The last day of the year arrived quietly.
Not with alarms or sirens or rifts tearing the sky open, but with frost clinging to metal railings and soft light spilling through the reinforced windows of Astral Spire. The world outside was cold and still, a rare pause in a life that usually sprinted from crisis to crisis. Snow dusted the upper platforms like powdered sugar, collecting in corners no one bothered to clear.
For once, no one was rushing.
Rei noticed that first.
He stood near the balcony overlooking the central commons, hands tucked into his jacket sleeves, watching people move without urgency. Laughter echoed instead of alarms. Footsteps weren’t running. Someone had dragged a speaker system into the open space below, and music drifted upward in lazy waves, warm and nostalgic.
*So this is what peace feels like,* he thought.
Below him, the Astral Guard had transformed the commons into something almost unrecognizable. Paper lanterns hung from cables usually reserved for tactical equipment. Long tables were pushed together, crowded with food from every faction: street-style skewers, steaming trays of rice and noodles, pastries dusted with sugar, and drinks glowing faintly from grace-infused heaters.
Someone had even convinced Skyborn Legion engineers to project artificial fireworks against the inner dome ceiling. Harmless bursts of light that bloomed and faded in shimmering blues and golds.
“Rei!”
He flinched, turning just in time to see Aiden jog up beside him, already holding two cups.
“Don’t tell me you’re brooding,” Aiden said, shoving one cup into Rei’s hands. “It’s illegal today.”
Rei glanced down. Hot chocolate. Real cocoa, not ration mix.
“I wasn’t brooding,” Rei said automatically.
Aiden raised an eyebrow.
“…I was observing.”
“Same thing,” Aiden said cheerfully. “Except today you’re allowed to smile.”
Rei snorted despite himself and took a sip. Warmth spread through his chest immediately.
Below them, chaos reigned in the best way possible.
Caleb was attempting to carry an absurd number of plates at once, his shield strapped uselessly to his back while Luna hovered nearby, laughing and offering to help.
“I’ve got it,” Caleb insisted.
One plate slipped.
Luna caught it midair with a flicker of light. “You don’t.”
Nearby, Carter had opened a small portal purely to pass snacks across the table faster, until Raphael noticed and threatened to make him clean the entire commons afterward.
The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
“That’s abuse of authority!” Carter protested.
“That’s abuse of space-time,” Raphael shot back.
Jian stood off to the side with Iris, quietly observing the chaos like seasoned veterans at a festival. Iris adjusted her glasses, her gaze tracking everything effortlessly.
“Odds someone spills something before midnight?” Jian asked.
“Eighty-seven percent,” Iris replied without missing a beat.
On the other end of the room, the Monster Generation had already claimed a table.
Victor was mid-story, arms wide, clearly exaggerating something that had happened years ago. Violet leaned back in her chair, unimpressed but smiling anyway.
“That’s not how it happened,” Alex muttered.
“It absolutely is,” Victor said. “You just weren’t paying attention.”
Lysander, dressed far too stylishly for a base celebration, raised a glass. “To selective memory.”
Stacy groaned. “You’re impossible.”
Finn and Haruto had somehow turned a harmless party game into a competitive challenge, while Lena sat nearby, laughing softly and scribbling notes about who owed who snacks.
Akane perched elegantly on a railing, fox tail swaying as she watched the crowd with a knowing smile, her amber eyes reflecting the artificial fireworks above.
Even the overseers had loosened up.
Carmen stood with Vanessa and Mr. Lawton, a warm drink in hand, her posture relaxed in a way Rei rarely saw. Raphael leaned against a pillar nearby, arms crossed but expression fond as he surveyed the room.
“This feels… strange,” Aiden admitted quietly.
“Yeah,” Rei agreed. “But good.”
Aiden nudged him. “You gonna spend the whole night up here?”
Rei hesitated.
His gaze drifted across the room, searching.
And then he saw her.
Kristine stood near one of the quieter edges of the commons, half-turned toward the lights above. Her long black hair was tied into a loose braid that cascaded past her left shoulder, a few strands already slipping free. Round glasses caught the glow of lantern light, magnifying her blue eyes as she watched the room with a thoughtful, almost wistful expression.
Her shirt: oversized, striped in muted teal and soft peach against slate blue hung comfortably on her frame, loosely tucked into high-waisted rose taupe shorts. Sheer black stockings softened the look, elegant without trying too hard.
She looked… peaceful.
Rei’s heart did something stupid.
Aiden followed his gaze and grinned.
“Oh,” he said. “That’s where your New Year’s resolution is.”
Rei nearly choked on his drink. “Shut up.”
Aiden laughed and clapped him on the shoulder. “Go. Before Carter starts a countdown an hour early.”
Rei hesitated only a second longer before nodding and heading down.
---
Kristine noticed him before he reached her.
She always did.
Her eyes brightened, and that small, knowing smile curved her lips as Rei stopped a few steps away, suddenly very aware of his hands, his posture, the way his heartbeat seemed louder than the music.
“Hey,” she said.
“Hey.”
Smooth.
They stood there for a moment, surrounded by noise yet somehow separate from it.
“Enjoying the chaos?” Kristine asked.
Rei glanced around. “I think this might be the safest disaster we’ve ever been part of.”
She laughed softly. The sound settled into him, warm and familiar.
They drifted away from the crowd without really deciding to, slipping through a side corridor that opened onto one of Astral Spire’s outer balconies. The air was cold, crisp enough to sting his lungs, but the lights from inside spilled out behind them like a promise.
They leaned against the railing, shoulder to shoulder.
For a while, neither spoke.
Snow drifted down slowly, catching in Kristine’s hair. Rei reached out before thinking and brushed a flake away.
She didn’t pull back.
Instead, she turned to look at him.
“Hard year,” she said quietly.
Rei exhaled. “Yeah.”
He thought of rifts. Of fear. Of believing he was powerless. Of the ticking sound in his ear, the golden glow in his eyes, the moments where everything could have gone wrong.
“I didn’t think I’d make it here,” he admitted.
Kristine’s expression softened. “I did.”
He looked at her.
She held his gaze steadily. “Even when you didn’t believe it.”
Something tight in his chest loosened.
They stood closer now, breath fogging in the cold.
“When the countdown hits,” she said softly, “I want to remember this version of us.”
Rei swallowed. “Me too.”
From inside, the music shifted.
Voices rose.
“Ten!”
They turned back toward the light.
“Nine!”
The entire commons echoed with sound. Laughter. Shouts. Joy unrestrained.
“Eight!”
Rei felt Kristine’s hand brush his.
“Seven!”
He laced his fingers with hers.
She squeezed gently.
“Six!”
Fireworks bloomed against the dome ceiling, painting the world in gold.
“Five!”
Aiden was absolutely standing on a table.
“Four!”
Carter opened a portal that rained confetti.
“Three!”
Raphael pretended not to see it.
“Two!”
Rei leaned closer, heart pounding.
“One!”
The room exploded.
Cheers shook the Spire. Music surged. Someone screamed in triumph. Others hugged, laughed, cried.
Rei and Kristine didn’t rush.
They just stood there, hands intertwined, watching the new year arrive.
“Happy New Year, Rei,” she said.
He smiled, really smiled.
“Happy New Year, Kristine.”
And for the first time in a long while, the future didn’t feel like something to fear.
It felt like something waiting.
[End of Chapter]
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