Orbit of Mercury. Captain Manuel’s ship.

  Pietro’s cabin is drowned in twilight. In the corner, where a faint indicator light flickers, everything seems frozen, almost invisible. Pietro lies on his back, his body relaxed — but his mind… offers no rest. He feels his consciousness slowly turning inward, as if falling into a void.

  Sounds that usually disappear into the vastness of the ship suddenly become sharp and loud. He hears the hum of the reactor, the scraping of plasma against the hull, even Captain Manuel’s faint breathing from the far end of the vessel.

  It’s only the beginning.

  Pietro’s awareness slips into darkness, losing weight, form, boundaries. Thoughts dissolve. All that remains is silence — and a vague readiness.

  Readiness for something important.

  He opens his eyes — or so it seems. Before him, in the endless black, a figure appears. His own face. Calm. Lit from within.

  — “You have questions for me?” the double asks, but the words seem to go straight into his mind, bypassing sound.

  — “I do,” Pietro replies, forcing himself to focus. “What are the commandments of the god Hanaris?”

  The double smiles — without judgment, with quiet certainty.

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  — “The First Commandment:

  Every believer who dies with the name of Hanaris on their lips enters the Archive of Osari and will be reborn.”

  The world bursts into light. Pietro is no longer in the void.

  He feels himself inside other bodies. Sees through their eyes. Feels their pain, their suffering, their final thoughts.

  It’s not a single consciousness — but thousands, hundreds of thousands, billions — all as one.

  Back to the void. The double stands before him again.

  — “You just saw them,” he says calmly. “They are part of Osari. Preserved. Waiting for awakening.”

  — “The Second Commandment:

  Evil is interaction without consent, without goodwill. All evil must be punished. Otherwise, you become complicit and multiply evil in the world.

  The consciousness of a believer who commits evil is erased from the Archive of Osari — and will never be reborn.”

  — “And what about non-believers?” Pietro begins to ask, but the double already replies:

  — “Bring them to faith. That is the path to salvation.”

  — “Can I refuse to believe?” Pietro asks, barely audibly. His voice is weak.

  The double watches him closely. Silent, weighing the answer. A minute. Another.

  — “Yes,” he finally says.

  — “You are free.

  But know this: your consciousness will never enter Osari.

  You will not be reborn — but vanish into oblivion.”

  The final word strikes like a bell toll, filling the void with a heavy, dull echo. The entire world — all boundaries — dissolve.

  Pietro jolts awake.

  He’s back in his cabin. Everything appears the same, but inside… something is different.

  He feels it with every breath. His body is still tense, and his mind floats, unsettled.

  Only more questions remain.