Chapter 23: The Heart Remembers
Underworld — Firefly’s POV
She had finally made it to Jarilo-VI.
Arriving on the mostly barren world hadn’t been a problem for her, and even sneaking into Belobog had been fairly easy for someone with her capabilities and experience.
Walking through the streets of Belobog with a hood and jacket covering most of her form, Firefly came to an abrupt stop when she noticed three recently posted wanted posters.
Focusing on one in particular, she couldn't help but let out a giggle.
“Pft, hihihi~ He looks so silly~” she muttered as a smile curled across her lips.
It was the first genuine smile she'd worn in several days.
Ever since learning the heartbreaking news that the person she loved with all her heart had been stricken with an incurable disease, one that supposedly left him with less than a year to live, smiling had become difficult.
Sometimes it honestly felt like Fate itself was against them.
As if it hadn’t been satisfied with her own incurable disease, Entropy Loss Syndrome, it had decided to target Caelus too mere minutes after he had already lost his memories.
Feeling her mood begin to plummet again, Firefly quickly shook her head and focused on the poster.
“He looks like a girl here,” she whispered before another giggle escaped her lips.
The artist had drawn him with long hair, and the only reason she had recognized him at all was because of his gray hair and his iconic bat.
Noticing a few curious glances being sent her way, Firefly lowered her head and continued walking, quickly blending back into the crowd.
As she searched for clues, she noticed several odd things.
Since she wasn't aware of Belobog's script, and with Caelus now completely free from Elio's gaze, something she was very happy about, Firefly had no choice but to rely on her own deduction skills to figure out what was happening and where he might be.
Thankfully, gossip was one of the most reliable sources of information in the universe.
It didn’t take her long to piece together a rough picture.
First, Caelus and his companions were obviously wanted for something serious enough that the entire city guard was actively searching for them.
Something about inciting rebellion.
Firefly didn’t believe that accusation for even a second.
Second, they clearly hadn’t been captured yet.
Otherwise the guards wouldn’t still be searching.
Third, they had disappeared several days ago alongside the captain of the Silvermane Guards.
Rumors claimed they had kidnapped her and taken her somewhere.
Firefly immediately dismissed that theory too.
Finally, there was a sealed-off area within the city that wasn’t completely overrun by Fragmentum corruption.
After digging a little deeper, she learned it led to the Underworld, a place that had supposedly been closed off from the rest of Belobog for years.
Using basic deduction, Firefly quickly reached a conclusion.
Caelus and his friends were most likely somewhere in the Underworld.
So she headed there herself.
Using the cover of darkness, Firefly made her way underground.
Soon enough, she reached the Underworld and spotted a town in the distance using her Sam armor to fly there.
Boulder Town.
With it being so late, Firefly's immediate plan was to find somewhere to spend the night.
Probably an abandoned building, just like she had done during the days she spent investigating in the Overworld.
However, just as she was considering her options, she heard voices nearby.
Firefly froze.
A familiar voice reached her ears.
A voice she would recognize anywhere.
“…Caelus.”
She whispered his name as she suddenly felt her heart start racing in a mix of nervousness and excitement, wanting nothing more than to run up to him and hug him for all he was worth before declaring her love for him.
She just managed to stop herself.
The current Caelus didn’t remember her, and it would look extremely weird for a complete stranger to suddenly run up and do something like that.
“Calm down, Firefly. You can’t just go and kiss him, even if you really want to. What if he thinks you’re some creepy weirdo or a stalker?” Firefly muttered to herself as a blush spread across her cheeks.
Taking a few deep breaths to calm herself, Firefly managed to regain her composure and quickly made her way toward where she had heard his voice.
Coming to a stop at a corner, she pressed her back against the building and took one more steadying breath before peeking around it.
Her eyes immediately zeroed in on him.
Recognizing his soft gray hair and beautiful golden eyes, Firefly felt her breath catch in her throat.
He looked exactly like he had the last time she saw him.
‘I found you~’
Firefly thought happily as butterflies erupted in her stomach and a blush spread across her cheeks.
He was as handsome as ever, smiling without a care in the world.
Or at least, that was what it looked like at first.
After knowing him for so long, however, Firefly quickly started noticing things that others probably wouldn't.
His posture was more slouched than normal. Normally, she would have assumed he was simply tired due to how late it was, but that didn’t seem to be the case right now.
His eyes looked tired too.
There were faint bags beneath them, and he appeared slightly out of breath, which shouldn’t have made any sense. The Caelus she knew was incredibly active and rarely tired unless he had just finished fighting a powerful enemy.
That didn’t seem to be the case here either.
And finally, he looked paler than usual.
