Baiheng remembered the first time she met Kenta.
At that time, she was piloting a Star Skiff, a streak of white through the jade-colored skies of the Xianzhou, battling the Denizens of Abundance. For a pilot of her caliber—destined to be the ace of the Sky-Faring Commission—plowing through enemy lines was second nature. However, Baiheng was cursed with a peculiar "talent": despite her unrivaled skill, she was a magnet for bizarre accidents that always ended in a crash landing.
"I've been hit! Ejecting!" she shouted over the comms. "Paratrooper Number One, Baiheng, ready for descent!"
As the cockpit hissed open and her parachute unfurled, she drifted through the high-altitude currents, watching her hair whip around her face. She was at peace—until the wreckage of an enemy fighter streaked overhead. A jagged fragment of metal tore through her silk canopy.
The wind howled as she began to plummet. Baiheng had always longed for the sky, wishing to be as free as a bird. But as the ground rushed up to meet her, she realized that without her wings of steel, she was just a falling fox. She closed her eyes, waiting for the end.
Until she fell into a pair of warm, steady arms.
She opened her eyes and saw Kenta for the first time.
"So," he had said, looking at her with a mix of amusement and wonder, "there really are people who can fly in the sky like birds."
Baiheng remembered the last time she saw Kenta...
The battlefield was a nightmare of blood and twisted geometry. A giant dragon struggled against a pulsating, amorphous mass of flesh—the emanator of Abundance, Shuhu.
"General Tengxiao has fallen!" "The Sword Master... her fate is unknown!" "Where are the Trailblazers?! Where is the Carefree Wanderer?!"
The shouts were a dull roar in Baiheng's ears. She was piloting a Star Skiff toward the heart of the carnage, carrying a part of a stellar entity, a "black sun." Below her, the dragon was being consumed, its scales dulling as it was assimilated by the flesh.
She thought of Kenta and the times they had spent together as the High-Cloud Quintet. In a small courtyard, years ago, she had shared her dream.
"Kenta, after the war, I want to be a Trailblazer on the Astral Express. I want to see the whole universe." She had looked at him, her invitation clear and undisguised.
"Alright," he had replied, missing her hint entirely. "When you come back, remember to tell us all the stories."
"Aren't you coming with me?" she had snapped.
"The Alliance still needs me," he had said, shaking his head.
"But the universe is dangerous! What if you're not there to save me?" she had pouted, using her best "acting cute" strategy.
Kenta had chuckled, his laughter full of doting affection. "Don't worry. No matter where you are, if you're in danger, I'll definitely rush to save you immediately..."
She also remembered bickering with Jingliu over him.
"Kenta, Foxian lifespans are only three or four hundred years!" she had said, tugging his arm. "So you should spend more of them with me. Once I'm gone, only Jingliu and you will be left..."
"Don't think like that," he had told her. "There will be a way. At worst..."
"At worst what?"
"At worst, I'll find you again in your next life."
She had pouted then, calling it "just talk," but her heart had privately given him a passing grade.
"A trap! It's a trap!" General Tengxiao roared back at HQ. "The Abundance triggered a fake calamity at the Jade Gate to draw Kenta away! Their real target is the Luofu!"
"Reporting! The Carefree Wanderer will arrive in two minutes!"
But those two minutes were a lifetime away for Baiheng. She saw Yingxing and Jing Yuan struggling, Jingliu missing, and Dan Feng being devoured. She had no choice.
"Kenta..." she whispered, her foot heavy on the accelerator. She waited for him to appear. She waited for the black flames to save the day.
Nothing happened.
"Heh," she let out a soft, sad laugh. "Liar..."
BOOM!
A violent explosion erased the horizon. The mass of flesh was reduced to ash. Dan Feng reverted to his human form, collapsing in the wake of the blast.
Kenta arrived a moment too late. He hovered in the air, staring at the empty space where her Star Skiff had been.
He was the strongest fighter on the Luofu. His crimson flames had burned legions; his black flames could incinerate even concepts. But they could not bring back a girl who had turned herself into a sun.
He remembered that day in the courtyard.
"Tsk, always just talk. There's no such thing as a next life," she had said. But then, she had turned back to him with a brilliant, unforgettable smile.
"In your next life, you have to find me too..."