« Did you hear, Mahana? He says it's his home! He really is a ghost! » Ashton points his finger at random on the interactive map.

The girl smiles. She’s about to answer when an unusual feeling washes over her. Her memories change. Her brother becomes a stranger.

« Mahana? » Ashton calls.

The little girl remains silent. A thousand images go through her thoughts, visions of battles, people and places unknown. She comes back to herself and sees Elliot's face. He felt the same thing. What is happening?

« You don’t look so good, the both of you. » Soh'ina whistles like a snake.

His behavior has changed. His eyes are full of hatred. He seems to understand the situation but won’t explain it. Elliot can’t stop staring at his aura. It fascinates him.

« Life is strange, you know. » The ghost goes on. « I'm back after all this time! So many memories are coming back to me! I suppose your presence woke me up. That’s lucky. I would’ve hated to miss an opportunity to chat with my friends! »

An uncontrollable shiver rushes through Mahana. Ashton leaps away. He’s no longer playful. His face is sweating with worry.

« I remember Soh'ina! Your 'wise' advisor. My old father. He was so proud of his job! That’s no wonder; the poor guy used to be a bad actor in a traveling theater. How lucky for someone like him, to become an Eloah. Life always offers the best gifts to those who don’t deserve them. »

He’s talking to the little girl. His face is cold. His eyes are empty. His voice is both wistful and sarcastic.

« What an idiot I am! You already know this story! It’s well-known. The son of an advisor to the empress, sold by his own father into slavery but rescued by the kind ruler, growing to become her husband! A charming tale. The kids love it. » Elliot moves back. He puts a hand over his mouth. He looks scared. He just understood something. Ashton too, which is more surprising. Mahana is the only one who didn’t get any of that.

The little girl knows that something is wrong. This creature is dangerous, but why? What does it want? What is it doing here? An image comes to her. A big fire. The laugh of a child. A man looking exactly like the ghost standing by her side. He smiles warmly. She loves him. The feeling seems authentic. That memory is not unpleasant, so why is she so scared? Everything goes dark. The plane is no longer there. There is only a great void left. A voice echoes:

« Accessing memory. »

A new place appears before her eyes. She is now in a large room, opening on an imposing balcony. A mountain range can be seen outside, behind a huge lake. She remembers having seen a place like this before. It looks like a Swiss landscape. The weather’s beautiful. The sun is high in the sky. A beautiful sight, yet something is wrong. The sky is not blue, but violet. The mountains seem covered with a thin gold film. A city flies over the water.

The room is sumptuously decorated. The furniture reacts to touch. It moves and breathes. The chair seems to be sapphire and the table ruby. A warm breeze wafts in. It's nice. The floor is obsidian, engraved with constellations of symbols. The reflection of the sun creates a hologram there. Mahana has never seen anything so fascinating. She notices that her body has become bigger, adult-like!

« Am I still welcome? » The male voice comes from behind. Mahana smiles and turns around. She no longer controls her movements or emotions.

« Yes, Seh. Always. »

It's him. It's the ghost! She recognizes his white aura and his horns of phosphorescent smoke, but his face looks different. He looks affectionate, which makes him seem completely different.

« I was afraid you'd still be angry, after what we said to each other last time... »

« Wind blows, rain falls and couples argue, Seh. »

« We’ve become normal people. I never thought this day would arrive so fast! »

Someone else comes in, a muscular, bearded man. He holds a crystal pipe between his fingers. The two exchange a cold glance.

« Soh! Prepare the room of my husband. » This is the real Soh'ina, who bows and responds politely:

« Yes, your Highness! » He clicks his heels and walks away.

Seh sits on a chair, which stops moving. The piece of furniture is satisfied that someone has come to settle on it. It purrs, like a cat getting belly rubs. Mahana feels sad. Her heart aches.

