The Last Star

Once again, Luna helped her friends to cross the walls of brain tissue. The concert was still ongoing, so they had to wait under the stage, but there was still some time until Sari's final performance. When there was a break, Sari joined everyone and gave them passes to VIP boxes, then asked Luna to tune the equipment again.

After that, Avi and her companions walked up the arching stairs, passing some robots who transferred unidentified devices and brains in jars, until they reached their VIP box. There were no seats, so the group had to stand, but it didn't bother anyone. Avi leaned against the balustrade and, with dreamy eyes, looked at Sari, who was now calm and collected, and approaching the microphone. Sh soon began to sing a soothing, but sad melody.

“My hand reaching for the sky, calling your name. Yet, there was no answer. Our words, meaningless. Will everything fall apart once I stop believing?”

“I recall you, leading us to the stars unknown. The dreams became reality, and restored the colors to my life. I recall, my smile, when the smallest miracles happened...”

“Last desert flower, weak and dry. It reminds me of you. To protect it, I'll sacrifice myself. I merely pray for you to remember me...”

“Last desert flower, I water it with my tears. How much of my pain will it take until you're healed? I merely pray for you to remember me...”

“My hands reaching for the sky, calling your name. Alone, in this barrenlands, I still wait. Each grains of sand, I had already counted.”

“Please... listen, wherever you are, and give me hope, before my heart cries with despair. Console me, before I forget how much I love you.”

“Last desert flower, its blackened petals slowly falling. I have nothing left, but the scars that will never heal.”

“Last desert flower, crumbling in my trembling hands. Nothing remains. Nothing, but death's embrace.”

“My hands reaching for rthe sky, calling your name. Give me wings, so I can fly away. Don't punish me for merely existing. Don't punish me for missing you.”

“I want to keep running, together. Across the endless meadows, show me the path. I want to dance together again, please let me take your hand.”

“Last desert flower... It's no longer here, while I remain. The dusk never came, the dawn never came.”

“Last desert flower... I'll cry no more. My cold heart, beats without purpose, to be forgotten, forever.”

Sari finished her song and looked in Avi's direction, noticing emotional tears welling up in her eyes. Knowing that her song could touch at least one heart, Sari smiled inwardly and walked off the stage.

---

A brain in spherical jar flied onto the scenes, suspended in a fluorescent fluid filled with fine particles of silver glitter. They thanked Sari for her performance, then announced the next artist. During that short pause, Sari could join Avi and her friends.

“You were amazing!” - Avi exclaimed while Sari was still climbing the stairs.

Sari simply smiled gently.

“You had to pour your heart and soul into it.” - Virka noticed. - “Your skill could match Khazan divas, and trust me – they were one of the best vocalists in the galaxy.”

“I appreciate the compliment...” - Sari replied. - “...but it's all thanks to my ancestors. My techniques were developed according to their teachings and ancient records, and I only try to carry their songs to the skies.”

“Don't be so humble.” - Virka's tails twisted with appreciation. - “You not only have a talent, but you also have put enormous effort into practice, which I assume took your entire life. It's not hard to notice.”

Sari didn't deny. - “I'm not the only person who is here to give their all. I heard they've found somebody very special for their last performance.”

Luna gazed at the scene, noticing a small girl underneath a black cloak. Despite Luna's doubled efforts, her scans returned an error.

“Who is it?” - Luna asked. - “Her masking technology is not natural.”

“I don't know.” - Sari revealed. - “I didn't have any chance to talk to her.”

The mysterious singer approached the microphone and began to hum slowly. Her voice was flawless, and every transition was so fluid that one could think that the artist did not need to breathe. Virka immediately understood that it wasn't just someone skilled, but someone who practiced for thousands of years, someone with unnatural vocal physique, and someone who wasn't using any implants or enhancing devices.

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“The darkness is no stranger to me... oh-oh-oh. Take me there, to drown in the abyss of sorrow.”

Avi felt uneasy. Despite never hearing a voice so beautiful, it sounded suspiciously familiar to her.

“May your blade wound my side, oh-oh, I'm not bleeding, no more. Give me pain, so I can feel again.”

Although the song was technically perfect, Luna didn't like it. The melody was eerily ominous.

“I don't like it, let's leave.” - Luna suggested.

Sari looked at Luna. It was obvious she wanted to know why. A performance like this would happen only once in a lifetime.

“Shackled by life, oh-oh, oh-oh. I sing for deaf. Tell me, fool – If I lose my mind, will my sins be justified?”

Virka observed Luna for a long time, and could also tell that something was wrong. Not only because of the song, but also due to the lower VIP boxes. When she examined them carefully, her subconcious suspicions were confirmed and she noticed that one after another, the brains fell almost lifelessly to the bottom of their jars.

