Chapter Text
-
it's the weekend, I’ve got no plans
The full moon was up, illuminating the calm sea with its shimmering glow.
It was a busy winter night in Liyue Harbor. Preparations for the annual Lantern Rite Festival were in progress, and people from near and far were excited to send their own heartfelt wishes for the new year into the sky.
The ceremony would take place for the first time after the war with Celestia was over; with the final battle against the Gods concluded many months ago. The new era, established through the efforts of a certain female, outlandish traveler, promised not only Liyue’s, but all of Teyvat’s citizens a much-welcomed time of peace.
Only one man remained who loathed that peace.
Childe stood alone under the roofed passageway below Yujing Terrace, watching the bustling town and taking in the chilly ocean breeze. He was holding a Mingxiao lantern in his hands, a random gift from one of the local kids. He had warmly received it on his stroll from Northland Bank back to his hotel room, but he had no idea what to make of it yet.
Nor could he fully enjoy the beautiful sight in front of him.
and I'm thinking about things I might like to do
get me out of this place yeah, get me through
You see, the man in question was quite the unordinary person.
He was once Tartaglia, 11th Harbinger of the Fatui, a weapon of war. To battle was his cause, his forte, his passion. He dreamt of conquering the world. He had never known an extended time of not fighting since he was fourteen.
So naturally, nothing would bore him more than peace.
Now, he was indeed Snezhnaya’s greatest toy seller, like he had always claimed in front of his little brother. It's Liyuean branch was conveniently located within Northland Bank, so he could secretly help with peace regulations as a Snezhnayan ambassador. But selling toys to children and peace talks with the Liyue Qixing seldom involved getting into actual battle.
Childe was on edge. He could never enjoy the calm as much as other people did. His life had always been eventful, and he lived all for the excitement. Not to misunderstand - the young warrior was glad that the future his former ruler wanted to accomplish was eventually had, albeit in its… own way. He was especially glad that his parents and siblings in Morepesok were now safe for good. Family came first to him after all, and his goal to keep them away from the Gods’ wrath had already been reached.
Family.
A year or two ago, the word was still connected solely to warm feelings inside his heart. He had always kept his siblings - especially the younger ones - fondly in his heart, and despite some difficulties with his parents and older siblings due to his former field of work, he had loved them all the same.
However, he couldn’t ignore a slight feel of melancholy occurring within that warmth, because his family was no longer limited to his parents and siblings.
Somewhere along the line, someone else managed to creep her way into his thoughts.
Someone feisty and witty, but still kind and caring.
Someone who was destined to be his enemy, yet became his dearest friend, nevertheless. Who was willing to put up with his unhinged battle-crazed self's antics. Who came to accept all of his different sides - the good and the bad.
Someone who he had never expected to flip his whole existence over.
Oh, how Childe craved for that person to challenge him again to one of their spars. How much he wanted her to drag him out of this dreaded town right here and then, to take him with her on her adventures. A life with his dearest comrade at his side would never be as dull as it was these days, and it would be always filled with excitement and thrill.
Unfortunately, that wish of his would never come true.
Because that person, the very same famed outlandish Traveler who engraved herself into history as the Hero of Teyvat, had already left this world with her brother.
Lumine was gone.
but they all involved you
-
It's the weekend, I've got more time
Such a dangerous thing when you can't let go
Only thought on your mind is what they already know
And now, half a year after her departure, the former Harbinger was left on his own, wondering.
Just how and when did she become so important to him, anyway?
He tried asking Mr. Zhongli for advice - the former archon had become a close friend and confidant to him - but the old geezer only answered in some cryptic language Childe wasn’t really able to grasp.
Childe supposed he’d just had to find his own answer.
Still holding the lantern in his hands, he started to contemplate.
oh, I'm living on memories
“Hey girlie, hold still.”
When Childe first encountered Lumine on the streets of Liyue and rescued her from the chasing Millelith soldiers, he knew almost nothing about her. His only source of information were reports from Mondstadt about a mysterious outlander who had successfully tamed the threatening Stormterror and dared to put up resistance against La Signora.
Yet upon first sight, the Harbinger had his troubles believing that this small-sized cute girl could really be the fabled Traveler, Lumine. And while he tried getting to know her in order to put his well-crafted scheme into fruition, his impression of her wasn't improving. The fact that she was living in constant shortage of money because she had to feed both herself and her fairy-like glutton of a sidekick only added to his suspicion.
