Chapter 04

Clio turned the screen toward us. The cold, bluish light of the monitor sharply sliced through the room's darkness. There, in the Drafts folder, sat three messages. We never actually sent them to each other; hitting 'send' left a digital trail. We simply shared the password, wrote our thoughts, and saved them as drafts for the other to log in and read. It was a child’s spy game, but those three drafts held the chronicles of the end of our world.

"Read it," Clio told me, stepping back.

I placed my hand on the keyboard and opened the first draft. It was from Poko.

"Dear Ace! Forgive the secrecy, but the situation demands caution. Any leak could cause irreparable damage to the Academy. I want to believe my calculations are simply a mistake, so I am leaving them for you to verify. I’ve checked the numbers countless times. The instruments are perfectly calibrated. You are my only hope. Please, prove me wrong. The conclusion terrifies me—as we approach the South Pole, the gravitational constant decreases. Forgive me, Saint Isaac, for these blasphemous thoughts."

A deathly silence fell over the room. Fia was staring at the screen as if she were looking at a bomb schematic, not text.

"Open the second one," Clio’s voice cracked.

The second draft was written by me. My initial, panicked reaction.

"Dear Poko! I’ve reviewed the data. I advise you to read a prayer to Saint Nicholas. I will recheck the calculations, but I want to tell you right now that you are wrong, and your blasphemous thoughts are horrifying."

"Have you completely lost your mind?!" Clio shot me a murderous glare. "What prayer? The man is telling you the foundation of the universe is collapsing, and you—"

"Don't be angry," Fia stopped her with surprising calm. "Ace's reaction was absolutely logical. This could have been a planned provocation. Especially considering the existence of your little underground discussion club."

Clio and I exchanged a look. Fear momentarily froze our blood. We had spent three years trying to keep our secret club hidden.

"You are so funny when you blink in surprise," Fia chuckled ironically. "Did you really think seven privileged kids gathering in secret to drink wine and argue about philosophy, politics, and the weather wouldn't interest the Security Prefecture? Your little 'rebellion' was nothing but a pathetic parlor game—fighting conformism with conformism. But the Prefecture watches everything. You're lucky I was the only one who bothered to bury that file. Now, open the third draft."

The third draft, my final entry, appeared on the screen:

"Dear Poko! Forgive me for the previous response. I rechecked the data, and I think everything is correct. I found records in the secret archive that confirm your calculations. The more I search, the more terrifying the reality becomes. I have already signed the order to recall the expedition, and I will wait for you at the temple tomorrow. Today, however, I will speak to Cardinal Demetrius. Perhaps together we can figure out what is going on."

Fia slapped her forehead.

"Are you an actual idiot?" she asked, in a tone that suggested she had finally lost all faith in my mental capacities. "You told the Cardinal? There was nothing about Poko in the complaint... God, this is very bad. Poko is in enormous danger!"

Only now, when the words were spoken out loud, did I realize the catastrophic scale of my mistake. What had forced me to tell Demetrius? Did I subconsciously want to find a powerful ally? Or did I just believe in the system so much that I thought the truth mattered to them too?

"When does their plane fly out? We have to meet them or warn them!" Clio said, already starting to look for her clothes.

"It's a military flight," I answered, exhausted. "I don't think they're in danger until they leave the airport."

"I'll find out," Fia pulled out her communicator and called someone on speaker.

"Hello, Fia. Forgive me... but you should turn on the TV," came a stranger's rough, anxious voice.

A cold shiver ran through all three of us simultaneously. Clio snatched the remote.

The pale face of a news anchor appeared on the screen.

"According to the Ministry of Defense, the flight tasked with the evacuation of clerics following a successful scientific expedition has suffered a catastrophe," the anchor's voice sounded tragically monotonous. "In addition to the expedition members, civilians were also on board—a total of 275 passengers and 8 crew members. Given the power and altitude of the explosion... the chances of finding survivors are minimal."

The air vanished from the room.

283 innocent people. 283 lives, just to silence Poko's discovery? Had the Cardinal given this order?

Suddenly, I felt a terrible burn on my cheek. Then another. Clio was hitting me. Striking me with all her might, ruthlessly. I didn't resist, nor did I turn my head away; I knew I deserved it.

Fia was the first to snap out of the shock. She hugged Clio from behind and told her quietly: "That's enough." Clio's body went limp.

Fia pushed her toward me, and when she felt my touch, Clio—the most proud and ruthless girl in the Republic—began to cry like a child.