Heliobus — that was the name of a race within the galaxy.
They were pure energy beings with no fixed form, capable of parasitizing other species.
And when they revealed themselves, they usually appeared as a cluster of flames before a living creature.
That was also why they were called the Shapeless and Starfire Essence.
In the galaxy, Heliobi often enacted various scenes and phenomena.
Across the universe, such a sight could only be described as an almost impossible-to-encounter wonder.
Many people would spend their entire lives without ever witnessing it even once. Sometimes, not even in centuries would it appear.
Yet now, such a once-in-a-millennium spectacle had landed right before their eyes!
Silver Wolf's gaze was riveted on the white flames in the distance, endlessly converging, arranging themselves into patterns — her expression brimming with excitement.
They could merge, they could split apart, and they bore the form of fire...
These dazzling traits all testified again and again to the identity of those flames before them.
Without a doubt, Heliobi!
And these Heliobi were carrying a coffin-like pod, marching slowly forward through the void.
Wasn't this precisely that fabled, nearly unseen wonder of the galaxy— Heliobi Carrying a Coffin?
"This kind of once-in-a-lifetime scene has to be recorded! Later I've got to ask Elio if he foresaw this!"
Silver Wolf eagerly flicked open the ship's recording function. She wanted to capture this scene, then go and interrogate Elio on whether he'd predicted it.
And inside the ship, only Silver Wolf held such burning fascination toward the spectacle before them.
The others, after a single glance, quickly turned their focus elsewhere.
That burning planet shone so brilliantly in the galaxy that even though they had not yet arrived, its coordinates were already unmistakable.
"That place is Zieltworth." Kafka looked at the blazing planet in the distance, then shifted her gaze onto Firefly.
After all, Firefly had, days ago, already been faintly sensing fragments flowing from that world.
And now, the planet had turned into a star bright enough to illuminate the galaxy for a fleeting moment.
But this also meant that all the information carried within it had utterly vanished. The truth Firefly had been chasing might already have been completely lost.
"Judging from that flame..." Blade locked his eyes on the flames drifting away in the distance.
The same pure white flames. That meant the burning of that planet was the work of those departing Heliobi.
"Should we ask them?" Kafka turned to Firefly. "Heliobi are difficult to communicate with, but maybe we could still glean something from the fragments of their words."
"Yes. I'm going." Firefly gripped the green-and-yellow cicada-wing device at her hip.
She had to understand what truly happened upon that planet.
...
I want to die.
This time, Hoshigaki Sora truly wanted to die.
Right now he just wanted to tear open a crack in the void and crawl into it himself.
Who could've thought that by tossing out two casual sentences, Unkyō would interpret them into something this bizarre?
The med-pod was still softly playing gentle humming.
It wasn't a chorus, but each person on the comm channel humming fragments of the same song.
After humming, they'd even have Sora give them scores. The whole scene was becoming more and more surreal.
It was like that funeral F4 performance ending, then the pallbearers asking the man in the coffin for his opinion.
Though, to be fair, some of the songs were actually pretty good.
Even so, Sora felt more and more like he was the one sitting inside the coffin, about to be cheerfully buried.
What sin did I commit to end up in such a situation...?
He sighed inwardly. Somehow, the whole vibe of these Glamoth Iron Cavalry had gone completely strange.
When exactly had things started going crooked?
He thought back and back — they'd been so solemn when they first met. So how had they turned into this?
"You all... don't you feel the least bit ashamed?" Sora asked quietly once a song ended.
"Not really. After all, no one in the galaxy can hear us. It's just like us fooling around."
After all, in the emptiness of space, they were only releasing their true selves.
The more stifled they had been before, the lighter their hearts now felt. That was why everyone wanted to let themselves out.
And besides, the only one who could witness this scene was their friend, Sora.
If anyone else saw, they might feel shame.
But now, in space, how could there possibly be—
"Front Heliobi, halt immediately!"