Lastly, the whole Cocogoat ordeal caused him a good and hearty laugh because of all the absurdity.
So, initially, he didn’t really take her too seriously. He thought she could just serve as a mere pawn to his plans.
But not long after, he would be proven very, very wrong.
-
Thud.
Childe’s body dropped to the floor, deflated. His Foul Legacy Transformation was finally undone, and the pain quickly started to creep in. The 11th Harbinger shot a quick glance up to the Traveler, his opponent who had bested him in battle.
However, despite his defeat, he felt a strange wave of delight. Although the outlander and himself were on opposing sides, he didn’t resent her, but instead came to respect her. In Lumine, he found a worthy rival to test his strength against, so to him, all that soreness he felt right then was worth it.
It was a bit of a pity he then had to resort to his backup plan. He could not afford to leave Liyue without Morax’ Gnosis, as much as he disliked endangering innocent people. Ultimately, the Snezhnayan warrior had his Tsaritsa’s goal to fulfill, and it was clear as day that the Geo archon was still alive.
It dawned on him; him and his opponent both were pawns in some even greater plan.
Anyhow, in order to lure Morax out, Childe proceeded to summon the ancient ocean god Osial.
Yet, he didn’t fail to notice the disappointed look on Lumine’s face.
-
The next time Tartaglia used his Foul Legacy transformation, things couldn’t have been more different.
For whatever weird reasons, Lumine and Paimon had stormed into Northland Bank with his little brother Teucer in tow. Not only Childe himself had been surprised about this coincidence; the two travelers had also seemed a bit shocked too.
Well, he couldn’t blame them, after everything that happened a while ago.
All the more surprising, Lumine had actually agreed to look after Teucer while he was doing his Fatui business. He couldn’t really place exactly why he trusted her on this - especially since she and her chatty companion could have blown up his ridiculous Best-Toy-Seller-In-Snezhnaya act at any time - but he was glad his baby brother was in good care.
“Concern for your family’s well-being, that I can understand”, Lumine had said.
Childe recalled seeing missing person posters plastered all over Liyue’s walls. Apparently, the girl was in search for her lost brother, and he could guess she worried about him every day.
The importance of family… that was a welcome similarity they shared.
At the end of their small excursion into Dottore's old Ruin Guard factory, he had found himself lying on the floor, once again spent from using his abyssal powers against masses of active Ruin Guards – or Mr. Cyclopses, as Teucer called them giddily.
He had managed to protect both the boy’s safety and childhood innocence with Lumine’s help.
As he heard footsteps approaching her, he sincerely hoped his brother wouldn’t find him like that - weak and vulnerable.
To the harbinger’s relief – or maybe demise -, he was found by a somewhat concerned looking Lumine. Considering the bad shape he was in; he wouldn’t have been surprised if she had ended him right there.
However, he was Tartaglia; he still had to become stronger. Not only to push his own limits, but first and foremost to protect his brother’s childhood dreams.
“If you make a promise, you keep it. If you make a mistake, you apologize.
And if you give someone a dream, you defend it to the end…
That is what family is all about, isn’t it?”
She didn’t end him. Yes, she was still wary of him as he noticed from her gaze, but he figured she wouldn’t simply kill off a beloved older brother just like that.
Instead, she accepted to deliver his small Mr. Cyclops gift to Teucer and see him off in his stead. She even used the Snezhnayan nursery rhyme that the little boy must have taught her.
“You make a pinkie promise, you keep it all your life.
I break a pinkie promise, I get thrown on the ice,”
“The cold will keep the pinkie that once betrayed your friend,
the frost will freeze your tongue off, so you never lie again.”
It was their first promise.
Later at Northland Bank, as he witnessed Lumine making another pinkie promise with Teucer to visit his family in Snezhnaya someday, his dulled gaze caught a tiny ray of warmth.
Suddenly, he felt excited for their next meeting.
-
The ginger-haired Harbinger strolled across the harbor, being granted some time off his usual duties in the Northland Bank (luckily, Ekaterina always had his back). Paperwork was a rather boring task, so he craved some exercise.
How convenient, he thought, when he saw a certain blonde-haired traveler and floating fairy chatting with some locals.
“Hey, comrade!”, he blurted out. “Let’s go on a date!”
" Huh?”, Lumine turned around and stared back at him, flabbergasted.
“Not in your wildest dreams, you good-for-nothing Harbinger!”, Paimon exclaimed angrily.
Right. He should have expected that reaction, after calling his suggested sparring session a “date” and be more careful about his wording.
