The soft hum of city life outside the window was broken by a loud knock and a familiar voice.
"Kai! Wake up! You're late again, you idiot!"
Kai Karuizawa groaned, tangled in bedsheets and dreams, his mind still floating between stars and equations. His apartment was modest—one bedroom, bookshelves filled with astronomical texts, and a window that framed the skyline of Terra, the technological capital of Earth's last modern nation. He lived alone, surrounded by memories, driven by purpose.
The voice belonged to Viola, his sharp-witted childhood friend and the team's communications officer.
"Don't tell me you forgot what day it is!" she said, throwing the door open.
Kai bolted upright. "Today's the launch...!"
He leapt from bed, brushing his teeth, throwing on his suit, and racing to the door where Viola stood with arms crossed and an impatient foot tapping.
Together, they sped toward the Terra Space Center in Tokyo—the capital and heart of technological innovation. Towering glass spires reached for the heavens as cars zipped across magnetic lanes overhead. The streets buzzed with anticipation: today was the launch of TERRA-A23, the first manned vessel meant to pierce the Septerra Veil.
Inside the command chamber, their team gathered.
Captain Shinsui, a former exploration captain and leader of their unit, stood tall before a press conference. His silver streaked hair and calm demeanor silenced the room.
"Project Septerra," he began, "is the culmination of decades of work. We've long suspected Earth isn't whole—that it shattered into seven parts, each isolated in dimensional rifts. Today, we prove that connection is possible. Today, humanity reaches for unity."
Applause erupted.
As the team prepared, Judal, Kai's best friend, nudged him.
"Nervous?"
Kai smiled faintly. "Of course. We've all worked too hard to let this fail now."
Judal nodded and walked away to help suit up Shinsui.
Viola approached, her voice soft. "Good luck. Shinsui picked you to give the parting speech."
Before Kai could respond, Esper, the genius engineer, interrupted with a laugh. "Don't get him too nervous now."
Shinsui smirked. "You'll do fine, Kai. Speak from the heart."
Kai took a deep breath. He felt the weight of history pressing on his chest. But memories of countless training sessions, sleepless nights, and dream-fueled conversations steadied him.
He stepped onto the podium.
"For centuries, we believed Earth was singular, whole. But what if we've only been living in a fragment of what once was? Today, we become the bridge between the lost and the forgotten. We don't just explore—we remember. And we rebuild. For Terra. For unity."
Moments later, TERRA-A23 launched, its engines blazing into the heavens.
It passed beyond the atmosphere of Terra—one of the broken fragments of Earth—and reached into the silence of space.
One. Two. Three.
Calamity struck.
A violent tremor shook the ship. Red lights flared. Systems screamed as the craft overheated.
"We're losing control!" Esper shouted.
"What's happening?!" Viola cried.
Shinsui tried to stabilize the vessel. "All systems failing! We're being pulled—!"
"Contact control! Call Tokyo!"
No signal. No guidance.
The spacecraft spiraled, flames licking the hull.
Impact.
Darkness.
Kai awoke to the scent of smoke and scorched metal. His ears rang.
He stumbled out of the wreckage, breath shallow, vision blurred.
Trees. Mist. Gothic towers in the distance. A cold wind blew through the strange, Victorian landscape.
This was not Terra.
This was Vandorra—another fragment of Earth, trapped in a time of nobility, steam, and shadow.
Kai turned around… and his heart shattered.
The bodies of his crew—Shinsui, Viola, Esper—lay broken amidst the wreckage.
His breath caught. He fell to his knees.
"No… No, no, no…"
The silence was crushing.
Unseen from the shadows, Judal stood, untouched. His eyes were cold.
"The mission is complete. The strong have crossed. The Empire will be pleased."
Judal turned and vanished into the fog, leaving Kai alone… on a world where nothing was as it seemed, and everything he knew was gone.
End of Chapter One