"1, 2, 3~ Recite!"
"Firefly is the sky! Firefly is the earth! Firefly says east—never go west!"
"All other women are snakes! Only Firefly's heart is pure!"
Anming's resolve burned brighter than an Aeon's ascension, his face a masterpiece of survival instincts.
Firefly lowered her transformation device, satisfied. "Good. No more flirting with her in front of me."
"I've learned my lesson, Firefly."
"Mistakes are fine… if you fix them." She laced her fingers with his, whispering, "Your punishment? Hold me tonight…"
Her lips brushed his ear. "Permission granted… to misbehave."
"?!"
Anming's mind flashed to a certain jungle king's catchphrase: "Never chase impossible dreams.jpg"
So this is the true "Dream of Taichi"… If That Idiot used this in Penacony, he'd have conquered the cosmos!
Firefly's voice softened. "I met her once."
Anming: "What?! The Luofu's destroyed?!"
Firefly: "…" She pinched his cheek. "I'm serious! No more jokes!"
"Sorry, Firefly."
Anming's mind raced. When did Firefly meet Fu Xuan? On the Luofu?! How's the ship still intact? Did Jing Yuan pull some galaxy-brain move between the Matrix and annihilation?!
"She gave me a chance."
Firefly gazed at the Underworld's dim "sky"—no sun, just faint artificial stars. Like the miracle she'd chased.
Fu Xuan had let her find Anming at Herta Station. In this vast universe, that was no small gift.
Unlike Fu Xuan, Firefly cared less about Anming's past than their present. She'd sprint forward with him, chasing endless summers.
But Fu Xuan… What choice would the Diviner make?
"Firefly…"
"Shh." She pressed a finger to his lips. "Some words… don't need saying."
In Belobog, she wanted to be his only star.
"March, relationships look exhausting."
"Agreed. Trailblazing's way better." March side-eyed Anming's plight. Fighting Aeons would be easier than this soap opera.
Stelle shrugged. "Cultivation's the real deal. Someday, I'll be a Star Sovereign—Aeons will tremble!" She grinned, imagining planets named "Stelle Prime."
March pouted. "What if I used to be an Aeon?"
"March… you've caught Anming." Stelle sighed. The delulu virus spreads.
March dragged Stelle away, vowing to uncover her past—not to reclaim it, but to understand what shaped her. The girl in the ice wasn't her. Warmth, kindness, laughter—that's March 7th.
As they left, Stelle muttered, "Who needs love when you can break reality?"
March huffed, "Exploring the past is Trailblazing!"
Somewhere, the stars whispered back.