Well done. Smooth, even.
" Aww, c’mon. I’m just joking”, he tried to save. “I’m just wondering if you’d like to spar? I’ve got some time to kill, and my muscles are itching for a good fight.”
After some reconsideration, Lumine sighed. “Fine, if you insist…”
“No way!”, her companion protested, but her complaints were silenced almost immediately when Childe handed her a not-so-small bag of Mora, so that the glutton of a fairy could float away to taste-test every single food booth in Liyue Harbor.
After detouring for a quick snack from Xinyue Kiosk themselves, Childe and Lumine took their fight to Yujing Terrace, for it being the most open space in the city.
Neither of them had any intention of losing. In a similar way to their first fight in the Golden House, their movements were graceful, like a dance, even.
Golden and blue pairs of eyes full of determination to overthrow their respective opponent donned their faces, as well as wide smiles at each other from the excitement.
They mirrored each other. And Childe relished every second of it.
Eventually, they both ran low on stamina, and as if on cue, Paimon returned with some red bean manjuu for the two fighters.
That shorty wasn’t that bad after all, he thought.
In that moment of carelessness, Lumine launched herself towards him with a blast of Anemo. He thought she was going to attack him directly, so he braced himself for a parry.
But instead, she stuffed one of the manjuu she snatched from Paimon into his mouth, smiling triumphantly.
Taken aback by her unexpected action, his knees finally gave in.
“I guess it’s my win”, the female declared with a cheeky smile. And added,
“It wasn’t bad. Today’s date.”
Later, he was lying on the shore of Yaoguang Shawl, staring into the sky and munching on another manjuu he had been saving for later.
Finally feeling exhausted, he laughed, content.
‘So sweet…’
She was right; that “date” wasn’t bad, at all.
-
Their next encounter had been purely by chance, inside a domain called Mystic Onmyou Chamber somewhere around Araumi in Inazuma.
Childe was sent on a mission to retrieve Scaramouche, who apparently went rogue with the Raiden Shogun’s Gnosis for unknown reasons. He assumed a place like this would just be perfect for him to hide.
But instead of his fellow Harbinger, he ended up bumping into his favorite traveler once again.
This time, Lumine and Paimon were accompanied by a strange floating paper doll named Shiki Taishou, who claimed to have amnesia. As well as a Liyuean Rock musician called Xinyan, whose upbeat and fun attitude kind of reminded him of his little sister Tonia. Before Childe could fully introduce himself to her, however, he was interrupted by Paimon and the traveler, who – ironically – came up with some white lie to cover up his identity.
Well, that was surprising. An adventurer from Mondstadt who always causes trouble, huh. He wasn’t sure if they wanted to protect him, or mock him.
-
For a brief second, he wondered how things would have turned out if he really did meet them as a mere adventurer. If he hadn’t fallen into the Abyss in the first place.
Maybe things between them would be easier now.
-
The unusual group was trying to solve the mysterious domain’s secrets, so Shiki Taishou could get his lost memories back. It turned out the domain was actually a huge labyrinth of chambers that shifted from time to time, spawning monsters through some kind of mechanism.
For him, things finally got interesting.
It was the perfect opportunity for the battle-crazed Harbinger to improve his own abilities. In fact, him forming a team with Lumine and company to fight the monsters proved not only to be thrilling, but also effective. The more they fought, the more they progressed and while his comrades were kicked out of the domain from time to time (it was beyond him why he was the only one remaining inside every time), he was simply enjoying himself in battle.
He might not have had the opportunity to, if Lumine hadn’t agreed to let him join their little adventure.
She was truly something.
One thing Childe had noticed while fighting alongside her was, they had always been in sync. The way she moved matched his own, while still maintaining her graceful appearance. As if they understood each other fundamentally, no words needed to be exchanged to plan out their next course of action. Just one glance at each other would suffice.
He also started to bond with the little shikigami, as he reminded him a lot of himself. Shiki Taishou too saw himself as a weapon. Potentially used for evil purposes, as he didn’t clearly remember his purpose of creation.
Childe kind of empathized with him, so as a honed warrior himself, he decided to help the little paper doll out and share his own thoughts with him. It also relieved him a bit to have a like-minded companion he could confide in.
Oh, what a fun experience that was. He couldn’t indulge himself for too long though, since he was still on a mission.
Eventually, their small adventure came to its end. Shiki Taishou not only managed to regain his memories, but also found his true raison-d'être, and since Scaramouche wasn’t here, Childe inevitably had to part with Lumine once again.
