When I open my eyes, the world has already gone dark. I’m still in the same office space, but my head is resting on something soft and fluffy. The back of my hair hangs freely, only swaying whenever I move.
Then, an all-too-recognizable glow catches my attention. When I turn my gaze to where it’s coming from, I’m confronted with a beauty comparable to peaceful moonlight.
Once my eyes adjust, I let out a sigh of relief.
Pure white hair. Prism-colored eyes. And a school uniform that oddly fits.
She’s staring off into the distance like someone would when they’re deep in thought. From the looks of it, she hasn’t noticed I’m awake.
“So, is that glow toggleable?” I whisper playfully.
Gracefully lowering her head, she replies, “Indeed it is.”
“Heh. Aren’t you quite magical?”
“Quite rich coming from you, mage.”
“Yeah, but I can’t do what you do.”
“If I recall correctly, your arm starts glowing whenever you use magic. Wouldn’t that be the same thing?”
“Ah. I completely forgot about that.”
We both giggle quietly, as if not to wake anyone.
“How are you feeling?” she asks, gently caressing my hair with her fingers.
They’re so tender and soft that I feel the strong urge to fall back asleep. The way the tips of her fingers slowly run across my skin sends soothing tingles, like a drop of water falling into a puddle.
“I’m feeling better now. It might be thanks to your lap pillow.”
She stares at me disapprovingly, telling me clearly by her looks alone that she knows I’m lying.
I chuckle and quickly follow up, “Sorry. I feel terrible.”
She pinches my left cheek, a malicious smile curling on her face.
“Be sure to remember this interaction for the future, understand?”
“Ahaha… Will do.”
We both fall back into silence. My eyes dart around the dark office. The only thing in the air is visible dust illuminated by her glow, and the howling wind clashing against the door and windows.
It’s hard for me to breathe. Each time I draw breath into my lungs, it feels like someone is stabbing me with a poisoned dagger.
“Hey…” I call out to the foreigner, who tilts her head slightly.
“What do you say we get out of here?”
“Of course,” she replies. “Would you like to go back to your room?”
I shake my head, my hair brushing against her thighs. She jolts for a second, then returns to her usual elegant composure, pretending I didn’t notice.
“I mean, like, get out of here.”
“I can open a portal, and we can go somewhere else.”
“Would that not accelerate your death?” she asks worriedly, but her tone carries a sense of calm.
“Yeah. But at most, I have like two days left. At this rate, I’ll probably lose my ability to move tomorrow, and the ability to speak the next day.”
“I think I’d rather die talking to you than being a statue during my last moments.”
“Mhm.” She nods along.
“Just the thought of being trapped in your own body while your mind is still active just irks me.”
I expect the foreigner to start crying, or at least beg me to stay where I am. But to my surprise, she just stares at me with a somber smile. Her hands still run across my scalp, eventually resting her palm on my forehead.
“If that is what you wish. Where do you want to go?”
I puff my cheek and raise my eyes. There are so many places in the world that I would call beautiful. In fact, I’ve spent quite a long time thinking about where I would like to die one day.
There’s a beautiful view of a large tree in the forests of Aimafina. An island surrounded by a beautiful ocean view in Velion, and even an epic view of a constantly erupting volcano.
If I were on my own, I probably would have picked any of those spots. Or maybe I would have chosen to die here in this academy. To be honest, I didn’t clean up that courtyard for nothing.
But now that she’s here, my plans have changed.
“How about the place where we first met?”
“I mean, I guess since you’re the moon, you’ve technically been there before I was born.”
“But I mean more so, like, whenever you first noticed me.”
“Ah, do you mean the night of the Shrieking Tower?”
“Yeah. Do you remember where it is?”
She turns her gaze slightly. “I’m sorry. I don’t.”
Raising my arm, I place my hand on her right cheek. She holds it tightly with her own hands, rubbing her face slowly against my palm. My hand rises and falls with the rhythm of her breathing.
“Don’t worry. I remember.”
With that, I lift my other arm. Magical energy starts to flow within my body, and a magical circle materializes on my palm. My body immediately feels the strain as a pounding headache sets in.
A stabbing sensation courses through every part of me, across all kinds of different muscles. I let out a pained grunt, and from one quick glance, it’s clear that it takes everything within the foreigner not to interrupt me.
A few seconds later, a portal appears. I drop my arm onto the hardwood floor, a loud thud echoing across the room.
“Let’s go?” I ask.
