That one light, casual sentence carried the weight of ten thousand tons. Natsumi's eyes were blurred by a thick veil of tears, making the printed words on the page run together into an illegible smear. She couldn't stop herself from sobbing out loud. Right there on the street, she covered her eyes with one hand while clutching the magazine in the other, stumbling toward her home. Is this the real reason why Johnny's final wish before death was "to go to the moon"?
"But... what if you forget? Or what if you get lost?"
"Then... we'll just meet on the moon..."
The elderly Johnny couldn't recall this childhood memory, but his subconscious had never forgotten the promise.
His wish wasn't actually about reaching the lunar surface. He just wanted to go to the moon to find the wife he had lost, the woman who had already passed away, his beloved River. He didn't want the moon; he just wanted the place where he could find her.
End of Chapter Eight.
Natsumi immediately dug out the previous seven issues of the Ascent of New Gods magazine and began meticulously re-reading every single clue and detail. Now, everything made sense. From the first chapter to the seventh, every seed the author had planted suddenly bloomed into a heartbreaking reality.
The sheer tragedy of it was overwhelming. For an emotionally sensitive reader like Natsumi, the story was a masterpiece of pure, unadulterated heartbreak.
Meanwhile, the official Ascent of New Gods forums were reaching a breaking point. As 10:00 AM approached, a massive wave of readers had finished chapter eight, and "tough guys" everywhere were reduced to tears.
"To the Moon is absolute trash. Total garbage. I literally can't see the words on the page through all these damn tears."
"Guys... please tell me I'm not the only one crying like a baby. Tell me I'm not the only one this fragile."
"So the root of this entire tragedy is the moment Johnny's mother drugged him with beta-blockers? The moment he was forced to forget?"
"Exactly. That's where it all went wrong. He forgot River. He forgot Joey. When he met River again in high school, he thought he was drawn to her 'mystery.' He didn't realize that his subconscious recognized her immediately. They had met years before, but his memories were locked behind a chemical wall."
"And in the novel, River went to that fallen log every single year to wait for the boy who made that promise. She waited her whole life, and he never remembered?"
"Remember when Johnny told her in high school that he only approached her because she was 'different' and 'mysterious'? River always thought he approached her because of their childhood meeting. She thought they were friends reconnecting. She spent her entire life believing Johnny remembered finding the rabbit in the stars with her. That was their first meeting! She carried the beanbag and the platypus he gave her for her entire life because they were her most precious treasures."
"Then why didn't River just tell him the truth?"
"She couldn't. Her condition made it impossible for her to voice her deepest emotions. That's why she folded those paper rabbits over and over. She was desperately hoping that the blue-and-yellow paper would trigger his memory of the pale blue sky and the yellow moon from that night. She wanted him to remember the promise to meet again next year. But until the day she died... Johnny never remembered."
"The most painful scene is when River hands the beanbag to Johnny in front of the lighthouse. She thinks he'll recognize her through that object. Instead, Johnny throws it off the cliff with a laugh. Oh my god, re-reading that scene is killing me. Imagine how heartbroken River was! In that moment, she must have been certain that Johnny had truly, completely forgotten their childhood promise."
"So that's why she cut her hair, right? Because she had short hair when they first met. In her final days, she did everything she could, the rabbits, the hair, the lighthouse, just to help her husband remember the moment they first met. Johnny thought he spent his life taking care of a woman with a disability, but in reality, he was the one being protected and loved by her every single day!"
"Cry. Just let it all out, everyone."
"Who is this Shiori Takahashi? Is this Minamijo author really just a high school student? To write a story like this for the Ascent of New Gods competition... I have nothing but respect for her."
"Shiori Takahashi has no heart! This is too cruel. River is dead, and she never got to see him remember."
"But Johnny never truly forgot the promise! Even if the memories were chemically suppressed, his subconscious desire to 'go to the moon' after she died is the ultimate proof. Even just that one childhood sentence, 'We'll meet on the moon', became the singular obsession that defined his final days. He didn't know why, but he knew he had to get there to find her."
"I missed a few details before, but now everything is crystal clear. This novel is a masterpiece. Shiori Takahashi has officially stolen every tear I had left for this year."
"Same here. My dad asked me why I was crying over a book. I'm embarrassed, but I just can't stop."
"My stomach literally hurts just thinking about Johnny and River."
"But this is only chapter eight! There are two more chapters left. What else is there to say?"
"Who knows? But the author clearly has a plan. We have to support this novel no matter what."
"I feel like such an idiot. I gave all my votes to Cyberpunk: Sin Domain for the first seven issues. I regret it so much now."
"VOTE! Everyone, go vote for To the Moon right now! The top ten get a nationwide volume release by the Big Seven publishers. We have to make sure the whole country reads this story."
"You guys have it easy. Spare a thought for us Anohana fans! I just finished the anime finale four days ago. I was already a mess. Then I come here to read To the Moon, and in just four days, I've been emotionally devastated twice by the same author! My eyes actually hurt from crying so much."
"Me too! I only checked out To the Moon because of the anime. Is this Shiori Takahashi's only setting? Does she just do pure emotional devastation?"
"I thought Anohana was the peak of the year. Then I read chapter eight of To the Moon."
The official website for the Ascent of New Gods competition was a sea of lamentation. Those who didn't understand the plot were asking for explanations; those who did understand were sharing their trauma. Entire groups of readers were collectively depressed. The Anohana fans were hit the hardest, suffering a "double tap" of grief within a single week.
