When Shelley woke up, she found herself in the field of wood sorrels next to their old family castle. Her wounds were gone.

Where am I?

She saw no giant robots, flames or ashes - as if the war had never happened, and the Puroguramu had never existed.

Is this… heaven?

She looked beside her, and, shockingly, she saw Dana.

“Dana!” She jumped up. Her sister, giving her a warm hug, was also excited to see her.

“You are not dead?” Shelly examined her curiously. Dana’s body was intact. All her wounds had vanished as well.

“I don’t know. Are we dead?”

“Yes,” a voice said behind them.

They froze for a second. It sounded so suspiciously familiar they couldn’t help but wonder if it had been merely a hallucination.

It can’t be-

They turned around. Under the Tree of Knowledge stood Helena, her body appearing as it had been seven years ago.

“Mama!”

They rushed towards their mother, who was now embracing them both tightly.

“You sure have grown.”

“Yes, mama, we missed you so much! We-”

“Shh, I have news,” Helena interrupted.

The girls listened intently.

“As I’ve said, you are dead.”

They weren’t sure how to react. Being dead is not too bad, Shelly thought. At least I can finally see mama.

“But there is one way that you can save this world and bring everyone back again.”

The purple eyes of the girls, pure as amethysts, lit up. “Bring everyone back? But how?”

Helena smiled. “Remember our family crest?”

Shelley looked up, her face puzzled. “Katabami? The wood sorrel?”

“Indeed. But do you know why it has three petals?”

Silence.

Helena continued: “Every individual in Hitogata-shi was supposed to have three parts. Těla, údaje, and duše: shell, data and soul.

“However, the souls can be extracted from their owners and kept in separate containers.”

“So, the soul can be separated from the shell?” Dana cried in fright.

Helena nodded in agreement. “But it was not only separated from the shell; it was preserved. That’s how they mass-produced the rupurika.”

The girls pondered.

“Well, I guess it’s time for you to know something,” she added, “And I’m sorry for concealing it before. I had no choice.”

“What is it?”

Helena paused for a second and sighed. “Your… origin.”

For an instant, the girls thought they misheard it.

“You mean… who created us?” Shelley’s eyes widened, her voice almost breathless.

“Well… not quite. Although there was a note in your cradle fifteen years ago.”

Reaching into her pocket, Helena took out a small piece of paper.

Half an hour later, the girls had prepared for their return.

“Stay safe, will you?” Helena kissed their foreheads.

The girls nodded slightly, still shocked by what they just read.

“Don’t worry. If you feel weak… just remember I am always with you.”

“Mama,” Shelly suddenly interjected, “Can I tell you something?”

“What is it?”

“I… I love you. I’m so scared that we’ll… never be able to see you again…” Shelley sobbed, reluctant to leave their mother. After all, they had not seen her for almost seven years.

“Don’t say stupid things like that. You’re going to be just fine. And I love you both too.”

Kissing them goodbye, Helena retreated to the Tree of Knowledge.

“Good luck-”

Her voice cut off, and the world in front of them turned black.

The Puroguramu were almost done when the girls returned to the street. The city was now only one-fifth its original size.

But this time, they climbed up full of energy.

We will save this world.

Running as fast as she could, Shelley dashed towards the giant robots.

Because I am Noah Glory.

The giant robots, on the other hand, did not notice the girls at all.

And she is Noel Glory.

Making her way through the gigantic claws, she ran without hesitation to the machines in the centre. Aim for the commander, Helena had said, the one with the symbol of a star.

Because I represent těla.

Dana, running in the opposite direction, was heading towards the centre as well.

And she represents údaje.

The girls surrounded the machine. But as if it didn’t care, it contemptuously kept sucking in whatever it could reach.

Because my name is Shelly.

The girls jumped up from the ground directly onto the roof of two nearby bungalows.

And hers is Dana.

Once in position, they vaguely nodded their heads to each other.

Because we are not repurika.

Then, fast as lightning, they rose into the air, their bodies completely airborne for seconds, and hit the container with all their strength.

And we will find the missing piece of the wood sorrel.

The whole world stopped. In that quarter of a millisecond, the surface of the glass container rippled, taking in the tremendous force.

Duše.

In a loud crash, the glass shattered.

The machine looked down, a horrified look on its electronic face. Then, as if hit by an enormous spaceship, it collapsed onto the ground, smoke rising from the metal.

But Shelley and Dana were more interested in the content of the canister. Above the broken pieces of the glass, something was hovering in the air, a dim light surrounding it.

When they walked closer, they realised it was a petal of wood sorrel.

Precisely like the one on their family crest.

The soul.

“Are you ready?” Shelley asked Dana, a triumphant smile on her face.

“More than ever,” Dana smiled back.

Hold each other while you’re holding the soul, Shelley remembered Helena’s voice, and say the words.

Shelley swiftly picked up the petal and held onto Dana’s hand. They looked at each other for one last check. Go on, Shelley heard Dana saying in her heart, it’s our sole chance.

“Dej nám lásku,” the girls said at the same time.

Instantly, Shelley felt a warm flow of energy inside her body. Her life flashed in front of her eyes again, but this time with images she had never seen before: labs, scientists, repurika sealed in containers, computer code, blueprints, yellowed files…

She suddenly felt something.

Naděje.

Hope.

My name is Noah Glory, and I am one of the Kenchikuka.