She nods, placing her hand underneath my head and slowly helping me up. Even though I look relatively young, I feel like an old geezer. Well, I guess I technically do qualify as one, if we’re counting the actual number of years I’ve been alive.
The foreigner wraps my right arm around her neck, and she places hers around my waist. It takes us a second to adjust, but we start taking steps forward with surprising success. Something that once seemed so trivial now feels like an impossible task.
Countless muscles and nerves work in tandem to do something so insignificant. It’s almost like there are miniature societies living inside each and every person, with a small commander telling even smaller subordinates to execute their orders.
By the time we reach the portal, I stop myself, turning my head back one last time.
I let out a sigh as my eyes scan across the office that I’ve used for the last eight thousand years. Most of the furniture has changed at least a hundred times, but the nostalgia of simply being here never fades.
Times when I used to come here as a student, getting scolded for something Albo did.
Times when I was the one scolding other students.
A near lifetime of memories, now slowly being left behind. I’m sure the building won’t last long after I’m gone, but…
“Wait.” I halt, forcing the foreigner to stop as well. She turns to me curiously, cocking her head. Swallowing hard, I peer at the ground nervously.
Contorting my arms to be free from her grasp, I take a step back. Spinning around rather roughly, I walk over to my bookshelf. With a faint grip, I pull out a leather book with a red cover.
The noise of the portal is present, but faint.
I then pull another out, then another. Before sliding them back in on different positions.
“Saya, what are you doing?”
My body hurts like hell, but I want to do this one last time.
“I’m cleaning the place.”
“Now?” she asks with a grin.
I nod.
Walking across the room, she stands beside me, helping me reorganize without another word. Extending her arms, a faint glow begins to appear before her palm, shooting out strong beams of light.
It blinds me at first, but after she finishes, the office looks absolutely spotless.
“Wow. I should have had you clean up the place for me.”
“That would have taken me days.”
She turns to me judgingly, “days?! You would have taken days to clean this office room?”
“Hey. Don’t underestimate a master procrastinator.” I puff out my chest proudly. If I had glasses, I’d probably adjust them accordingly too.
Just then, a specific book catches my eye. Sliding it out of the bookcase, I part it open. Inside are countless photos of my time at the academy. Most of them have faded in color, but I can just barely recall when some of these were taken.
A warm breath grazes my neck.
“What is that?” the foreigner asks, peeking her head closer. I move the book so she can see a bit clearly.
“Wow!” she exclaims, her eyes practically sparkling as if she’s received the gift of a lifetime.
“The students here look absolutely adorable!”
I scoff, “that’s right. Those were my students. They look quite diligent don’t they?”
“Yes. Though, I am willing to bet you forgot all about them…” her words pierce through my heart. She’s not wrong per se, but when she puts it like that, it makes it sound much more cruel than it actually is.
“I remember I had students! And that they were good students! That’s all that matters in the end, right?” I shout, surprised at my current possession of energy. Fiercely taking back the picture book, I slide it back into the case.
“No more of that for you.”
“Is that so?” she smirks, placing a hand over her mouth, “just wait till you’re gone, I’ll be sure to take good care of you.”
“I’m sure you have some baby pictures here too. Do not worry, Saya Idlansil. I shall make sure to laugh at them quietly once you’re gone.”
I stick out my tongue, “well too bad for you, I don’t have any baby pictures anywhere.”
We share a laugh together. Even though it’s just the two of us, this academy hasn’t been this lively in such a long time.
“Can you do me a favor?” I faintly ask, the foreigner leans in as if to hear me better.
“After I’m gone, do you think you can project down here every now and then?”
“You know, take care of the place.”
Grinning, the girl carrying me replies, “I was planning on doing that regardless.”
“Thank you.”
I can’t help but smile back. I love her so much.
After a few more minutes, we finally get ready to step back into the portal. Despite having been open for a while, the process of maintaining the magic doesn’t use much magical energy. It’s the first cast that does.
Sighing in relief, we make our way back to the portal. The foreigner gently holds my hand. There’s something about her touch that makes me want to melt into a puddle.
Despite being celestial, her hands are so small, her nails are round and cute. The warmth on her fingers linger against my palm.
It reminds me of the logic Albo used that one time.
“I’m gonna bite your hand.” I say with a smug face.
“P-Please do not!” She tries to get away, but I don’t set her free.
“It’s like when you see a cute duck and you just wanna squeeze it. It’s the same thing, trust me. Just one nibble.”
I raise her hand higher towards my mouth.
“I will not give you a nibble of anything!”
“U-Unless…” her words suddenly turn soft. When I look past what’s in front of me, the foreigner is red as a sunset.
