"A Name" and "A Wish"

"What? Stabbed twice through the chest—that time, it actually wasn't a real death..."

"And you even said that kind of death was too easy!"

"How could that possibly not count as a death?"

"Clearly, when your body was pierced through and you were actively seeking death..."

"The fear in your heart forced you to encourage yourself and keep your spirits up."

"You experienced the fear and pain firsthand, yet you said that death was still too easy?"

On Douluo Continent.

Powerful soul masters on the level of Bibi Dong and Gu Yuena were ultimately as rare as phoenix feathers and qilin horns.

Those capable of becoming soul masters were already one in a hundred.

But the vast majority of soul masters did not harbor grand ideals of reviving others or changing the world.

So when they watched the Sky Screen, their thoughts were completely different from those of the strongest experts.

Quite a few people had already been deeply moved by the story of Stelle and Firefly.

This time, the Sky Screen was clearly showing the scene of Stelle reviving Firefly.

Yet Firefly, who was heading toward true death, revealed an even crueler reality to them.

This was far too heartbreaking.

A deep sense of pity spread through everyone's hearts.

Firefly had endured so much pain and torment.

Many people felt that even if she truly was revived in the end...

How many people could still live as they had before, completely free of lingering reservations?

These thoughts had only just flashed through everyone's minds.

Yet there was no time for them to think or analyze further.

The scene on the Sky Screen had already continued.

After listening to Firefly's account, Stelle's face immediately revealed an expression of immense worry, sorrow, and pain.

She had never imagined that the three deaths Firefly spoke of had been a thousand times more painful than she had imagined.

Seeing this, Firefly gently shook her head.

Her eyes curved into crescents as she offered a soothing smile and softly said:

"But don't worry. I asked Silver Wolf about it—reality won't be this serious. Let's not talk about this for now."

Looking at Stelle's sorrowful face, Firefly took two light breaths, her breathing somewhat unsteady, and said:

"I'm just afraid you'll make that sad expression—this is our most beautiful daydream. We have to finish dreaming it with smiles."

"After all, we'll never know from which moment onward we've used up... all the time we share with someone, everywhere in this Galaxy..."

As she spoke, Firefly seemed to suddenly realize something. Her tone became cautious, carrying a trace of pleading.

"Oh, right, Stelle... could you close your eyes?"

She raised a hand to stroke her cheek, trying to cover the increasingly numerous glowing green patterns spreading across her face. There was a hint of longing in her voice.

"If this is the only dream we get, I hope... you can see me at my best."

"When it's almost over, let's be a little perfectionist, just this once."

"Like I used to do so often, close your eyes and imagine us being together... Even if you can't see me, you can still know that the distance between us has never been far."

Watching Firefly's gentle smile and the shattered patterns across her body, Stelle clenched her fists tightly and nodded hard.

"You're not allowed to sneak away."

Firefly's voice remained soft, but certain. "I won't. As long as I can do it, I never will."

Stelle obediently closed her eyes, and darkness fell before them.

Then Firefly's soft voice, carrying a trace of contemplation, clearly sounded beside her ear:

"Hmm... let me think... where should we begin..."

"Right, of course we should start from [the place where it began]."

"At Golden Hour, when you came to save me—"

"But we can also assume we were strangers, merely meeting there by chance."

"As for me... I'm a student traveling to Golden Hour. It'd be best if I had just a little more spending money... And when I appeared there, I'd have to be dressed a little more exquisitely too."

"You... you're a student too! But you came here from a planet very, very far away, completely unfamiliar with the surroundings."

"Then a few really nasty thugs jump out, wanting to bully you."

"And at that time, I'll step forward—yes, this time, let me save you."

As Firefly spoke gently, a vivid image involuntarily surfaced before Stelle's eyes.

Firefly wore a white-and-green sailor-style school uniform, with a brown briefcase slung over her shoulder.

The adorable Firefly cat charm and origami bird decoration hanging from the bag were clearly visible.

