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The moment the Goddess of Life laid eyes on the silver-haired girl, her gaze lit up. With her god-king-level insight, she noticed how the very laws of life around them started to stir the instant that little girl arrived in the universe. Even the Ancient Tree of Life began to sway gently, radiating a sense of joy.
"This is…? The essence of life itself. This child understands the meaning of life… How extraordinary."
"And that bloodline… it's from some ancient life-based god. What powerful lineage. What a mysterious and strong divine presence. Even the Dragon God might not compare!"
Just from one glance at the silver-haired girl, the Goddess of Life saw so much.
But there was one thing she couldn't quite understand—another kind of power coming from the girl. One that didn't belong to the life element, but rather… destruction. The divine power of destruction was just as strong as the life-based bloodline she carried.
Life and destruction, coexisting in one child—this made the Goddess of Life feel both astonished and thrilled. In this silver-haired girl, she saw the blend of destruction and life. She saw the possibility of a child born of herself and the God of Destruction.
She and the God of Destruction were husband and wife, but due to the natural opposition between life and destruction, they'd never been able to have children. It had always been their biggest regret. But now, the appearance of this girl gave her hope. Could this be the great omen the Life Prayer Ritual had foretold?
If her hunch was right, then yes—this truly was a sign of great fortune for her and the God of Destruction.
Her gaze then shifted to another spirit—an ordinary human's spiritual body. Normally, when someone dies, the soul disperses almost immediately. But for some reason, this one had held together.
The Goddess of Life figured it must've been that starlight protecting his soul. But now, the light had clearly faded, its power spent. It could no longer keep the spirit stable.
At that moment, Meteor's body began breaking down into particles of light. Firefly's tears slid slowly from the corners of her eyes. She stood frozen, helpless. She had no idea what to do. No way to stop this.
Meteor looked at his fading body and said with a calm smile,
"Guess my name wasn't such a bad pick after all—Meteor. A flash, then gone. Kinda poetic, huh?"
"But… Firefly, looks like I won't be able to keep my promise. You'll have to keep going alone from here. My journey's reached its last stop… I can't keep walking with you."
His voice held a hint of regret. He had finally met his waifu from his past life—a 2D paper girl brought to life—and he'd really been looking forward to the adventures they could share. But sadly, he was still a dead man. Just a lingering soul, nothing more.
Now that his journey had ended, there was nothing left to do.
He was actually okay with it. The only thing he still cared about… was her. Firefly. The girl whose fate he had changed. The one who now carried his memories. He didn't know what would happen to her going forward, or whether she could ever recover from her entropy syndrome.
Meteor reached out his right hand, trying to wipe away her tears, but his fingers passed right through her cheek. With a helpless sigh, he slowly pulled his hand back. In the very end, all he wanted was to touch the one he had once only known as a fictional character.
"Don't… don't go, please!"
Firefly's tears wouldn't stop. Her heart broke as if she were back on that battlefield again—bodies of comrades and alien insects littering the planet, with only her left standing. The same loneliness. The same grief.
Meteor gave a peaceful smile and said softly,
"Don't cry. Death doesn't mean life is over. It's just… moving to a different place. You have to keep living. Who knows? Maybe one day, in some other world, you'll see me again. When that happens… you better say hi!"
He glanced at the dimming starlight. It had probably burned itself out trying to shield them from the Star God of Pleasure. Otherwise, it would never have entered that pitch-black dimensional void.
"I don't know if you have a will of your own," Meteor said to the starlight, "but thank you anyway. You gave someone who should've been long dead the chance to go on a wild ride, and let me meet Firefly. But now, it's time for me to get off. Goodbye."
He closed his eyes. He didn't want to see Firefly's tearful face anymore. In his heart, he sighed.
"In the end… all I've got left is regret. Damn that god of entertainment—this is all your fault! If it weren't for you, I could've spent more time with Firefly."
It really did hurt. She was right there next to him—his dream girl from his old life—and he couldn't even touch her. And now, they were about to be separated forever.
"Poor child…"
A gentle, soothing voice echoed in that moment. Firefly's head snapped up. Her right hand instinctively pulled out a firefly-shaped henshin device. She scanned the area, alert.
"Child, do you want to save him?"
The gentle voice came again. Firefly flinched. She had no idea who or what was speaking, or whether it was friend or foe. But she didn't care anymore. She had no way of saving Meteor herself. This voice… it was her last hope.
Without hesitation, she nodded hard.
"Yes. I want to save him—no matter what it costs."
"You and he don't belong to this world," the voice said. "You have no mark here. If he dies, his soul will shatter completely—there won't even be a chance at reincarnation. I can help him get a body again, but his soul doesn't match this world. Just giving him a body won't work."
There was a sigh in the voice.
Firefly frowned, her eyes sharpening. She gripped her henshin device tighter and said coldly,
"Are you messing with me?"
"Don't rush, child. There's still a way."
The voice stayed as calm and gentle as ever, unfazed by her tone.
Hope sparked in Firefly's eyes. Her voice softened, almost pleading.
"Please… tell me what I need to do."
"He has no body, no anchor in this world," the voice explained. "But you do. If you're willing to accept my inheritance, you'll be linked to this world. If you agree to share your life force with him, then he can survive."
Meteor frowned and shook his head.
"That's not necessary. I don't know what this 'inheritance' of yours is, but I just want to go quietly. I don't want to drag anyone down."
Even if the voice meant well, "sharing life" didn't sound like something safe for Firefly. He didn't want her to get hurt just for him. He did want to live, sure—but being able to meet the waifu he'd always dreamed of, and going on this magical journey—that was already more than enough for him.
"I do!"
Firefly didn't even glance at Meteor. She answered loud and clear, no hesitation in her voice.
Sharing life force? That's all? It wasn't like she was giving up her life. Nothing to hesitate over. Her life was precious—but so was Meteor.
Even though they hadn't spent much time together, they had shared memories. And in those memories, it felt like they'd known each other forever.
"Firefly—" Meteor started.
"Shut up."
She shot him a glare. Then looked around, not seeing where the voice had come from, and shouted,
"What do I have to do?"
"....."