My Instant Death Doomed Firefly to a Lifetime of Regret

Seven years later.

"I'm off."

Firefly adjusted her hairpin in the mirror and stepped out.

A photo frame by the door captured Anming holding her hand, his smile radiant. Firefly's cheeks flushed pink in the image, her gaze shyly averted.

Another summer arrived.

Children chased ice cream trucks. Lovers clung beneath parasols. Fountain waters danced in the plaza.

Firefly lingered at a florist, finally selecting a bouquet of bellflowers.

"A date?" the shopkeeper teased.

Firefly hugged the flowers tighter. "Yes."

"May happiness find you."

She walked familiar paths, stopping at their favorite bakery for two oak-barrel cake rolls. Sunlight filtered through leaves as sweat glistened on her neck—Glamoth's summers grew fiercer yearly.

Truthfully, I never liked summer.

Sweltering. Humid. Mosquito-ridden.

Yet why did it matter?

A breeze brushed her face. She smiled.

Summer meant reuniting with him in the bellflowers.

Baring her soul under firefly glow.

Shared walks home with pastries.

A thousand glittering moments—a dream refusing to end.

But dreams fade.

Beyond the hedges stretched a sea of white blooms dotted with obsidian tombstones. No names—only numbers. These were Glamoth's nameless embers, ash from its dawn.

At the hill's peak stood a taller marker. Unmissable.

"Show-off," Firefly muttered, arranging flowers. "Always had to be the tallest."

"But I'm still your elder. Obviously."

She traced the engraved "ANMING."

"Guess the date?"

"Your birthday. Our birthday."

Sitting among blossoms, she sliced a cake roll. The first bite tasted bitter.

"Happy birthday to you…"

Her voice cracked.

"Anming. 25 today."

She ate mechanically until tears drowned the pastry. A firefly alighted on her shoulder.

In its glow, she glimpsed him—

"Wait! Don't go—!"

Her cry echoed through the field.

Dusk painted the flowers crimson. Firefly leaned against the stone, smiling through memories.

Seven years to forget someone.

Seven years for every cell to renew.

"Anming."

"I still remember."

Even if her cells forgot his face, her soul burned with their starlit moments.

Night fell. Fireflies encircled the grave. She drowsed, dew soaking her hair—until a shadow loomed.

Titania observed coldly. "He said some things need no 'worth'."

"You were right."

Firefly stirred, unfazed.

"Here to honor his contract." Titania revealed a familiar transformation device—a warframe key and life-support pod fused as one.

"What becomes of Glamoth?"

"Irrelevant. Blood debts remain."

Firefly clipped the device to her belt. Old battles flashed—Anming's laughter mid-strike, their synchronized blades.

"I thought you'd join him in death."

"I'll live. His… final gift."

Titania produced a velvet box. "His other gift."

Inside lay a silver ring—delicate wings cradling an azure gem.

Sunlight fractured through tears. Firefly saw him kneeling, grinning that reckless grin:

"Miss Firefly. Be my bride?"

Her whisper melted into dawn:

"Always."