Silver Wolf:
[Image]
Liuying beams at the camera, her joy unmistakable, with the snow-blanketed Jarilo-VI visible behind her.
[Miss you.]
[Where are you? I'll find you soon.]
[Can't wait to see you.]
Aboard the Stellaron Hunter Ship
Liuying stares at her unanswered messages, her luminous eyes dimming slightly. She curls into her seat, gazing at Jarilo-VI through the viewport.
Silver Wolf blows a gum bubble while scanning the planet. "Still a Stellaron. At least the script isn't completely derailed." She side-eyes the moping Liuying. Since when did the girl who ignites oceans turn into a lovesick puppy?
And why was she always the chauffeur? Silver Wolf swore she'd joined the Stellaron Hunters for chaos, not to ferry a romance-obsessed mecha pilot. Unless Liuying bribed her with a maxed Shoreline of Passing Light Cone…
Suddenly, Liuying perks up, her smile radiant as new messages flood her screen.
Windblade:
[Just got signal, Glowbug.]
[Pom-Pom Crying.jpg]
[Meet at Belobog's Administrative District? Sending coordinates.]
[Pom-Pom Kiss.jpg]
Silver Wolf:
[Miss you.]
[On my way.]
[Pom-Pom Heart.jpg]
Liuying bolts from her seat, heading for the airlock. Silver Wolf sighs and triggers the hatch release. The mighty SAM reduced to a blushing girlfriend. Pathetic.
"Thanks!" Liuying activates her transformation device. Cyan wings unfold as golden flames engulf her, armor coalescing into the mechanized form of SAM.
She leaps into the atmosphere, hands outstretched against the roaring wind. Jarilo-VI's icy surface rushes closer. This time, she would be the comet.
"Anming…" she whispers, eyes closed. "My turn to chase you."
Belobog Outskirts
"The Corridor of Fading Echoes is dangerous. Fragmentum incursions have reached the city walls," Bronya warns, eyeing the lethargic swordsman beside her. Despite his slacker aura, the heat in his soul felt… real.
"Relax, just focus on buffs," Anming replies cryptically. His blade flashes—a spatial rift tears through hidden Fragmentum creatures Bronya hadn't even noticed.
Terrifying… Bronya struggles to comprehend his power. Perhaps this was Belobog's turning point.
"Mr. Anming," she says firmly, "please accompany me to Qliphoth Fort. The Acting Supreme Guardian must meet you."
"Sure, but my crew—" Anming's phone buzzes. He pales. Stelle unsupervised? May the Aeons preserve the trash cans.
Bronya nods. "We'll escort them too."
As they trek through snow, Anming glares at his spotty signal. Belobog's tech level: medieval. Except for the fishnets.
A meteor suddenly streaks across the cloudless sky—then veers unnaturally toward them.
Bronya freezes. "Is that…?!"
Golden flames part, revealing SAM's armor disintegrating into fireflies mid-descent. A silver-haired girl crashes into Anming, sending them tumbling across the snow.
"Anming…! Anming, Anming, Anming!" Liuying chants his name like a prayer, tears melting frost on his cheeks. Her fingers trace his face, confirming he's no illusion.
"Glowbug." He brushes snow from her hair, throat tight. "Finally… you're here."
She kisses him fiercely—a reunion spanning lifetimes. Warm tears splash his skin as she whispers, "I've returned… the kiss we never finished."
All those unspoken yearnings in the bellflower fields, every unfinished "I love you"—redeemed here, in the snow.