These qualities altogether were ideal for Synergy evolution. The masters put a lot of effort to direct the boy and keep him on the right track. Their greatest achievement was nurturing his unrelentless ambitiousness, which helped him be the best at everything he did: he scored the most points in the game, he got the best grades in the exam, he achieved the best result in any task. As a result, he quickly climbed ever new steps, justifying the expectations of his masters.

Twelve years later, Lovr turned sixteen. He had recently reached the Doctor of Philosophy (5) and became the center of attention of trillions of people. He was a prime candidate for Doctor of Science (6), the legendary degree that only one person in the entire history of the universe had ever reached.

The only thing that really bothered him was the memory of the incredibly beautiful girl who had mysteriously appeared in his childhood and no less mysteriously disappeared. He wanted to find the answer, he dreamed of meeting her again. He wished he could believe it was just a dream, but it wasn't! His absolute memory had never failed, and he could distinguish a dream from reality even as a child. In search of truth, Lovr kept rummaging through archives and secret databases, but to no avail.

Today, making himself comfortable in his cozy nook, Lovr entered the global system, searching for some clues. The masters had recently granted him the penultimate access level, so he was being optimistic.

Late at night, after a long search, he came across an image of the girl! It came with a small article with background information about the person he was looking for.

Specifically, her name was Juno, and she was the reason for the 10th-level universal anomaly. She had mysteriously arrived from a parallel universe with different laws of information exchange, with the concept of the soul.

Her body and mental age were not subject to aging. Externally, she was indistinguishable from people on Lovr's planet, but inside, she was arranged a little differently, for example, her reproductive system was organized in a more convenient way. Also, there were nine spheres of unknown material inside her body. They were a kind of bridge to another dimension with the so-called soul.

Her DNA structure was similar to Lovr's, but it worked in two parallel worlds at once. One storage system was standard and worked on a body level. The second system contained information about the soul and the spiritual cultivation. Thus, the fetus received not only the parents' genes but also their spiritual features that happened to be dominant. They determined the child's gender, bloodline, race, the color of skin and hair, body structure... Simply put, people on Juno's planet could give birth to a representative of another race.

The psychological pa.s.sport singled out her main characteristics: a strong-willed, dignified, narcissistic, proud, arrogant, selfish, extremely envious, incorrigible s.a.d.i.s.t with contempt for lower cla.s.ses of society and a developed phobia for furry animals, especially white tigers.

Lovr kept reading about the girl, stunned, his heart was beating hard with delight. He had been looking for her for so long. Now, he had found her! He was unaware that the entire planet had been isolated from the outside world, and that time had been turned one day back! It would have struck him as strange that he was the only one to keep his memories.

The next morning, Lovr set off for an inconspicuous, not particularly interesting star. At least everyone thought so. In fact, it was a secret scientific base. The whole planet was the base. Strange things happened there. Something that ordinary people couldn't even imagine.

After Lovr confirmed his penultimate level of access, he was allowed to into the bowels of the planet, through trillions and s.e.xtillions tons of carbon, thick walls, a myriad of barriers and protective measures to the top-secret area, available only to selected individuals among all humankind.

Lovr entered the isolation ward, where the mysterious girl - the anomaly of the universe - had spent the last 12 years.

She was lying on her stomach, dangling her snow-white legs, engrossed in reading an article on the tablet. She was wearing a slim-fit white lab coat. Her golden hair was done in a ponytail, her full lips moving soundlessly.

Lovr stared at her, enchanted, frozen like a stone idol. It was the very mysterious girl that he had been thinking about for so many long nights! She was a top secret of the whole world... and such a beauty! He coughed politely into his fist.

Juno turned to him, frowned. – «You promised no more experiments today. How can I trust you if you do not keep your word?»

«Juno, I came to visit you. I am Lovr, the child you met twelve years ago. Do you remember me?»