« You’re not staying? »

« No. I meant what I said to you. I will not change my mind. If you could only just understand that I… No, it doesn’t matter. We don’t need to argue. It's not that serious! »

He smiles. The little girl feels terrible regret. She should say something but decides to do nothing. The sentence echoes in her mind. It wants to be spoken, yet something prevents it. Duty. Pride, too. You cannot bend, cannot make a single concession, not even to him. He should understand. Why he was so frank? This regret eats at her. She should have been more flexible. Everything would have been better. Why did she not say anything? The memory disappears, replaced by another.

Mahana feels everything, as though reliving the moment. Every detail is so clear, so vivid. Now it’s nighttime. The moon is high in the sky. It’s magnificent. The sky is purple. The girl paces around the room. The furniture seems agitated. The table opens a cabinet and hides inside. The cabinet suddenly wakes up and goes down the corridor. This little show should make her laugh. Why isn’t there anything funny about it?

Three persons enter. A girl with an angel face. Her skin is tinted red, her hair is brown. A little blonde girl with pale skin. A black child. They bow. Their clothes are sumptuous. Their eyes do not know how to lie. They bring bad news. Mahana sits down.

« Your Majesty, my fleet is lost! The protectorate of Sied has fallen! » Begins the blonde. Her face radiates shame. The tears flow. Anger seeps into her voice. It’s a useless feeling, there is nothing left to do.

« The protectorate of Reiner is on the verge of defeat. We will fight to the last, to save as much time for Mû as possible! » says the girl with red skin.

« The colonies of the Aprium will soon lose the Fiery Edge! The armies of Seh'el'ennis are beginning to invade our territory. Ganthra has been conquered. The supply of Ar'eloah to the Grand Versant is cut down! » The little boy hesitates. He does not know what to say to justify himself. Does he hold himself responsible for this failure?

« What news from Aleasis Vecna? » Mahana asks. Her voice is full of weariness.

« Mazda has isolated part of the opposing fleet. He got bogged down in his conflict. We cannot hope for reinforcements from him before weeks! Our knights tell stories of bloody carnage. His armies are in distress. The aleans are heading straight into defeat! When the Gravitational Abyss eventually fall into his hands, Seh'el'ennis will have conquered two-thirds of Mû! » Mahana says nothing. How did it all come to this? They need to hear something. She decides on a strategy and answers:

« Prepare my fleet. We are leaving for the homefront! »

« You’d give up on the Aprium? No! » The small boy moans in outrage.

« We have no choice! We must cut off the enemy's head. Gather the survivors and come with me! » They bow, then leave.

Mahana feels heavy. She just wants one last chance to convince Seh'el'ennis. Maybe it's not too late. This desire has suppressed her common sense. What a fool. It was not the right decision. It would have been better to protect the Aprium! The memory fades away, replaced by... fire! It’s everywhere! The mountains are burning!

A whirlwind of flames rises to the heavens. Mahana stands straight. She grips a scepter in her hand; six others levitate behind her back. Her coat is beautiful, but dirty. Some strange vehicles are twirling in the sky. They fly at frightening speeds. The sky is dotted with lightning and explosions. People are fighting as far as the eye can see. There must be millions. It's a nightmare.

A decisive moment is approaching. She can feel it. The sky becomes dark, an immense eye opens. It drops a tear. It's him. Seh'el'ennis came in person to witness his final victory. Mahana squeezes her scepter more firmly. The Ahura Mazda was right. The diversion has worked! The look on the ghost’s face is the same as it was on the plane. You can feel his hostility.

« Your Highness! That’s such an honor! What have I done to be worthy of such consideration? » He bursts out laughing and raises his arms, as if to say : « Look what I got you! » Mahana moves forward. Her feelings are split between the love she once felt for him and her hatred for what he has become.