Though not before filling her in on his mission to pursue the Sixth and giving her a headstart for the Gnosis hunt. A sad attempt to make amends for his actions in Liyue.
Furthermore, Childe found himself liking Inazuma, and he had Lumine to thank for that.
Lumine.
To him, she was like a star, always guiding him to the right places to be. And every time he'd met her, he'd truly enjoyed their time together.
“You are like the stars in the night sky, comrade. You never cease to surprise me.”
Childe's sincere words slipped out of their own volition, and even after he parted ways with her, they still kept on lingering in his mind.
-
Splash.
Childe hoped neither Lumine nor Paimon didn’t turn around, since he was following them in secret.
He had caught wind of a mysterious, hidden place called Enkanomiya, located in the depths beneath Watatsumi Island, and suspected Scaramouche could maybe somehow have holed up there with the Electro gnosis. On his way to the Sangonomiya shrine, he ended up coincidentally eavesdropping on a conversation between two very familiar faces and the local priestess.
What were the odds, huh… but it would have been a lie to say he was surprised to find them there. The stars surely did make sure to let their paths cross.
The Fatui had figured he would never be able to enter the portal to Enkanomiya by normal means because of his status as a Harbinger, and he was sure Lumine wouldn’t have approved of that either, so he had decided to sneak in after them with the help of his Hydro powers.
Now luckily, the two were already far enough ahead of him, so they didn’t hear him falling into the lake. Carefully, Childe made his way through the dark cave, in awe of the unknown sea dragon-like creatures he watched them encounter. The battle-maniac in him would have loved to join the fights to test the unknown enemies’ strength.
Little did he know that his mind would be blown away a few moments later.
When Lumine opened the portal at the end of the path, a vast, eerie space unveiled to the adventurers. It was illuminated merely by some unknown light source, throning upon a tall tower in the middle of the floating archipelago.
He had a bad feeling about this. A terrifyingly familiar one.
And as they further explored the unknown place, he understood why.
Spears and swords, or rather what remained of them, were scattered almost everywhere.
As well as tattered capes and banners, similar to how his own scarf looked whenever he went into his Foul Legacy state.
The usually confident and unshakable young man went pale. Could this place be…
Childe’s train of thoughts was cut off seconds later when he suddenly heard Paimon talking. He quickly hid behind the nearest mural.
“Hey, Lumine… Don’t all these weapons and stuff remind you of something? Paimon could swear she’s seen them before…”
He watched the blonde as she picked up one of the spears to examine it. Her expression changed into a worried gaze.
“Childe…”, he heard her whisper.
And in that moment, he decided to retreat. Scaramouche was nowhere to be found anyway; if he really was there, this place would definitely have looked less dead as it did right then.
He knew she would figure out his connection to the Abyss sooner or later. And he hoped she wouldn’t ever confront him about this.
-
“…Lumine! He’s waking up!”
His mind was clouded in darkness. How long has it been...?
“Childe! How do you feel? Are you okay?”, a second, much more soothing voice called out.
Then, Childe slowly opened his eyes. His sight was still blurry, and he felt sore all over his body.
“Ngh…”
It took a while until he fully came to. He neither knew where he was currently, nor did he remember where he had been before he was asleep.
But he knew the face he was seeing quite well by now.
Lumine explained they were in an adeptal realm known as Serenitea Pot, which served her as a private residence. Apparently, she had found out about Scaramouches whereabouts shortly after Childe himself did.
Ah, right; he had been on Tsurumi Island, fighting the Sixth. And to his chagrin, he had lost.
Which meant that she must have found his unconscious body and brought him here. Great.
Way to go, o mighty Harbinger Tartaglia.
“Can’t say I’m at my best right now, girlie… That bastard… ngh!!” He felt a pang of pain in his sides.
“Be careful, don’t move too much. Archons forbid, why do you always have to be so reckless…”
Lumine's voice was laced with annoyance, but he could sense something else in it. Was it worry?
“Yeah! Paimon thinks Mr. More-Money-than-sense has become even more stupid!”, the fairy agreed.
“Oho, are you worried about me?” He threw a cocky grin at his comrade, only to grimace in pain once more afterwards.
He could practically hear Lumine facepalming. “Whatever, just… rest here until you’ve recovered.”
Only then did he realize his body was covered in bandages.
Their eyes met for a short while, only for Lumine to quickly avert her gaze.
Was she… blushing? Maybe it was just his imagination.
