Two hours later, after two consecutive jumps, my adrenaline finally started to subside. I collapsed into the pilot's seat, utterly exhausted, my body drenched in sweat as though I'd been fished out of water. I didn't even have the strength to lift a finger.
The silence inside the ship was terrifying. Only the faint hum of the thrusters and my own breathing broke the stillness. Outside the ship, the starry sky looked like a frozen painting, its dazzling colors filling the entire viewport like a magnificent oil painting.
If I weren't fleeing for my life, I would have loved to capture the stunning view and post it to my social feed—though I had no social media left to share with. Not to mention I couldn't even remember who I was when all this death-rebirth cycle began or how many lives I had lived by now.
During the brief intervals between jumps, I had crammed in a crash course on the basics of operating the ship and some essential technical knowledge with Titania's help. Since my rebirth, I had noticed my memory and comprehension had drastically improved. Once Titania explained something to me, I could grasp it instantly and remember it fully.
In just a few hours, I had managed to read most of the flight manual and even performed few passable maneuvers during the jump intervals.
What Kara didn't know was that, if not for the modifications made to the aircraft—placing it at the pinnacle of fighter jets in the Marvelverse at this point in time—she wouldn't have survived the concentrated fire from the Kree fighters.
All in all, it was the combination of Kryptonian tech, the futuristic technology provided by Tinania, the fighter's powerful new faster-than-light engines, its highly durable energy shield, and the Kree pilots' overconfidence that had enabled her miraculous escape.
Now, in a state of exhaustion, I was listening to Tinania's lecture on the state of affairs in this universe. Despite my weariness, I struggled to absorb the flood of information, much of it overwhelming in its cosmic scale.
"The Milky Way, Andromeda Galaxy, and the Magellanic Clouds are all members of the Local Supercluster. Since the Milky Way lies at the center of the supercluster, it is often referred to as the Milky Way galaxy cluster.
Among the 54 large and small galaxies in the Local Supercluster, the distance between the Milky Way and Andromeda Galaxy is over 2 million light-years, while the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds are only 200,000 light-years away.
The Kree Empire, which originated in the Magellanic Cloud, holds a vast territory, with its influence spanning almost the entirety of both the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds.
The Kree are extremely nationalistic and oppressive, and they are notorious in the universe for being extremely aggressive.
If it weren't for the cosmic wall that the vast expanse of empty space between the Magellanic Cloud and the Milky Way created and the lack of a stable wormhole that would allow the Grand Fleet to travel without risking their lives, the Kree would have already made contact with the Milky Way.
Even though there are two million light-years separating the Andromeda Galaxy from the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds, there are a significant number of stable wormholes that allow for travel across this distance.
As a result, the warlike Kree Empire started to focus on the Andromeda galaxy, which is easier to reach, after driving the Skrulls to a remote area of the universe. The first to bear the brunt were the Nova Empire and the Nova Corps, sandwiched between the Shi'ar Empire and the Kree Empire.
The predecessor of the Nova Corps was a loose, ethnically diverse peace organization composed of many space explorers, originally formed to protect these peaceful pioneers of prospectors. Later, after a long period of time, the power of the Nova Corps continued to expand, and it has become a military organization that protects the universe from evil forces.
The headquarters of the Nova Corps are set up on Xandar in the Andromeda galaxy, an exceptionally beautiful and rich blue planet. Thousands of planets attached to the wings of the Nova Corps formed the Nova Empire.
There are also quite a few transition routes between the Andromeda Galaxy and the Milky Way. The largest force in the Milky Way is the Shi'ar Empire. Fortunately, the Shia'ar Empire is not very aggressive. They prefer to absorb the essence of various civilizations to improve their own.
The millennium-long war between the Kree Empire and the Skrulls has allowed the originally weak Shi'ar Empire to slowly develop, gradually surpassing the Kree Empire and becoming the number one power in this super-galaxy cluster. The Shi'ar Empire has been secretly supporting the war between the Skrulls and the Kree. Now that the Skrulls are steadily retreating and have essentially withdrawn from the Galactic Hegemony, the Shi'ar Empire has turned to support the Nova Empire.
The Kree Empire is well aware of the actions of the Shi'ar Empire, but there is a powerful Nova Empire in the middle..."
"Let me finish that for you," I interjected. "So there's nothing the Kree Empire can do about it. At least until today, that is."
"Yeah," Titania muttered.
"You would think that such advanced races, who have existed for God knows how long, would still be engaging in war! The universe is so vast, and they still have to fight back and forth. Are they out of their minds?" Titania rolled her eyes.
