke and debris.
Rohan looked terrible.
Covered in dust, hair a complete disaster, shirt half-torn.
Basically normal.
The moment he saw Aarav standing, he let out a breath.
"Bro, if we survive this, I'm charging you therapy fees."
Aarav gave a weak laugh.
"Fair."
Then his expression changed.
"Aelina, Mira."
As if summoned by worry itself, blue light appeared through the dust.
Aelina stepped forward, helping someone beside her.
Mira.
Both were alive.
Both looked exhausted.
Aelina's shoulder had reopened, blood staining the white fabric again.
Mira's dark suit was torn near her side, and several nanoshards floated weakly around her like wounded stars.
Still, they stood.
Still dangerous.
Still beautiful.
Aarav didn't realise how relieved he felt until he exhaled.
"You're okay."
Mira folded her arms immediately.
"Obviously."
Aelina smiled faintly.
"She was more worried than she appears."
Mira shot her a deadly glare.
"Silence."
Rohan looked between them and whispered to Aarav,
"Oh, this is getting interesting."
Aarav ignored him for the sake of survival.
The chamber around them groaned.
This place will collapse completely soon.
Aelina activated a damaged holographic panel.
The projection flickered weakly.
A world map appeared.
A single red signal pulsed over Europe.
Germany.
Berlin.
THIRD UNIT: SELENE-1000
AWAKENING STATUS: CRITICAL
Mira's expression lost all traces of humour.
"We're late."
Aarav looked at the red signal.
"This Selene… who is she really?"
Silence followed.
Even Mira hesitated.
That alone told him enough.
Finally, Aelina answered.
"She comes from the year 3026."
Her voice was quieter than usual.
"A timeline after the Collapse Wars."
Rohan frowned.
"That sounds bad."
Mira answered coldly.
"It was hell."
Her violet eyes remained on the map.
"Entire continents burnt. Cities became graveyards. Humanity survived by becoming weapons."
A chill ran down Aarav's spine.
"And Selene?"
Mira's voice lowered.
"She was built for war."
The hologram shifted.
A new image appeared.
A ruined battlefield.
Ash-covered skies.
Broken cities.
Fire.
And standing in the centre—
a woman.
White-gold hair flowing behind her.
Golden eyes burning like sunlight through smoke.
Black combat armour lined with glowing silver and crimson battle markings.
She looked less like a person and more like a walking legend.
A queen born from destruction.
Aarav stared.
"She looks…"
Mira finished for him.
"Terrifying."
Aelina nodded.
"She is the strongest combat unit among us."
Rohan blinked.
"Stronger than Miss Violet Murder Princess here?"
Mira looked at him.
"…I almost respect that nickname."
Then her expression darkened.
"Selene does not trust easily."
Aelina added softly,
"She was betrayed by her own commanders in her timeline."
Aarav frowned.
"So when she wakes up…"
"She will attack first," Mira said.
"And ask questions never."
Perfect.
Absolutely perfect.
Before Aarav could respond, the damaged panel flashed red.
A priority transmission forced itself onto the screen.
Static.
Then a live feed.
Berlin.
Rain.
Ruined underground containment vault.
Emergency sirens.
Broken glass.
And there she was.
Selene.
Already awake.
Standing barefoot on shattered steel.
Golden eyes glowing in the darkness.
Her expression carried no confusion.
Only cold awareness.
As if she had expected war the moment she opened her eyes.
Around her—
at least twelve Hunter units.
Surrounding her.
Weapons raised.
The lead Hunter spoke.
"Unit SELENE-1000.
Surrender immediately."
Selene slowly tilted her head.
She looked almost disappointed.
Then she smiled.
A dangerous smile.
The kind soldiers feared.
Her voice came through the feed.
Low.
Calm.
Deadly.
"You brought only twelve?"
Even Mira muttered softly,
"…Oh, they're dead."
The first hunter was fired.
Selene moved.
No hesitation.
No wasted motion.
She vanished.
Then [he/she/it] appeared behind the hunter.
One strike.
The machine split in half.
The others attacked together.
She welcomed them.
Golden light exploded across the screen.
Every movement was brutal perfection.
No elegance like Mira.
No precision like Aelina.
Only overwhelming force.
Pure war.
Rohan stared in horror.
"…She needs therapy more than me."
Aarav couldn't disagree.
Then, in the middle of battle—
Selene stopped.
Her head turned sharply.
Not toward the Hunters.
Toward the screen.
Toward him.
Her golden eyes locked onto Aarav.
Even through a broken transmission, the intensity hit like a physical force.
She whispered only one sentence.
"So… the Origin is finally awake."
The feed cut to black.
Silence.
Aarav stood there, staring at the dead screen.
Three girls.
Three centuries.
And all of them looked at him like he was the centre of the future.
Mira crossed her arms.
"We leave for Europe immediately."
Aelina nodded.
"There is no more time."
Rohan sighed dramatically.
"I miss normal homework."
Aarav looked at the red pulse over Berlin.
Then, at the two girls beside him.
Then at war, waiting ahead.
Tokyo was over.
Europe was next.
And the War Queen had already entered the battlefield.