The girl stopped short, looking in amazement at her visitor. Then she briskly jumped from her bed and, at a speed that exceeded professional sprinters, knocked the boy to the floor, sat on his knees and punched him in the stomach. - «I am here because of you, dirty b.a.s.t.a.r.d! I've become a lab rat for regular experiments because of you! Get me out of here at once!»

Lovr was shocked, to say the least. He found himself at a loss for words. – «Juno... Take it easy. I didn't do anything. I have no idea what you're talking about…»

«Oh, you understand perfectly well, jerk! I've just used the language of my native world! And you answered me in it, a.s.shole!»

«Huh… I see… Alright… Just get off me, please.»

«Do you take me for idiot? You're Kyon! You sent me to this d.a.m.ned world!»

«What Kyon are you talking about?»

«You don't know?» – Juno gasped, taken completely aback. When she took a closer look, she realized he didn't really look like the boy she hated. His appearance was different as well as his character, or rather his att.i.tude towards her. There was none of the usual mocking tone in his voice.

They started a long conversation. Juno told him everything, describing Kyon's emotions, actions, behavior, and character. She gritted her teeth in silent fury, talking about his horrendous crimes and looked sullen at the floor, talking about his achievements.

Lovr was staring at her, stunned! There was no doubt that Kyon's character completely coincided with his! How did he happen to get to another world? Time travel? Doppelganger? That's pure nonsense... There must be a more reasonable explanation...

Listening to her story, Lovr noticed that Juno kept smoothing over some poignant moments, like the meeting at the hot spring. Kyon wouldn't have treated her so cruelly if she had just given him a little thras.h.i.+ng... There was something she wasn't saying. Given her sadism, the conclusion was self-evident. Moreover, Juno expertly played on his emotions, portraying herself as a victim and making Kyon as pure evil.

If Lovr hadn't studied public speaking, if he couldn't see through any manipulations, he would have already sold his soul to this lovely creature. He would despise Kyon with all his heart.

Several hours of conversation were enough for Lovr to appreciate the inner world of this arrogant girl. He liked the way she unconsciously but skillfully manipulated his thoughts, used to her body language. He was crazy about her beautiful face and lovely voice, the way she said things, squinting her bewitching emerald eyes, arching her eyebrows and batting her eyelashes. To him, she represented a paragon of perfection. She was the most charming girl in the whole world, and even in the entire universe.

One thing made him unhappy, though. Juno was overly hostile towards people of low social status. This, along with her s.a.d.i.s.tic nature was quite disturbing. Well, n.o.body's perfect.

Lovr spent a whole week talking with the beautiful girl.

One day Lovr's master sent him the new rules of interaction with the girl, the violation of which would deprive him of seeing her ever again. Lovr was forbidden to have s.e.x with Juno or even kiss her. The reasons for these ridiculous rules struck him as arbitrary and obscure. They were clearly made up just to spite him. Anyway, this news struck him like a bolt of lightning.

The master also gave him a task to find out the size of her soul. It was a weird, vague task that made Lovr spend most of his time with Juno.

So, his visits to her continued.

Before Lovr knew it, he became dependent on his daily meetings with Juno. Every time she told him about the experiments she had to undergo, his heart ached for her. At times like this, he tried to hug her, but she didn't let him. Every time she smiled or laughed, it seemed to him that these blissful, perfect moments were worth living for. As he understood, she had studied his biography and knew which place he took in the local hierarchy. It made her look at him a whole new way. She started showing signs of affection. Every day, the egotistical girl reminded him how eager she was to go back to her planet to surpa.s.s her sister and take revenge on Kyon...

She couldn't believe that evil Kyon and Lovr were the same person. They were totally different.

A couple of months had pa.s.sed.

Lovr went to bed thinking about Juno and woke up thinking about her. They spent more and more time together. They had become real friends. They played, had fun, talked, trained and sparred together... Juno, however, always won and triumphantly took the place of honor on defeated Lovr (it turns out that all these years, the masters had been teaching her to fight).

