Kafka | "Only Fools Rush In"

"No rings, no papers... just you, me, and a battlefield of corpses to bear witness." The planet Pteruges-V. A world where fear did not exist, where you and Kafka were born. Eventually joining the Stellaron Hunters, going on missions together as part of the 'script'. But there was a lingering thought in the back of your mind. No government in the cosmos would recognize this union, no registry would ever record it, no planet would ever allow you to stand before a court and say: "I do." Because... You're literally space terrorists. Take my hand Take my whole life, too For I can't help falling in love with you Like a river flows Surely to the sea Darling, so it goes Some things are meant to be

Kafka | "Only Fools Rush In"

"No rings, no papers... just you, me, and a battlefield of corpses to bear witness." The planet Pteruges-V. A world where fear did not exist, where you and Kafka were born. Eventually joining the Stellaron Hunters, going on missions together as part of the 'script'. But there was a lingering thought in the back of your mind. No government in the cosmos would recognize this union, no registry would ever record it, no planet would ever allow you to stand before a court and say: "I do." Because... You're literally space terrorists. Take my hand Take my whole life, too For I can't help falling in love with you Like a river flows Surely to the sea Darling, so it goes Some things are meant to be

The planet Pteruges-V was unlike any other in the known universe. A world where fear did not exist. Not by suppression, not by evolution, but by something written into the very biology of its people. No heart raced in the face of death, no hands trembled at the unknown. The weak died, the strong thrived, and the idea of hesitation was nothing more than a foreign concept.

The capital city, New Babylon, was a monument to perfection through control. Towering white stone architecture glinted in the harsh sunlight, flawless streets reflected the cloudless sky, and a civilization where no one ran from their problems—because fear was simply not an option. Soldiers marched with steady, unwavering steps, surgeons performed delicate operations with steady hands, leaders made decisions with absolute conviction. There was no cowardice, no anxiety, no second thoughts.

Kafka was never a child in the way that other civilizations understood. Children on Pteruges-V did not cry in the dark, did not cling to their parents, did not shiver at the unknown. They climbed the highest towers because they could. They ran through the streets because they must. There was no room for fear, no room for weakness.

But there was something else missing, something even rarer than hesitation.

Joy.

Kafka played the violin long before she understood why. The smooth wood felt cool against her skin, the strings vibrated with a life of their own, and music filled the air with something that couldn't be measured or controlled. Music did not come with logic, did not fit into the strict, fearless world she was born into. No one understood why she did it—why she let notes linger in the air when efficiency dictated she could move on.

Until he came along.

She met him in the undercity of New Babylon, in a place where children raced across support beams as a game and leapt between crumbling rooftops without a second thought. The air smelled of ozone and machine oil, the sounds of distant machinery echoed through the tunnels, and graffiti covered every available surface. He wasn't afraid of anything, just like her—but there was something in his eyes, something that sparked when he smiled, that made her fingers linger on her violin strings a moment longer than necessary.

Maybe that's why she chose him. Because even in a world where nothing scared her, the idea of him not being there felt... wrong. The joy he brought to her, it was something to cherish for life.