There was even a faint sheen of sweat on his face as he walked.
Individually, none of those signs would have worried her too much.
Together, however, they painted a grim picture.
A picture that made her heart sink.
It meant there was genuinely something wrong with him.
As much as she didn’t want to accept it, it meant he was really sick.
Some stubborn part of her mind had immediately denied it when Silver Wolf first told her. She had desperately clung to the hope that Silver Wolf was somehow wrong for the first time and that the whole thing was some kind of prank by Caelus.
That tiny hope was crushed before her very eyes.
Tears slowly rolled down her cheeks, and she made no effort to stop them.
Now more than ever, Firefly wanted nothing more than to run over, wrap her arms around him, and never let go again no matter who stood in her way.
Without even realizing it, she stepped out from behind the corner and began slowly walking toward him.
She stopped once again as her gaze finally widened and she noticed something she had completely missed.
Caelus wasn't alone.
He was walking alongside two beautiful girls with pink hair.
Firefly felt her heart drop straight into her stomach.
The two girls were both incredibly pretty.
One had long pink hair and carried herself with the confidence of a maid, while the other had shoulder-length pink hair, cute goat horns, and an innocent beauty that immediately stood out.
For a brief moment, Firefly simply stared.
A dozen unpleasant thoughts immediately entered her mind.
Who are they?
How long have they known him?
Why are they walking around with him this late at night?
Why do they look so comfortable around him?
The more she looked, the worse she felt.
Especially when she noticed how naturally they walked beside him.
One of them even seemed to be fussing over him, causing Firefly’s chest to tighten painfully.
She knew she was being unreasonable.
She knew she had no right to feel jealous.
After all, she wasn’t his girlfriend.
To him, she was a complete stranger.
Yet that didn’t stop the ugly feeling from appearing.
The thought that someone else might have already taken her place before she even had a chance.
That while she had been desperately searching for him across the stars, someone else had been by his side comforting him.
Firefly lowered her gaze as she felt fresh tears threaten to form.
"...That's not fair."
The words escaped her lips before she could stop them.
The shock caused her to realize that she had left her hiding spot, and she quickly hid behind the corner again as her heart felt like it was being squeezed at finding him with other women, beautiful ones at that.
‘Who are they?’ Firefly wondered again as she held a hand over her chest and examined them closely, noticing that they weren’t any of the Nameless she was aware of.
Unfortunately, she didn’t get a chance to find out.
Caelus soon stumbled into the hotel looking extremely tired, leaving her alone with her thoughts.
She stayed there for several more minutes before finally leaving and finding the first abandoned building she could use as shelter. Since her condition prevented her from dreaming, she simply rested her head and used the time to organize her chaotic thoughts.
“They seemed close if the worried looks they kept sending him were any indication,” she muttered quietly as jealousy reared its ugly head once more.
A moment later, she shook her head and let out a sigh.
“I just have to find the perfect opportunity to talk to him.”
The words were as much reassurance as they were a promise.
The following day, she followed him.
There seemed to be some sort of meeting taking place, and from what she gathered, they were planning to visit someone called Svarog. Firefly only paid half attention to the discussion, however.
Most of her focus was on the fact that the two pink-haired girls from last night were nowhere to be seen.
The only pink-haired girl present was his fellow Nameless.
Too focused on trying to figure out where the other two had gone, Firefly became distracted and was almost caught when Caelus suddenly turned in her direction.
Her heart nearly leapt out of her chest as she quickly ducked behind cover.
Part of her wanted him to find her.
Wanted him to notice her so she could finally talk to him.
The other part wanted to remain hidden until she could gather her courage.
Unfortunately, the latter won out.
Taking extra precautions to avoid being discovered, Firefly continued following them from a distance as they left town.
She would definitely find a chance to speak to him alone.
She would make sure of it.
=====
Back With Caelus
As we made our way to the Robot Settlement, my mind remained occupied with thoughts of Firefly and whether that had really been her I saw back in Boulder Town.
‘Could she really be here?’
I thought with a small frown, wanting nothing more than to finish our business with Svarog and immediately comb Boulder Town from top to bottom to see if I could find her.
I really wanted to see her.
My heart was practically screaming at me to drop everything and go looking for her, and only the promise of seeing Clara again was keeping me in check.
‘I guess it's true what they say. Even if the mind forgets, the heart and body always remember.’
I thought as I felt my heart race inside my chest at the mere thought of seeing her again.
I had already resigned myself to waiting until Penacony before seeing her, and if I was being honest, I wasn't even sure what condition I would be in by then.
The thought of seeing her now felt almost like a dream.
I just hoped my eyes weren't playing tricks on me and that it had really been Firefly I saw.
