Lost in the dazzling glow of the starry sky, everyone in the livestream remained spellbound for a long time, not snapping back to reality until the last meteor vanished beyond the horizon.
As viewers, they had all come to the same realization.
—The tale of the Starlight and Firefly had reached its end.
Yet, understandably, everyone's emotions were tangled.
It was like finishing a book you'd followed for years, or finally beating a game after pulling all-nighters—when it all comes to an end, you can't help but feel this vague, lingering emptiness.
After a while, chat messages slowly began to pop up in the stream.
--+--
Pela: 「It's… over?」
Kiana: 「Aah—! This hurts in a way I can't even describe. They understood each other so deeply… Why couldn't they have a future together…?」
Stelle: 「It hurts… It really hurts!」
Black Swan: 「Perhaps this ending was destined from the very beginning. One was a brilliant but fleeting meteor, the other a fading firefly. They shared the same nature, and so they were drawn to each other, came together, created memories, and found beauty in it all.」
Black Swan: 「But it was precisely because of that nature that they were forced to part by fate.」
March 7th: 「Wow, this suddenly got really philosophical…」
Himeko: 「Even so, it's still a story filled with beauty. Though the journey ended with a touch of regret, the heart of the tale remains unchanged. Farewell, gentle Star-Child.」
Keqing: 「Farewell, gentle Star-Child.」
Ganyu: 「Farewell, gentle Star-Child.」
Silver Wolf: 「Well, since I've been following this drama for months, I guess I'll reluctantly say goodbye too. See ya, guy who had Firefly totally wrapped around your finger.」
--+--
As farewell messages drifted across the livestream one after another, it seemed the story had finally come to a close.
But just before the curtains fell, there seemed to be… a little more left to tell.
June 1st.
The first day after Bai Heng left.
Because he traveled to a different dream each day, during his two months in Penacony, Bai Heng never settled in one dream-space for long. Instead, he changed lodgings daily to match his ever-shifting itinerary.
Today, Firefly went to collect the things he'd left behind at the hotel.
These were items connected to him, and the girl didn't want them to be forgotten on this planet.
There wasn't much—just a small suitcase. Aside from a few changes of clothes, it only held a bulky, black, rectangular camera. The film cartridge inside was empty.
Not surprising, really.
An image surfaced in her mind: Bai Heng, camera in hand, snapping pictures nonstop wherever they went. The girl's lips curved faintly.
With the way he used it, the film was bound to run out sooner or later.
After packing the camera into the suitcase, she took her pass to the front desk to check out.
The process went smoothly. During those two months, Bai Heng had used some underhanded methods to legalize her status as a stowaway.
But just as she was about to leave, the front desk attendant called out to her.
"Miss Firefly, please wait a moment. There's a package here for you to sign for."
"The sender is… let me see… oh, it's Mr. Bai Heng. The shipment date was… May 31st. That's yesterday."
Thump.
A faint, sharp pang struck deep in her chest. For a second, the girl froze.
"Is everything alright?" the attendant asked with a warm smile.
"It's fine," she replied, forcing a strained smile as she accepted the package.
Her heart was racing out of control. Firefly hardly even remembered how she made it back to the room.
Sitting down with her back against the door, she slowly unwrapped the package.
Inside was a thick, black photo album.
Photo after photo was arranged thoughtfully throughout the album's pages.
The scenes in the pictures were all familiar to her.
Dreammerse Shopping Street, Aideen Park, A Child's Dream, Oti Mall… Every place she had taken him was there. At first, the photos were just simple scenery.
But as she flipped through the pages, Firefly noticed her own figure appearing more and more frequently.
There she was, staring intently at a gold capsule machine with utmost seriousness. Another showed her dozing off in the opera house. The photographer had a knack for capturing moments, always seizing these shots without her ever noticing.
A breeze drifted soundlessly through the window. One of the photos, not fully secured, fluttered down to the floor in the gentle wind.
Firefly reached to pick it up, but the moment her fingers touched the photo, she froze.
On the back was a line of small handwriting.
"May 17th — Went to the Rooftop Garden with Firefly. There was a masquerade ball; everyone wore masks from the Reverie Troupe, and so did we. She's… not much of a dancer, if I'm being honest. But that's alright. We'll have plenty of chances to dance together in the future."
Simple words, yet they clearly captured the day's events, the itinerary, and even the writer's inner thoughts.
Holding the photo, the girl suddenly seemed to realize something. She began taking all the photos out of the album.
Just as she suspected, on the back of every single photo was a similar short note.
"May 13th — Visited the Clockie Plaza today. We broke up a huge brawl and ended up completing a blueprint together. As thanks, the dreamsmith let me hide an easter egg in the design. Wonder if she'll ever find it?"
"May 26th — Took Firefly to the Robot Club. They were hosting a robot competition with a 50,000 credit prize. Firefly bulldozed her way to the finals and completely dominated every opponent."
"When the host asked how she did it, she said, 'Just practice more.'"
"May 28th…"
"May 11th…"
Since she'd dumped all the photos out at once, the dates were all mixed up. But that didn't stop her from reconstructing each day's scenes in her mind through those brief descriptions.
Bai Heng had once said he would give her all the beautiful memories from Penacony as a gift.
Now, he had done it.
This gift, sent from the past into the future, had truly reached her.
As if immersed once again in the happiness of those two months, a smile slowly bloomed across the girl's face.
Until one photo appeared.
Perhaps the film had run out, or maybe the camera malfunctioned—the photo was blank. But on its back, there was still a line of small text.
This time, it wasn't dated, and it didn't record any itinerary. There was only one simple sentence.
[I love Firefly the most!!!]
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 2 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.