Penacony, Dreamscape Reef
"Looks like the memorial ceremony has already ended."
Lumina arrived just in time. The Astral Express crew had finished honoring their Train predecessor and departed Dreamscape Reef, returning to the Astral Express.
In the vast arena, only a solitary purple figure remained, conspicuously out of place, gazing into the distance at something unknown.
"Hmm?" The figure seemed to sense Lumina's gaze, momentarily freezing before regaining composure and turning to look in the direction of the lingering gaze.
Recognizing Lumina, Acheron nodded in acknowledgment, but made no move to approach, as if she had no intention of speaking to her.
Is that really how it is?
Clearly not. Acheron's eyelashes fluttered slightly as her Sakura-colored lips parted, only to snap shut a moment later. It was as if she wanted to say something to Lumina but was too embarrassed to voice it.
Having seen through countless people's facades, Lumina immediately discerned Acheron's inner turmoil. Chuckling softly, she took a step forward and approached her.
Instead of directly exposing Acheron's thoughts, Lumina feigned a hurt and distressed expression, dabbing at the nonexistent tears in her eyes as she sobbed softly, "Acheron, do you hate me? You haven't said a single word since you saw me..."
"If there's something you hate about me, just tell me straight! I'll change it!"
"N-no, I don't hate you at all," Acheron stammered, waving her hands in a slightly flustered gesture as she watched Lumina's face fill with sorrow and saw her dabbing at her eyes.
"Really?"
"Yes, really," Acheron replied softly, her voice growing calmer as Lumina's expression gradually returned to normal. "I just... didn't know what to say."
"Why not?"
"Just talk normally, like friends. What's so hard about that?" Lumina leaned closer, her curiosity piqued.
"I... I don't know." Faced with this question, Acheron couldn't provide an answer.
"Is that so? No worries! Since you don't know what to say, I'll start the conversation then," Lumina said with a gentle smile, her enthusiastic demeanor practically urging her to take Acheron's hand.
"I'm about to leave Penacony soon. How about we talk about that?"
"Hmm... You're leaving?" A subtle change crossed Acheron's face, a fleeting expression that seemed both wistful and melancholic. The emotion vanished as quickly as it had appeared, as if it had never been there at all.
"I'm leaving too. The quest entrusted to me by an old friend is complete. I have no reason to stay here any longer." Acheron's gaze drifted to the three named gravestones at Dreamscape Reef.
"So, as we stand on the verge of parting, is there anything you want to say to me?" Lumina asked, her body unconsciously drawing closer to Acheron.
"I... I don't know what to say."
At this moment, the distance between their bodies was minimal, their noses nearly touching as they inhaled the faint scent of each other.
Acheron found Lumina's scent utterly captivating—comforting, gentle... as if it could heal all the world's negativity.
It was a pity that Nihility wasn't a so-called "negative" and couldn't be healed by this aura.
However, if she got closer...
The faint aura diffusing at the tip of her nose was barely perceptible. If she dared to get closer, even boldly press against Lumina, to immediately feel the aura emanating from her body, could the Nihility in her heart be miraculously healed?
For some reason, this audacious idea emerged in Acheron's mind.
But it remained just a thought. Acheron would never act on it, not even if Lumina agreed.
"Do you remember what I said to you in the hallway of The Reverie Hotel at the beginning?"
Acheron's expression remained unchanged, so Lumina couldn't discern her inner thoughts. Smiling broadly, she brought Acheron's thoughts back to their initial encounter at The Reverie Hotel.
"What you said at the beginning?" Acheron tilted her head, muttering to herself.
"Was it when you asked if I wanted to be your friend?"
After a moment, Acheron remembered.
Among all the conversations Acheron had with Lumina in the corridors of The Reverie Hotel, this particular sentence had left a profound impression on her.
This feeling deepened when Acheron saw Lumina and Herta holding hands, chatting animatedly, laughing and teasing each other.
"Yes," Lumina nodded, then took a step back and extended her palm toward Acheron. "So, Acheron, what is your answer now?
"After experiencing everything on Penacony, what is your answer?"
Acheron: ...
Faced with Lumina's words and gazing at the pristine, alluring hand before her, Acheron didn't immediately reply. After a moment of silence, under Lumina's expectant gaze, she slowly spoke:
"Due to the influence of Nihility, I often forget things."
"Important things, trivial things, things I cherish, things I despise—in the end, they all dissolve into Nihility..."
Acheron's voice carried a hint of reluctance and a rasp.
"Even if we become friends today, by the next time we meet, I might have forgotten you entirely..."
"I can't bear to let something like that happen, nor can I bear to see the expression on your face when you realize I've forgotten you..."
"That's why I'm not a good choice for a friend."
In the end, Acheron chose to reject Lumina's request.
This wasn't because Acheron disliked Lumina, nor was it because she didn't want to be her friend.
Rather, it was precisely because she liked Lumina and wanted to be her friend that she made this choice.
Acheron refused to act on fleeting emotions that would sow the seeds of future oblivion.
Better to remain a fleeting passerby, at least I won't become deeply entangled.
"Pfft... ha ha ha!" Upon hearing Acheron's rejection, Lumina showed no disappointment, sadness, or anger. Instead, her lips pursed into a tight smile, her body trembling as if she were desperately trying to suppress something.
Then, unable to hold back any longer, she burst into laughter with a soft pfft.
"Ha ha ha, Acheron, has anyone ever told you that you have quite the vivid imagination?"
Even after laughing for a while, Lumina's small face remained radiant with amusement.
Hearing this, Acheron stared at Lumina's smiling expression, deeply puzzled. Still, she calmly shook her head and answered Lumina's question.
"Ah, is that so? Then let me be the first." Lumina smiled, her hand, which had been extended downward to shake Acheron's in friendship, gradually began to rise.
