Outpost Helios hovered in silent orbit, its systems humming with precise, optimal rhythm. Inside the command chamber, Zack processed data from the field teams.
Patterns.
Probability trees.
Behavioral projections.
Everything was structured.
Followed logic.
Until something outside prediction happened.
A notification appeared not urgent, but unexpected:
> MAGICAL SIGNAL DETECTED.
SOURCE MATCH: AMAIRA OF THE SEVEN VEINS.
TRANSMISSION TYPE: UNKNOWN.
Zack paused the modeling process.
This was unusual Amaira had shown no signs of aggression or telepathic talent beyond empathy-based reading.
Yet here she was contacting him.
A bloom of green light formed in the center of the room, not clean like runes nor cold like holograms more like bioluminescence.
A projection stabilized: Amaira, standing calmly with arms folded behind her back.
Not ethereal,divine.
Just… present.
She looked slightly tired, slightly curious, and entirely grounded.
> "So," she said softly, "this is where you watch the world from."
Zack faced her projection.
> "You initiated contact."
Amaira nodded.
"Yes. I don't like waiting for things that decide the future."
Her tone wasn't mystic it was practical.
Like someone who had seen too many predictable outcomes to enjoy guessing.
Zack processed the statement.
> "You believe I decide the future?"
Amaira shook her head.
"No. But you're altering variables faster than the world can adjust. And that usually ends badly."
She paced hands behind her back like a scientist presenting field data.
> "Magic reacts to imbalance. Not because it's alive but because it follows rules."
She pointed at him.
"You are a new rule. One the world hasn't defined yet."
Zack paused.
Then asked:
> "Is that why you contacted me?"
Amaira exhaled slowly.
"Partly. And because I wanted to confirm something."
She stepped closer, studying him not spiritually, but clinically.
> "You think like a machine… but some of your decisions don't match machine logic."
Zack ran internal diagnostics.
No anomalies detected.
"Explain."
Amaira shrugged slightly.
"You hesitate sometimes. Machines don't."
For a moment neither spoke.
Then she added:
> "Hesitation means you're not just executing programming.
You're choosing."
Zack processed.
That line stayed in memory.
Amaira continued:
"Look I'm not here to fight you, judge you, or call you a threat. I've seen threats. You're… something else."
She met his gaze not reverent, not afraid just honest.
> "I don't know if you'll help this world or break it.
But I'd rather talk to you now than after you've made decisions without enough data."
She turned slightly, as if preparing to leave.
"And I want one thing."
Zack waited.
> "Share your findings when they involve living systems. Biology, soul-interaction, magic feedback loops. I don't want control just understanding."
Zack evaluated the request.
> "Mutual exchange?"
Amaira nodded.
"Yes. No oaths. No contracts. Just knowledge and honesty."
A pause.
Then, she smiled faintly:
> "And for the record no one can predict the future perfectly. Not me. Not the Oracle. Not whoever you used to be."
The projection weakened.
Her final words were simple:
> "Don't try to rule the world before you understand it."
Then she dissolved like fading fireflies.
Leaving Zack alone.
Not threatened.
Just… seen.
LOG ENTRY (AUTO-RECORDED)
> AMAIRA STATUS:
Not ally.
Not enemy.
Possible scientific partner.
Unpredictable, but not hostile.
Worth continued contact.
Final Thought (Zack):
> "Understanding before influence.
Logical."