"Anming, you're insane."
"?"
Anming stared blankly at Stelle, who had pushed Firefly aside with one hand and now sat across from him, her expression solemn. "Ever since March caught your 'virus,' she's been acting weird. And Firefly here… Don't you think everything feels off?"
Stelle muttered until her eyes lit with realization. "No wonder you write those novels. You're… a succubus!"
Anming froze at the accusation. Firefly, however, fixated on one word: "March…?"
"Wait, this is slander!" Anming, sensing murderous intent, shoved Stelle forward. Your mess, you fix it!
Stelle finally felt the weight of Firefly's aura. Since when did gentle Firefly radiate this pressure?! "Misunderstanding! I meant March caught Anming's chuuni disease—she keeps wanting to become an Aeon!"
"Ah, I see." Firefly set down her transformation device. Both Anming and Stelle exhaled in relief, narrowly avoiding a double funeral.
Anming shot Stelle a Morse-code glare: Text me later. I'm innocent! How could March "catch" me?!
"Enough," Stelle pulled Anming close. "Jarilo's issues boil down to the Stellaron. Remove it, and conflicts ease. If not, we'll Robin Hood the nobles. Either way, perfect Trailblazing."
"So?"
"We destroy the Stellaron."
"By 'we,' you mean… me?"
"I'll hype you up!" Stelle's pleading eyes screamed Don't ruin our bromance!
Anming patted her shoulder. Bros for life. "You want to speedrun the Stellaron?"
"Exactly!"
Stelle nodded, rare seriousness in her tone. "Overworld-Underworld strife runs deep, but the root is the Stellaron's pressure. Nobles vs. civilians can be mediated, but the Stellaron? That's despair incarnate."
Anming recoiled dramatically. "Dan Heng! Get out of Stelle's brain!"
Dan Heng, passing by: "?"
Stelle elbowed Anming. "Let me know when you're ready." She left, a [Side Quest: Stelle's Invitation] hovering invisibly above her. Reward: One (1) "You're awesome!" from Stelle.
"She's… unique," Firefly mused.
"Was she really a Stellaron Hunter once?" Anming asked, referencing the unsolved mystery.
Firefly smiled. "A comrade. Why she's like this now… Ask Elio." She'd been too heartbroken over Anming back then to notice details.
Hand in hand, they wandered Boulder Town's dim streets, life pulsing beneath the gloom.
"Firefly."
"Hmm?"
"Before you leave… I have something to say."
Firefly saw his seriousness but teased, "Can't say it now?"
Anming scratched his head. Key item still en route. "Needs… ambiance. You taught me that."
"Alright~" Firefly twirled ahead, skirt fluttering. She turned, extending her hand. "I'm good at waiting."
Kachipe Ruins, Home of the Tianhuan
Drizzle soaked the soil. New sprouts dotted mud, flowers blooming shyly under rain-dappled trees.
Robin lowered her umbrella, revealing the face that had enchanted the cosmos. Her eyes—azure with jade halos—gleamed like the Family's finest jewels.
"You… never came back."
Her whisper held neither relief nor sorrow. She wasn't ready to taint her hands further, even for a ghost.
This land had endured an unfathomable tragedy. They said barren soil couldn't bloom again, and those who walked here could never sing.
"Anming, I promised our song would echo across the stars."
"I kept that vow…"
"But lost you forever."
If given another choice, would the end differ?
What price freedom? If freedom meant losing Anming, was it truly freedom… or a gilded cage?
Seeing his name on that procurement list had shattered her. If her actions denied him peace…
I'll never forgive myself.
Only she could sing the final elegy—to lay his wandering soul to rest.
Mud stained her pristine heels as she trudged to their first meeting spot. The rain ceased. Robin shook her umbrella, humming softly:
"Raindrops fall one by one,
A rainbow hangs where blue skies hum.
Is the sky shedding tears?~♪"