I don’t mean to, but I end up snorting anyways, then bursting into laughter.
“Freak.”
“I am not!”
“Hm? Why are you getting so defensive? I guess you really are—”
Pulling me forward, she inches closer to the portal. Her sudden movements send out another sharp sting of pain across my body. I guess this is payback for teasing her so much.
She stops herself, placing her hand to her chest like she’s disappointed in herself. Before her thoughts could wander any further, I tuck a strand of her hair behind her ear.
“Let’s go.”
She nods.
With a final wave of goodbye at the academy that treated me so well, I step into the magical portal, leaving my office behind in silence.
I’m glad I managed to clean up the academy before I left. I feel bad for only attending to my own workspace for countless years, and I know buildings don’t have feelings, but I hope it can forgive me for my negligence.
A stream of sensory overload crashes through my soul as we travel through the portal. Thankfully, we reach the other side before I start feeling any intense pain.
One step forward is all it takes to know where we are, as a metal clang rings out into the open air. The wind here is stronger than at the academy, and if it weren’t for the foreigner’s warmth, I’d probably be shivering to death by now.
“Where… are we?” she asks, her jaw hanging open.
“This is the top of the Shrieking Tower.”
“The original was torn down a long time ago, and it was replaced by this metal tower.”
“I think on the inside, there’s a bunch of technological stuff people used to use, but it doesn’t really matter to us.”
Shuffling our bodies, we return to the same position we were in back at the office. Me lying on her lap, and her caressing my hair. Our heads are both tilted upward, staring into the stars.
Just behind the foreigner is the tip of the tower, which she leans against.
“I’ve been meaning to ask,” the foreigner says, “what did Albo look like again?”
“You’ve told me before, but I forgot.”
“Oh, he had golden blonde hair and green eyes.”
“His hair was short most of the time, but he had this phase where he wanted to grow it out.”
“Grow it out? Like a girl?”
I snicker. “No, he was, like, covering his eyes with his hair.”
“Oh!” she says, giggling.
“Yeah, no. It looked horrendous on him. I actually had to sneak into his room one day to snip it off.”
“Quite the evildoer you are, Saya.”
“Hey! I would argue I was actually being a hero there. All the girls started liking him when he finally cut his hair short.”
The girl looks down, and we meet eyes. There’s a dubious smirk on her face. “I see. Is that when he captivated you too?”
“As if!”
I say my next line much more quietly, “He captivated me way before that.”
“What a hopeless romantic,” she teases, poking my cheek.
“Enough about him. Let’s talk about something else.”
“Like what?” she asks.
“I actually want to know more about you.”
“What would you like to know? I believe I told you everything about me on the day we met.”
“Nah, not that. I just want to ask what your plans are from now on.”
She places a finger on her lip. “I suppose I’ll continue traveling the world. I have your books, so it’ll be like you’re still traveling with me.”
I laugh. “The books will definitely be much less annoying.”
“Much less of a bully too,” she says, pinching my cheek again.
“Ow, ow! I didn’t even bully you at all!”
“That’s quite untrue. Have you forgotten how you tossed me into the portal on our trip to Atrila?”
“Okay, but that was literally one time. I don’t know if that counts as bullying.”
“My. I believe we should return to the office and have you read the dictionary again.”
“Ghk—! I-I apologize, o’ great Miss Foreigner.”
I let out another sigh. My legs no longer move, and I only have strength in my left arm. I try not to react and cause panic for the foreigner, but something in her eyes tells me that she already knows about my deteriorating condition.
“Still,” I say, “I can’t believe time flew that fast.”
“Indeed. I’m more surprised we aren’t crying anymore,” she says bluntly. I try shaking my head, but my neck doesn’t respond to my commands. So instead, I use my voice.
“Nah. Goodbyes aren’t fun when you’re crying.”
“I learned a long time ago, when I first started outliving my friends…”
“...that goodbyes while making jokes is the best way to go.”
“The departed smile one last time, and the people who go on have one final pleasant memory with them.”
“To be quite honest,” she replies quietly, “I was getting tired of crying anyway.”
“Right!” I laugh. “That’s what I’m saying!”
“What’s the point in seeing someone all sad, and then trying to reminisce on good memories afterward? At that point, you’re just being rude to the person who died.”
“I agree.” She nods.
There’s a glowing white moon in the sky. Normally, its light alone would be enough to make me stare idly for countless hours. But tonight, I can’t manage to peel my eyes away from my friend.