"Seems illogical to an entity like you, right?" I said with a smirk, glancing at the fairy, who nodded in agreement. "Well," I continued, "war often leads to technological advancement. The constant need to find more efficient ways to kill each other pushes our technology forward and ultimately improves our quality of life. You could say it's always been the survival of the fittest—modern evolution.
War just is the universal language of the universe. Why would that be any different on Earth or in the universe?"
As Kara just stated simply, it's not far-fetched to think that wars will not stop until the end of time. But when the cost is mutual self-destruction and the inhumane death toll of the innocent, she would step in. So her previous solution had been to crush all opponents. Give them one collective enemy, and they would put aside their differences and unite.
"So you are saying that wars are a necessary evil?" asked Titania, surprised.
"I'm pretty sure that if there weren't any conflicts, battles, or wars, we'd still be living in the Stone Age, contentedly gathering and hunting. In my opinion, there shouldn't be a problem with that, but realistically speaking, it's just a pipe dream. A conflict between groups of cavemen would start when some of them began competing for better hunting grounds or more favorable areas to gather food. Then a slightly more intelligent caveman might come up with a better spear, or a more deadly knife, or accidentally discover a poisonous plant, leading to one group's victory over the other. Over time, civil war would erupt as the group grows too large, and well, the cycle repeats indefinitely," I commented with a shrug.
"Well, if memory serves, the Battle of Xandar took place in 2014, somewhere in August? But where were the Guardians of the Galaxy?" I asked, wanting to change the topic. "This leads me to believe that this isn't the MCU version of the storyline."
"Sorry," Titania mumbled dejectedly. "With the myriad of parallel universes out there, it's impossible for me to pinpoint which Marvel universe we're in with such limited data. Not to mention that reality might differ from the media. It's not uncommon to come across new realities because of your existence, for example."
"It doesn't matter much, does it?" I sighed. I was getting used to this rodeo. "All I need to do is survive long enough, maybe discover more about who I am and why I can't stay dead, and along the way, save some universe while I'm at it. Maybe I'll even figure out what the point of all this is."
It wasn't that she wanted to give up on life, but for as long as she could remember, she had this urge to get stronger, to fight, restore justice, and eradicate evil however she saw fit. But to what end? She didn't know. This had been her dilemma for the longest time.
"I'm sorry," Titania said, settling on my right shoulder as she stopped fluttering. "I was created and programmed to serve as a companion during your travels by a future version of you. I can only suspect that future you wanted her past self to be stronger; the reason eludes me."
"Don't worry about it. I appreciate you the way you are. You've been more than helpful to me during the last couple of decades together. I sure as hell would have been lost without you," Kara said, giving Titania a gentle tap on the nose with her index finger.
"Thanks," the little fairy said gleefully.
"While we're on the topic, I'm curious about what I've lost after my rebirth," I said. I knew I still had telekinesis—I'd discovered that the same way children discovered they were magical in Harry Potter, accidentally—but that was about it when it came to abilities for the unawakened me back then.
No sooner had I given the simple command, "Stat," than a translucent blue panel appeared in my field of vision, visible only to me and Titania. This thing didn't do much—it only kept track of my abilities, skills, and items, but I couldn't deny it was handy.
Name: Kara Zor-El
Title: Nemesis, The Returner
Gender: Female
Race: Kryptonian
Sub Races: Dragon, Nine-Tailed Fox
- Draconification and Demi Nine-Tailed Fox transformation
Kryptonian Physiology: Solar Energy Absorption
Abilities: (N/A)
Magic Circuits: Illyasviel von Einzbern
First Origin: Realizer
Reality Marble: World of Manifestation (Partial)- Energy Conversion
- Virtual Substance: Transform nothingness into matter
- Projection Magecraft
- Alteration
- Reinforcement
Second Origin: All Elements
Reality Marble: World of Primeval Chaos (Partial)
Class I: Magus/Sorcerer
- Elemental Magic
Elementalist: Control seven elements: Water, Fire, Earth, Wind, Lightning, Light, Dark, Creation (N/A), Destruction (N/A)
Elemental Tide: Attracts Elemental Energy
Elemental Fusion: Fuse 2 (or more)
Elemental Devouring (Black Hole): Elemental Energy Absorption
- Soul Magic
Souls Synchronization
Avada Kedavra
Crucio
Imperio
- Rune Magic/Magecraft
Class II: Esper
- Telekinesis
- Psychokinesis
Class III: Spirit (Magic/Reiryoku)
- Spacequake
- City of Devouring Time
- Astral Dress (Flight)
- Shadow Manipulation
- Time Manipulation
- Space Manipulation
Items
- Balor's Mystic Eyes of Death Perception
- Gáe Bulg
- etc
...