She raised her hand until it hovered just above Acheron's forehead, then flicked her finger against Acheron's small forehead.
Snap.
A sharp snap rang out, and a red mark immediately bloomed on Acheron's pale forehead.
One could only imagine the immense force behind Lumina's flick, capable of inflicting such significant damage on the forehead of a Nihility Emanator...
It could probably shatter a planet in an instant.
"Acheron, your imagination is truly remarkable," Lumina said, withdrawing her finger. "If only you could direct your thoughts toward what's normal and realistic, that would be even better."
"Normal and realistic?" Acheron asked, ignoring the red mark on her forehead, her voice tinged with confusion.
"Exactly. Normal and realistic," Lumina nodded, then clasped her hands behind her back and leaned forward slightly, explaining, "Do you really think that I, as an Emanator of Abundance, am incapable of leaving a lasting mark on you?"
"Leave behind a trace powerful enough to resist the erosion of the Nihility."
Hearing this, Acheron understood Lumina's meaning, but she shook her head faintly. "Impossible. Everything will ultimately return to the Nihility. Nothing can withstand its invasion."
"What we call 'resisting the Nihility's invasion' is merely delaying the inevitable."
A trace of melancholy flickered in Acheron's usually calm, unwavering eyes.
Perhaps Acheron's words were born from personal experience, a conclusion drawn from witnessing the truth firsthand.
"Yes, time hasn't yet run out. Isn't that enough?" Lumina's faint smile remained unchanged. "If we stretch Time long enough, wouldn't that become a kind of eternity?"
"As long as this memory remains vivid and profound... even against the all-consuming Nihility, it could endure for thousands, even tens of thousands of Amber Eras. That would be enough, wouldn't it?"
"But... no memory can endure that long."
Though Lumina's logic seemed sound, it was utterly unrealistic.
Nihility devours all. If there were any countermeasures...
"There are, you know," Lumina said with a smile, producing a purple-green ring from seemingly nowhere. Though sharing the same color palette, its hue was completely distinct from the rings given to Herta and Black Swan.
This purple contained a hint of red, which rather suited Acheron's personality.
Sensing the doubt in Acheron's eyes, Lumina explained, "This ring symbolizes the unbreakable bond of our memories. It can withstand anything in the world."
"Neither the erosion of Time nor the ravenous maw of Nihility can threaten it."
"..." Though Lumina's words sounded like pure fantasy, Acheron felt an inexplicable trust in her.
Fine... If Lumina isn't worried, why should I be? Dwelling on this would make it seem like I'm toying with her.
"Lumina."
"Hmm?"
Having fully resolved her thoughts and cast aside the influence of Nihility, Acheron called out Lumina's name with a faint smile.
"Though that word feels so foreign to me now... In these endless nights, I can't even recall my former friends by instinct alone."
"Perhaps one day in the future, I'll forget you too."
Under the influence of Nihility, Acheron could only express simple emotions. The upward curve of her lips dipped slightly downward, settling into a moderate arc.
While this might mean nothing to others, for Acheron, deeply affected by Nihility, it symbolized a heavy heart, discomfort, and bitterness.
"But... just as you said, if the period of forgetting stretches long enough, it won't matter anymore."
The fleeting expression vanished as quickly as it appeared, and the curve of Acheron's lips returned to its upward tilt.
Mimicking Lumina's earlier posture and gestures, Acheron extended her palm. Though her eyes and face betrayed no emotion, her body language conveyed a hint of anticipation.
Seeing this, Lumina didn't take her hand—a small act of retaliation against Acheron.
Hmph~
Mimicking Herta's haughty demeanor, Lumina let out a soft, proud hum. Clutching the ring in her hand, she gestured to Acheron. "Acheron, why don't you turn your hand over?"
"Hand over?" Acheron looked momentarily puzzled, but then she remembered how the ring was meant to be worn. Without hesitation, she naturally extended her hand, palm down.
Lumina smiled faintly, taking Acheron's small hand with a gentle grace befitting a gentleman. She slipped the ring onto Acheron's finger.
"The ring... the ring..." Acheron murmured, staring at the purple-green ring on her finger.
The ring... In my homeland, it had some meaning, didn't it?
What was it? What was it?
Never mind... Whatever the meaning, all I need to do is accept it.
(Spy-this feels familiar...Looks at "Marrying acheron")
After a moment of fruitless pondering, Acheron abandoned the thought.
"My name is Lumina. I'm delighted to be your friend," Lumina said, extending her hand again, her eyes lingering on how perfectly the ring fit Acheron's finger.
This time, Acheron didn't refuse Lumina's handshake. She grasped Lumina's hand with effortless grace, simultaneously revealing the name she had just remembered:
"Raiden Bosenmori Mei. It's a pleasure to be your friend."
Between friends, there's no need for secrets. From that moment on, Acheron stopped using her codename "Acheron" when interacting with Lumina.
"It's a beautiful name." Though Lumina already knew Acheron's real name, hearing her say it aloud still filled her with joy.
"Thank you."
"I should be going now." Having delivered the ring and heard Acheron speak her name, Lumina prepared to leave.
"Hmm..."
"Don't worry, we'll meet again." Though Acheron's expression remained stoic, Lumina immediately sensed the disappointment in her words.
"We're both moving forward. One day, our paths will cross again."
"And..." Lumina's gaze fell once more on the ring in Acheron's hand. "If you ever miss me, you can use the ring's connection to find me, or have me find you."
"Mm, I understand." Acheron nodded, touching the ring on her finger as if etching these words into her heart.
"Then, farewell, Mei." Lumina smiled, took a few steps back, and waved.
Mirroring Lumina's gesture, Acheron raised her hand and waved.
"Farewell, Lumina."