!!!!
The once-cheerful Iron Cavalry abruptly froze in place.
As though a button had been pressed, they all turned their gazes in unison toward the side.
In the vastness of space, the ship was glaringly obvious.
Crap! Their private craziness had been seen — what now?!
Any trace of relief vanished in an instant.
They exchanged glances, silently arriving at one consensus.
Sisters, situation urgent. Let's just dismantle that ship!
Of course, that was only a joke. They weren't the sort to lash out indiscriminately just because someone discovered their black history.
Well... unless the people in that ship dared to open their recording function.
The Cavalry abandoned their little performance and clustered protectively around Sora, shielding him.
"Could they be people coming to Zieltworth for treatment?" Shunji made the habitual judgment instantly.
After all, news of Zieltworth's annihilation likely hadn't spread yet. Travelers might still come, seeking healing from the famed medical world.
"Who knows?" someone muttered, indifferent.
They no longer had any ties to that planet. The only bond left was the man in the med-pod.
Silver Wolf blinked at the sight before them, startled. "Heliobi... are actually this obedient?"
"No. That doesn't look like Heliobi." Blade had already fixed on the figures within the flames.
Heliobi were pure energy lifeforms. Yet within the blaze, a figure was clearly visible—
Huh?!
The instant they saw that figure in the fire, every eye aboard the ship swung toward Firefly.
"Firefly, when did your armor have so many models?"
Yes. The figures in the flames, though differing slightly, still bore the same foundation.
They were the same type of armor, just different variants — all the same lineage as Firefly's own transformation.
That was why Silver Wolf was so curious.
Glamoth Republic had long since perished. How could anyone still be producing that armor?
"I... I don't know either..." Firefly stared at the approaching, all-too-familiar forms.
Could it be someone had restarted Glamoth's battlefield industry lines...?
"But what concerns me more," Kafka's eyes slid to the med-pod those figures clustered protectively around, "is what lies inside."
To be shielded so thoroughly by these people — surely it was something precious?
As they still debated, the armored figures had already surrounded their ship.
Each stood cold and severe beneath their plating, exuding a crushing pressure.
"I... have to go out."
Firefly's heart was a storm. Why were there people so uncannily similar to herself?
No one could answer her confusion, but reason told her she had to face it head-on.
She gripped her cicada device tight, crimson fire erupting, engulfing her completely.
Shunji had been preparing to take up the burden of negotiation. They had to make certain what had just happened would never be known to outsiders.
But just then, the ship's hatch opened, and out flew a figure that shocked her.
That figure soared forward, meeting her in space. The two stood face to face, silent in their standoff.
From their mechanical design, one could see — they were the same type of armor.
Only the details marked the difference in identity.
"Who are you?" Firefly asked the figure before her. "And who are you people?"
"On the contrary, I'd like to ask you the same." Shunji's tone was equally wary. "Where did you come from?"
After exchanging questions, silence fell between them.
Each wondered at the other's origin. Each was baffled at why the other stood here.
Firefly had always thought she was the only one left of her kind in the universe.
And Shunji thought this Firefly must be another clone manufactured by someone else.
"Were you also created by others?" Shunji's voice sharpened, suspicion flickering.
Past betrayals whispered their warnings in her ears.
"No, I..." Firefly's voice hitched, then she declared her origin: "I was one of Glamoth's frontline warriors, Assault Type."
Glamoth was gone, yes, but her identity remained.
She lifted her eyes toward Shunji, hope stirring. "You... too?"
"We?" Shunji looked back, gaze finally resting on the med-pod where Sora lay.
"We are not Glamoth's Iron Cavalry. We are the ones who rebelled against the Empress!"
"Eh?!" Firefly froze, dumbstruck.
Empress? Rebellion? What?
"Exactly as the words say. With his help, we broke free of the Empress's shackles!"
The more Firefly listened, the more lost she became.
Wait, wait, wait—what on earth happened here?!