Traveling to Shuijing…now, that was something that I would have never expected.
Still, I was young. I didn't know how much life I had in front of me. Might as well spend it how I could.
The android was fixed, and then we set off together. I suppose it was fortunate that we brought him along, since he had a map.
Dang…I hadn't been outside in literal years.
It was a lot more barren than I thought.
There had been a few oxygen masks in the base, one of which I took. It seemed like Nova and Vano would be fine on their own, since they hadn't had any tanks or masks when they came.
But was it just me, or was the air not as thin as I thought it would have been?
Ah…my body was so weak from not seeing the sun in so long…not only that, I wasn't used to walking long distances yet…
But no, I had to go. I had to go on.
Because not only was Mr. Akiya in Shuijing, so was the person who had sent me the dream.
Because hadn't that person written, "Come to Shuijing for a visit"? Didn't that mean he would be there, waiting for me?
But according to that message from the android, Shuijing was to be destroyed. I had to go help Mr. Akiya, at least.
Perhaps I would meet that mysterious person later.
Did I ever plan on going back to my hometown?
I could still see it from here.
No…many had tried to leave, but all had failed. And even if they did, there was nothing out here for them.
I guess…part of me realized that it was all over. Everything was over. My job, my home…
Only my life was left.
I was free.
So why not go to Shuijing?
With these two strangers, even.
What would father say?
"Shuijing City? That place is for dreamers. It's a dangerous place, son. Don't go unless you absolutely have to."
And this…this was a dying world. There was nowhere else to go. Sure, maybe there was some world out there that was bigger, better than this, that was not yet on the brink of death, but how could you get there?
This was what we, the last of the humans, had.
This was where my life was.
We had to make the best out of it, even if we were going to die tomorrow.
Was there anything that we wanted? Could want? That was like asking for something that didn't exist for Christmas.
"Do you think…we could change this?" Nova asked.
"Change what?" Vano looked at her.
"Just…this. All of this."
"Mm…what do you mean by that?"
"Just looking at all of this," Nova gestured to all the sand around us, "makes me feel empty. Like there could be something better here. Something that we could make."
"What do your calculations say?" Vano asked the android.
The android replied with, "I don't think that anything would be considered impossible for you, my lord."
"Nothing impossible?" I grinned. "What does that mean?"
"Exactly what it sounds like," Nova replied.
"I must've missed a lot while I was inside…" I could only shake my head in disbelief.
If it only took them a few hours of traveling to get to the base…then how close was I to Shuijing City?
Had it been nearby all this time?
But going back was slower, I suppose. I couldn't keep up with their long strides. And I was seriously in need of a work out.
The android seemed to be holding up well, considering his previous injuries. He didn't seem to know what was going on, given his memory being wiped, but…
The world was a lot different than I had expected.
But much of it was the same.
"Are you doing okay back there?" Vano looked back at me.
"Yeah…I'll be fine." I coughed, trying to catch my breath again. "It's just…"
We rested, then continued on. Night fell.
And I had never seen so many stars.
We sat underneath a withered tree, and I looked up at it all. I suppose having less of an atmosphere meant that you could see more stars.
If there was one thing left in the world that was beautiful, it was the stars.
Because when dying, while everything else turned ugly and barren, the stars shone even brighter.
"You know…back in Shuijing…I had never seen this many stars," Nova said, leaning against the tree trunk.
"Do you think that this is better?" Vano asked.
"There is always something beautiful, no matter where you are," Nova replied. "Don't you think so?"
Who was she addressing?
Had there been anything beautiful in the darkness where I had lived?
And I thought back to all the times, the quiet times, where I would simply sit there and work on whatever project it was that I wanted to work on, be it music or writing or some game…
They were always temporary, of course. I always lost interest in them after a while.
But those quiet moments, where there was nothing but the static of the radio in my ears, and the glow of the screen before me, and my mind active for once…
Hadn't that been a thing of beauty as well?
They say that beauty is subjective, but…
If you tried to find the beauty in anything, you could always find it.
Here, out underneath the endless sky, the beauty of it was more apparent, just there, existing, hanging from the darkness above…
I stared at the sky until I fell asleep, and when I opened my eyes again I watched the stars until they faded and the sky turned red once more.
Was this what Mr. Akiya had seen?
Was this the journey that he had taken?
Nova had some food, which we split among the three of us for breakfast while the android sat on the side and watched. Contrary to what I had thought, he seemed to be of quiet and calm demeanor, face serious.
Not so much like the FA-49 unit from back then.
The other two didn't seem to mind him, so…
But they were from Shuijing. They were used to androids…
"Let's go on."
My mind might have been playing tricks, but as we went on, the sky seemed to change colors again...like that moment after sunrise into daybreak...
Was it…?
No…
It was turning blue again.
And when we approached our final destination...
What was that sound? The sound of…?
I looked down, and saw something impossible at my feet. Was this…?
I looked back at the others, but they seem just as amazed as I was.
I looked back, and looked at the scene before me, and I was brought beyond words.