Time flew by, and before he knew it, it was February 21.
Noel still lay on the hospital bed, tightly clutching a letter in his hand.
But there was no longer a smile on his face. His gaze was unfocused, his eyes dull and vacant.
Several doctors in white coats worked beside him, tending to his shattered body.
Because of his condition, Noel could not use sedatives or anesthetics.
Yet even under those circumstances, the pain radiating from his broken body failed to stir the slightest ripple in his heart.
If one looked closely, faint tears could be seen glimmering in his lost eyes. Even he found it strange that he was crying.
Was it grief? Perhaps, but it was not that intense.
Or was it anger? Pain? Or confusion and helplessness?
"Beep, beep—"
"Whoosh—"
As the doctors busied themselves tending to Noel's battered body, two beeps sounded from the ward door.
The door opened, and Cruze entered in a Z.A.F.T uniform, an eyepatch over his face.
"What happened?"
Cruze could not help pausing slightly at the sight before him.
No one answered. The doctors were busy treating Noel, while the researchers monitored the data at all times nearby.
Noel simply lay there, his eyes hazy.
Cruze opened his mouth to speak, but then caught sight of the letter Noel was clutching in the corner of his eye and roughly understood what had happened.
"We just received intelligence. The Earth Alliance's First, Second, and Third Fleets are heading toward the Lunar bridgehead."
As he spoke, Cruze slowly approached Noel and picked up the envelope from the table.
Sender: Anna Joy.
Return address: July Colony, Junius 7.
Recipient: Dear Brother Noel Cassia.
There were also letters signed by Lenoya Sala and Asya Ito.
But apart from the names, their mailing addresses were all the same: Junius 7.
"The Earth... Alliance?"
Noel slowly turned his head at those words. At that moment, he did not know what feelings he should use to face all this.
The Earth Alliance. He, too, had once been a part of Earth.
At first, he had held great expectations and affection for Earth. He had truly wanted to visit it. Even if it was not his homeland, it was still Earth—the star of humanity.
But now...
Junius 7 was the satellite where the orphanage had been. While he had slept, everything had been settled.
The place he belonged to had vanished forever once again.
Noel did not know how other transmigrators felt after crossing into another world, but deep down, he had always carried a sense of loneliness and confusion.
Especially when he had first arrived. Back then, he had lain alone in a hospital bed, staring out at an unfamiliar world beyond the window.
That loneliness had been so intense it nearly suffocated him, and the confusion had left him utterly at a loss.
Because he knew he could never go back.
His former friends, family, brothers—everything and everyone no longer had anything to do with him.
Though every day, he forced himself to escape those feelings and told himself to make the best of where he was.
His reason kept telling him that he did not belong to this world.
Even if his body was built the same way, his heart, soul, and memories remained fundamentally incompatible with this world.
That was why, from beginning to end, he had never felt much sense of belonging toward either Earth or PLANT.
Even Earth was only special because he had once belonged there, because his memories still retained love and attachment for it.
That feeling continued until he returned to the orphanage.
When he had been anxious and uneasy, the people at the orphanage accepted him. Asya gave him the sincere affection of a true friend, filling the loneliness in his heart.
They made him realize that he had friends here too, that he could fit in among them.
That he could find a sense of belonging again, find a place where his heart could rest.
Anna was like a mischievous little sister. Though she was infuriating, though he often wanted to pin her down and beat her up, seeing Anna's playful expression truly made Noel happy. It was the satisfaction of having an empty, missing part of his heart filled.
Sister Aya was a girl not yet twenty. To make herself seem more mature and dependable, she dressed herself up in old-fashioned clothes every day and copied the makeup styles she saw on television.
Though it often looked rather mismatched, the warmth in her heart and those eyes that were always watching over everyone remained etched in Noel's memory.
That was the care one gave to family—
Sikir...
Peter...
Every companion at the orphanage had been so real, sincere, and genuine. They had given Noel, stranded in a foreign world, a sense of spiritual belonging.
Though whenever the night grew quiet, he would still gaze at the stars and carefully savor the suffocating taste of loneliness, as time passed, that loneliness gradually began to fade.
And it was precisely because Asya and the others existed that Noel could understand the taste of loneliness. That was why he cherished everything at the orphanage so deeply.
So even though he could roughly guess the names of PLANT's safe satellites and could have left alone at any time, he still chose not to leave. Instead, he remained at the orphanage, hypnotizing himself.
Your soul cannot fit in a foreign land, and your body cannot fit in your homeland.
But Noel had never been someone who chose the body. He had always chosen the soul.
In truth, he was not afraid of death. Though he spoke every day of how to survive, though he even knew which choices offered the best chance of survival, he still chose to stay at the orphanage with them.
Death was not frightening. When you did not know the meaning of living, when you could not find a place to belong or something to cherish, even your breath lost its meaning.
Just as people said, only after losing something did you realize how fortunate you had been to possess it.
Yet losing everything twice in a row plunged Noel into profound confusion.
"They will reach the Moon tomorrow." Cruze put down the letter and looked at Noel.
"Is that so?"
Noel slowly withdrew his gaze and stared blankly at the ceiling.
"Are you going to keep wallowing like this?" Cruze continued, highly satisfied with Noel's expression and demeanor.
"Wallowing?" Noel's expression was calm, like stagnant water.
"Can't you find the direction of your future?"
Seeing Noel's expression, Cruze could not help thinking of his former self.
It was too similar. Almost exactly like how he had once been.
"The future... Heh."
Noel sneered as he looked at Cruze. The future? A man who wanted to destroy the world was talking to him about the future?
"I was once just like you. I could not find the meaning of life. I did not know where to go, nor did I know where I should return."
As he spoke, Cruze slowly walked to the window. Looking at the bustling city outside, he clenched his fist and said, "But that did not stop me from moving forward. If you do not know where to go, then just go somewhere. If you do not know where to return to, then create a home of your own."
"And then? What are you trying to tell me? What are you trying to say?"
Noel countered. Those empty words had indeed tugged lightly at his heartstrings.
"Do you want to know your future? Then stand up and walk out. Wherever you go, that is your future." Cruze turned to look at Noel.
"Wherever I go is my future?" Noel slowly tightened his grip on the letter. Wherever he went was his future, but where could he go?
"Next, I am going to the Lunar Sphere to take part in the defensive battle. I will fight for myself, for my future!"
As he spoke, Cruze walked to the ward door beneath Noel's gaze. He turned his head toward Noel and said, "If you do not know where your future lies, do not know where you should go, do not know where you belong, then stand up and move forward. At least it will be easier to find the answer than lying here."
As the door slowly closed, Cruze disappeared from the ward.
"Stand up and keep moving forward..."
Before you continue