“Luna. There's something wrong with the guests.” - Virka alerted.

Luna scanned one of the jars as thoroughly as she could. - “They're alive, but their intelligence signatures completely stopped.”

“Lost in the puppet dance, oh, we're replaying the same pictures... does the actor care that the movie has to end?”

Nicolas decided not to wait. - “Avi. We're leaving.” - He ordered.

“...but...” - Avi stared at the performers on the stage all this time, enthralled. However, once she turned her eyes away and noticed her worried companions, she didn't protest. - “Okay.”

“Sari. Are you coming, too?” - Virka asked.

Sari nodded. - “Yes.”

---

Luna hurried to get everyone out of the concert hall, while the melody didn't stop. All the sound systems in the brain were broadcasting the song. The brain tissue seemed to gradually slow down its pulse, while the guards were asleep, lying on the floor.

Once Luna was outside, the situation was no different. All means of public transport were stopped, and most of the skyships were automatically forced to make an emergency landing wherever they could.

Avi was even more worried than before. - “Luna... can we just leave everyone?”

“We have to.” - Luna said.

“...but how would you know that?” - Avi asked.

“I simply know. Whoever they are, we're not ready to challenge them.” - Luna explained. - “Not yet.”

“...but that person. What do they want to do with these people?” - Avi replied.

Luna stared at Avi, her face serious like rarely before. Still, she did not answer.

Avi fronze on the spot. - “We can't leave them. We have to do something.”

“AVI!” - Luna exclaimed. - “We'll discuss it on the spaceship. Once we're safe.”

“We don't even know how much time we have. We shouldn't stop.” - Nicolas added.

“About that.” - Sari uttered. - “The song. I feel that something bad is going to happen once it's over.”

Virka frowned. - “I was expecting this. We need to seize a skyship. It'll give us an advantage.”

Avi gave in and decided to listen. Right after their skyship has started and flew above the synapses-made dome, they could notice blackening sun.

“Is their star... dying?” - Sari uttered.

“Yes, that's what also happened in the Prison of Aeons.” - Luna reminded.

Sari folded her hands in prayer. - “The source of life, protect us. The source of life, lead us home safely...”

Luna was irritated by it, but didn't let anyone notice. She was too focused on leaving the city as soon as possible. She boosted the engine power beyond the maximum limit, making them overheat and produce a black smoke with a smell of burnt flesh. When the ship flew out of the cultural district, its rear exploded, but Luna ignored it.

“Luna!?” - Avi shouted. - “Do you have this under control!?”

“It's a side effect. Everything is fine.” - Luna informed right before the second explosion, which caused her to lose control of the engines. The ship started to dive down at full speed, heading towards the city walls.

“We'll crash!” - Sari warned, her eyes wide open.

“YES.” - Luna confirmed. - “That was the plan. Everyone, hold me tight.” - She said as she summoned a barrier of light around them.

The tail of black smoke split the sky above the city in two, and slowly approached the city's forcefield. Luna aimed with her index finger, focusing the light on its tip, then shot. A bullet of light struck the forcefield, creating a shattered pattern.

“Curse it!” - She uttered as she focused again. After another shot, there was a dent in the forcefield, but it didn't seem like it would disappear.

“Luna!? What are you doing!?” - Avi panicked. - “It's not working!!”

“I have everything under control!” - Luna tried to calm her down. Follow current novels on NoveI★Fire.net

“What will happen if we crash into it!?” - Nicolas asked.

“We won't!” - Luna replied nervously, adding with irritation. - “Let me focus!”

When the ship was fifteen meters away from the barrier, Avi closed her eyes and shouted in panic, while Luna stayed as calm as she could and waited until the last moment. The skyship's bow entered the forcefield, disintegrating in a cloud of smoke, causing Luna to lose the sight of her target. Still, her hand was aimed in the same direction as earlier. She shot again right before her index finger could touch the barrier, and it shattered like glass, causing shards of its energy to melt into Luna's shield, evaporating it in a few spots.

The back of the ship flew through the newmade hole, while its balloon was incinerated completely. Luna slightly lifted the wreckage, causing it to land outside the docks in a sliding manner, on one of the airstrips, then later stop right in front of Luna's ship.

Luna quickly disabled her shield and remotely activated the ship's engines.

“Sari. Will you be fine?” - She asked before they would split.

“Yes, my spaceship is close!” - Sari informed as she hurried towards it. - “May the starlight guide you!”

“May it guide you, too!” - Luna responded quickly before joining Avi and her parents, and Virka.

Soon, Sari disappeared, but they could see her small personal spaceship after they started their own ship. It headed up to the stars and just flashed into hyperspace. Luna followed, making a short jump to the planet's orbit. She could notice dozen thousands of small dots on her radar, all with unknown signatures, but she didn't bother checking what they were and left the system.