1176. Stella The Asterism
Unique Ability Gained
< ABILITY: Blessing of the Amalgam >
The words were large and bold and were encapsulate within a blue box. Stella had never seen words in her life, yet she understood precisely what these words meant. The Blessing, whether of the Nexus or the Amalgam unified every language with a 52-letter alphabet.
But for a reason unknown to Stella, the explanation of the 52-letter alphabet was written as 78. Just as she was about to say this out of shock – because Stella had no other words to express her gratitude – Frost cupped her face as she knelt in front of her.
Then, she placed her forehead against Stella’s.
“Seventy-eight? I’ll have Magus and Anna look into it.”
She did not question Stella’s knowledge. It was not the time to. She would rather let Stella cherish this moment than ruin it because of her curiosity. Mysterious prompts appeared in front of Stella again, this time, carrying messages such as: “This is Nav. Welcome to the group chat,” and “The other aspirant of the Derma Layer has joined. Congratulations on your eyes – Lailah,” as well as a message from Aster reading: “I had a feeling Frost was going to grant you it too. Now we can talk from anywhere at anytime!”
“Truth be told, I was supposed to grant you my Blessing shortly after we returned to the Nexus. The problem was I didn’t know how you would interpret the prompts. I was afraid they would become voices in your head. Thankfully…”
Tears cascaded down Stella’s cheeks again, pooling around Frost’s fingers.
Frost’s face softened as she wiped them off with her thumbs.
“… My foresight knew you would like it. Sorry. I should have asked, right?”
“Always… giving…”
“Stella. Think of it like this. Why does Aster take care of you?”
“Because I helped her…”
“That too. But look closer. What are you to Aster?”
“… Her… friend… Sister… I call Aster… big sister sometimes…”
“Then, how do you think I see you?”
“… A hatchling.”
Frost erupted with a hearty laugh. It forced a stifled giggle out of Stella as she rubbed her eyes with the back of her sleeves.
“Ahahaha… Sorry, I’m so sorry. Yeah… A child. As the big bird of the Nexus, it’s my responsibility that my hatchlings are looked after.”
She pulled away from Stella, rose to her feet, then, set her sights to the stars.
“Stella. Relationships do not have to be transactional. That world still haunts you. I hope one day you can leave it behind and move forward. It’ll take time to heal. Believe me, I want nothing more than to see you happy.”
“*Hic*”
Stella’s eyes pooled with tears. She refused to let them collapse. Held within the pool of tears were the colors of the universe. The golden-red gradient of her eyes resembled one of the distant galaxies afar.
She wiped her face and snot against her arm and looked off at that same galaxy.
* * *
She calmed down after a while. When she was ready to speak after their shared silence, she cleared her throat and spoke with a shaky voice.
“Are stars supposed to move in a spiral?”
“I believe it depends on the location. But it can happen anywhere if you stand still for long enough.”
“Really!? How does it work?”
“Because any one point can become the center of the universe.”
“Can that mean we all are our own stars? Is that how it works out there too? Stars revolving around other stars!?”
“Not exactly…”
Frost had to teach her about the concept of a black hole, as well as gravity wells that bound stars together. These stars eventually created galaxies. Then clusters. Super clusters. Frost threw in the Local Group which contained the Milky Way and was partially included in the Virgo Supercluster and the Laniakea Supercluster.
It was a shame that she could not use the night sky as a reference. But, there was a place she could at least reference to which was contained inside of the Nexus.
The Thresholds – the barriers that separated the Nexus from the Workshops, as well as what protected the Nexus from external influence. Between the space of the Threshold lied the complexes made of galaxies, which were called filaments. These were among the largest structures in the cosmos.
Two names came to mind. The Great Attractor and the Shapely Attractor, both of which were speculated to appear like a giant tree. She did not recall seeing such objects through the Threshold.
“But where there’s a lot of clusters… wouldn’t there be gaps?”
Frost was astounded by Stella’s insight. So much so that Frost’s mouth hung open before she lapsed into a soft chuckle.
“Voids. Regions of space that contain nothing but darkness. No stars. No light… You know, given how many stars there are here, it is unlikely that we’re part of one.”
“… It wouldn’t be different than not having eyes.”
“Life wouldn’t exist. I say that, but Earth is supposedly in the center of one of the largest voids in the universe.”
“What makes voids?”
“I’m not so sure. And I feel like the answer is something we cannot fathom just yet.”
“… It’s an enemy?”
“I hope not. Even I don’t think take on something that large.”
“But if you said that your things propagate into other worlds, then maybe – maybe you’d be the greatest attractor!”
Stella twirled in the grass and threw out her arms. Her optimism left Frost hoping for that to be the case. Perhaps one day that may happen. Or perhaps not. In the end…
“Elysia is my home, first and foremost. Let’s take care of this place before we start thinking about places out there. Besides, we have the Expanse to look into after. After the descent, past the seas… we’ll find an endless wasteland of fallen Stars.”
Frost took several light steps up to Stella and poked her nose.
“Speaking of Stars… I have one last gift for you.”
“Another…!? I can’t possibly…”
Stella began apprehensively but realized that refusing would only annoy Frost.
She gave into accepting that it was ok to be loved.
Her worth wasn’t evaluated on what she could exchange for love. That, to a girl who lived knowing she was as worthless as a Homunculi, meant more than any gift could.
“… I’ll take it.” She rose to her toes and lifted her head like a child expecting praise from a mother.
Frost retrieved something from within her mantle. It was a thin book with a cover with childishly drawn stars. They looked nothing like the stars above. Rather, they what the stars would look like to a child.
She tapped Stella’s head lightly with the book. Suddenly, an electric shock ran from where the book touched her head, and it spread through her veins. The tips of her fingers became numb before it mellowed into a faint, tingling warmth.
The book disappeared into particles of white light.
Then, a prompt appeared in front of Stella.
< Asterism Has Been Added to your Corrupted Persona Collection >
“Eh…?” Stella’s eyes went wide.
Corrupted Personas were Corrupted that could be manifested when emotions were heightened, so long as one possessed it. She knew this much, but she could not figure out why Frost had given her something so precious.
Just as her mouth opened to protest–
“Stella.”
“Stella~!”
“Over here!”
–Familiar voices called out to her from further down the hill.
She didn’t have to turn to know who they were.
And while she knew they were not real – in the sense that they were alive – her heart ached as her wish to see them again was granted.
“… I… I can…?” Stella breathlessly whispered, her hands tightening into balls.
“Hm?” Frost tilted her head. She appeared unaware of what Stella was experiencing.
“… Frost… Why can I…?”
“Mn. Go. It’s fine to follow them.”
Another voice answered. It belonged to Ignis. She arrived from behind Frost, and she glanced in the distance where the voices were coming from.
Stella, overwhelmed with emotion, sniffled as tears tumbled down her cheeks. She gave them a firm nod and ran off to where the voices called out to her.
“… I-I’m coming!”
And there, standing in the fields of black and golden flowers beneath the hill were the faces she thought she would never see again.