"Dad will come back, sweetheart. You don't have to worry." The warm smile of that middle-aged man still lingered vividly in Lizzy's memory. But even as he smiled, the only thing that fell were Lizzy's tears — silent, unstoppable.
"Daddy… you promise?" Back then, Lizzy was only seven — too young to understand anything except how to cry every time she had to let go of her father, a naval officer who was always leaving for missions.
Her father chuckled softly, brushing her tiny head with so much gentleness it almost hurt. "I promise, Ellysia. Daddy will definitely come back."
His voice had sounded so reassuring. Yet he never returned. And from that moment on, Lizzy never saw her father again.
"Hiks… hiks… Daddy…"
"Sabduskrom." — (She crying)
A faint childlike murmur drifted somewhere near her — soft, close, whispering. Lizzy tried to latch onto the sound, but she couldn't understand a single word. Her head throbbed sharply, forcing her to open her eyes to figure out what was happening.
"Uwah! Kadynsma!" — (My God!)
A wide-eyed little girl stared back at her, startled beyond belief the moment Lizzy's eyes fluttered open. When Lizzy shifted her gaze toward her, the girl shrieked and jumped away, as if she had just seen a ghost.
Her scream pierced through Lizzy's skull, worsening the pounding inside her head. Lizzy didn't even notice someone entering the room until a new voice spoke.
"Losidmisdja sarsa?" — (Did she already woke up?)
A young blonde woman had stepped inside, speaking in a language Lizzy had never heard before. At first, Lizzy thought the child was just… different. But then she realized — everyone was speaking the same unfamiliar language.
Lizzy only frowned harder as the blonde woman repeated her question in that strange language. Nothing made sense. Her head spun, not only from the pain, but from the absolute wrongness of everything — the sounds, the scents, even the air felt… different. Lighter. Cooler. Almost unreal.
"What happened? Where am I?"
"Msudka hyna? Tsakisoumdi?" — (How are you? Is anyone hurt?)
The black-haired girl only shook her head, her expression mirroring Lizzy's confusion. They didn't understand her either.
Lizzy tried to steady her breathing. She replayed the last thing she remembered before waking here — opening the convenience store door, the sudden darkness swallowing her, the feeling of falling through nothing. A void that felt too empty to belong anywhere on Earth.
And now… here she was.
In a room made entirely of wood, from the walls to the ceiling, with unfamiliar carvings that glowed faintly under the lamplight — as if the patterns moved when she wasn't looking. Some of the ornamental plants placed on the windowsills also — have unusual shapes and colors. There was a pungent — soothing aroma coming from there.
When Lizzy spotted a window, instinct took over. She scrambled to her feet, ignoring the blonde woman's panicked attempts to stop her.
She had to look. She had to.
The moment she pushed open the wooden frame, her breath caught in her throat. Because outside — there was a sky she had never seen in her entire life.
A moon twice the size she remembered. Its silver light shone brilliantly, illuminating the entire universe, as if blinking at her. A violet sky that shimmered like it was alive. And the stars scattered so densely they looked like powdered diamonds spilled across the cosmos.
High above them all, a floating crown-shaped formation, pulsing softly like a heartbeat. Faintly, fine grains of light were visible that were sprinkling from there.
Even now Lizzy felt a strange power creeping over her skin, tickling.
Lizzy's mind instantly rejected it. This was too much. Too impossible. Everything in here felt like a painting that defied the rules of the world she knew.
She backed away, shaking, her legs nearly giving out. Then — voices. Soft, unfamiliar words echoing behind her again.
"What is happening…? Who are you people?!" Lizzy asked while looking at everyone warily.
The little girl flinched, hiding behind the blonde woman as she peeked at Lizzy with wide, frightened eyes.
"Hoenardiemso kialar." — (We don't mean anything bad)
Lizzy didn't know that phrase. She didn't know any of this. The room, the air, the sky — everything was too vivid to be a dream, yet too strange to be real.
Her heart thudded painfully. She slapped her cheek, hard, hoping to wake up.
Stinging pain. Real pain.
Now she knew that she was not on earth. Not in her world.
"Damn it! I don't understand anything you're saying!" Lizzy cried, her voice shaking. "Just tell me where I am! Please… someone just tell me!"
The blonde woman hesitated, then whispered something again — gentle, as if trying to soothe her. "Ronamska…" — (Calm down)
But Lizzy only felt more lost.
Her vision blurred with tears she could no longer hold back. Five years she hadn't cried — not since her mother died. But now everything inside her broke at once.
Suddenly—
THUD!
The wooden door swung open, and a tall, shoulder-length haired young man strode inside. His silhouette darkened the doorway like a shadow from another realm.
"Tudaeskda?" — (What's happen?)
Another foreign word. Another hit of fear.
Lizzy screamed again — louder, rawer — until the world around her dissolved into chaos.
The little girl shrieked. The blonde woman panicked. The shoulder-length haired young man rushed toward Lizzy, muttering something urgently before he struck the back of her neck with a swift, practiced movement.
Her vision shattered into darkness. Not the soft darkness of fainting — but a cold, deep void that felt disturbingly familiar.
⊱⋅ ────◇✦◇──── ⋅⊰
The world finally stilled the moment mysterious girl collapsed, her body going limp in Revanio's arms. He clicked his tongue in frustration.