“What’s the matter, Caelus? You seem distracted. And here I thought you’d be excited to see little Clara again. You did declare her your little sister after all.” March’s voice interrupted my thoughts.
Turning toward her, I found her looking at me with obvious confusion.
Plastering a smile on my face, even if it was a little forced, I shook my head and answered her.
“Sorry about that. I was just thinking about something.”
Slapping my cheeks a couple of times, my smile became more genuine as I picked up my pace.
“Speaking of Clara, March, you have to help me convince her to wear some shoes. Doesn’t it bother you that she’s walking around barefoot when it’s so cold?”
March blinked before widening her eyes as she remembered.
“That’s right! I almost forgot about that!” she exclaimed in disbelief. “Don’t worry, leave it to me~” she declared while giving me a thumbs up.
Giving her one in return, our chat came to an end and we were forced to focus as more Fragmentum monsters appeared before us.
“Sampo... are we there yet?” March asked in a whiny tone after we dealt with another group.
“Do you have to ask every other minute, missy?” Sampo replied with a sigh, clearly having answered the same question several times already. “Just two more steps. Two more steps and you're there.”
Thankfully for all our sanity, Sampo was actually telling the truth this time.
A few minutes later, we finally arrived at the Robot Settlement.
Immediately, we spotted the numerous tents spread throughout the area. People wandered between them, chatting amongst themselves or relaxing around campfires. Further in the distance stood a large building that was clearly our destination, though a closed gate currently blocked the way.
“This is Svarog’s lair?” March exclaimed in surprise as she looked around. “I thought it'd be cold and lifeless. Turns out it’s pretty busy!”
“Many vagrants are staying here temporarily,” Seele explained simply. “Their homes were overrun by monsters.”
Speaking of Seele and Bronya, thanks to being distracted by thoughts of Firefly, I had completely missed most of their arguing on the way here.
This time though, it had seemed more playful than genuinely hostile proving that something had changed between them.
As the others continued talking, my attention was suddenly drawn elsewhere.
A familiar head of white hair.
A long red jacket.
And a very familiar little girl.
A huge grin immediately spread across my face.
“Clara! Your Onii-chan is here just as promised!” I yelled at the top of my lungs.
Several people turned to look at me in surprise, but I ignored them completely.
Setting off into a run, I headed straight toward Clara's location.
I really needed some much-needed brother-sister bonding after being stuck in a funk all morning.
Clara, it seemed, had been waiting for me. After hearing me call her name, she immediately turned in my direction with a familiar robot by her side, Perkins if I remembered correctly, and a bright smile lit up her face.
“Onii-chan~” Clara called back as she shyly waved at me, making my grin grow even wider.
A moment later, I scooped her into my arms and pulled her into a huge hug before spinning her around happily. My mood instantly improved at the sound of her cute laughter and giggles.
“Hihihi~ Not so fast, Onii-chan!” Clara laughed, much more relaxed this time around when faced with my affection.
Smiling widely, I finally slowed down and rubbed our cheeks together.
“Aww, my Clara is so cute~” I chirped happily.
Only then did I notice the others had finally caught up and were now watching me with various expressions.
Bronya and March looked amused as they shook their heads at my antics. Dan Heng and Seele, meanwhile, were giving me mostly blank looks, while Sampo had already disappeared somewhere.
As usual.
“Clara, you might have already seen them before today, but let me introduce you to my friends.” I declared with a happy smile while continuing to hold Clara in my arms.
The girl blushed slightly in embarrassment but obediently looked toward the group.
“From left to right, this is March, the beautiful pink-haired girl.” I pointed casually with my free hand.
“Hello there, Clara. Nice to meet you again~” March greeted her with a two-finger salute and a cute wink.
“Next is Dan Heng, the handsome bastard.”
Dan Heng rolled his eyes in mild amusement but nodded nonetheless.
“Nice to meet you, Clara.”
“Next is Bronya, the beautiful lady dressed fancily~”
Bronya flushed slightly at the introduction but still raised a hand in greeting.
“Hello, Clara.”
“And finally, this is Seele. The girl who always looks angry, but she's cool sometimes.”
My introduction for Seele was noticeably less flattering than the others.
Naturally, she noticed.
“Hey! Do you have a problem with me or something?” Seele demanded as she narrowed her eyes at me. “Say it to my face!”
“See what I mean?” I whispered to Clara while completely ignoring the angry girl.
That only seemed to make Seele even angrier.
Clara glanced between me and Seele before slowly nodding.
“I see,” she whispered in understanding.
“Hey! Don't encourage him!”
Ignoring Seele's protest, I simply hugged Clara a little tighter.
And just like that, my day was finally starting to look up.