The popularity of To the Moon had already been rising thanks to the anime, but the explosive quality of chapter eight acted as a massive catalyst.
The discussion volume was unprecedented. Curious readers who had ignored the story before were now digging through back issues to read the series from the beginning.
In the industry, a bad reputation spreads fast, but a legendary one spreads even faster. Unlike the previous seven issues where the forums were dominated by praise for Cyberpunk: Sin Domain or The Great Scientist of Another World, tonight, there was only one protagonist.
To the Moon.
In the backend of the website, the staff watched the real-time voting data with looks of sheer bewilderment. In the previous issue, To the Moon had a total of seventy thousand votes. Today, by mid-afternoon, it had already gained another seventy thousand. It was now neck-and-neck with the first-place Cyberpunk: Sin Domain.
---
The following day, Monday.
Haruto was ready to go. He put on his clean, crisp black-and-white school uniform and straightened his hair in the mirror. He looked sharp, refined, and exceptionally handsome. When he arrived at school and entered his classroom, he found his classmates huddled together, talking about nothing but To the Moon.
"Its rating jumped from 8.1 to 9.2 in a single night. To the Moon is insane. It's the number one rated work now, and it's the only series in the entire Ascent of New Gods magazine to break a 9.0."
"I was a mess last night because of this book. Who is Sensei Shiori Takahashi? She hasn't revealed a single piece of information about herself. What is she hiding? It's killing me to know that a legendary author is lurking somewhere around us, and we have no idea who it is."
"I desperately want an autograph!"
"Me too!"
"I bet To the Moon is going to get an anime adaptation too. The popularity after chapter eight is off the charts."
"If it stays in the top ten, that's almost a certainty."
"I'm just waiting for the lunch break to see the official vote tally for issue eight. The ratings refresh in real-time, but the popularity rankings are only posted by the committee."
At this point, both Shiori Takahashi and Airi had become legitimate celebrities in the Minamijo literary world. Within the halls of Third High, they were undisputed icons. Even if Airi's stats weren't as high as Shiori Takahashi's, being second to a "monster" like that was nothing to be ashamed of.
As for Shiori Takahashi, she was now the local master of the "tearjerker" genre. Having such a figure as a classmate made the students feel a strange sense of pride.
Lunchtime arrived, and the latest Ascent of New Gods rankings were posted.
1. Cyberpunk: Sin Domain (Aika Miyamoto). 145,621 votes. Popularity: 1. Rating: 4.
2. To the Moon (Shiori Takahashi). 141,135 votes. Popularity: 2. Rating: 1.
The rest of the rankings remained largely the same as the previous week, with everyone simply sliding down one spot. However, one notable change was Reina's Fate of the Rainbow. For the first time, it had cracked the top ten.
It sat exactly at tenth place. This was due to a major plot point in its own latest chapter, as well as the "halo effect" from the author's collaboration with Haruto on the music.
When the list was published, it sent shockwaves through the literary community. It had been years since a regional rookie had managed to break the monopoly held by Tokyo and Osaka authors in the Ascent of New Gods competition. And Shiori Takahashi hadn't just "squeezed in." Her vote count had doubled since the seventh issue, landing her in second place.
Anyone with eyes could see that To the Moon was only in second because it had run out of time. There had only been a twenty-four-hour window between the release of issue eight and the vote tally. Many casual readers hadn't even had the chance to vote yet. It had missed the top spot by only a few thousand votes.
By the time issue nine was released, after a full week of word-of-mouth and hype... what would happen then? Could Shiori Takahashi from Minamijo actually do the unthinkable? Could she use a slow-burn novel like To the Moon to defeat established geniuses like Aika Miyamoto and Konning and take the crown?
The possibility sent the industry into a frenzy. In the decades-long history of the competition, an author from outside the major hubs had never won.
The authors from Tokyo and Osaka were left stunned. While Aika Miyamoto had anticipated the late-game surge and prepared for it, the other five were in total disbelief. A regional author from Minamijo... overtook us in a single issue?
Losing to Aika was one thing, but losing to a Minamijo rookie? That was a bitter pill to swallow. It was like a child from a wealthy family with elite tutors being outperformed by a kid who grew up playing in the dirt. It made them question everything. And above all, it was embarrassing.
Despite the humiliation, they spent the night binge-reading all eight chapters of To the Moon. The result was total silence. Friends and managers reported that the authors were in a state of deep melancholy.
There was nothing to say.
Compared to To the Moon, their stories were outclassed in every category: theme, plot, atmosphere, foreshadowing, and emotional depth. Where had this Shiori Takahashi come from?
Only now did they remember Aika's interview.
She was the only one who had recognized To the Moon as the ultimate threat from the very beginning.
But the market didn't care about their feelings.
Over the next few days, the influence of To the Moon spread beyond the official website.
Overjoyed fans began a promotion campaign across the entire internet. Combined with the lingering fever of the Anohana finale, the names Shiori Takahashi, Anohana, and To the Moon became a wildfire.
This was the moment the true influence of the work began to ferment. Even the major critics in Tokyo and Osaka took notice. After catching up on the chapters, many of them found their professional detachment shattered.
By the third day after issue eight, it wasn't just fans talking online.
In the real world, on television stations like Tokyo TV, critics were beginning to mention the novel during their interviews.
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