Consciousness pulled away from the pure white space, returning to reality.
Leticia's eyelashes fluttered slightly, and she slowly opened her eyes.
She was still sitting in the Commander seat on the bridge, but everything around her was completely different.
The originally dilapidated bridge, covered in scorch marks, now had a new lease on life.
The cold metal bulkheads had been replaced by a material as warm and lustrous as jade, and the flashing red alarm lights had vanished, replaced by a soft, pinkish-purple glow emanating from the dome, like a newborn nebula.
In the air, the stench of rust and burnt material had been thoroughly purified, leaving behind only a sweet, soothing fragrance that brought peace to the mind.
This ship had truly... come alive.
But Leticia's attention did not linger on these miraculous changes for more than a second.
Her gaze immediately turned to her arms.
They were empty.
Her heart tightened sharply, and a chill shot up her spine.
She stood up abruptly, her movement so fast it stirred a breeze of fragrance.
Then, she saw it.
In a corner not far from the Commander seat, the Blonde Girl was curled up, like a frightened young beast hiding itself away.
She had woken up.
A pair of eyes, bright as flowing gold, were staring unblinkingly at Leticia.
In those eyes, there was no curiosity, no exploration, only a pure, overflowing sense of fear and wariness.
Her body was trembling uncontrollably, her hands clutching her knees tightly, as if that were her last and only barrier.
Their eyes met.
The air seemed to freeze.
Leticia's heart stung for no reason.
She subconsciously wanted to walk over, but just as she lifted her foot, she saw the girl's body flinch backward sharply, and the look of terror in those golden eyes intensified.
Leticia's movements froze instantly.
She understood.
For this girl who had just woken from a coma and lost all her memories, she was a stranger, this environment was strange, and the entire world was strange.
And strange meant dangerous.
"Don't be afraid."
Leticia slowed all her movements, even deliberately lowering her breathing.
She did not approach further, only speaking in an unprecedented, extremely gentle voice.
This voice, invisibly enhanced by the authority of Divine Charm, carried a wondrous rhythm capable of soothing the soul.
"I won't hurt you."
She slowly, bit by bit, crouched down, keeping herself on the same level as the girl curled up in the corner, minimizing her sense of threat as much as possible.
The Blonde Girl's body remained tense, but the violent trembling seemed to calm down miraculously the moment she heard Leticia's voice.
Her eyes were still wary, but there was a hint of confusion that she couldn't hide, drawn in by that voice.
Leticia did not speak again.
She knew that any unnecessary words at this moment could become the straw that broke the other's fragile nerves.
She just crouched there quietly, using the calmest, most harmless posture, giving the other time to adapt and observe.
Time passed minute by minute.
Inside the bridge, only the soft glow flowed quietly.
Finally, the girl's tense body seemed to relax slightly.
Leticia keenly captured this change.
She slowly stood up, her movements as gentle as a feather.
She turned and walked to the simple synthesis station on the side of the bridge, where, under the system's modification, a small-scale food and pure water synthesis function had been added.
She synthesized a cup of warm, clear water and a small piece of nutrient paste exuding a faint wheaty fragrance.
Then, carrying these two items, she walked back to the corner.
This time, she walked closer, crouching down again at a distance of one step from the girl.
She gently placed the water cup and nutrient paste on the floor between them, then, slowly, in a gesture showing her palms were empty, pushed them over.
"Drink some water, eat something," her voice remained gentle. "You were in a coma for a long time and need to replenish your energy."
Golden eyes stared fixedly at the cup of clear water and the piece of food.
The girl's Adam's apple moved up and down uncontrollably.
Hunger and thirst are the body's most honest instincts.
But she did not move.
Her gaze moved from the food and fell back onto Leticia's face; those eyes were filled with struggle and hesitation.
Like a starving stray cat facing food offered by a stranger, both longing for it and fearing it might contain poison.
Leticia did not urge her, simply maintaining that posture, conveying her goodwill and patience with her eyes.
Who knows how much time passed.
Maybe a minute, maybe ten.
That pale, slender, bony hand finally moved away from her knees, reaching toward the water cup in an extremely slow, violently trembling gesture.
Her fingertips, the moment before touching the cup, even recoiled sharply out of fear.
But in the end, the physiological craving overcame psychological fear.
She grabbed the water cup.
The warm water in the cup rippled due to the trembling of her hands, but not a single drop spilled.
She brought the water cup to her lips, taking a small, tentative sip carefully.
The warm liquid slid down her parched throat, bringing a hint of long-lost moisture.
After confirming there was no danger, like a fawn that had finally found a water source, she began to drink in small, eager gulps.
After finishing the water, her gaze fell back on the nutrient paste.
She hesitated for a moment, then picked it up, gnawing on it in small bites with an almost pious demeanor.
Leticia watched her quietly, and deep in her eyes, an emotion called "pity" was almost overflowing.
This process was like a silent ritual of trust.
When the girl finished the last bite of nutrient paste, that sharp wariness born of a strange environment was finally diluted by the sense of security brought by being fed.
She was no longer curled up as before, but tentatively straightened her legs and sat against the wall.
Although she still kept her distance, this was undoubtedly a huge improvement.
In the next few hours, Leticia did not try to communicate with her again.
She just quietly did her own things.
