Chapter Text
“Now remember, choose the path you wish to invoke, and the Simulated Universe will grant you perks around that path. Choose wisely. Or don’t. Your choice.” Herta’s voice was all too familiar now to the trailblazer, a walking stellaron stuck inside a body. It had been about 4 months now since Stelle remembered waking up on Herta Space station, with little memory of what was behind her, and yet she was no closer to really figuring out anything about who, or even what she was.
After her first night waking up, when she fought against the Doomsday Beast, she remembered a face, so vividly. It was like a dream, but she could recall it whenever she wanted, and part of her wondered if it was a dream or not. Was it something to do with the stellaron inside her? It was practically impossible to get the answers she was looking for, after all, who was there to ask? Herta was the closest choice, being the genius she was. But still, her lack of empathy towards other creatures in general often infuriated Stelle to no end.
But again, here she was subjecting herself to another one of Herta’s Simulated Universe experiments. It felt at this point that Herta was less using the machine to get answers on Stella’s condition and more using Stella to power the machine and her other experiments. Specifically ones around the Aeons. “If you have your selected allies, hurry up and begin.” Herta’s voice rang through the virtual space, like an imaginary intercom placed in Stella’s head. The last thing she wanted was that arrogant little brat echoing in her head..
Upon loading into the world, she recognized some of the structures matching that of Belobog’s underground areas, near the mines. She could even smell the slight smoke and dust from mining equipment working nearby, even if simulated. Despite her distaste in the genius, Stelle had to admit, her work was detailed.
Up ahead was a strange creature, revealing itself as a simulated creature of the Antimatter Legion. Stelle knew what to do. So, with her virtual chosen allies, she went into battle. The creature and its allies didn’t stand a chance, Stelle emerging from the battle with a confident smirk. But just before she could turn to see where to go next, she felt a sharp splitting pain in her head, and a vertigo that felt like she was being ripped from the ground. Colors zoomed by her vision in a blur, making her almost nauseous from the intensity. Until finally, her body slowed to a free float, and her eyes finally focused on the form before her. Her eyes widened, dread filling her body. No.. It couldn’t be..
Before her was the floating figure of a man, sand colored skin, white hair, and liquid gold seeming to seep from the air around him. His chest held open what looked like a deep wound, but he did not seem bothered by it, despite the burning liquid amber that dripped down his body from it. His arms were out, and Stelle could see they were not even attached to his body, yet followed his moves as if they were. And despite his posture being neutral and unthreatening, his gaze upon her was cold, intense and made her own body feel as heavy as lead. She couldn’t move, she couldn’t pull her eyes away from him.This was Nanook. Aeon of Destruction.
Not a word was said from either her or the Aeon before her. Stelle didn’t know what to feel, other than the flash of the memory the first time she met him. At least, she thought she did. She remembered his shape so clearly, from the gaze he held, to the gashing wound oozing golden blood on his chest. She couldn’t have just simply made that up. She remembered Himiko saying something about Stellarons being an object left behind by Nanook, to sew chaos and disorder throughout the paths. And she wondered if she should feel somehow grateful to him. After all, without the stellaron in her body, she wouldn’t be where she was. Still, she remained neutral, her body trembling under the intense weight of the Aeon’s gaze.
The peace was short lived when Stelle suddenly felt the air around her heat up so quickly, it made her whole head feel like it’s going to explode. Nanook’s gaze was unrelenting as Stelle screamed in agony, the pain throughout her body unbearable to the point she simply wished she could pass out. Her hands clawed at her head, then at her chest and throat. Her screams were loud, yet they felt as if they could not reach anyone, hopeless as it was. Her skin felt like it was melting off, bones crackling under some invisible fire, her chest burning and aching with each gasp for breath. No matter how much she took in gulps of air, desperate to breathe, it was never enough and her eyes grew watery with tears. This is the moment of Death, echoed a voice in her head. Yet Nanook’s lips did not move. Pain, agony and suffering flooded the trailblazer’s mind, until all she could see was white, then black.
Being ripped from the Simulated Universe, Stelle was gasping for air as she stumbled out of the portal into the Universe, her head splitting like she really had died and got ripped back to life. Dan Heng and March 7th were in the room, on the other side of Herta’s office, speaking to one another when they both heard Stelle reemerge so suddenly, not too long after just entering. They had tagged along originally for the safety of their new companion, knowing Herta was often reckless when it came to her experiments.
The first to skid over was Dan Heng, his long legs allowing him to reach Stelle faster than his pink haired counterpart. “What happened?” he asked with an arm held out as if ready to catch the girl, his voice rushed out of worry, but still held a gentle raspy tone to it that was somewhat soothing. Stelle was struggling to catch her breath, falling to her knees only for her friends to catch her and try to keep her from falling over completely. She looked like she had gotten the wind knocked out of her, her gasps for air sounding painful and desperate.
Dan Heng then sent a glare to Herta, who was typing away at the holo monitor she was standing at. "We lost her connection for a few seconds, the system was programmed to kick the user out if the link is severed for more than two seconds. But for some reason, I can't explain the disconnect-" She tried to explain, seeming a bit more rushed in her words. The gave of her test subject's companion made her uneasy, for if she broke it, she would certainly not hear the end of it from both the Astral Express or her colleagues.
“I-It’s okay, it's okay, breathe..” March tried to soothe the girl, who looked *utterly terrified*. When Stelle was finally able to breathe again, she broke down into a sob, head hung low as heavy tears rolled down her cheeks. Her arms wrapped tightly around herself, fingers gripping her shoulders as she shook like a leaf and sobbed. “N-No more.. No more of this..!!” she snapped, her voice louder than anyone in the room had heard her before. Dan Heng blinked in shock, moving to wrap an arm under hers to help her up.
“Hey, it’s okay, you’re out.” His voice was soft, reassuring her through her tears that it was okay now. March and Dan Heng shared a quizzical but worried glance, before they helped Stelle back to the Express with careful gentleness. That was enough testing for now.