Several vicious-looking thugs blocked their way. Firefly stood firmly in front of her, then turned and gave her a reassuring, radiant smile.

Thinking of that scene, Stelle's heart ached with tenderness as she said:

"Don't mind me. I don't want you getting hurt because of me."

Firefly gently shook her head, her tone incomparably resolute:

"It's okay. That's exactly what I want to do."

"The outcome doesn't matter. Even the process doesn't matter. What matters is—how we take part in this journey, and how we choose to see it."

"So..."

"Stelle, grant me one more wish..."

"Do you remember? When we fought the 'Dream of Taiyi,' I held you and flew into the sky. Back then, I didn't know whether I would ever wake up again, but I was happy."

"Because we could stand shoulder to shoulder again, fighting things we believed were 'wrong,' willing to give everything for one another."

"But I still have one little selfish wish—I believe you won't forget that scene, but when you look back on it, I want it to feel a little lighter."

"Maybe there were no enemies, and it was all just a prank. And when I held you and flew into the sky, there wasn't a terrifying swarm of bugs overhead, but... fireworks I never got to see."

Firefly's voice grew weaker and weaker, tinged with a choked sob that made Stelle's heart feel as though it were breaking.

She clenched her fists as that familiar scene flashed through her mind—she had also been here, knocked off the ship by Sparkle's hammer, before Firefly held her and flew into the sky.

Brilliant fireworks bloomed around them, and hand in hand, they soared freely beneath the dazzling galaxy.

How she wished that had not been a fabricated memory.

How she wished she could truly give Firefly those beautiful memories.

So Stelle fought back her tears. Carrying her hopes for the future, she deliberately teased:

"You've already seen them, idiot!"

Yet for a long time, Firefly made no sound at all.

Confused, Stelle softly called, "Firefly?"

When Firefly still did not respond, Stelle's heart tightened as she anxiously said:

"I'm opening my eyes now, okay?"

As she slowly opened her eyes, Stelle was stunned by what she saw.

Firefly was gazing at her gently, but there was no color left in her beautiful eyes.

The glowing green cracks on her face seemed to be telling Stelle that Firefly's body was gradually falling apart...

Stelle's heart hurt beyond measure. With a sobbing voice, she hurriedly cried out in worry:

"Firefly?!"

Hearing Stelle call to her, Firefly's lips moved slightly. She softly called Stelle by name as well, her voice impossibly weak and carrying a trace of distant memory:

"Stelle... Elio said that we were destined to walk toward different ends, that we could never have a future."

"So you said you would give me a daydream more beautiful than any ending."

"I was looking forward to it... But can't we really cross that ending together?"

"I'm not afraid of dying... But don't let me die alone..."

"They all say... you are the one destined to bring about the end."

"But I believe you'll be there... You definitely will..."

"Only you can know, only you can decide. This galaxy truly does not exist solely for you, nor does it flow only beneath your gaze... But it will forever await your salvation."

Firefly's voice grew softer and softer, gradually becoming so faint that it was almost impossible to hear.

Stelle remembered what Firefly had once told her at the secret base in Dreamscape Frontier.

[Those afflicted with Entropy Loss Syndrome suffer from an irreversible, chronic disintegration of their physical structure, slowly fading away.]

[You can still run, jump, and talk to others. Everything looks perfectly normal, except you're always just a little slower than everyone else...]

[Until the outlines of both yourself and the entire world become blurred. You can no longer tell reality from dreams, because they have become equally fragmented.]

At that moment, Firefly was about to reach the end of entropy loss. Her thoughts had already begun to fall apart ahead of her body.

And as she gradually forgot everything, the story about you was the part that would disappear last.

Stelle's voice trembled with tears as she said, "Even so, I'll be the last one you forget..."

The disintegration had not yet ended. And in this very moment, all that remained in Firefly's mind was "one name" and "one wish."

"Stelle... fireworks..."

Firefly murmured weakly, so faint that Stelle could barely make it out.