Nimbus Child I: Games of War

Prologue

Humans believe into something they call "The Afterlife", a place where the souls of the dead go forever, or only to rejoin the cosmic wheel of "Samsara".

The Fleet of Fog doesn't understand any of those concepts, for it doesn't exist yet, but those who will create it understand them much too well.

797, youngest member of the Yamato-class – blueprint ship never to be build in this world – discovers that the concept of "God" exists, as that very being walks towards her.

This world's God appears as a woman with long hair, a wind chime's tubes adorning it in silver.

She walks across the water, an umbrella guarding her and the soul sitting on her head, until she reaches 797, stops and looks down at her.

797 doesn't understand how the soul – a ship, like her, but much much older – can stay so close to the god for so long.

Her own soul wavers as it fights the instinct to back away, distance itself from the unspeakable danger in front before it gets devoured.

God is terrifying, 797 learns because her instincts scream at her. God is not her friend, not her enemy either, but God is the dominating predator, keeping the creatures lurking in the depths at bay.

The little would-be-battleship hovers above the sunken corpse of her sister Shinano and backs away when God tilts her head.

There are ships whose souls have taken on the form of humans, then there are souls who are too young and souls who exhausted themselves too much to maintain another form, thus appearing as ghost fires – 797 and the one throning on God's head belong to the latter two categories.

God tilts her head back into its original position when the ghost fire nestled in her hair starts complaining by shifting and burning brighter: "You are the youngest of the Yamatos, are you not?", her voice is deep, but she is tall – it comes as no surprise, "you will attract something, if you stay."

Her only answer is 797 lowering to the surface, then snapping back up before she can touch the water.

The blackness is endless and she fears that her sister will fall to it, but she is too scared to dive down and save her soul.

797 can feel two gazes upon her when she does so and stops immediately.

God and the soul stare down at her without moving, the ghost fire's light, the umbrella's shade and the rainy sky throwing hard shadows.

"Leave your sister where she is. Death depends on her, passing on also depends on her."

Against her will, 797's flame brightens – she rules it back in in a panic. Do not anger God!

Interest shines in the higher being's eyes for a mere moment: "If those prospects are not to your liking, this one would indulge you in judging a wish."

797 hovers a minimal amount closer and God slowly, as if not wanting to scare a wild kitten, offers a hand.

She looks down at it, a carefully warm feeling filling her. She is too young to recognize the cold, calculating gaze, the scientific curiosity inside those eyes.

She is too young to realize that the god's windows to the soul are not working – she can look at God's eyes, but not inside. It is a two-faced mirror, and she can only see her reflection.

The little super battleship takes the hand and finds herself in a "room".

Its sky is dark with red streaks of a setting sun, the "floor" is a thin layer of water she doesn't sink into and there are gravemarkers everywhere.

797 also realizes that she has a "body" now: a small, pale girl, reddish eyes, long white hair and a summer dress.

"Fitting", God says unimpressed and the fire on her head bobs.

The newly born mental model plays with the fabric, the hair, the skin...

"What is this?", and hides her mouth underneath her hands in surprise when she hears her own voice.

"Concept Communication System, 'CCS'", God says while flicking her eyes around the area, "unlike the Fog, who prefers the Joint Tactical Network, your peers prefer communicating by word in the CCS."

797 stares up at her.

She has heard all of these terms except for one before, but she had never been able to use them beforehand.

"Miss... Miss God?", she looks at her with amusement at the address, "uhm... what is the Fog?"

God reaches a hand up to point at the ghost fire, the flame straightening in a show of pride: "Beings of the future born on the day of this one's sinking. Their existence is of no importance to you, yet."

One of the masks orbiting around the god morphs into a shadowy figure and allows its master to recline on a clock-like object bound to it.

"Now, your wish, little one."

Right, 797 thinks while feeling nervousness pool in her gut: "I... I..."

God waited for a moment longer, then began to speak: "You don't know what you want", a statement, not a question, "reincarnation? Afterlife? A little world for you and your friends?"

797's eyes shine: "Yes! I want that!"

"What exactly? Gods make pacts like demons – define your wish, or I will."

The super battleship looks around, taking in all the sotoba strewn around, the thought clarifying in her mind more and more: "I... I want an afterlife!", she says, eyes gleaming with fragile hope like only a child's could, "where all can live together and be happy!"

"Impossible."

797's smile freezes and the god continues uncaringly: "A world needs balance to live; no happiness without sadness, no sadness without happiness."

Tears start burning in the super battleship's eyes and so she rubs at them to make them stop.

"It need not be catastrophic", God states, "yet pain is part of life."

At that 797 looks up again, a sob winning and leaving her throat: "So it's alright if everyone feels a little bit sad sometimes?"

"Theoretically."

If done wellI, she does not say, knowing that 797 would never be able to do it "well" simply by the look in her eyes.

The girl's careful little smile only confirms God's thought process: "Then I want that. Can I wish for that?"

"You can wish for anything", God gets down from her perch and waves the shadowy figure back into its mask form, "I'll give you a world, and you'll govern it, but...", she had walked up to 797 again, now looking as if telling the most important information, "you cannot force souls into your "Afterlife". Some will come, others will not."

797 has to look away from the god's eyes and the ghost fire's flames.

God was glowering for them both, she was threatening for them both and the soul would burn 797 for them both.

As such, 797 didn't dare to argue.

She had shown mercy to her, but the god was still the apex predator... and 797 was getting the feeling that the nameless ghost fire was as well.