Mira's gift

Alex stood in the familiar wasteland, the desolate air carrying the faint pulse of the planet's energy. 

Beside him, Mira stretched, her eyes narrowing as she took in their surroundings. 

She had recovered from her revival, but there were still some deep, mental scars left behind from knowing that she had died.

The worst part was that she couldn't remember a thing from it.

She already knew from early on that there was little to no evidence of an afterlife, which had even been announced by the Federation not long after the advent of the Primordial Expanse and the System came along.

But hearing about it, and experiencing something like non-existence herself were two entirely different things.

She never wanted to feel such a thing again…

Nevertheless, she returned her focus back from her delusions.

The planet's depths were ahead — holding the unsettling, black sphere that hummed with a sinister, dormant power.