1174. Say Hello To The Stars, Stella!

Stella held her breath as she followed Aster’s hand with tiny steps. The clopping of her leather soles against the sterile tiles turned to taps. The tapping along the wooden floorboards then turned into patters as she walked along what she believed to be stone.

A bright light crept into the darkness behind her eyelids. Accompanying it was a breeze carrying the fragrance of the meadows. Warm rays of sunlight washed over her skin.

Or so she thought.

There were crickets chirping, and the Leaf Hens that typically roamed along the path just outside of the Amalgam’s home didn’t flock by her ankles for food. Nor were the Vibrant Bees using her head to ferry them along the fields.

It was nighttime. The warm rays she felt must be the light of the moon. She instinctively raised her head towards the light. It caused the light that crept into her sealed eyelids to intensify.

The reaction wasn’t new. But what interested her were the strange colors dancing behind her eyelids. Her dreams were never visual, so she didn’t know what these things were. When someone asked her to imagine an image, all she could muster was how it felt, smelt, tasted, or sounded. The Floor of Amalgamation was also much quieter than usual. By now a dozen Healers would have greeted her, but the only two people she could sense were Ignis and Aster.

Suddenly, they began climbing a hill.

Patters turned to scrunches. The path they took was no longer one she had mapped in the back of her mind. She tried to picture where they were, but everything felt the same. However, as they climbed the hill, the scent of the flowers became sweeter, and the breeze became cold enough to cause her body to shiver.

Ignis turned to wrap a scarf around her neck.

The climb was much longer than Stella anticipated. How far off the ground were they now? Then, they made several turns, descended down a staircase that seemed to follow the shape of a mountain, and then, they reached a place where the flowers reached up to her knees.

No one spoke a single word throughout their journey.

For someone like Stella, it should have been unnerving not knowing where she was.

But she was in presence of two people she would happily entrust her life to.

Stella was brought back to a time when she was much younger. A time when Aster once had her eyes, and when she was the one guiding her along the Triple Paw Complex. The two were as thick as thieves, and through their suffering they formed an unbreakable bond.

“… Aster…”

“Mhm?”

“When you gave us the apple… the rations you found that day…”

“Don’t worry about it. Hey, I got my eyes back, didn’t I?”

“… You did…”

“And these eyes are much better than my old ones.”

“They let you see blue stars, right?”

“Yup.”

“How much longer are we going to walk?”

“It’s not long now. Just across this hill and we’ll be at the Observation Point.”

“Observation Point?”

“Mn. It’s one of the few notable landmarks of the Floor of Amalgamation. Magus named it the Observation Point because if you stay there long enough, you’ll find that everything will move in a perfect circle.”

“Like what? The flowers? Rocks?”

“You’ll see for yourself.” Aster tugged her along.

Eventually, the scrunching of short, fresh grass returned. The grass was much softer than regular grass, and it didn’t snap beneath her shoes. An arctic breeze swept by, carrying the scent of lavender and roses.

Suddenly, Aster released her hand and took several steps away from Stella. The girl reached out instinctively, out of fear of being left alone. But she was quickly assured of their presence. Not only that, but several more distinct scrunches came from around her, eventually stopping until they formed a perfect circle.

“Stella.”

One voice spoke to her.

“Yo. Stella.”

Then another.

“Heh. So you gonna take it off?”

And another.

“Don’t rush her. Tch. Let her go at her own pace.”

“Bzzzt!”

“My calculations tell me that she is in fact nervous.”

“No shit?”

“Stop it you two. Haaaaah. Ignis. Is she ok to remove the bandages?”

“Mn. 100% adaptation. Stella. You may remove the bandages.”

She had heard these voices thousands of times.

She knew who they were by the sound of their voices alone.

But, despite this…

*Unraveling*

… She had no idea what they looked like.

Tiny hands reached for the back of her head. Slowly, the bandages coiled at her feet, revealing her Stella’s eyes to the world…

… as well as the world to Stella.

“Aaah…?”

A sudden gasp left her lips.

The first thing she saw with her eyes was a star.

No. Not one star. Not two. Three. Ten. Fifty. Not even a thousand. Nor a million.

Billions of stars filled every corner of her vision. Her head tilted upwards as she swallowed the scenery with bated breath. She gasped again, and her lips trembled as she struggled to comprehend the sight.

“In my world… there was always just one star. The Luminair. And then, there were Aspiring Stars.”

Stella brought a hand up to the stars and brushed her hand against it, as if expecting it to be another painting. The composition of the stars was exactly how Ayle had painted it that day. Every star, every swirl, and every plume she saw were forever burned into her memory.

“I never knew… I never knew it would be so colorful…”

And even though she knew she could not touch them, she still continued to paw at the air.

“Look… It’s the stars… It’s the stars! It’s the stars…”

Stella’s enthusiasm deflated as the stars suddenly became blurry. Before she knew it, tears began streaming down her cheeks. She reached out, expecting to grab another tiny hand. But once again, she clasped at air. The motion caused her to tumble clumsily onto her knees where she began sobbing into the grass.

