My Instant Death Doomed Firefly to a Lifetime of Regret

"An Ming."

"An Ming, An Ming, An Ming."

The summer night remained warm. On the bed, Liuying lay facing An Ming, her eyes glowing like fireflies, a smile stubbornly clinging to her lips.

"Why say it so many times?"

"Dunno…" Liuying puffed her cheeks, then found her answer. "Because I like An Ming."

Threefold affection demanded three repetitions.

An Ming pondered solemnly, then rapid-fired: "LiuyingLiuyingLiuyingLiuyingLiuying! Now I've quintupled it."

She blushed, thumping his chest. "Such a child!" Refusing to match his immaturity with tenfold echoes.

"In jie-jie's eyes, I'll always be a boy."

"Hmph! Even taller than me now!"

Liuying scooted closer, resting her head on his chest. "Before you… living hurt. I wondered if death meant freedom."

His heartbeat steadied her. "But after meeting you… I fear dying. If I die, we can't share cake anymore."

Her fingers traced his jaw. "Would you cry… if I died?"

An Ming shook his head, gaze blazing. "We'll live. Together."

"Mm. Together…"

A yawn escaped her. She curled against him, arms locked around his waist.

The girl who once watched him sleep now drifted off first.

An Ming held her close, their warmth mingling in the dark. Since fifteen, they'd slept entwined—each other's anchor.

Unspoken, they'd long been family.

Alarms shattered the night. Liuying stirred first.

"Intrusion alert…" She smoothed her sleep-mussed hair, bare feet padding to adjust her nightgown. "Swarm?"

"Unlikely. The Empire would've warned us." An Ming armed himself swiftly. "Human invaders?"

Liuying's eyes widened, then narrowed. "Stay sharp. Transform."

Flames licked their cheeks as armor engulfed them. "Stay connected."

The Mountains' labyrinthine terrain risked separation.

"You too."

An Ming's Molten Knight soared skyward—only to freeze.

The base blazed with emergency lights… yet stood eerily empty.

"Where are the others?"

Liuying's gut twisted. Sentinel Gene-Hacks stood motionless, eyes glazed.

"The Hive's compromised…"

Original A-Types numbered 100. B-Types—the majority—were hive-bound puppets.

Dizziness struck. Liuying's consciousness plunged into familiar green fields.

Titanis stood ahead, white gown pristine. "I dreamed of scorched earth."

The Hive's core, the Gene-Hacks' origin, turned. "Thank you."

"Me?"

Memories flashed—a boy screaming "Don't die!" at a dying hack. A voice piercing the Hive, awakening Titanis' soul.

"You are my people. They are not."

The meadow ignited. Ash spread through the Hive.

Sorrow choked Liuying as understanding dawned—

"Liuying!"

Warmth enveloped her. She awoke mid-fall, An Ming's armored arms snatching her from the sky.

Lights blazed anew. Sentinels stirred, dazed.

"Don't leave me."

She clung to him, terror sharper than any blade. Even in his arms, he felt ephemeral.

Flames dissolved to embers. An Ming landed them gently, armor shedding.

"Titanis has broken free," Liuying murmured at the Dead Sea's edge. "She commands the Hive now. All Gene-Hacks… including me."

Her sunset eyes dimmed. "I dreamed… of escaping Gramr with you. A tiny house. No pain. Just… us."

"Anywhere's home with you."

"But where?"

The Empire's stars had long been Swarm-corrupted. No ship could breach the insectoid tide.

Fireflies still fly toward flames. Would this be their end?