Stars Waited Above Empty Streets by Lorin Wren 13

Chapter 13 Tylissa’s Story 

Finished 

By the time Ava turned thirty, she was diagnosed with a severe genetic disease. Treatments. didn’t help, and within two years, she passed away. Yet somehow, she got a second chance at life, only in a completely different way. 

For the twenty–five years she’s lived in this world, the first twelve were spent in the Underworld. That place was nothing but murder, blood, and violence. Her only goal back then was survival, so she spent twelve years living as a boy just to stay alive. After leaving with Patrick at twelve, she had never gone to school a day in her life. From that point on, her plan was simple: study hard, get into a good college, graduate, land a decent job, and take care of Patrick. But life had another cruel twist waiting. Her closest family member, Patrick, passed away, and once again, she became an orphan. 

Ava let the music take her wherever it wanted. She moved without thinking, letting herself flow. It had been ages since she’d danced this freely. When she finally stopped, all the emotions she’d been holding in over the past weeks poured out. She felt lighter, more transparent, like she’d shed a weight she didn’t even know she was carrying. 

After a shower, she saw Lianne’s reply on her Holoband. They started chatting casually and ended up talking for over half an hour. They finally agreed to meet the day after tomorrow in the morning. Lianne insisted, saying Ava was coming from far away and should be treated as a guest. She’d cover the meal this time and told Ava not to argue–there would be plenty of chances later. 

Ava couldn’t help laughing and crying at the same time, but agreed anyway. 

A thin crescent moon hung in the sky. It was already past ten at night, but Ava still felt wide awake. After finishing her chat with Lianne, she dove into Stellar Network, scrolling late into the night. 

On the Stellar Network, the feed was absolutely flooded. Every trending post at the top of the charts had Tylissa’s name plastered across it. 

‘Tylissa spotted out on the town…‘ 

“Tylissa hanging with friends…” 

‘Congrats to Tylissa for writing and creating the epic period drama “Awareness of Life,” set in the Celestian Empire of ancient Terran, now airing…‘ 

Ava nearly bit her own tongue in shock. 

That fellow time–traveler sure is killing it here, living like she’s got the main character script in her hands. Meanwhile, I wake up in a d*mn junkyard. People really shouldn’t be compared. Life’s just not fair. 

1/2 

15:36 Tue, Jan 6 

Chapter 13 Tylissa’s Story 

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Finished 

Ava instantly got curious and started digging up everything she could find on Tylissa. She watched in awe as Tylissa had transplanted all the old Earth shows, movies, poems, novels, and songs into this timeline. Ava couldn’t help but admire just how insane Tylissa’s memory was. 

Even though Tylissa was basically taking the ‘copy–and–paste‘ route, it didn’t matter here. In this world, ancient Terran was thousands of years behind, and Earth’s civilizations had long since vanished into the tide of history. Scholars still debated whether the legendary glories of ancient Terran had ever actually existed. 

In the final apocalyptic records of ancient Terran, humanity endured horrific plagues, landslides, earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanoes–nature went berserk. The planet had become unlivable. Ancient Terran was on the verge of self–destruction. The last humans had to flee into space. Earth’s civilizations faded from memory, and just as the space–faring humans caught their first breath of relief, they were hit by alien threats that nearly wiped them out. It got so bad that humanity had to put aside old grudges and come together to survive. Some of the pioneers even awakened mental and elemental powers. 

Ava clicked on a short drama Tylissa had made back when she was a teenager. It was steeped in the vibe of this society’s era and followed a classic one–girl–multiple–guys romance plot. 

The heroine was a war orphan. Her parents ran into mutants. Her father was killed, and at the last desperate moment, her mother shoved her into an escape pod to save her life. She drifted into the city slums, was taken in by strangers, and grew up among the common folk. Years later, she set out with her childhood friend, another kid from the streets, to look for her long–lost mother. 

It turned out that her friend was actually the lost son of the Cox Family’s matriarch. She ended up living with the Cox Family, and that was when the chaos began. The twelve young masters of the family started chasing after her while she tried her best to stay out of their reach. The whole thing turned into a ridiculous cat–and–mouse story. Then came the big twist: she was diagnosed with a genetic disorder. Heartbroken, she decided to leave. Overwhelmed by sadness, she fell ill and was hospitalized. After a new round of tests, the doctors discovered there had been a mistake. She was completely fine. The misunderstanding was cleared up, and the story ended with everyone living happily ever after. 

The plot was pure melodrama, and the dialogue was overly dramatic, but at least the leads were easy on the eyes. That was the only reason Ava managed to sit through the whole thing. 

When she finally reached the end, Ava quietly turned off the TV. This kind of over–the–top soap opera was definitely not her thing. 

Still, Tylissa’s story came to mind. In some ways, it wasn’t so different from the heroine’s. According to the records, Tylissa’s parents were attacked by a mutant horde while traveling. Her father forced himself into berserk mode, burning through every bit of his strength to take down two Rank Triple–S mutants before his mental core collapsed. The remaining mutants devoured him until not even his body was left. 

2/3 

15:36 Tue, Jan 6 

Chapter 13 Tylissa’s Story 

58 

Finished 

Her mother had been pregnant at the time, the only Matriarch Breeder in the entire interstellar domain. Overcome by rage and despair, she went into premature labor and gave birth to Tylissa amid the chaos. After entrusting her newborn to be sent back to the Clarks, she faced the remaining mutants on her own despite her weakened state. She sacrificed herself by detonating her power core, destroying the rest of the horde in a single explosion. She was only thirty–five when she died, a young and noble woman whose sacrifice earned her a posthumous dukedom from the government. 

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