I was not born in this world, but my brother and I decided to cross the Tachiiri-Kinshi Kuiki. To tell the truth, we had found a way to reach the border a long time ago, but we just couldn’t make up our minds. To give up everything we owned in that world. That world - where everyone craved war.

No! When can people understand that the only solution to war is to love, and not to hate? To forgive, and not to blame? We were disappointed. We wanted a world where everyone appreciates one another, not a world full of hatred, blood, and death.

But they ordered us to get rid of the souls. They said they didn’t want souls; they wanted soldiers.

We couldn’t withstand the enormous pressure. Nonetheless, we managed to conceal them inside one of the self-destruction programmes. We even added a star - the symbol of the army - so that the one with the soul would be distinguishable from the rest.

When everything was ready, we transferred our souls into two bodies. We named Shelly and Dana to remind our future selves of the structure of the wood sorrel, our family crest: těla, údaje, and duše.

Fifteen years have passed since we first came here, and as I have anticipated, they are shutting down the project. So now is the time to say sayounara to that world.

Completely paralysed, it seemed as if Shelly’s body was not controlled by herself anymore, but by some exotic creature inside her.

The next thing she knew, the rest of the machines collapsed down to the ground.

2035.09.25 14:43:26 UTC - FATAL ERROR: Self-destruction was interrupted by (unknown process). Restoring all changes.

Then everything seemed to glitch like a broken computer. It was like watching a movie backwards: she could see the places being restored and the machines gradually fading to dust.

2035.09.25 14:46:35 UTC - New message. From: General [DATA EXPUNGED]. To: Research Department. Content: What the hell’s going on? Why has the self-destruction programme stopped?

Suddenly, a bright white light shone down and blinded her. For a moment, she wondered if she was back in heaven.

Instead, when she opened her eyes, she saw something better than heaven.

The city… is rebuilt!

2035.09.25 14:50:12 UTC - Reloading city activities. Current mode: Normal.

Shelley was suddenly able to control her body again. She turned with eagerness to her dear sister.

2035.09.25 14:59:42 UTC - New message. From: Research Department. To: General [DATA EXPUNGED]. Content: Please be patient. We’re investigating this issue.

2035.09.25 15:04:31 UTC - A new user has been created. Username: Glory. User role: Superuser.

“We did it!” Shelley almost lost her voice in excitement.

“We freed the city! And we freed the scientists!” Dana added, unable to control the emotions either.

“We were the scientists,” Shelley pointed out playfully.

Dana rolled her eyes. “If you insist, Mr. Noah Glory.”

2035.09.25 15:06:34 UTC - New message. From: Glory. To: All users. Content: Farewell, my fellow researchers.

“But mama…” Shelley started, yet the sorrow hit her before she could finish.

“Don’t jump to conclusions yet.”

The girls turned around. Helena, in her signature velvet dress, was standing right behind them.

“Mama!” The girls threw themselves at their mother. Apparently underestimated their weight, Helena staggered back a few steps.

“You sure have grown,” Helena said, holding them both in her chest.

“Mama, we were so scared…” Shelley sobbed.

“We thought we couldn’t see you again…” Dana snivelled.

“There, there,” Helena comforted them, “I know. You are really, really brave.”

“Mama, are we safe now?” Looking up from her teary purple eyes, Shelley asked.

“We sure are, my dear,” Helena smiled, “I’m pretty sure the two Mr. Glory would take care of the rest now.”

2035.09.25 15:09:25 UTC - Permissions for all users have been changed by user Glory. Removed permission: Initiate Self-Destruction.

2035.09.25 15:09:25 UTC - Permissions for all users have been changed by user Glory. Removed permission: Administration.

2035.09.25 15:09:25 UTC - Permissions for all users have been changed by user Glory. Removed permission: View audit log.

“Mama, can we get ice cream?” Dana begged, “Please?”

Helena giggled. “Well, I guess that didn’t change.”

They all laughed. Behind them, the skylarks were singing happy little tunes, the sun was radiating warmth on the field of wood sorrels beside their family castle, and the air encompassed the sweet scent of flowers and grass.

In front of an entire room of officers, The President slapped the Director of Advanced Technology and Armaments Centre.

Everyone gasped. Although the new president was known to be short-tempered, slapping a respected member of the intelligence community was not a scene one saw every day.

“Are you telling me you failed to shut it down?” he roared angrily.

“No… Yes… We don’t know,” the Director stuttered, “But I promise, it will not incur any more fees from now on.”

“It better not,” the President spitted.

“Mr. President, I can prove that the research team did not interfere in the self-destruction process,” a general stood up. All the eyes in the room turned to him. “I was the one who initiated the self-destruction…”

The President gave him a petrifying stare, and he immediately cringed.

“Look,” he leaned forward on the table, gnashing his teeth as he enunciated every word dauntingly audibly, “I don’t care who initiated the self-destruction. I care about my budget. And if you cannot provide me with an acceptable explanation, what am I going to tell the taxpayers? That some alien robbed the bank?”

No one laughed. The Director silently weighed his choices.

“Mr. President,” he began, “I can-”

“No need,” the President interrupted, “Go mark this project as abandoned. Never mention it again. And never start another project like this ever,” he added, “I’ve had enough of ATAC failures.”

“Yes sir,” the Director nodded desperately.

“The meeting is over,” the President stood up and left.