They were all gathered at Kael's home. At first it was meant to be a simple visit — spending good time together, catching their breath after everything they had been through. But Solara broke that suspended moment. Kael's parents slipped quietly out of the room, understanding they had no place in this conversation.
Solara continued, her voice composed. "It's time I told you about myself. You must have many questions — I'm ready to answer them."
Nozomi spoke first. He was the one who had met Solara first, and the one who had been on the front line during the confrontation. His first question was a natural one. "Solara, how did you come to be on Earth? According to Elyra, Earth was a secured planet — almost no one capable of mastering aetherium was supposed to come near it. That is precisely why our parents sent us here." He paused, his eyes fixed on Solara's, waiting for a solemn answer. "What are all these heroes doing here — and what's more, arriving the very moment Reimu appeared?"
All eyes turned toward Solara. That question had crossed each of their minds when they had seen those heroes appear on the battlefield as if by magic. Solara let the silence last a second, then calmly and clearly explained the situation.
Their arrival was no coincidence. She revealed that they owed it to Elyra. During their journey in the world of Drakaryon, Elyra had not simply accompanied them. She had been preparing the confrontation in parallel — reinforcing her vessel with offensive weapons to support the children as best she could. But she knew that would not be enough against Reimu's power — the man who had been their fathers' rival and had plunged the world into chaos years earlier. That was why, during their absence, she had contacted Solara. She wanted Solara to come to the children's aid and gather heroes ready to support them.
Solara added that Elyra had also entrusted her with a second favor — a more personal one. Elyra was asking her to take over and take special charge of their training and development. Elyra knew she was limited in what she could pass on, and wanted Solara to take her place. To her, Solara was best placed — an experienced fighter, a trustworthy person with solid values, someone who could truly help them flourish into great heroes.
Silence settled over the room. No one could find words. Elyra had therefore anticipated everything — foreseen her possible death, made her arrangements, organized even her own replacement. Even in accepting death, she had refused to let them die. That reality settled upon each of them with a crushing weight.
Heads lowered. Jaws tightened. Hands closed around knees or armrests. But no tears fell — they forced themselves to hold back, as if to pay tribute to Elyra in the only way they knew: by being strong. It was proof that they had grown since their first meeting.
Shinrei spoke, his voice neutral but his gaze incisive. "Why you specifically? Who are you to Elyra — if she chose you, it's because you are someone particular."
Solara answered, without looking away from the group. "I don't know if I am someone particular. But in any case, I was trustworthy." She paused, as if weighing those words one last time before saying them. "My name is Solara Yuutaka. One of the twin stars of the Yuutaka."
Aria sat bolt upright, eyes wide, mouth slightly open. "Yuutaka! Then you are…"
Solara interrupted her gently. "I am not a direct member of your family. Not in that way."
Solara then told them about her past. They discovered that she was a child Nova and Luna had rescued and adopted during their travels. For nearly ten years, they had lived together — training, travelling, fighting side by side. To Nova and Luna, Solara was like their own daughter.
After their death, Solara had struck out on her own five years ago. The news had broken her — she had been inconsolable for a long time. During the years that followed, in addition to continuing to work as a hero, she had searched for their children — to be to them what Nova and Luna had been to her.
Solara looked at them and said, her voice gentle but determined. "From now on, I intend to take you under my wing. I am not bound to you by blood — but you can think of me as an aunt, or an older sister."
No one knew what to say. The revelation of Solara's true identity had shaken each of them in a different way. Nozomi was staring at an invisible point ahead of him, jaw tight, as if trying to absorb everything he had just learned. Aria had her arms crossed over herself, expression tense and eyes glistening. Harris, for his part, was staring at the floor — and for once, he had nothing funny to say. Solara took all of this in with a single glance, and added calmly. "I know this revelation came as a shock. Take all the time you need — I understand."
As she was preparing to leave, Harris stopped her. "What are your plans now?"
Solara, her back turned, answered. "I'll leave the choice to you. But if you want, I intend to take you with me — to a place where I can look after you and train you properly." She turned back around and added. "I have an appointment to keep. I'll leave you to think it over — I'll be back in a month. Take your time, there's no rush."
Aria looked up. "An appointment? With whom?"
"I told you I was one of the twin stars of the Yuutaka. I'm leaving to meet the second person."
Aria, her gaze straight ahead, had already made her decision from the very beginning — without the shadow of a doubt. Her brothers, on the other hand, were still hesitant and couldn't answer with the same spontaneity. Each of them left Kael's home to be alone and think. But as everyone had gone, Solara returned — to be alone with Kael. She had something to tell him personally.
She sat beside him and said in a calm but direct voice. "Kael, you haven't yet realized it, but your injuries were of extreme severity. But the most serious among them was not inflicted by Reimu." She paused, her eyes resting on him gravely. "It was you yourself who caused it."
Kael frowned, thrown. "What do you mean, myself?"
Solara raised her voice slightly — not out of anger, but so that the gravity of her words would make itself clearly felt. "You have poor mastery of your power. It is your own power that put you in that state." She stood and added, her gaze serious. "I'm sorry, but until further notice, never use more than fifty percent of your strength."
She was about to leave, letting Kael digest what she had just told him. But Kael stopped her. His head lowered, fists clenched on his knees, his voice calm but carrying an intensity no one had known from him before. "Then help me. Help me master my power. Help me become stronger. I was unconscious — I couldn't be of any use to my brothers and sister. I never want to live through that again." He lifted his head, his eyes determined and assured, not a trace of hesitation left on his face. "I've made my decision."
