If I Could Dream, Would You Make It a Beautiful Daydream

"I found you, Firefly."

Firefly, who had been gazing at the ruined sky in the distance, stiffened slightly when she heard Stelle's voice.

She quickly turned around, her face full of surprise.

Yet there was none of the joy or smile one should have upon seeing the person they loved.

"Stelle, how did you know I was here...?"

There was a faint, nearly imperceptible tremble in Firefly's voice.

Stelle looked at her gently. "I've been waiting for you to come find me."

The surprise on Firefly's face faded, replaced by deep sorrow.

She lowered her head, her voice somewhat muffled. "Sorry, I didn't mean to avoid you."

"But I have my reasons. Could you just let me stay here alone?"

In the original storyline, before Stelle's memories had been altered, she had not known about Firefly's three deaths.

So even now, Firefly still wanted Stelle to leave.

To remain here alone and face her third death.

She did not want Stelle to see her at her most miserable and disheveled.

But Stelle shook her head hard, her tone utterly resolute. "No. I know this is a promise."

At those words, Firefly's pupils contracted slightly, and her face instantly turned a little pale.

It was as if someone had pierced the deepest secret in her heart, and her body trembled faintly.

"How did you know about the promise? I clearly never told you..."

Stelle smugly curled her lips, planted her hands on her hips, and struck a pose that said, "I knew it all along."

"Don't underestimate my intelligence network."

Firefly froze for a moment at that.

Then she lowered her head, though a helpless yet gentle smile secretly curved her lips.

She raised her head and looked seriously at Stelle before slowly speaking.

"It seems I never mentioned this. Before coming here, I wrote down everything I wanted to do in my journal—I stayed here because I wanted to fulfill the final wish in it."

"But I secretly followed behind you and watched you for a long time. I still didn't want to disturb you."

"I hoped your dream... could begin with a smile, and end with one too."

Listening to Firefly's words, Stelle felt a sharp ache in her heart.

She was now completely certain that what Dahlia had said was true—Firefly really intended to stay here quietly and wait for death alone.

Stelle tried her best to suppress the sorrow in her heart, refusing to let it show on her face.

She raised her head and asked softly, "What is your final wish?"

Firefly's lips slowly lifted, and a glimmer of anticipation flashed in her eyes.

"Of course, to watch fireworks."

"I heard Penacony has a huge airship, and the fireworks seen from there are especially worth seeing."

Stelle stepped forward and extended her hand to her.

She narrowed her eyes and flashed a radiant smile. "Then... let's go watch the fireworks!"

Before long, Firefly and Stelle arrived together beside the stern pool of the Tatalov.

The pool was filled with blue bubbles of all sizes.

The water was crystal clear, and from here, they could see the outline of a massive city in the distance.

The view ahead was vast and open, the sky an incomparable blue.

Now and then, meteors streaked across it. It no longer looked like the ruined, twisted grayish-purple landscape of the Dreamscape Frontier.

Firefly glanced at the rare and beautiful sky.

Then she turned to Stelle and said with a smile, "It really is a suitable place."

"Stelle, you have good taste."

"You don't understand. I have a guiding thread."

Stelle planted one hand on her hip, the corners of her lips lifting slightly, with a hint of smugness in her voice.

Firefly nodded softly, her voice gentle.

"No matter what, thank you."

"It seems it hasn't started yet. Let's sit for a while first."

With that, she sat down beside the pool, her legs hanging naturally over the edge and swinging gently.

Stelle sat down beside her as well.

The two looked at each other, yet both fell silent for a time.

An indescribably subtle atmosphere hung in the air.

After quite a while, Firefly seemed to gather her courage and took the initiative to find a topic.

She looked at Stelle and asked softly:

"Do people always find themselves unable to speak at times like this?"

"A little nervous?"

Stelle froze for a moment, then nervously scratched her cheek.

Firefly gently shook her head, her eyes fixed unblinkingly on Stelle. Her voice was as soft as a feather brushing over the heart:

"Maybe it's neither. But I once heard something that I've always liked."

"When people are about to meet someone they want to see, they keep imagining what that moment will be like, imagining the things they'll say when they meet that will make the other person smile."

"Gradually, before they have even met, they've already said everything they wanted to say."

"And when the moment of reunion truly arrives, you realize that they are even more wonderful than anything you imagined—but for a while, you can no longer think of how to praise them."

When Stelle was glimpsed by Fuli on Amphoreus, she remembered who she was. She had once been a Stellaron Hunter too.

But there was still much she had not remembered. Firefly cared about her so deeply; she surely knew many things about her.

And now, all Stelle wanted to ask about was the story between them. She looked at Firefly expectantly and asked:

"I want to know about our past."

Firefly fell silent for a while, then lightly shook her head and spoke in a heavy, apologetic tone:

"...I'm sorry. I can't tell you."

"Elio told me that it would lead to a terrible future. If I merely said a few more words, you would die at the next stop."

"All I can tell you is why we reunited."

"A long time ago, you promised me that if I could dream, you would make it a beautiful daydream."

Stelle remembered none of it. Her heart felt heavy. "But I've already forgotten everything..."

Indeed, the things the girl had once cherished so dearly had either been lost or changed beyond recognition.

Yet Firefly's smile did not fade. Just as she faced fate, she spoke with certainty:

"What matters is not what they become, but that you still hold the same genuine feelings for them."

Firefly looked at Stelle, took a deep breath, and raised a hand to brush aside the hair by her cheek.

It seemed as though she wanted to hide the glowing green patterns on her face.

"...I'm sorry."

But Stelle had still seen them. Her gaze shifted slightly as she asked in a heavy voice:

"...Entropy Loss Syndrome?"

Firefly replied weakly:

"Yes. Actually... of the three deaths mentioned in the script, there is still one I haven't gone through."

Stelle sighed. "So that's why you stayed by yourself?"

Firefly nodded lightly and said:

"I only just realized it after the Dream of Taiyi dissipated."

"I misunderstood before. Being sent to Dreamflux Reef by [Death] didn't count as one death at all. That would have been far too easy."

"The true three deaths... I already knew the truth about the first one."

"I don't have the ability to dream. Once I wake up, I can never enter a dream again."

"In other words, the me within the dream will cease to exist completely."

"The second time, the Swarm Disaster killed me. I used my true power and came back from the dead."

"But that power would inevitably lead to the third time—my symptoms would accelerate uncontrollably, and I would die from entropy loss."

"When we came to Penacony, the dream had already begun merging with reality."

"I thought I was dreaming, but at the same time, I was walking through waking reality—and that would also continue to worsen Entropy Loss Syndrome."