Chapter 193: The Final Burning Star

Chapter 193: The Final Burning Star
Adira’s POV

Silence shimmered in the air.

On a luminous expanse of glass, I stood by myself, still and limitless. There were floating echoes in the sky above me. Not stars. Not lights. Only recollections. Like they were breathing, each one pulsed gently. As if they were holding out.

However, I had no idea what they were anticipating.

I had no idea for whom they were waiting.

I didn't even recognise myself.

I did not have a name. No history. No discomfort. Just this location—and a slight sensation in my chest that persisted despite my best efforts to forget.

The light then changed.

At the horizon's edge, a figure emerged, moving slowly through the silence.

I saw him approach.

He had crazy hair. He had a heavy gait. He had a weary yet resilient face. There was so much in his eyes, oh, his eyes. Like he knew me. He seemed to recall every aspect of me, including the parts I had lost.

A few steps away, he came to a stop.

"I located you," he said quietly.

I cocked my head. "Am I acquainted with you?"

He burst into a sad, loving smile. "Yes."

I looked for a glimpse of truth in his expression, but I couldn't find it. Nothing except emptiness. Nothing but silence.

"I apologise," I said. "I can't recall."

His look remained hopeful.

"It's all right," he said. "Yes, I do."

He took a seat next to me.

And he started talking.

He remarked, "I met you in the ashes." "You were fierce and small." Lots of questions. I was lost, and you were already working to save the world.”

When he touched the glass-like ground, a recollection sprang to life in front of us, a flashing picture of two younger people: a boy who kept chasing her light and a girl with silver hair and fire in her hands.

He remarked, "I had never seen you smile before." "To make a scared child laugh, you made the fire dance."

I looked at the picture. The girl was... weird. Powerful. Known. Not mine, though. Not quite yet. He went on.

He said, "You once died for me." Then I gave my life for you. Then we were alive once more. Repeatedly.

His voice broke. "And I always loved you."

The scene changed to a battlefield this time. His name was uttered by the girl. With flames surrounding him, the youngster dropped.

I gave a little gasp. My chest hurt.

He faced me. "You always find your way back," you said.

I took another, more serious look at him. He was more than a mere acquaintance.

He was a guarantee.

The air trembled far above us.

One by one, the stars—those fading echoes of light—started to fade. They did not disappear. They were incinerated. As it perished, each one screamed, memories and agony twisted into black flame.

I got up.

"What's going on?" I inquired.

He was standing next to me. "The parasite is changing its ways."

"How?"

It consumes memory. Regarding love. It was never completely extinguished. It’s exploiting our past against us.”

I looked at the scorching sky crackling wide open. From the center of the darkness, something vast began to emerge. A creature composed of recollections of gloom and broken light. Its shape changed all the time, appearing as a mirror, a woman, or a guy.

Then I heard an inner voice.

"Once, she was mine," it said. "I recall the moment she picked me."

With his arms spread wide, Ash moved ahead of me. “You can’t have her.”

"I do already," the speaker growled.

The stars darkened further.

The world started to shake.

Once, weakly, the fire in my chest flickered.

His voice trembled as he turned back to me. "Remember, please, please."

Slowly, I reached up. His face was touched by my hand. Warm. Known. Secure. Then I whispered it, like lightning piercing a storm.

"Ash." He gasped. His eyes were wet, as I could see. My flames then sprang into life again.

The flame brought my name back, along with all the memories the parasite attempted to take. My name was Adira. I wasn't scared either.