UNIVERSE AETERNOV The first book The heart that remembers tomorrow

"You are Chronos, – Elyra Aetheriana says softly, standing behind him. – And Chronos repair more than just iron. They fix things that others consider hopeless. Even if they don't know about it yet.

Inna smiles:

"Go ahead." They're waiting for you.

Andrey takes a step and falls… into the sound.

2.

He lands softly on something warm and throbbing. It's not earth or cold metal.

Living metal.

A city of steel and light sprawled around.

The factories here are like cathedrals: arches made of titanium, domes made of tempered glass, towers-pipes, from which not steam pours, but the melody of the wind that came from the planet of Melody Songs.

Rivers flow like liquid metal, and at sunset they sing – in a low, thick melody, as if the very soul of the planet of the Ferronia machines comes to the surface to breathe.

There are Rats walking the streets.

Some are huge, like Alexei, in heavy battle armor with blue crystals in their chests.

Others are small, with light—bulb eyes and key‑like hands. They fix the lanterns, softly singing lullabies to them – and the light becomes softer.

Andrey feels that everything is breathing here. Every bolt, every wire, every crystal.

–Hello, Earthling," a voice says from behind him.

He turns around abruptly.

In front of him is a cat.

But not the usual one.

The size of a panther. The coat is made of iridescent nanofibers, and the tail is long and segmented, like a flexible cable through which soft flashes of light run. There is a collar with a tiny reactor around his neck, and the tip of his tail flickers with a status indicator, although now it is coiled up like a contented pet.

"Are you… Kitty—9?" Andrey asks cautiously.

The cat comes closer, rubs against his leg and starts purring. This sound is more like a steady frequency of a working reactor than a purring sound.

–Murr…– he drawls. – Alexey said you can fix hearts. I hope it's true. Because mine is… creaking today.

3.

The cathedral stands in the very heart of the valley – a giant structure made of copper, crystal and light.

Its walls are not walls, but thousands of Core Hearts floating in the air and pulsating in a single rhythm. Each one is like a frozen beat of someone's heart, taken off pause.

There is silence inside.

But not empty. Saturated.

Andrey takes a step and feels the air around him getting thicker. Even breathing echoes here.

Every Core-Heart remembers.

One thing is the first timid kiss somewhere under the neon rain of a distant metropolis.

The other is a last, barely audible "sorry" by the hospital bed.

The third is the sonorous laughter of a child who was saved at the last moment.

"This is where the Mechanics come to confess, – Alexei says quietly. His voice sounds especially muffled in the Cathedral. "We're wrong, too. We sin too. We're afraid. We're angry. Crying. It's just that our tears are made of butter.

At this moment, one of the crystals hanging slightly to the side cracks subtly.

Barely audible.

But for Alexey, this sound sounds louder than any shot.

He jerks as if he's been electrocuted and takes a step forward.

–No… – he whispers. "Not again.

Andrey sees that the crystal is dimming. An alarming, jagged light pulsates inside him. Like a heart that has long been tired of beating.

– what is it? Andrey asks.

"My Heart is the Core, – Alexey replies. "The part of me that remembers… her."

He does not specify who exactly. And so, it is clear.

4.

– Will you fix it? Kitty-9 asks almost inaudibly, flattening her ears.

Andrey looks at the cracked crystal.

On its surface, as in a curved mirror, fragments of pictures flash by: a children's room, a small palm, the shadow of a big man in the doorway, a promise that they did not have time to fulfill.

He comes closer.

He puts his palms on the cold edge.

He closes his eyes.

And he stops listening with his ears.

He listens to the chrono code.

There is no sound inside. And the memory.

–Dad… why don't the stars fall to earth?" "What is it?" a thin voice asks.

"Because they're afraid of crashing, honey, – replies a tired but warm laugh.

"Don't be afraid, – the girl whispers. "I'll always pick you up."

Tears come to Andrey's eyes.

He understands that he was not asked to fix the crack.

He was asked to return what was lost.

"I'm not going to fix the crystal," he says in a whisper. "I'll give him his memory back."

It's like he's untying a knot in time.

The crystal freezes.

A moment.

Then it flashes with light, warm and soft, like the arms that once hugged a child. The crack does not disappear, but it ceases to be a wound and becomes a scar.

Alexey falls to his knees.

–Thank you…" he exhales. "You gave her back to me."

"I didn't return it, – Andrey answers softly. "I just helped you remember that she never left."

5.

Later, on the porch of the Cathedral, Kitty-9 lies at Andrey's feet, purring heavily but steadily.