Summer arrived in Halewood in a rush of laughter and cicadas.
Sunlight poured through the trees like golden syrup, and the air buzzed with warmth. The town's cobbled streets were adorned with streamers, paper lanterns, and folded wishes.
The Summer Star Festival had come.
Every year, families gathered in the town square to eat candied fruit, play festival games, and watch the fireworks light up the night sky.
For the first time, Caelum and Lysia would go together.
The Invitation
A week before the festival, Lysia leaned over her desk during art time and whispered:
"Cael. Can you come with me? Like… to the festival?"
He looked up from his sketch of a glowing firefly.
"Of course."
She paused.
"Together. Just us."
He tilted his head. "You don't want to go with your mom?"
Lysia blushed. "She said it's okay. I told her it's more fun with… you."
He nodded slowly. "Then we'll go."
And she smiled like she'd just been given the stars.
Yukata and Ribbons
When the night finally arrived, Lysia appeared at the gate of their houses in a pale blue yukata, scattered with tiny white birds and tied with a ribbon twice her size.
Her silver hair was pinned up clumsily by her mother, and she held a tiny paper fan shaped like a bunny.
She saw him standing there—simple shirt, linen pants, and hair neatly brushed—and gave a proud little spin.
"Do I look okay?"
Caelum blinked once.
"…You look like summer," he said.
Her cheeks turned as red as the paper lanterns overhead.
Festival Magic
They walked through the festival side by side.
Lysia tugged him to every booth—ring toss, goldfish scooping, watermelon candy. She laughed, ran barefoot across the grass, pointed out constellations she made up on the spot.
Caelum held her prizes, fetched her water, and never once let go of her hand.
Children their age came and went in groups. Parents waved from picnic blankets.
But the two of them?They moved like they belonged only to each other.
Beneath the Fireworks
They sat on a hill, just above the crowd.
The first firework bloomed across the sky — a brilliant orange burst, like a flower made of light.
Lysia leaned her head against Caelum's shoulder.
Her hair smelled like fruit and sunshine.
He turned slightly, only to find her already watching him.
And then—
She asked the question.
"Cael… do you think we met before we were born?"
The fireworks popped.
His heart did too.
He didn't answer immediately.
Because the truth was too heavy. Too sharp. Too filled with memories of blood and eternity.
But she looked at him like a child asking if stars had names.
And so—
He told her the truth his heart could speak:
"Yes. I think… I've always known you."
Her eyes widened.
And softly, as the sky rained sparks above them, she whispered:
"Then promise me… even if we forget again, you'll find me."
He turned toward her fully.
Took her tiny pinky in his.
And whispered, "I promise."
System Log – Synchronization Surge
[GENESIS CORE SYSTEM – OBSERVER MODE]— Verbal Contract: [Promise to Reconnect]— Subject LYSIA GREY: Conscious Echo Registered— Soul Synchronization: 4.3% (+1.7%)— Emotional Stability: Strong— Timeline: Undisturbed— System Note: "Her heart remembers you, even if her mind does not."
Caelum closed the window.
And watched her smile as the sky bloomed in color.
He had broken gods.
Shattered empires.
Burned a universe for her.
But this—
This tiny, perfect night beside her…
Was the most beautiful thing he had ever protected.