Korone slowly awoke to the sound of someone calling her.
“Please wait until I’ve restored my memories. ...Excuse me. My body’s oil viscosity has increased. Can you hand me an oil can?”
Korone sat up out of her futon, took the oil can, and gulped it down like cola.
“I’d rather not waste time recounting the exact number, but it’s been over 10,000 years, Akuto.”
Korone smiled.
“Yeah, sorry about that. But in the dimension I was in, time didn’t matter,” Akuto said, looking apologetic.
“I don’t understand, but I’ll choose to assume that something has been resolved.”
She got out of bed and looked around. The passing of ten thousand years had caused the room to decay, but the facility was still functional. This was the station where Keena had gone to sleep.
“Is it just you?” she asked, still wearing her pajamas. Akuto was the only one in the room.
“That’s right. But if I call them, everyone will come.”
“I’m afraid I don’t understand,” Korone replied, confused. She tried to read data from the gods and failed, so she simply tilted her head in confusion.
“The gods won’t answer. The teleportation circles won’t work. Humanity is gone.”
“How?”
“It’s fine. You’ll understand later. By the way...”
Akuto pointed out the window.
“Has the Earth always been like this?”
“Yes. It’s too early for the surviving life to flourish, still,” Korone said, looking down at the Earth below her. After the asteroid impact, there was nothing left of the Earth’s surface but a single small sea. The rest was just brown rubble.
“Hiroshi did his best, but he failed.”
“He tried to stop the asteroid?”
“Yes.”
“I see. That’s the kind of guy he was. He saved me, too. I think he’s the only one I can call a true friend. Oh, but when I said I could call everybody, that didn’t mean I could call him.”
His expression turned dark for a moment.
“You’ve been saying the strangest things since I woke up. What happened?”
Akuto nodded.
“It’s hard to explain. But it’s okay. We’ll have lots of time later. I think I can take you, too.”
Akuto winked at her.
“You’re not who you used to be, are you? Either way, if you have a plan, then shall we wake up the Empress?”
Korone looked towards the corner of the room. The coffin-shaped cryogenics device was there.
“Go ahead and do it.”
“I will, then. But if you can summon anyone, shouldn’t you summon someone to take care of her?”
Korone asked, but Akuto shook his head.
“If other people are here, it will ruin our touching reunion.”
“I see. But please give me a moment. It would be rude to do it in my pajamas, so I’m going to change.”
Korone went to take off her pajamas.
“Hurry up,” he said, as he began to operate the cold sleep device’s panel. The machine was working, but it would take a little time for it to wake her up.
“Oh...?”
Korone sounded vaguely impressed when she’d finished stripping down to her underwear.
“You’re not freaked out by the sight of a half-naked girl anymore. I thought something had changed. I guess you’re not a virgin anymore, then.”
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“Come on now...”
Akuto trailed off, but he didn’t deny it.
“What a boring, grown-up response. You are grown up now, though, aren’t you?”
Korone made a motion like she was wiping away sarcastic, invisible tears.
“So, who did you lose your virginity to?”
“Would you not ask that?” Akuto sighed.
Korone put on her uniform just as Akuto finished working at the console. The countdown to awaken Keena from cold sleep began.
“This is a very emotional moment. Life on Earth is about to begin again, right? Can you rebuild the Empire?” Korone asked.
Akuto shook his head.
“Nope. We’re not going to Earth.”
“But there aren’t any planets we can move to... There are no stars outside of this solar system...” Korone said, surprised. Akuto seemed to be trying to figure out how to explain.
“What is it? I wish you’d stop hiding things and explain...”
“No. We’re going to evolve.”
“Evolve? That’s a strange thing to say. The evolution of life, to begin with...” Korone started to explain, but Akuto cut her off.
“No, I know. But evolution is all I can call it. In other words, we’re going to shift to another universe.”
“... Shift?”
“That’s right. Essentially...”
Just as he began to explain, the cold sleep device began to emit a beeping sound. He cut off his explanation and pressed the button to open the lid. The heavy lid made a clanging noise as cold air poured out from it. The lid slid off to the side. What looked like a coffin now seemed like a bed.
It was an empress, not a princess, that was sleeping here, but she was still a snow-white beauty. She was sleeping peacefully in the cold. It was like she’d just dozed off a moment ago, but to Akuto, this was something he’d been longing for for a very long time.
“I guess you should wake her up with a kiss, shouldn’t you?”
Korone meant it as a joke, but Akuto said nothing as he leaned over Keena. But when he did, he could feel her breath tickling his cheek.
“She’s already awake,” he said. Keena almost burst out laughing, her eyes still closed, but he quickly pushed up his lips to hers. There was a long kiss. Her arms wrapped around his back, and the two of them stood up.
“I missed you.”
“For me, it’s barely been any time at all.”
“Then I guess I didn’t make things hard for you,” Akuto said, relieved.
“But...” Keena paused for a second. “I think I had a long dream. So I know a little about what happened over... there!”
Keena pinched Akuto’s side from above his clothes.
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