Lucina awoke in her immaculate room of white stone on the Incandestine capital planet of Portum.

She was floating in her bed, a capsule filled with breathable orange liquid. Once you got used to it, liquid beds were the best. The nutrient solution made sure her body was in peak condition inside and out, and the persistent warmth and gentle floating sensation did wonders for the quality of one’s sleep.

The Empress gently righted herself and pressed a button on the side of the chamber. The liquid drained out and the chamber washed and dried Lucina’s body in mere seconds with an array of air jets and lasers.

The door slid open, and Lucina stepped out onto the polished marble flooring of her bedchamber. With her neural implant, she chose a white robe, over which a black coat rested, trimmed with red. Lastly, the golden wreath-patterned leaf, traditionally worn by the Incandestine ruler, adorned her shoulders and upper arms. She raised her arms, and the garment materialised over her naked skin, printed into a perfect fit from unseen printer jets in the walls, floor and ceiling.

Lucina walked onto the balcony, overlooking the green city of Logos. Most of the houses were largely built into the earth, making the city appear flatter than those on Apolaphia. The growth of trees and foliage was encouraged, and so Logos blended into the natural scenery.

As Portum was a completely terraformed planet, only lifeforms that were compatible and not an inconvenience to humans existed, allowing the people that lived there to exist in harmony with the nature they had so created.

Lucina’s home of white stone was built halfway up the mountain range some distance from the harbour, overlooking the city. Several rivers and streams cut across the metropolitan area, leading into the bay.

In Lucina’s eyes, Logos looked the same as it always had.

Was it all just a dream, then?

She remembered everything. Catherine’s death, the invasion, the Labyrinth, and her duel against the young Bloodstone.

Looking down at herself, the clothes she wore, the sights and sounds, it all seemed so real.

Perhaps she had been poisoned? A hallucinogen to affect her psyche?

A tone began to tickle her ear. A communications request.

“General Lucina, how was your sleep?” a voice asked Lucina, speaking inside her head. A familiar voice. An unforgettable voice.

“Catherine?”

“General, you should know better than to call me that. Insubordination is not tolerated these days. It’s ‘Empress’, ‘Empress Catherine’, or ‘Highness’. Though, I will accept ‘Eminence’, ‘Grace’, ‘Luminance’, ‘Omniscience’, or whatever other affectionate nickname you might have for me, Auntie.”

“Catherine… you’re alive?”

“Yes. I am. Though I see that your confusion will cause problems without an in-person meeting. I’m at my Logos office. Come see me, I’ll set your mind at ease. I have a special job for you anyway, so we can discuss that when you arrive.”

“I’ll be right there,” Lucina said. Catherine terminated the call.

Catherine was alive? And just as Catherine had openly predicted, Lucina felt that she would not believe it unless she saw the heir in the flesh, with her own eyes.

Lucina set off at once, not even bothering to eat or drink anything. She stepped into her morphic boots, neurally linked to her like the morphic armour that she had worn on Apolaphia, and headed out the door.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

The General’s villa was tailor-made to her preferences. It was not as extravagant as some of the other Incandestine leaders’. Rather, it was more practically sized, with access to Lucina’s personal ship just a few steps away from her bedroom.

Lucina headed down the corridor of gilded marble and entered the garage. From there, she stepped into a large wheel made of black metal with a single seat, already prepared for her by the garage which had received instructions from her neural link. From inside the strange-looking vehicle, Lucina confirmed her destination by verbal command.

“Regent’s Office, Logos.”

The wheel rolled out into the driveway carved into the mountainside, setting off downhill in the morning light. Rather than a sun, the glowing accretion disk of a black hole provided Portum with ample light.

