Celestara's Brightest Night
Once a year, the city of mirrors stopped pretending to be serious.For one night, even ghosts got days off, students dropped their textbooks, and every reflective surface in Celestara turned into a lantern.
They called it the Festival of Reflections—a celebration of every self you used to be, might be, or accidentally summoned after curfew.
Ayaka's voice was pure mischief."Rule number one: if you see your reflection doing something embarrassing, that's tradition."
Kuroha flicked his tails. "If mine starts dancing, I'm leaving."
Streets of Light
The city looked alive.Floating bridges lined with candles, hovering stalls selling sweets that whispered compliments, students in house colors chasing illusory fireflies.
Even the mirrors hummed in delight, replaying fragments of people's laughter from past years.
Ayaka grabbed my wrist. "Come on! You promised we'd do something fun before you invent another cosmic discovery."
"I didn't promise—"
"Verbal hesitation counts," she said, dragging me toward a game stall.
Games, Goldfish, and Chaos
The stall owner—a smug ghost in a top hat—gestured toward bowls of enchanted fish."Catch one reflection fish, and you win a charm that shows your heart's desire," he said.
Ayaka rolled her sleeves. "Watch and learn, Nihilum Boy."
She caught three before I could even kneel down.Kuroha, meanwhile, stuck a paw into the bowl. Every fish immediately turned into a smaller version of him and swam away laughing.
"I think they like me," he said.
I sighed and tried anyway. The fish scattered. My reflection in the water winked at me and mouthed, pathetic.
"Even my reflection's bullying me."
Ayaka handed me one of hers. "Here. Teamwork."
The charm glowed softly—a mirror pendant etched with flame and tails.I blinked. "It's us."She smiled. "Of course it is."
Music and Memories
Later, we sat on the floating steps overlooking the main plaza. A band of spirit musicians played instruments made of light, and ribbons of sound twisted into the sky.
Kuroha sprawled between us, tails serving as impromptu pillows."You two are disgustingly sentimental," he said."Comes with being alive," I replied.
"You should try it sometime."
He snorted but didn't move.
Ayaka handed me a skewer of candied fruit. "To celebrate not exploding this semester.""Cheers," I said, clinking mine against hers.
The moment was simple—too simple, maybe—but it felt real.For once, Celestara wasn't a maze of expectations; it was just light, laughter, and the faint hum of the mirrors approving.
Whispers Beneath the Music
As the music swelled, something strange flickered across the nearest mirror.A single rune—crimson, pulsing—appeared beneath our reflections.
FRAGMENT DETECTED: MIRROR CORE // STATUS—DORMANT.
My chest tightened. The mirrors rippled, showing glimpses of a hidden chamber deep below the city—a place full of frozen reflections whispering secrets.
Ayaka noticed the change. "You saw that too, didn't you?"
I nodded slowly. "The next fragment… it's under us."
Kuroha's eyes glowed faintly.
"The Festival ends at midnight. When the mirrors sleep, we descend."
I stared into the shifting glass, the city lights dancing across our reflections.Laughter around us, chaos above, destiny beneath. Typical day.
Ayaka squeezed my hand. "Then let's enjoy the night while we still can."
Closing Scene
Fireworks erupted—thousands of glowing symbols painting the sky: stars, runes, foxes, wings.Kuroha's tails shimmered in rhythm, reflecting gold and shadow.
For a heartbeat, everything was light and motion and warmth.
And in that glow, I thought—Maybe Nihility isn't about erasing.Maybe it's about finding what still shines when everything else fades.