No. I guess it’s been like that ever since we met. When she first appeared to me, I was so struck with awe that I couldn’t even move. Her luscious hair spanning across the rooftop, and her beautiful eyes.
“It’s a shame, really. If you had visited me any sooner, we could have had much more fun.”
“I had fun regardless,” she shoots back instantly.
There’s a moment of silence between us. She’s staring at the stars high up in the sky, while I stare at her. I’m not sure if she’s noticed, but even if she has, I’m sure she’s ignoring it for my sake.
“Hey, remember that journal I gave you?” I snuggle on her lap. She looks down, and we meet eyes.
“I do, what about it?”
“Do you think you’re going to fill it?”
“I have thought about writing down notes of the world once you leave me behind.”
Leave her behind. What a tragic choice of words.
“That’s great and all, but what about stuff like your feelings? I think that’ll be better in the long run.”
“I don’t understand why?” she cocks her head.
“Mmm…” I shift my lips around my mouth. There’s something tugging at the edge of my lips, but it just refuses to come out. My eyes also narrow and widen in a pattern akin to flickering light.
Just then, I feel a sharp snap on top of my forehead. I yelp in pain, and by the time my eyes readjust to what’s in front of me, the foreigner is pouting like she was reading my discomfort as bright as day.
“What is it you want?”
“I’m just saying! I think expressing your emotions might go a long way!”
She narrows her eyes at me, staring deep into my soul.
“Is that really the main reason? You’ve already told me to write fiction the first day we spent together.”
Oh. That’s right. I forgot about that. In that case, I guess there’s no point in beating around the bush.
Letting out a sigh of resignation, I finally confess.
“I don’t know if humanity will make a return one day. But if they do, I’d like it if you spread my story. Our story.”
“I know it’s selfish, but I just don’t want my life to have been useless, you know?”
She brushes my hair softly. There’s a moment of silence between the two of us. It’s not an awkward one, far from it. Every other time she’s given me the silent treatment, there’s always been some kind of problem.
Her captivating lips move ever so slightly, as she breaks out into a soft grin at my proposal. My heartbeat sounds so close to me right now.
“I’ll make sure you’re not forgotten.”
“How could I? After what we’ve been through.”
I nervously chuckle, “I mean, it’s only been a few days. I kinda thought that since you’ve lived for over a million years or so that you’d forget eventually.”
“But if you keep writing in your journal, there’s less chance of—”
A soft, wet touch against my forehead.
I can feel the ridges of her lips quietly gracing my skin.
It isn’t until it happens that I realize I’ve had a fever this entire time. My vision is completely obscured by the close-up of the foreigner’s head. Only when she pulls away, do I realize what has happened.
Sparkling lips. Matched with a purposeful gaze.
“I won’t in a million years forget our time together.” she says, placing her pointer finger on my lips to shush me.
“I’ll carry you with me until the end of time.”
“Until every star in the sky fades away.”
“That is my promise.”
Slowly, the sound of my heartbeat starts to get louder. My breathing is jagged, and grows heavier and heavier each passing second. I bite down on my jaw, but that does little to hide my blushing.
“T-Thanks…” I sheepishly whisper. Averting my gaze, I look out into the distance below us. The remnants of a city that once used to thrive are left with nothing but vines and moss.
While we share another moment of silence, unease slowly starts to creep up behind me. I slowly pull my eyes back towards the back of my head. It feels like a ghost is about to cut my head out of nowhere.
My heart sinks into a pool of darkness, spreading that corruption all throughout my body. Even though my breathing’s still heavy, it’s not from the kiss anymore. No, this is something far more primal, something far more dangerous.
To put it simply, it feels like my very existence is choking, gasping for the air of life.
“Hey.”
I call out to the foreigner in a panic. She grasps my hand tightly, as if to ease me.
“Can you help me up?”
“Help you up?”
“Yeah. I don’t know if I wanna die lying down. I don’t know, it just makes me feel a bit uneasy. Can I just like, rest on your shoulders? If that’s… okay?”
“Of course it is.”
As she helps me sit up, our clothes flutter in the wind. Despite everything around me screaming serenity, my mind and soul are anything but. A creeping feeling grazes my heart.
I think if I stay lying down, I’ll probably end up screaming in fear at some point. I don’t want that. I made up my mind to go as peacefully as possible, and I’m not about to break that promise to myself now.
Using the tip of the tower, I lean my back against it to prop myself up. The foreigner scoots over to accommodate me.
“It’s too soon.” she whispers.
“I don’t want to be alone.”