The shoulder-length haired youth rubbed his temples, clearly exhausted. Of all things he expected today, dealing with a mysterious girl who screamed loud enough to summon half the town was not one of them.
When she had shrieked earlier, the neighbors had rushed over in a panic — faces pale, weapons half-drawn, whispering in alarm. Fortunately, Morgana had offered a believable explanation that calmed them down enough for the crowd to disperse.
Revanio exhaled a long, heavy breath.
For a moment, he regretted bringing the girl home. He had found her unconscious and alone in the forest — an odd stranger with an aura he couldn't place — and thought it was the right thing to help her.
But then again… Morgana had genuinely thanked him for not abandoning the girl out there. His mother was too kind for her own good — kind even to beings whose origins were completely unknown.
Revanio glanced at mysterious girl unconscious form, her dark hair spilling over the wooden floor like ink. "…What are you really?" he murmured under his breath.
Outside, the vivid violet night sky pulsed faintly — as if answering him.
Something unseen stirred far beyond the window, hidden within the foreign stars. And whatever brought mysterious girl here… felt like it was only just beginning.
Revanio hadn't even finished processing his own thoughts when he noticed his little sister acting just like their mother. Just moments ago she had cried and screamed in fear when the mysterious girl lost control.
But now — look at her.
Milliane had already crept back toward the unconscious stranger, curiosity shining in her wide eyes as the girl lay there, completely passed out after Revanio knocked her out earlier. It seems that curiosity has overcome her fear.
Maybe this was Milliane's first time seeing someone with pitch-black hair. In truth, it was the first time for all of them.
"She looks strange no matter how you see it. Where did you find her, Brother?" Milliane asked, staring closely at the mysterious girl.
"At the edge of the forest," Revanio replied casually, though it wasn't entirely a lie. He had found her in the forest — wrapped tightly in the vines of a strange plant, hanging upside down from a tree like some lost creature pulled in by the shadows.
Milliane nodded seriously, then reached out to poke the girl's cheek. Feeling how soft and springy it was, Milliane's eyes lit up with fascination. She poked again — harder this time.
"Careful. She might bite you," Revanio teased.
And as if summoned by his joke, the girl's eyes snapped open.
Both Milliane and the mysterious girl screamed in unison, one in terror and the other in shock. Revanio winced; his ears felt like they were about to burst.
Footsteps rushed toward them. The door flew open, revealing Morgana with a panicked expression. She took in the scene — Milliane clinging to Revanio's back like a terrified koala, and the mysterious girl scrambling into the corner of the room.
"Oh dear… what a mess," Morgana sighed, holding a cup filled with something that looked like a potion.
Just by seeing it, Revanio understood exactly what his mother intended. He stepped aside, allowing her to approach the frightened girl. Milliane continued to cling to his back, unwilling to come down.
"Calm down… we won't hurt you." Morgana spoke gently, reaching out to take the girl's hand with a light, reassuring touch. When the girl finally stopped trembling, Morgana guided her closer.
"Drink this. After that, you'll be able to understand what we're saying." Morgana demonstrated the act of drinking before offering the cup to her.
Of course, the girl didn't trust them easily. Suspicion flickered in her obsidian eyes as she glanced at each of them. But Morgana only smiled warmly, even patting the girl's head with motherly affection.
After a moment's hesitation, the girl finally gave in and took a sip.
"Ugh—!"
It was bitter. She froze after the first gulp.
"It's better if you finish it," Morgana suggested kindly.
For some reason — perhaps because she suddenly understood Morgana's tone — the girl obediently drank the entire potion, though her expression twisted oddly afterward.
"Well?" Morgana asked with a knowing smile.
The girl's obsidian eyes widened in amazement. She stared at the empty cup, then at Morgana.
"I… I can understand you now!" she exclaimed, her voice trembling with disbelief and relief.
Revanio nodded. "That brew helps someone learn a new language quickly. Now we can interrogate yo—"
"AHEM. He means, now we can communicate more easily," Morgana corrected sharply, glaring at him before he could finish. Revanio clicked his tongue quietly, while Milliane peeked from behind his back, still wary but curious.
"Well then, let's introduce ourselves. My name is Morgana Calyx," she said warmly. "These two are my children — Revanio, and Milliane."
"And what's your name?" Morgana asked gently.
The girl blinked, glancing between the three of them. "I… I'm Lizzy," she answered softly.
"That's a cute name!" Milliane exclaimed, her excitement drawing everyone's attention. Realizing she'd spoken too loudly, she hid behind Revanio again.
Chuckling, Morgana turned back to Lizzy. "Revanio said he found you in the Vitojoraz Forest, far from the Kingdom City. That means you're not from around here, are you—"
"That forest is extremely far from any settlement," Revanio cut in, his voice sharp with interrogation. "And it's dangerously outside the protective dome. How did you end up there after the Silver Sibling Moon incident?"
Lizzy shrank under his piercing hazelnut gaze. She didn't understand a single term they mentioned.
"Vitojoraz Forest? Silver Sibling Moon? What is all that?"
At first they thought Lizzy might be from a tribe living deep in the Vitojoraz forest — whose language was different from theirs. But the confusion on her face was enough to answer their question.
If she didn't know those things, then she was definitely not from this planet.