—April 28, 2070
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—3 minutes before 90% of the human population on Earth is wiped out.
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—International Space Station (ISS)
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—SARAH—
Sarah walked out through the thick airlock door of the Space Station.
Floating in space, from here, behind her astronaut helmet, she could see thousands of stars that, as a child, she could only observe through her home telescope on Earth.
Not just stars…
The surface of planet Earth was also displayed before her, though not in its entirety.
She could see Asia, America, along with the vast Pacific Ocean… its islands, including Indonesia, and the massive continent of Australia. Her home, England, located in Europe, was far away from here.
"Report the situation outside, Sarah."
The radio commander's voice echoed in her ear.
While tethered securely to prevent her from drifting away from the station into space, she tried to inspect the satellite.
Moments ago, an unidentified material had struck their spacecraft…
"The Commander's suspicions are correct. I see a large hole in the communication antenna panel, the structural frame is bent. This looks like a high-energy projectile impact."
Sarah furrowed her brows as shards of the antenna floated past her body.
She examined the hole closely, which was about two meters or more in diameter on the communication antenna panel.
"Focus on repairing the structure and install the backup mini antenna as soon as possible."
"Understood."
Sarah quickly floated towards the damaged area and began working swiftly to repair it.
What had just attacked the station? she wondered in her mind.
A few minutes ago, the station's emergency alarm blared loudly.
A jolt shook everyone awake on the station.
It felt like an earthquake had struck, even though they were in space.
Looking at this damage, she could only think of a projectile—something so fast and powerful that it left such a massive hole.
Usually, only micro-meteorites had the potential to damage the station.
But micro-meteorites wouldn't cause such severe damage or intense shaking like what had happened minutes ago.
"You humans know that only photons can travel at the speed of light, right?"
"Huh?!"
Sarah immediately turned her body around.
A small girl, seemingly in her early teens, was smiling at her.
She looked breathtaking, standing there with the galaxy's vast sky stretched behind her, a dark ocean sprinkled with stars.
Her skin appeared majestic, the same color as her long hair—white, like the moon.
What on earth… A girl without any protective space suit is floating in front of her…
And she looked alive and well?
"I'm taking the most beautiful form from planet Earth… Why are you so surprised?"
The girl floated gracefully, her beautiful white hair drifting around her, reminding Sarah of octopus tentacles.
And yet… she could hear this girl's voice clearly? As if she were hearing it directly, tongue to ear…
This should be impossible with her astronaut suit on.
"Why are you…" Sarah muttered in confusion.
So many questions filled her mind, but right now, she wasn't even sure if she was hallucinating—
"You are not hallucinating."
Sarah's eyes widened.
Then, an unbearable pain surged through her head and spread throughout her entire body.
Why? Why did she taste metal on her tongue?
Her stomach churned violently, an overwhelming urge to vomit took over—
"WLUEKKK!"
She vomited, the contents splattering inside her astronaut suit. Her head spun so intensely that she could no longer see clearly.
Inside her helmet, she couldn't see anything beyond her vomit.
"Ahh… As I suspected… You creatures are weak, incapable of withstanding my presence directly."
"Sarah? Report your status, Sarah."
Why…
At this moment, she couldn't feel anything in her body.
"Sarah! Report your location! We can't detect you anywhere!"
What was happening?
"Why? What's going on… Sarah! Where are you? We can't see you on your suit's camera!"
"Oh well, there's no need for you to know anything anyway."
"Sarah! Sara—"
[...]
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