When a fork appeared in the road, the wheel veered to the right. The route was incredibly steep, and Lucina picked up a frightening amount of speed. Lucina sat in quiet comfort as a network of large spring dampeners and suspenders compensated for any outside disturbances. She quietly moved to grip the handlebars mounted above her seat as the ramp rapidly approached. Shortly, the wheel banked up the ramp and shot into the sky. Lucina’s morphic vehicle grew wings, becoming a glider travelling at significant speed, gracefully floating over the harmonious city below.

After a few short minutes, Lucina arrived at the Incandestine Regent’s Office, her shapeshifting vehicle making one final turning circle before landing itself perfectly on the awaiting vehicle pad.

Lucina stepped out, and up the imposing flight of steps into the reception area. As she entered the building, several lattices of biometric scanners verified her identity. Striding straight across the reception room, Lucina entered an elevator on the far side of the gilded white floors and headed straight down to the Regent’s office.

The elevator opened to a security checkpoint, which was a simple desk with a highly protected screen, manned by a single Angel in black livery.

“Bhervsaar,” Lucina said in greeting.

“General Lucina. The Empress is expecting you.” Bhervsaar replied.

Despite the familiarity between the two, Lucina still followed procedure. Bhervsaar opened a gap in the clear glass between them, allowing Lucina to place her into the waiting receptacle on the other side of the screen. A small sample of her blood was drawn from her hand with a needle. Her identity was verified in seconds, after which the heavy door swung open to a small waiting room containing two chairs and a potted plant with three long, wide leaves atop a small table in the corner.

The door connecting the waiting room and the Regent’s Office was already open. Lucina walked right on in and stood at attention.

“Auntie Lucina! Come, take a seat.” The Empress said welcomingly.

Catherine was sitting at the desk, dressed in the gold and red robe of the Empress. Wavy strands of long, icy-white and glacier-blue hair fell all about her shoulders like a waterfall. A tiara studded with a large black jewel crowned the seer’s head. Two wires trailed from the tiara, connecting to a machine on the desk in from of the Empress.

Lucina took a seat in the chair opposite Catherine’s desk.

“Catherine, you’re alive?”

“Yes. Do you want to touch me? Take my hand.”

Lucina obliged, taking the right hand that Catherine offered her. Warm and full of life. It was impossible to deny. But that didn’t mean that it was Catherine sitting in front of her. Though it was unlikely, it was feasible that an impostor had taken her place. So, Lucina thought to ask her a question that only Catherine could answer.

“What will I say next?” Catherine said.

“What will I say next?” Lucina asked simultaneously, only to realise that Catherine had already made her prediction before Lucina had even consciously made her choice to ask.

“It’s really me,” Catherine said.

“It’s really you,” Lucina said, filled with awe. Upon realising that Catherine had once again spoken just before she had, an overjoyed smile could not help but spread itself across the older woman’s face, an expression shared by The Empress.

“Just like old times,” Catherine said.

“Just like old times,” Lucina said. This time she expected Catherine’s simultaneity. It was flawless, just as Lucina remembered it.

Lucina relaxed, falling back into her chair.

“Unbelievable.” She said. “I saw you die.”

“You did?” Catherine asked.

“Well, not exactly. I saw your corpse. You were still young back then. Sixteen.”

“Sixteen… I see. Well, Rolynd and the others escaped at that time. I know what you’re going to say, and I can only say that I have no recollection or understanding of what has happened to you. I do not know who ADAM is. I can only suggest that you get a medical evaluation, but I foresee that will not give you the answers you seek.”

“What should I do, then?” Lucina asked.

“I am unsure. It seems that in most futures, you seem to snap out of it.”

“Snap out of it?”

“Return to normal. To the General Lucina, I am used to... Well, when it comes to the efficacy of your next task, it doesn’t seem to matter what your condition is, ‘normal’, or otherwise.”

“I see. Very well then. What have you called me for?”

Catherine sat up straight, placing her elbows on the table, hands together, fingers interlaced, covering her mouth. Her icy blue eyes were suddenly cold and distant. She paused for a moment, thinking of the best words to use.