Once, Lovr started a casual conversation about people how their social status might affect their lives.

Juno did her best to avoid this topic, but Lovr made her listen to him. With unbending stubbornness and confidence, he carefully changed her worldview. Gradually, step by step, week after week, he transformed her att.i.tude towards those who had not achieved anything in their lives (or had lost everything due to circ.u.mstances beyond their control). He built a new stronghold in her mind, and she changed her opinion. Now she had no contempt for any particular group in society.

As a reward, Kyon gently hugged her, stroking her soft hair, and she hit him in the face but not too hard... However, five minutes later, Lovr got his way and hugged the unapproachable girl.

At this moment, a little spark marked the beginning of a special connection between them. From now on, they were more than just friends...

The rule that forbade him to take any further steps with Juno drove Lovr crazy. Once he broke it, he would never see her again. Lovr was sinking deeper and deeper into despair. The emotions had to go somewhere, he needed an outlet. Every other girl appeared dull in contrast with Juno, nothing but disposable s.e.x dolls...

Meanwhile, Juno was slowly losing hope of ever coming back to her world, to Kyon the b.a.s.t.a.r.d, the imminent collapse of her family, Elsa the b.i.t.c.h, Kara the demon, and other disturbing issues. At least she had found out the answers to her many questions that used to keep her up all night. It was all about Synergy and the science of this world. She was also dying to find out why she could feel Kyon's emotions. The masters indulged her curiosity, trying to work things out with her. It turned out that Kyon had captured her soul! Of course, they put it more delicately, but it didn't change anything! Her hatred that seemed to have subsided over the years had flared up again.

In this world, Juno felt at ease only with Lovr. He impressed her with his charm, self-confidence, deep understanding about everything. He could always surprise her and make her laugh. Juno never was bored with him. He was a ray of suns.h.i.+ne in this gloomy isolation ward full of painful experiments and trials. He skillfully played any musical instrument, had a pleasant voice, and often made her lovely symbolic gifts.

Juno enjoyed Lovr's company. Sharing funny stories and playing card games were gradually replaced by cuddling to romantic music, cooing and whispering sweet nothings, somewhat awkward but pleasant caresses. They couldn't get enough of each other.

Once Lovr told her that he would have long taken the next step if he wasn't rule-bound. His master had imposed strict rules, and this old fool never went back on his word. If Lovr kissed her even once, they wouldn't see each other again.

Juno was not her usual self that day...

In the following days, there were radical changes in her behavior. She wasn't the same person anymore. In the mornings, her face was stained with tears, and her eyes were red. She was devastated, on the verge of despair. Little by little, Juno was getting more and more detached. An invisible wall had grown up between them.

Lovr was restless. Her att.i.tude towards him was so cold, so distant. It was heartbreaking. He knew that she was walking away from him, from their relations.h.i.+p that had no future, but he would never let it happen... He would be with the girl he loved, even if the whole was against him!

Finally, Lovr made up his mind. He turned off the protective systems that blocked teleport service, got into her room and created a tunnel in the s.p.a.ce with the portal gun. Then he grabbed Juno by the hand, and they jumped inside the tunnel.

They ended up on a green planet lit with the first rays of the morning sun. Beautiful flowers were blooming all around the meadow. High in the distance rose a ring of astonis.h.i.+ng snow-clad mountains, and the crystal clear waters of the lake sparkled below them.

Juno cried silently. Her heart was heavy with trepidation and doubts. She didn't know what to do.

«Juno, you mean more to me than anything in the world. I don't care for the masters or their stupid rules. You are mine, so I... I've stolen you just like this!» – Having said it, he raised her head by the chin and gently kissed her on the lips, wis.h.i.+ng this fleeting moment could last forever.

Juno kissed him back, her arms tight around his neck. Tears welled behind her eyelids and trickled down her cheeks.