“… It’s the stars… We… got to see the stars in the end… real… stars…”

It was supposed to be a moment of happiness. But for Stella, the grief of losing her friends struck her. Reaching for the stars was a shared aspiration amongst her and her friends. But in the end, only she and Aster were left.

And still yet she couldn’t grasp them.

But that was ok.

It was ok.

“Thank you… For… this precious gift… Ignis…”

Stella rose to her knees unsteadily. She remained strong as tears continued to tumble beneath her. Her eyes scanned through the faces around her, struggling past the blurriness.

Then, Ignis spoke.

“Mn. It was a pleasure. Your friends are smiling right now. I’m sure of it.”

“Ignis…”

She turned to the girl with red hair and sniffled.

“They’re happy. Stella… It’s ok to be happy. After everything you’ve been through…”

“Aster!”

The blonde-haired girl with the eyes brimming with the colors of the universe.

“That promise to get you eyes was made ages ago. Heh. Took them long enough.”

“Cer!”

She recognized the voice of the black and golden haired wolfwoman.

“Darling, do you need a hug?”

“Ber…!”

The Cer-lookalike with a large chest and a professional-looking dress.

“Leave the hugs to Aster and Frost, please.”

“Res!”

She recognized that voice instantly. It was the woman with short hair with a tail shaped like a paint brush.

“It’s so pretty!”

“Jury!”

The woman with the sharp teeth, golden eyes and the huge fluffy tail!

“Snap, isn’t this too reminiscent of my initiation after Frost’s Corruption Event?”

“Brrrr!”

“Nav and Snap!”

The light-blue haired woman and the giant fluffy spider!

“Gam!”

“Joy!”

And who could forget Joy?

“I’ve been waiting for the day my healing magic would do the job for me. In the end, healing has its limitations. Thank Ignis for her hard work.”

“Frost! Frost…!”

The woman standing at the very edge of the cliff was Frost. She was nothing like how she imagined. Then again, because she relied so much on touch, Frost’s appearance had changed a lot since they first met.

Still, she never expected Frost to look so young. Not only that, but she was rather short too! She didn’t say this out loud. However, Frost chuckled to herself, as if hearing her thoughts.

“Not as you expected?”

“I-I um…!”

“It’s fine. I guess I didn’t expect your eyes to be a mix of gold and red either. Taking liberties, Ignis? Throwing in ours together?”

“Mnnnnnn. With how many people call you ‘mother’, I thought it’d make sense to give her golden eyes. I can’t help with the red. That’s my motif.” Ignis struck a proud pose.

Stella’s tears came to an abrupt stop. The shock of seeing Frost restarted her senses. For a moment, she had completely forgotten about the others as they began chatting amongst themselves.

“Frost…”

“The one and only. How are you feeling?”

Frost walked along the grass as though going on a stroll. Her footsteps were unnaturally light, and the light of the moon that bounced off her mantle caused her to exhude a divine presence.

Yet at the same time, this person, who undoubtedly the Head of the Nexus, knelt down to her level, removed a glove, and then…

… She did what she did when they first met.

She patted her head.

“I feel… blessed… very blessed.”

Then, without a second thought, she buried her face into Frost’s chest and cried her heart out. Frost returned her embrace and held onto her like she was her own child.

Stella was born without ever knowing the face of her mother. She didn’t know if she even had a father. Siblings, cousins, relatives… she didn’t have anyone to call family. For a while she wondered if she was a Homunculus since no one wanted her organs.

The closest person she had to a mother was Aster. But after meeting Frost, Aster was closer to a big sister. As for Frost…

… Whether she was a parent or not was up to speculation.

But it didn’t change that this was someone Stella could reliably go to for her problems. Frost never asked for anything in return. No one did in the Nexus.

Love came unconditionally, from the bottom of their hearts.

Stella wept for hours that night. Her first sight were the stars and the people closest to her. It would take a while for her to adapt to her eyesight, but that was something she was looking forward to.

Because she knew that people would be there to take her hand again, just as Aster did when she had nothing.

Perhaps it was because that she repaid that kindness back by guiding those without vision that she was rewarded with heaven.

Karma, as she heard one of her old friends call it.

“Stella. I still have one last gift for you.”

“Is it really ok?”

“Haaaah.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t feel guilty about receiving gifts.” Cer grouchily sighed. “You’re a kid. Be free. I thought I told you that? Or was that the Revy brat? No, I said that to Alice too.”

“Dementia Ego Manifestation.” Ber joked, causing laughs to break out.

“As I was saying, I have something for you. Come. Let me show you.”

“I… also have things I want to say too.”

“Awesome~ Sorry guys, important meeting!”

“Gam!?”

“Sorry Joy, just between me and her.”

“Malgam!”

Frost scooped Stella into her arms and carried her down the hill. At this point, Stella couldn’t care less about the gift or where she was being taken to.

All she could think about was how happy she was to be able to share the same sights as everyone else.