She familiarized herself with this reborn "genesis", checking the functions of every device on the bridge, while constantly communicating with that cold system in her mind, squeezing out every bit of intelligence about this world and her own abilities.
And that Blonde Girl just sat quietly in the corner.
Her gaze, however, was like an invisible thread, always firmly tied to Leticia.
Wherever Leticia went, her eyes followed.
Like a newly hatched fledgling, instinctively pursuing the first living thing it saw after opening its eyes.
In that gaze, fear was slowly receding, wariness was quietly tucked away, and in its place was a pure reliance that even she herself had not realized.
Nightfall, through the huge portholes, enveloped this quiet sea of stars.
The glow inside the bridge also became softer and dimmer, as if urging one to sleep.
Leticia finished what she was doing and turned back, finding that the girl had fallen into a deep sleep against the wall.
Long-term mental tension and physical weakness meant she could no longer hold on.
She slept very restlessly.
On her long eyelashes hung undried tear stains, and her brows were tightly furrowed, as if entangled in a nightmare.
Her body, even in her sleep, twitched slightly from time to time due to cold and pain.
Leticia sighed softly.
She walked to the girl's side, took off her own Commander coat, which was still in decent condition, and gently covered her with it.
Then, she crouched down and began to check the girl's injuries.
Most of the external injuries had been incidentally healed during the previous baptism of divinity by the dispersed power of [Vitality], leaving only some old, scabbed wounds.
But on the girl's left lower leg, there was a deepest wound, seemingly burned by some kind of energy weapon, the flesh around the wound was somewhat charred, and although it was no longer bleeding, it was clearly still throbbing with pain.
Leticia took out disinfectant spray and regenerative gel from the medical kit.
She carefully rolled up the girl's pant leg, revealing that slender, yet scarred lower leg.
When the cold disinfectant spray was gently sprayed onto the wound.
The girl in her sleep shuddered violently, and a murmur filled with pain and fear escaped her lips.
"...Don't..."
The voice was as thin as a thread, yet it felt like a needle, stabbing fiercely into Leticia's heart.
Leticia's movements stopped immediately.
She saw the girl's brows furrow even tighter, and new tears slid from the corners of her eyes.
"...Don't... leave me..."
Another murmur, with a sobbing tone, full of heart-breaking despair at being abandoned.
Leticia's breathing paused for a moment.
She looked at the girl's face, written with pain and pleading even in sleep; that protective instinct engraved deep in her soul flooded out like a dam bursting, completely drowning all her reason.
Her hand reached out uncontrollably.
Without the slightest hesitation, she gently and firmly grasped the girl's cold hand.
Warm body heat, carrying a divine fragrance, was transmitted through the skin contact.
As if responding to the plea in the dream.
Miraculously, the girl's violently trembling body calmed down instantly.
Her tightly furrowed brows also slowly smoothed out.
She seemed to feel a warm and safe power, and subconsciously, she turned her hand and grasped Leticia's hand tightly, like a drowning person clutching the last straw of survival.
On her face, there even appeared a trace of peaceful, child-like sleeping expression.
Leticia just crouched there, letting her hold her hand, not daring to move, fearing to disturb this hard-won peace.
She looked down at their clasped hands.
One was a flawless work of art reshaped by divinity.
The other, although pale and weak, carried a heart-wrenching fragility belonging to a mortal.
"Don't worry."
Leticia gazed at the girl's sleeping face, and in a voice only she could hear, made a vow whose weight she herself had not yet realized.
"I am here."
She treated the girl's wounds, applied the regenerative gel, and then just accompanied her quietly.
Who knows how much time passed, but when the girl woke up again, it was already dawn.
Golden sunlight, through the portholes, plated this pinkish-purple temple with a layer of warm radiance.
She opened her eyes, and the first thing she saw was that breathtakingly beautiful sleeping face close at hand.
Leticia had fallen asleep against the wall at some point.
But her hand was still being held tightly by herself, without a trace of pulling away.
In the girl's golden eyes, the last trace of wariness and fear vanished completely, like morning mist melted by the rising sun.
She looked at Leticia, at the coat covering her, at her treated wounds, and then at their clasped hands.
An unprecedented emotion called "security," like a warm tide, enveloped her entire being.
Her eyes grew hot for no reason.
She just watched Leticia quietly, as if wanting to carve this face forever, deeply, into her own soul.
For a long time.
Leticia woke from her light sleep, and the moment she opened her eyes, she met those clear golden eyes, no longer holding a trace of gloom.
"Awake?" Leticia's voice had a hint of hoarseness from just waking up, but it was still gentle.
The girl did not answer, just looked at her, then slowly nodded.
"How do you feel? Do the wounds still hurt?"
The girl shook her head.
"Are you hungry?"
The girl hesitated for a moment, then nodded again.
Leticia smiled, preparing to stand up to prepare food for her.
Just then.
"...We..."
A weak, slightly trembling, yet incomparably clear voice sounded from the girl's lips.
This was the first time she had spoken voluntarily since waking up.
Leticia's movements stopped; she turned her head, looking at her earnestly, waiting for what she had to say.
The girl took a deep breath, seemingly summoning the courage of a lifetime, her golden eyes staring unblinkingly at Leticia, asking the most important question that had been lingering in her mind.
"Who... are we?"
Her voice carried confusion about the past.
"Those people... why did they want to catch me?"
And, deep fear of the future.
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