The garden of the Shinonome estate, bathed in moonlight, was very lively. I could clearly hear Fuka devouring plate after plate of food and the excited voices of Hart and the others enjoying target practice.
I watched everyone having fun from a quiet spot on the veranda a little distance away. At the same time, thoughts of the past month kept floating through my mind.
Last month, Orun went to the Phoenix Shrine to investigate the principles and reunited with Titania there.
I had apparently once spoken of her as a dear friend, but I have no memory of that now.
Both Orun and Pixie have said similar things, so I must have forgotten.
Forgetting something important should be sad, yet I cannot feel that sadness. Still, I can sense a hole in my heart.
To fill that hole, I want to meet Titania. I want to regain what I have lost.
To do that, I must become a Transcendent.
I have been training for it since last month and have finally reached the point where I can touch the wall of principles. But I still cannot grasp the sensation of breaking through it.
I am only one step away from becoming a Transcendent.
Yet I still have not figured out how to take that final step.
'…Luna, are you not going to play with everyone?'
While I was lost in thought, Pixie — who rarely speaks to me first — floated over and settled near my shoulder.
Pixie is the fairy I met when I first became an explorer. She has stayed by my side ever since. My days as an explorer were not always fun. There were times I felt lonely, but I was never truly alone.
That was surely because Pixie was always with me.
"I feel calmer watching from here," I replied.
Seeing everyone laugh makes me happier than anything. But joining the circle and making noise with them does not suit my nature. Perhaps because of how I was raised, I feel more at ease staying a little reserved. Just watching them enjoy themselves from afar is enough to make me happy.
When I looked up at the night sky, the moon hung high and poured down clear light, softly illuminating the lively garden.
"The moon tonight is truly beautiful," I said.
The small light resting on my shoulder swayed gently.
'…Yes. It is clear and easy to see.'
The moon shone over us with endless gentleness.
But then a thought occurred to me.
"Still, this sky and moon are recreations made by the principles, right? Are they not real?"
Pixie shook her head by gently swaying her magic power.
'…They are not exactly fake. Even if the principles created them, they are shining right now, the wind is blowing… they are here.'
"…I see."
As I continued gazing at the sky, Pixie spoke again in a quiet murmur.
'…I received knowledge from Queen Titania, so I know about the outside world too. This sky and moon are beautiful, but compared to the real ones, they might feel a little lacking.'
"Lacking…?"
'…Yes. The moon is not just something that waxes and wanes to light up the night.'
I could not quite grasp her meaning, so I turned to look at her.
Pixie hesitated for a moment, her magic power trembling. She started to say something, held back, then chose different words.
'…Luna, do you know what a total solar eclipse is?'
"A total solar eclipse…?"
It was a term I had never heard before, so I tilted my head.
'…It is when the sun and moon overlap perfectly and the moon completely hides the sun's light. Even though it is daytime, it becomes as dark as night.'
"Daytime… but as dark as night?"
'…Yes. But the moment they overlap perfectly is only brief. Soon the moon and sun begin to shift. At that instant, a single streak of light shines like a ring. It is called a diamond ring, and it was one of the sights that fascinated people in the old days.'
I caught my breath. Could such a phenomenon really exist?
"…I cannot even imagine it."
'Yeah. But it definitely happens in the outside world. I have never seen it myself, so I only have the knowledge.'
Pixie's quiet voice blended smoothly into the night air.
As I listened, I felt a faint stirring in my chest.
(I want to see a sight like that too.)
The thought rose inside me before I could stop it.
At the same time, a calm voice whispered in the back of my mind.
I have no right to go to the outside world. I have not yet become a Transcendent.
Yet Pixie's words stayed with me.
"The moon hiding the sun's light, and the ring of light that appears when they shift. That fantastical sight must be wonderful."
'…Why do you talk about it like it has nothing to do with you? If you are curious, you can just go see it.'
"Eh?"
'…? You are going to become a Transcendent, right? You are going to the outside world with Orun, right? Then you will have plenty of chances to see a total solar eclipse.'
I stared at Pixie in surprise at her unexpected words.
Ignoring my shock, she continued in a gentle voice.
'…I was given all kinds of knowledge by the Queen, but knowledge is nothing more and nothing less. For example, I know what a total solar eclipse is. I know the sun gets hidden and a ring of light appears at the end. But I do not know what the light actually looks like, how dark it gets, or how it would make me feel. Knowledge alone cannot tell me that.'
Her tone carried real feeling.
'…After staying by your side and seeing so many things together, I realized something. Knowing something as knowledge and actually seeing it, feeling it, and truly understanding it are completely different.'
"…Pixie."
'That is why there are still so many things I want to see for real. The sky of the outside world, the ring of the sun… and everything you will see from now on too.'
Pixie floated down and gently touched my shoulder.
'…I am always by your side, so I can see what you see. From now on, I want to see many more things together with you, Luna. I want to understand many more things.'
A warm feeling spread through my chest. I had not known Pixie felt that way.
I took a small breath and looked up at the sky again.
The outside world, together with Pixie.
"Yes. Let us see, feel, and understand many things together."
The moment I pictured that future, a small light kindled in my chest and slowly began to take shape.
(A total solar eclipse. The moon covering the sun. And the light that appears when they shift…)
I shifted my gaze slightly.
At the edge of the veranda, there was a closed rain shutter.
It was a board that blocked out sunlight.
But if I slid it just a little to the side, light would pour into the room.
(…Not breaking the wall of principles… but shifting it.)
A quiet certainty spread through my chest.
This past month, I had become able to touch the wall of principles. Yet no matter what I did, I could not grasp the sensation of breaking through it. I had only felt the emptiness of pressing against a thick door that kept pushing me back.
But…
"…Pixie, please move back a little."
When I stood up, Pixie's magic power shook in surprise, but she quickly understood and gave me space.
I took a deep breath and gently reached out with my mind toward the spirits floating around me.
I sensed the spirits reacting to me. It felt less like anxiety and more like a trembling filled with expectation.
It was as if they were saying, "You finally noticed."
I closed my eyes and extended my consciousness toward the wall of principles.
There it was.
Heavy, cold, rejecting the outside.
The clear sensation of a boundary.
…There had never been any need to break it.
"…Shift."
The moment I whispered those words, the spirits all rushed forward at once and flowed toward the wall. The air trembled, and a faint cracking sound echoed deep in my ears.
Not pushing or pulling, but smoothly sliding it sideways like opening a door.
And then…
My controlled spirits touched the outside.
"—!"
Right after, it came flooding in like a tidal wave.
It was just like the first time I had used Sense Connect. An overwhelming flood of information I could not possibly understand slammed directly into my mind, and for an instant my thoughts went completely white.
'Luna!! Do not let yourself be pulled in!'
Pixie's shout dragged my whitening consciousness back.
"…I am… all right… Pixie."
My knees shook and my breathing grew ragged.
A fierce headache surged in, and my vision blurred. It was similar to when I used too much sorcery, but this pain reached somewhere much deeper.
Even so, I had definitely touched it.
The magic power of the outside world — the principles of magic.
(I reached it… finally…)
As I tried to steady my breathing, a particularly strong and nostalgic resonance appeared within the torrent of information pouring into my mind.
A precious name I should have forgotten.
My chest shook as if it were being torn apart, and a single tear slid down my cheek.
"…Tita… nia…"
I whispered the name and collapsed, unable to hold myself up any longer.
In my fading consciousness, the only thing I could still see was Pixie's light desperately rushing toward me, swaying faintly.