She glances at me regretfully. Just one peek into her once sparkling eyes tells me everything I need to know. Deep down, she probably wishes she stopped me from casting that spell.
My head falls gracefully onto her shoulder.
“I’m here with you.”
She leans her head to the right, resting it on top of mine. We stare into the distance together.
“Always?” she asks.
“Always.”
Her contagious warmth makes my eyelids heavy. I didn’t realize being this weak made you so sleepy. All my anxiety, all the worries I had just seconds before suddenly dissipate as if it was her special ability.
“I’m… sorry I couldn’t help… you… find a name,” I say weakly, my voice raspy. Thinking back on it now, I shouldn’t have made a big promise about showing the world to her. I bet she’s disappointed.
I squeeze my hand against hers. Even though it's unintentional, the thought of me hurting her forces me to let go of her. While my fingers slowly depart with a hover, she pulls it back towards her, refusing to let me go herself.
“I already found one,” she replies with a tender whisper. She rubs her cheeks against my own yearningly. With whatever little strength I have, I reciprocate her actions. It’s the least I can do to show her feelings towards her.
Ahah… I wonder what she chose.
Even though I want to ask badly, my lips don’t move in the slightest. Like a creaking door, my eyes slowly close as I sink into darkness.
Under muffled hearing, as if I was underwater, I hear a murmur from beside me.
“—Don’t… go…”
I don’t want to.
“———Please… I’m begging you… it’s too soon…”
I want to open my eyes, but all I can see in front of me is an endless void.
Light creeps from each corner, slowly bleeding in like paint. Everything that’s happened in my life flashes before my eyes like a sped-up video.
My childhood of being alone.
Talking to my parents as we travel from our village to the city. An event that was all too common in our household. Thanks to them being merchants, I saw a lot of things many other kids weren’t able to at that age.
Accidentally killing them in the carriage under the golden sunset. A regret that haunted me for the rest of my life.
Growing up with Albo. Setting out on a journey to save him. Hah. It was such a pain in the ass, I almost died a few times. But seeing him again on that rooftop… it was the happiest night of my life.
Seeing him die by my own hands. Come to think of it, I probably did the right thing. I’m sure I knew that back then too. If he had been left alive, he would have just suffered.
Starting the academy with merely one student. I don’t know if I did it for nostalgic reasons, or if I really wanted to give kids a better tomorrow, but it was fun regardless. I’m glad I kept it going and kept meeting new people.
I see everything, and no matter how much I want to slow down some parts, the world seemingly ignores my request.
“Just because you failed while doing your best, doesn’t mean you hit your limit.”
My mom said that to me when life was the hardest. When I wanted to give up.
I should have said that to the foreigner when I had the chance. Though, if she goes through my books, I guess she’ll find it eventually.
I know she’s proud of me in the afterlife. And so is Dad. I know they are.
But…
“Albo… are… you… pr-proud…”
“Of… me…?”
The words slip out of my mouth. However, there’s nothing but silence. Did I lose my hearing, or did I actually die? This question should linger at the back of my mind, but instead, it’s all that echoes in this darkness.
In all eight thousand years, I never expected to be going out like this. Not during an epic clash against evil, not during a fated destiny event. At least, I’m glad I'm not going out on a whimper. What happened to me can’t be described as that.
It was quiet, sure, but at least I could smile one last time.
My life came to an end.
—Is what I would have said, if something didn’t reawaken me.
“I’m proud of you, Saya.”
A soft, alluring female voice rings in my ear beside me.
My eyes slide open with a struggle. My vision has all but completely faded, and all I see in front of me is a blurred world. Weakly, I raise my eyes toward the source of the voice.
There’s a strange person sitting next to me. I don’t recognize them. But I do notice one thing. Like paint flowing downstream, I see the pure white hair of the person beside me slowly transform into a familiar shade.
Golden blonde hair.
Emerald green eyes.
“Thank you for finding me such a beautiful name.”
I can’t see them, but I’m sure they’re smiling.
As my eyes close again, darkness comes crawling toward me once more. This isn’t darkness in the sense of night, but death. Everything from my mind to my soul starts to feel cold.
I can’t feel my own body anymore. While drawing my last breath, I manage to say one more thing.
“I love you, Albo.”
A stream of tears flows down my cheek. Normally, that phrase would have been reserved for him alone. Now though, I guess I’m saying it to two people now. I’m glad she chose that name.
It fits her well.
“I love you way more.” the voice replies back.
I take the hand of darkness. Marking the end of Saya Idlansil.
Being so distracted with dying, I didn’t notice but…
The moon tonight is really beautiful.