That same evening, as night fell, Solara joined Nozomi who was standing before his father's grave. She approached in silence, remaining a few steps behind him, without speaking. The evening breeze made the leaves of the surrounding trees shiver. Nozomi broke the silence without turning around. "What are you looking for, Solara?"
"Your mother told me you'd be here. I was looking for you."
A slight irritation crossed Nozomi's voice. "I thought you were leaving us in peace to think things over."
Solara immediately sensed what lay behind that tone — not anger, but something more fragile, more profound. She stepped forward and said gently. "Nozomi, I know what you're feeling. I've already felt it — with the death of Nova and Luna. But your mother told me you weren't doing well. How long have you been forcing yourself to hold on?"
Nozomi didn't answer. He remained facing the grave, motionless, his shoulders slightly bowed — as if the weight of these past days had physically settled upon him.
Solara continued, her voice serious but kind. "You regret not having saved your father. You perhaps regret being a hero. Nozomi, you were chosen to be the elemental master. Thousands, billions of individuals are waiting for your help. The world needs you. You have been a hero for a year now — it's time to know who you truly are. And what you want to do."
Silence settled. The wind against the leaves. The sunlight slowly dimming, tinting the sky a soft orange. Then Nozomi exhaled — a long, deep breath, as if releasing something he had been holding back for too long. He spoke, his voice calm and very serious. "I already know what I want to do."
Solara didn't seem convinced. She gently pressed Nozomi, making him understand that he perhaps hadn't yet fully grasped what being a hero entailed. "Nozomi, you don't yet realize the full scope of what it truly means. The loss of your eye — that is what you risk experiencing again. Reimu — that is the kind of adversary you risk facing regularly, and worse. The grave you see before you — that is what you risk losing again. There will be people you won't manage to save. In incalculable numbers. And in incalculable numbers too, people you will save."
Nozomi rose slowly. He stood for a moment with his back to her, eyes on the grave, as if reading something there that no one else could see. Then he turned around and walked toward Solara. His face carried both guilt and an intense light — two things that shouldn't have coexisted, and that yet suited him perfectly. "I am a brother, a hero, the son of two great heroes — but also the son of an ordinary couple of humans from Earth." He paused. "I have been thinking for a long time. And know that from now on, I am also the elemental master — the fifth of that name." He fixed his eyes on Solara's, a gaze laden with guilt but crossed by an absolute light. "My father died a hero. I owe it to him to keep moving forward — that is what he would have wanted. And that is what I want to become." A smile brushed his lips. "It's time I looked ahead. I'm counting on you, Solara."
Moving forward, Nozomi noticed behind Solara all the heroes who had helped them during the war. He was surprised for a fraction of a second, his eyes slightly wide — before regaining his composure. He walked toward them, looking them straight in the eyes, without looking away. "I am still very young. But I will progress quickly. I will become someone capable of protecting those I love — so please, lend me a hand and stay at my side. Until I become a hero worthy of that name."
The heroes said not a word. They drew close to Nozomi and gathered around him, taking him in their arms with a smile. If they had come to fight, it was because they had already chosen Nozomi as their leader — but simply seeing him step up as such had warmed their hearts, and confirmed to them that they had made the right choice.
Solara observed the scene from a distance, a quiet smile on her lips. She thought, with a melancholic gentleness. "In the end, he didn't need my help for this. He is strong — inside as much as outside. Like his brothers and sister." She let out a quiet, discreet laugh. "It reminds me of a distant time."
Afterward, the other heroes left, and Solara walked Nozomi home. On the way, she warned him of her imminent departure. She would be away for a month — during that time, the heroes would go to a safe place where they could establish a base. After a month, she would return to hear their final decision and, if the time came, take them with her.
Before she left, Nozomi turned toward her. "Even if I intend to come with you, that doesn't mean I'm abandoning the family I have here. I want to become strong to protect them all — my mother, my brothers, my allies, the other heroes, and those who need it. You too, I will protect." He looked her in the eyes. "So make me the greatest of heroes."
Solara, moved by Nozomi's maturity and trust, smiled with her whole heart. "I fully intend to, Nozomi. You and your family will become great heroes. I am certain of it." She then set off on her journey, leaving the children with their families.
Once Nozomi was home, his mother welcomed him. "There you are. Did things go well?"
Nozomi felt guilty for having hurt her, for having worried her. He searched for his words to broach the subject of his departure — but before he had even been able to open his mouth, his mother spoke. "No need to talk — I already know. You've been forcing yourself to smile in front of me since your father's death. But I can see you very clearly inside."
Nozomi looked up. His mother was smiling — a soft, composed smile, sad and proud at once. "I am your mother, after all. And I am happy to find the person you truly are again."
Nozomi didn't know what to say. Something broke gently inside him — not violently, but with relief, like a tension finally releasing after holding on for too long. Tears rose without him being able to stop them, and he melted into his mother's arms. His voice trembling, he murmured. "I'm sorry. I didn't know what to do anymore. I miss him so much."
His mother held him tightly in her arms. Tears rose in her too — she made no attempt to hold them back. With her free hand, she softly stroked her son's head and murmured to him. "I know. I know very well. And I also know what a good person you are."
They stayed like that for a long while, without speaking. Simply present for each other, in the silence of the house. Then, when the emotion had subsided, his mother gently pulled away and suggested with a touching enthusiasm. "Would you like to cook together for dinner, like in the old days? We'll make a feast — we have to make the most of our time together before you leave."
Faced with his mother's enthusiasm, Nozomi let out a light laugh — sincere, natural, the first in so long. "With pleasure, Mum."