Afterwards, he learned from the traveler that Scaramouche had been dealt with and the Gnosis was now in her possession.
“Hey, comrade?”
“Hmm?”
“As soon as I'm back into business, I challenge you to a rematch. With the Gnosis as the prize,” he stated, only half-joking.
Because Tartaglia would rather lose the Gnosis - and therefore his honor as a Harbinger - to her than to someone who used underhanded methods to gain an unfair advantage.
"And why would I agree to that?”, Lumine deadpanned.
“Maybe because you enjoy kicking my butt?”, he tried, smirking.
“You’re insufferable!” She almost angrily launched at him.
“Hahahaha, girlie! You’re too easy to tease!” It was the first time after too long, that he laughed from the bottom of his heart.
“Pfft”, he chuckled after calming down a bit,
“but really. Thanks, Lumine.”
It also was one of the rare instances when the harbinger called the girl by her actual name.
She gave him a warm smile. “Just don’t make your family worry any more, okay?”
In that moment, he felt something stir inside him. His gaze turned sideways, in melancholy.
“You know who I am, starlight.”
-
“Hey, Childe?” She looked at him with sorrowful eyes.
“Yes, girlie?”
They were currently on a cruise ship from Liyue to Snezhnaya, Lumine’s final destination on her journey to find answers.
Logically, the 11th Harbinger was her ticket to get her an audience with the Tsaritsa. And although they were - comrades? friends? He wasn't sure how to label whatever they had become over the past months yet - it was a task he rather hesitantly agreed to.
“How much longer do you think will the Tsaritsa let you do as you please?”, Lumine asked. The implication of her question was all too clear to him, so he answered truthfully,
“I don’t know.”
He looked away, averting his gaze. After a few minutes of silence, Lumine spoke up again.
“Let’s make a promise.”
“Hm?”
“Promise me, whatever happens. Let’s both live, okay? For our families’ sake.”
Of course she would do that. It was a bit superstitious, but he understood where she came from.
That cursed Snezhnayan nursery rhyme might not change their star-crossed fate, but it could at least give them some hope to hold onto.
Lumine truly shined. Never would he have imagined she of all people was willing to put her faith in him. Even when they were destined to be enemies.
So, when she reached out her pinkie to him, he gladly took the opportunity.
-
Snezhnaya was indeed cold. Not only to their bodies, but to their fates as well.
Childe and Lumine both laid on the frosty ground facing each other, bodies limp, severely wounded and unable to move.
What had just unfolded in the throne hall of Zapolyarny Palace was the greatest battle to be seen yet, once again with both of them as opponents.
Or rather, pawns in a game of senseless slaughter.
Both of them had known that their current predicament was inevitable. They were on opposing sides, after all. Despite all odds, Childe had hoped for a miracle, for that very day to never come.
But at last, it did.
With Lumine’s arrival in Snezhnaya, the Cryo archon could no longer ignore the threat embodied by the traveler. The Tsaritsa was known as a god who had no love left for her people, and when Childe had received his final orders from her, he doubted his queen for the first time.
His long forgotten old self wept.
But Tartaglia, weapon of war to Her Majesty, had to obey.
This time, he did not fight to quench his thirst for battle. Now, the safety of his family was on the line, and Childe was robbed of any choice he could still have had. The other Harbingers - or rather those who hadn’t fallen during their missions - as well as Her Majesty herself sitting on her throne were observing the battle, daring to judge his failure.
And he knew that Lumine had her own goals to fulfill, so she couldn’t afford to hold back either.
It was either to kill, or to be killed.
Nothing remained of the playful sparring sessions they had before. They were not dancing around each other anymore; they were staggering all over the place, trying to land any destructive blows on their respective friend – no, enemy, he constantly had to remind himself. Their usually determined grins became distorted with pain.
Tartaglia didn’t bare his face to her even once. It would have been too cruel.
Ironically, it was the first and only time the Harbinger actually loathed a fight.
After a long and dreadful battle, weapons finally pierced bodies. Both warriors fell to the floor in sync.
Tartaglia’s red mask shattered into pieces as his Foul Legacy form decayed. The flower petals the Traveler ever so loved to put in her hair were scattered all over the red-stained floor.
No victor emerged under the watchful icy cold eyes of the so-called Goddess of Love.
Soon, Childe’s body would be drained out of lifeforce due to the blood loss and his Foul Legacy. In hope of finding some comfort during his final moments, he glanced at Lumine one last time.
Golden tears met blue.