"Just as I expected," I muttered, testing the energy flow through my body. "My previous abilities have merged or adapted to this new form." By now, I was used to these changes, but it still felt strange every time. "I can convert energy to Reiryoku, but it's pretty useless without an angel."
"And what about your skills from when you were Naruko?" Titania's voice was laced with curiosity, as always.
"Converting energy to chakra is pointless without chakra pathways." I sighed. "It's the experience that carried over. I'm sure my understanding of nature change helped me unlock my 'All Elements' origin in the Nasuverse. It gave me limitless insight. I can already mimic plenty of ninjutsu using magecraft, and my Taijutsu and Kinjutsu experience transferred over too."
"So... did you go on another rampage?" Titania's eyes glimmered as she leaned in closer. "What happened in the Nasuverse? Don't tell me you went on a rampage forcing Alaya and Gaia to go after you!"
"Stop being such an ass, Titania. I told you, I've changed." I rolled my eyes, even though a part of me enjoyed her teasing, "Besides I am pretty sure that Gaia wouldn't give a shit!"
"Uh-huh. Forgive me for not buying that," she replied, the smirk in her voice barely hidden. "Come on, are you going to tell me what really happened?"
"Fine, but you better give me answers afterward." I glared at her, though she didn't seem fazed. Typical Titania.
She tilted her head, adopting that annoyingly cute, quizzical pose. But I ignored her and continued, "After I gave that bastard a solid beating, he managed to trap me with the Chains of Heaven. You know what that means, right?"
"Huh... Chains of Heaven?" she paused for a second, her eyes widening as realization hit. "Wait, you mean... Enkidu worked on you?! Mistress, I swear, I don't know how that's even possible!"
"Hmph. I'll believe you—for now," I said, narrowing my eyes at her. "But it's another mystery to solve like that Nemesis title, and I don't like unsolved mysteries, but the longer I live the lengthier the list."
We went back and forth a bit more, discussing how I'd been using abilities that should've required Reiryoku or chakra. I glanced at the ship's control panel, refocusing my attention. "Navi, how long until the next jump?" I asked, mentally preparing myself for what was to come.
"Miss, the next jump point is in seven hours and fifty-five minutes," Navi's voice echoed through the cabin.
"Why is this interval so much longer?" I asked, narrowing my eyes at the delay.
"The system detected a temporal distortion field forming around the nearby Kree-Xandarian Wormhole. As a result, we must divert to jump point Xandar-Prime, located on the edge of the Nova Empire's jurisdiction."
"What's causing the distortion field?" I asked, my mind racing to figure out the cause.
"A supernova recently occurred within a three-light-year radius of the jump point along our direct route," Titania chimed in also looking at the situation through her direct link with Navi.
"A detour, then," I muttered, leaning forward to study the galaxy map, the revised route glowing softly on the AI's display. "It's like the universe—or two—is conspiring to keep me from getting to Earth." I chuckled, though it came out darker than I intended.
On the surface, I kept my expression neutral, but inside, I was a mess. My body, only thirteen years old, was fighting against the fatigue. Exhaustion was setting in, creeping into my bones and making it harder to ignore. The memories were finally resettling in the right order, and with them came the creeping horror of everything I'd just been through. No amount of experience can help you cope with losing your parents, let alone your whole planet.
Mind over body, my ass I thought, sarcastically. Whoever came up with that clearly hadn't experienced this disconnect—and experienced a mature mind trapped in a hormonal young body. Not to mention the memories that keep with it, it's hard, to not just let go and be a child.
I sighed, rubbing my temples as Titania's soft voice cut through my thoughts.
"Mistress, my sensors indicate extreme fatigue. I recommend immediate rest."
I clenched my teeth, but she was right. "Fine. Activate autopilot and wake me five minutes before the next jump." My voice came out more strained than I intended, the weight of my exhaustion finally pulling at me.
"Autopilot engaged," Navi confirmed.
I unbuckled my harness, each movement heavier than the last, and staggered toward the ship's rear. "Extension charm... best invention ever," I muttered, grateful for the extra space, though even that seemed to mock me in my current state.
"As you command, Mistress," Titania's voice trailed off, and I could feel her watching me, and was happy to have her by my side again watching over me after 19 years.