The sea of stars was a long cherished dream by mankind. Throughout many worlds, it symbolized their first step towards the unknown. The same holds true for this world.

"Urgh..."

During their fight with Altair, one of Shiro's time clones was sent into another world... with his own portal to be exact. The turbulence and adjustments done in his entry spent all of his power. Right now, he was powerless inside this cockpit.

"At least there's still a gun. Hah, my precautions worked this time."

Not finding the strength to fully lift his arm, his fingers lingered around Quanta's controls. Luckily, the Twin Drives restored its reserves fully. With the camoflauge against radio signals and transmitters, he could perfectly blend into this endless black space. The initial frost that built up were melted by the GN Particles.

"What world am I in..?"

While others could not find him, he could. After fiddling for a while, he turned on a random frequency that came from a satellite.

"The Beneritt Group releases the next generation Dilanza. It is designed to be used this upcoming June."

"Increasing protests occur. The Earthians who are dissatisfied prompts gas bombs..."

"This marks the 22nd year of GUND-ARM's ban. Do you find this date special?"

"I do. It marks the history where humans had successfully stopped the wrong maneuver it was about to take. For these weaponry that takes its pilot's life... it is a major issue regarding human rights."

Hearing the changing voices, Shiro became silent for a while.

"Now, what?"

Genuinely confused with everything, Shiro sorted out everything that he could find. 

Turns out, Gundams, or rather GUND-ARMS, suck the lifespan of its pilots. The more than they pilot them, the greater the chances that they would die. It is interesting to know that the variant of Gundams here came from prosthetics that were then used to create military-grade mechs. 

Their technology is siilar to the ones that Newtypes employ (i.e., Unicorn Gundam). The Gundam is directly connectted to the user's brain, manipulating them as if it was their own body. The only problem was that such operation places a burden to their brains. 

Meaning, overexertion could lead to the pilot's death.

It became a huge issue in this world, which led to the ban on Gundams.

"Another gundam classic, I see."

In his first life, he was an avid fan of Gunplas and games. Thus, he could completely understand how everything came to be.

'Wars, politics, space battles...'

That was how Gundam represented itself.

[Beep. Current location approximated.]

[Current location: Unknown Asteroid Belt.]

Upon knowing of his current location, he immediately realized the predicament he was in.

"I see..."

For now, he has to focus on surviving.

*****

Pssshk-!

After the magazine was changed and the previous bullet discharged, Shiro fired off the rifle once more.

Bang-!

The gentle rays of moonlight fell into his face. It has been much clearer than before, now that he gained the dominion over Terra's moon. It ensured protection against 'unwanted people'.

"Another one went down again... My arrival in this place messed many things up, huh."

For once, he invaded Terra's self-protection system during his 'reincarnation'. While he did not mean it, his action weakened its defense against the outer gods present in this world.

The small hole that he tore through became a hole large enough for them to wantonly trespass in this world.

"It's been a day already."

Unexpectedly, the mission that his main body became extremely lengthy. That was the only explanation that he could get now that he lasted more than a day inside the mission world. The time dilution worked in this case, which made him guess the duration of his stay.

"Half a year... it might be even longer." He mused. "But who would've expected that..."

Returning the rifle into his storage, he drew the replica of his sword from his soul. The time clone only had powers related to the [Magus], thus he could only interfere with time and borrow it from one of the past him. 

"Hm..? Something's wrong..."

Although he succeeded in doing so, he felt that it became harder than it used to be.

"Time... Mysteries keep piling up one after another."

Shaking his head, he focused on the matter at hand. As his appearance transformed and turned into [Fenrir], he thought of the possibility that was only a guess moments ago.

That is, until he felt that extreme familiarity.

"My friend, so it was really you."

On top of the volcano, he swung his dark blade.

Crack-!

It tore a gap in space itself, which revealed another dimension. It was a fiery landscape, a place where no mortal could hope to step in.

Suddenly, he felt a gaze directed at him. When he traced it back, he saw a ruler—one that emitted helplessness inside her.

"I see." The gray fog within his pupils cleared up as he saw the fate of this woman. "An entire race's resentment towards their 'injustice' continuously flows. How sad."

The woman was 'plagued', or rather 'surrounded' by wraiths from the ancient times. These wraiths formed a network akin to their 'afterlife'. Thus, their souls do not reincarnate but stay in that special space.

There was only a single race related to this—Sarkaz.

"I could understand."

"..!"

Visible surprise became present in her face. How could she have known that someone from Dossoles, more than a thousand kilometers away from Kazdel, could perfectly communicate with her.

"Remember to use this when necessary."

A black light came form his hand. There, a small necklace that held a black blade was formed. Just as the woman was about to say something, their connection was cut off.

"...What was that?"

Inside a large mobile landship, the woman, Theresa, regained her composure.

"They are the only ones capable of it. More so..." She used her connection to the Sarkaz's undead souls and saw that no one saw through that brief encounter. 

Shifting the topic, she felt the touch of metal in her right hand.

"This necklace... it's the one that he gave."

While it seemingly looks ordinary, she felt that the man from the other side would not give such an item. After all, she saw the same aura that every Sarkaz soul held—resentment—on him. Although, he was way past that stage.

"Why does he look familiar?"

In the end, she was temporarily stuck in a conundrum.

*****

Beep.

Beep.

Beep.

Only the sound of tapping noises was present inside Azur Lane's control room.

"Hm..."

Their commander solemnly reviewed every single footage captured from the KANSEN's perspective—all to seek for the truth.

"Let's see..."

Nimitz's face was always hidden under the oversized robe that 'she' wears during their confrontations. However, at times, a small glimpse of Nimitz's face could be seen.

It was as if Nimitz did not have the intention of completely hiding 'her' face.

After inputting the series of recordings, he saw a prompt at the screen.

[32% facial data retrieved. Begin simulation?]

Beep.

[Beginning simulation...]

Slowly, the screen gradually deduced how Nimitz would look. After it was completed, the results were shown.

"..."

Nothing came out of Shikikan's mouth as it was agape. He did not realize the comical expression that he wore due to the chills and sheer amount of shock that he was feeling right now.

"...What the fuck."

Presented in the screen was a face that he is extremely familiar with. In the first place, the reason why he conducted this simulation was due to the nagging feeling at the back of his mind. He have some doubts as to why he dreams of the same content every single time. 

His meeting with his 'other self' was something that he experienced for more than seven days straight. 

Twice could only be coincidence and thrice a result of luck, but seven times? There's a problem with him.

Recovering from his shock, he said,

"That's... me?"

*****

A/N: If anyone's wondering, the world where Shiro's clone landed into is Gundam: Witch From Mercury. As for the subsequent developments, it sets up everything that would happen by the time Doctor goes to amnesia and the story progresses to the Chernobog event.

Happy Reading~!