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12 starseeds.

Each, a different color. Each, a different emotion. Each, a different story.

Erytheia held each one in hand, knowing what he must do, but one final doubt was holding him back.

Had he not helped each one of these in their journey? Had he not helped them move on?

The knight of Cosmos had, in a way. But he had help. Each time he had found a wayward starseed on his world, he hadn’t been able to free it; he had to rely on another.

‘Why do you have to do everything alone?’

Yuki had asked this at the start of his task. Then, he had been unable to answer other than that he felt it was his duty as knight of Erytheia. This was the charge of her knights, was it not?

But it wasn’t just that, he found. There had still been something weighing on his heart. He may have held twelve starseeds in his hands, ready to return to the Galaxy Cauldron. Yet there was a thirteenth starseed he had not saved.

“I couldn’t even save the one I loved the most.”

What was ‘enough’? The Code had asked him that back then before he had placed it in its new home. He finally had an answer.

He’d never be enough, but that was alright. It was enough to be himself. Enough to be flawed and hurt and broken. As long as his starseed burned in his chest, he’d be okay.

A star appeared on Erytheia’s hand as he called out to Cosmos, to finally send these starseeds home.



✪

“Yes. Everything’s okay.” Erytheia noticed the worry in Cosmos’s voice and tried to assuage it away so only the pure curiosity remained.

He could hardly blame her for the tinge of worry. He doubted highly that she was usually called when there wasn’t a serious immediate concern. And usually not the good kind. It reminded him of himself, in a way. Worry was always a close follower of his.

But not today. Today was different.

“I called you here because I have something to ask of you.” Erytheia held the starseeds in his outstretched hands — each one glittering in the light of the sunset — as rings of gold traced themselves up his fingers. “These need to be taken home.”



✪

“After I moved the piece of the Code that resides on his wonder to the Beacon, it started to glow. Not long after, the starseeds arrived. Each one was at a different Moon Well so it took awhile to find them.” Erytheia explained. “I had some help along the way, though.”


✪

“Please. Take them to be reborn. They had all had such difficult lives.”

Erytheia touched the last one gingerly as the starseed went out of his hands into hers.

“You know, I was quite scared when they appeared here the way they did. I thought there was something wrong. Even though Yuki told me that this was what once happened in his time. So, I tried to let them rest before moving on. And when they would not even move from their places for me, I worried still that I had done something else wrong still.”

And he looked at his hand for the first time since he had handed over the rainbow-colored starseeds to her. He watched with awe as the strange glow traced his fingers.

“But then I realized that I was meant to do this. Soothe their spirits for awhile unto they were ready. And that I did not have to do that alone.”


✪