NOVEL ONLINE FREE Chapter 27: Let’s Call You Firefly
The ashes of the insect swarms fell like snow.
The endless hum of wings and tactical chatter dissolved into silence.
Firefly heard survivors laughing, saw the blackened remains of warframes, smelled scorched air.
Yet tears kept falling, soaking bellflower petals before vanishing into soil.
For a fleeting moment, she imagined new buds breaking through the earth, blooming defiantly under the sun.
Frost-like dust settled on Anming's shoulders. In the light, his body shimmered faintly gold.
His cracked armor told of battles fought; his twin azure blades stood embedded in soil like grave markers.
"They say you can recognize a loved one's footsteps," Anming turned, smiling as Firefly stumbled toward him. "I always thought that was just poetic nonsense."
Sunlight filtered through the gold fissures fracturing his face—a body crumbling from bearing a god's power.
"Liar…"
"Liar!"
Firefly trembled, torn between embracing him and fearing he'd dissolve at her touch.
"You promised me a home!"
"Promised to marry me!"
"Promised—!"
Her composure shattered. How could she blame him? He was Glamoth's savior. Her savior.
Anming tried to reach for her, collapsing instead into the flowers. So much left unsaid. So many dreams unfulfilled.
Time to say goodbye.
Bellflowers would keep blooming.
So would fireflies.
"Firefly."
"I love you."
He looked as he had that first summer—bright-eyed, forever her miracle.
Meeting you was my greatest fortune.
His body began dissolving, golden shards spiraling skyward like rebellious stars.
Firefly lunged, clutching empty air.
"Anming! Anming—!"
Her kiss met only glittering dust—a final caress against her cheek.
Alone in the flowers, she stood on tiptoe, kissing the horizon where his light had vanished. Tears pooled at her collarbone.
Summer winds stirred the bellflowers.
A summer without him.
[SIMULATION TERMINATED]
...
...
[#￥%%%@—???]
March 1st
Met a strange boy. He pulled me from death's grip.
This warmth in my chest… Can a cyborg truly feel such things?
When will we meet again?
July 12th
Training hurts. But this is a cyborg's fate.
Would he look at me differently if he knew?
Why does that scare me…
April 3rd
All Type-A units are gone. Will I too become scrap in some forgotten corner?
May 30th
Stripped of Emberblade Knight privileges. Entropy degradation worsens.
Doctors say my survival defies logic.
…Is this your parting gift?
June 1st
Assigned to mentor a cadet named Anming.
Being a pilot means death. But leaving the mountains…
Might I see him again?
(This is selfish. I don't care.)
June 24th
He's the cadet.
Joy? Shock? Grief?
I must guide him toward death's embrace.
July 13th
Firefly.
Firefly Firefly Firefly~
I love this name.
July 14th
Shared Swiss rolls with Anming.
Bitter, but delicious!
May 7th
He's surpassing me. Soon he'll qualify for the mountains.
Why does that ache? I should be proud.
August 19th
Don't want him to die.
August 20th
The mountain trial went smoothly. Maybe I worried for nothing!
September 17th
Slept holding Anming!
My core keeps pulsing—malfunction?
Embarrassing… but wonderful.
Is this… love?
October 12th
He shouts ridiculous things in the Emberblade Knight—"I'll ignite the seas!" "Flee now or perish!"
Boys are so childish.
(It's endearing.)
June 3rd
Idiot Anming!
Who proposes during target practice?!
But…
Yes. A thousand times yes.
We'll marry. Open a pastry shop. Eat cake forever.
July 15th
Nightmares since the war began.
You hold me tighter each time I wake.
Don't leave me.
[DATE CORRUPTED]
I won't forgive you.
I won't forget.
I'll love you always.
...
A breeze stirred Firefly's silver-gray hair as she closed the journal. Pages fluttered open to the front—to the Cyborg Directives etched there.
Her breath caught.
Directive 1: Absolute loyalty to the Empire.
Directive 2: No intelligence leaks.
Directive 3: No emotional attachments.
…All struck through with bold ink. New words blazed beneath:
Live for yourself. To love others, first love you.
Trust your heart.
Love bravely.
Tears smudged the page. She knew that handwriting.
The boy who'd named her whispered once:
"Let's call you Firefly."
"Like fireflies—warm and bright."