No, this couldn’t be the end.
He had sworn to protect his family, which - as he had realized too late - included Lumine at this point.
Was he feeling… regret?
For all what’s worth, he could have accomplished more with Lumine at his side than he ever did as a Harbinger.
Damned be the Tsaritsa, damned be that ambitious goal of hers. Yes, he still wanted her to achieve it, but at what cost?
Seeing Lumine like this now, he realized that he wanted both of them to live more than anything else.
After all, hadn’t they promised?
“You make a pinkie promise, …you keep it all your life.” He could at least try, right?
With a last ounce of strength, he reached out to her with his right arm, pinkie outstretched.
“You break a pinkie promise, I throw you on the ice”, he continued, hoping she could hear his words and remembered.
A pause. Then, a stir.
“The cold… will kill the pinkie that once betrayed your friend…”, she followed faintly. “…The frost will freeze your tongue off…”
Their fingers touched.
“…so you never lie again.”
Lumine had linked her pinkie with his.
Of course, she remembered. His star would never let him down, after all.
Their last smiles were tender, full of melancholy yet full of warmth.
A second later, both of them passed out, with their fateful promise still in their minds.
-
When Childe saw Lumine for the last time, he almost felt like a mere bystander.
They had eventually confronted the Unknown God and won the millennia-long war with Celestia, with the help of all of Lumine's friends and allies she had made throughout her journey. Although the final battle was harsh and there were casualties, the adventurers had proven that this world didn’t need or even want to be governed by gods, and that the people of Teyvat were indeed capable of taking their fates into their own hands.
They had even managed to convince the Abyss Order to finally lay aside their differences with the archons. After all, there was no black or white in reality, and just like Childe once told Lumine about the Harbingers way back in Inazuma, everyone had their own agenda in this world.
Lumine was able to purify the abyssal energy’s source and helped rebuilding a new Khaen’riah from scratch. Which meant that her brother, Aether, was no longer tied to the Abyss and finally back by her side.
And she, in return, was back where she belonged to. Her own family.
A family a former Fatui Harbinger could never even dream to be part of.
The moment of departure inevitably came, and everyone in Teyvat who Lumine was closer acquainted to was gathered at Starsnatch Cliff for a last goodbye.
After Lumine received all sorts of blessings from all her other friends, she was finally standing in front of Childe, looking at him with a sad smile.
With her, no words really needed to be spoken to be understood. It had always been like that, the man realized too late.
He could ask her to stay, to never leave his side. However, Childe knew she was searching for her brother for the longest time, and it didn’t feel right for him to take their long-awaited reunion away from her.
But he could at least share his last secret with her.
No longer hesitating, he approached her and pulled her into a heartfelt hug.
He held her for a while like his life depended on it, caressing her golden hair and carefully pressing her closer to him.
Then, he softly whispered into her ear,
“Ajax.”
As soon as his simple, but powerful word was spoken, he felt her arms closing around him into an even tighter hug. The pair remained like that for a while, hiding their faces from the audience.
Looks were shot at them, but he couldn’t care less.
In that moment, he wasn’t the mighty Harbinger Tartaglia, nor the cocky, confident Childe.
He was simply Ajax. A man who cared deeply for his loved ones.
And the only person he did care for right now was right here, right in front of him.
Alas, before he could say anything else, he had to let go of his dear Traveler forever.
Fate truly was cruel to him.
wish you knew what you meant to me
oh what you really meant to me
-
Ajax missed Lumine.
No, not just that. He needed her by his side. Because finally, it hit him.
He was in love with her.
-
though I wouldn't mind telling you again
but for what purpose or to what end?
Suddenly, the lone man on the passageway knew what to do with his lantern.
The wish that had formed in his head was selfish, but he could at least try. Just like he did when the two finished their fight at Zapolyarny Palace. Even if it was hopeless, even if Lumine would never receive his message.
He would try.
That was how they both handled things, after all. Heads-on into battle, never wavering.
So, in his true fashion, Ajax went back to his office, grabbed his quill and a piece of paper, and began writing his letter.
yeah, I wouldn't mind telling you again
just how much I miss you, my sweetest friend
'cause I'd rather feel the pain than let it mend
-
A few nights later, during the festivities, Ajax let his lantern with the letter tucked in rise into the night sky, in hope that his wish would reach its - no, his - brightest star.
Moving on was not even an option. His life already belonged to her.
Lumine had become irreplaceable.
'cause I'd rather feel the pain than let it end
-