At the End of the Journey
...So this is where it ends.
The Journey, and...
Everything I've desired.
Everything was over. All that she had carried with her had finally come to an end.
It brought both joy and sadness. Both happiness and pain.
That was the end of our story.
...
To be honest, I'm still not certain of anything.
All I have is the feeling that the curse has been lifted. Whether it truly is... I do not know.
I have what I wanted at last... and yet I don't feel as happy as I thought I would.
Rather... all I feel is emptiness.
...Carnelia.
...Captain.
Your presence, which once felt so overwhelming...
Has somehow become strangely faint.
I suppose I cannot call it mere paranoia... right?
...
The anxiety I felt as the end drew near... was not born solely from within.
It seems you were not quite normal yourself, Captain.
I wasn't trying to deceive you.
Fufu, I know.
What kind of person you are hardly matters right now.
It is a cruel fate, where one remains and another departs...
...But the time we shared will remain in the starlight.
That alone is enough for me.
...
...Until we meet again, dear Captain.
May our starlight shine brightly someday.
I looked at her distant expression for a moment.
The one who stands at the end of the Journey, having endured countless moments of pain and suffering.
What awaited her now that she had gained the freedom she longed for?
But I believe in her.
As she herself had hoped...
May her starlight shine brightly someday in the future.
Thinking of that brilliant future... I closed my eyes.
...
...Marigolds.
A happiness sure to come...
Were you aware of its meaning when you chose to plant it?
Were you aware... that the flower I planted was a French Marigold?
This flower I'm planting now will take the place left behind by the withered one.
And someday, it will bloom and became part of the garden's beauty.
Though I cannot say if I will ever see that moment.
The sorrow and despair of parting, remembrance and blessings for the dead.
I never thought of an end like this when I planted it.
It seems... I always gain something through loss.
Perhaps...
It would be alright for me...
To look forward to the flowers in bloom, and the night sky of the New Year's festival.
Carnelia left in silence.
With the memory of a brilliant face she could no longer recall.
It was...
A new beginning born from this sorrowful Journey.
And so, another new starlight ignited.
Its radiant flame was etched into the Archive—a beacon to pierce the endless dark of the cosmos.
Observation complete.