« What do you want? What do you want from us? »

« Nothing! Your species is an abomination. An abnormality. I’m here to save mankind! »

« To save it from what? Do you really believe that Man is better than Eloah because he is oppressed, because they do not have the same connection we do? I saw what they can do. Your ‘children’ are no better than mine. »

« Nobody should be born in chains! Nobody should live in expectation of being consumed by another! Nobody should suffer like that! »

He sweeps the landscape with the back of his hand. The mountains explode into dust. His power is terrifying. He could destroy the planet just by stamping his foot, if he wanted to. Even the whole system, maybe.

« You won’t change anything like that, Seh. The good, the evil... suffering, pleasure... fear, hatred, even love. It’s these emotions that lead us to corruption! If we let ourselves be consumed, our ashes will feed the thirst for power. I thought you understood that. I was wrong. It's time to end this. »

« I feel their pain, Mara. Their howls. All of them. I know they are hurting. How can I ignore that? What kind of monster could just pretend like nothing’s happening? The only way to end it is here, now! The Elohim are so full of their so-called ‘divinity’, ha! Look at me! I am the envoy of God! Me! I am an avatar of the universe itself, of His will! I will free the world from this suffering, in His name! »

Mahana abandons herself to her sorrow. Her face is blank, but she’s crying inside. All that remains of her love for him is extinguished before her eyes. Why does it have to end like this? It's so... painful. This memory fades. Reality is coming back. The little girl feels heavy.

Mahana's memory is blurry. What happened to her? She feels like she just left the pool after hours of swimming. The air is thick. It feels like gelatin. No more than a second seems to have gone by. This ghost is not Soh'ina but Seh'el'ennis. Why does she know him? What is he doing here? What does he want? Elliot gets closer and punches him. His hand goes right through. The boy feels stupid for having thought it would work.

« Come on! What a moron you are! It's just a projection of my will. You cannot really hurt me, even if you cry very loudly by calling your parents for help. » The ghost disappears while laughing, but his voice continues to be heard:

« I never thanked you for the lovely multimillennial holidays you offered me! My nap was very soothing. Give me a few minutes to think of an elegant way to return the favor. »

The three children are frozen in terror. The mother of the little girl wakes up slowly and whispers:

« Go back to your seat, Mahana. If there is any turbulence you will be hurt. »

A few minutes go by. Nobody moves. The young woman stretches before straightening up in her chair. Her eyes go stern:

« Mahana, go back to your seat! You too, Ashton, you have to fasten your seat belt! » The girl faces her. She's shaking. Her face is pale :

« We must... we have to land the plane! »

« What are you talking about? » The woman rubs her eyes. She is still numb from sleep.

« We are in danger! »

« You had a nightmare, go sit! »

« No! » The girl screams. Some passengers do not fail to comment on her education.

« Now that's enough, Mahana! Sit down! I won’t say it again! »

« If we keep flying, we are all in danger! »

« You have to calm down and... »

« She's right, ma'am! » Elliot continues. His caretaker has just woken up. He puts a hand on his shoulder. He looks hostile:

« Stay out of this, Elliot! »

« It’s true, Mom! » Ashton adds. His nasal voice wakes his father up.

« What is happening here? » He asks in a dull voice.

« Your daughter’s making a scene... Apparently, we are in great danger and we must land the plane at once! »

« My daughter? She’s only my daughter when it suits you best. » He replies.

« This is not the time for this kind of talk! » She snaps with embarrassment.

Travelers are waking up. They turn on their lights, raise their voice. Loud comments can be heard all over. A flight attendant rushes towards them in hopes of sorting things out. The three children hold hands firmly. Mahana's gaze is focused on her mom's face.

« We have to land right now! » The mother hesitates. She has never seen her daughter looking so serious before.

« Elliot, that's enough! » His caretaker gets upset. He grabs him to force him to sit down, fastens his seatbelt and pulls it tight.

« I'm really sorry. » He tells the flight attendant.

« I got it! » The voice of Seh'el'ennis booms:

« That machine just isn’t classy! It's disgusting to see something so ridiculous in the air, don’t you think? How about I rid the sky of this horrible sight? »