Miss Witch Doesn't Want to be a Diva

"Tilan, wake up~" Efnie gently brushed the girl's cheek with her golden, flame-like hair, calling her name.

"Hmm, have I slept for a long time?" The girl propped herself up and looked around, still in the dome-shaped swimming pool.

Although only fifteen minutes had passed, she felt as if she had slept for ages, experiencing an illusion of time having slipped by.

"The fireworks are starting." Efnie pointed towards the sky outside the dome.

In the pitch-black expanse of space, a few twinkling meteors crossed the sky and then exploded into a blaze of colorful sparks, which burned furiously before vanishing.

These were Interstellar Era space fireworks, seemingly made of some special energy particles that didn't leave any residue and could be ignited in an oxygen-free vacuum.

"Bang—"

Another bright yellow meteor streaked across the sky, traveling through the inky darkness of space before exploding, with thousands of golden threads falling, twinkling intermittently.

Visitors inside the space station, many standing in front of the floor-to-ceiling transparent metallic glass, watched the celebratory fireworks bloom outside.

"Mommy, look how pretty this is."

"Over there another blue, sparkling star~"

To celebrate the hosting of the big competition, the officials of the 'Redstone Valley' space station put a lot of thought into the occasion. Such fireworks were specially prepared, and even the residents who lived in space hadn't seen them often, let alone the young children.

"Oh, there's more, there's more—oh, I can't see them anymore." The child, seeing the fireworks move out of sight, pressed anxiously against the glass.

"It's okay, don't worry, Daddy will take you to the skywalk over there." The father lifted his child in one swoop and quickly walked towards the skywalk in the connection module of the station. These skywalks, like bridges, hung suspended and had excellent views through the transparent metallic glass floors and walls.

By now, the area had drawn a crowd. The spacious skywalk bridge was filled with residents and tourists, many capturing the moment with their personal terminals.

To give the child a better view of the fireworks outside, the father hoisted him onto his shoulders, and it was then that the child began to cheer.

"I see them, now it's a red star!" As the child raised his hands in excitement, a red meteor bloomed, and countless dazzling sparks streaked across the night sky, rotating continuously, creating fractures of small vortices, exceptionally beautiful.

Inside the high dome of the swimming pool, Tilan and her companions also admired the fireworks unfolding in space.

For a moment, the brilliant meteor shower of light rained down, illuminating the interior of the swimming pool and casting a mottled halo of light.

It's so beautiful, even though I've seen fireworks before, watching them in space feels different. The burning brilliance of the meteors and the perennial darkness of space formed a stark contrast—one was intensely warm and vigorously alive, while the other was cold and silent, eternally unchanged.

The three of them sat quietly by the poolside, watching as the fireworks rose and fell like meteors, their reflections flickering in their eyes.

Slowly, Wei Ke closed his eyes, seemingly making a wish, while Efnie also whispered her hopes aloud.

"I hope this year I'll successfully advance to Sequence 5 and that my family stays healthy…" After finishing her sentence, she turned her head to look at Tilan, who was still lost in thought.

"Does Tilan have any wishes?"

"Wishes?" The girl turned her head, her voice somewhat ethereal.

"I hope to live my life burning brightly like these spectacular fireworks and shooting stars, whizzing by in a blaze," she gave an answer different from what Efnie had imagined.

For her, after her family members had one by one departed, there weren't many ties left, and material desires were not that strong within her. Although she was a Songstress with a mission, those earthly titles and expectations bestowed upon her didn't represent her truest initial thoughts.

People are going to die, she realized this for the first time at her sister's funeral.

At that time, she was still somewhat confused and ignorant, merely following the adults through the process, watching her sister be buried and laid to rest in the cemetery leaving behind only the dim photo on the gravestone, simply narrating the life of the young girl.

Afterwards, her mother became deeply sorrowful and grieved, and the atmosphere at home turned oppressive and somber.

Her insomnia-ridden mother often slept poorly, becoming haggard, and even her smiles towards Hexia became much fewer, forced and strained.

Eventually, her mother also passed away, and though she told Hexia not to be sad and to live on strongly, Hexia knew she had lied then. She couldn't be as strong as her mother had instructed, locking herself in her room, lost in thought and weeping for a long time.

That is death, the eternal parting, the perpetual absence, forever becoming the past, only to remain in memory.

She had resolved not to shed tears over this anymore, but when she thought of the past, the girl's eyes once again brimmed with emotion, and with a blink, the warm, slightly salty liquid slid down her cheeks and into the water.

Shaking her head, Tilan looked back at space again, where the sparkling meteors streaked across the cold, dark void, their long trails exceptionally beautiful.

There was another burst, the shattering points of light burned intensely, releasing dazzling light and heat, so clear, so vivid, and so irreversible that it inexplicably stirred emotions.

After the fleeting brilliance, the remaining specks of light vanished into the vast starry sky, leaving no trace, only the lingering impression of light on the retina telling of the beauty that had just occurred.

A hundred years of life is but a fleeting moment to an entire civilization, and yet the entire civilization, compared to the billions of years a planet lives, may not even amount to a fraction.

Everything arises swiftly, and just as swiftly everything withers and dissipates. The continuation of civilization is its reason for existence, but this is not the duty of each individual; everyone still must ponder and choose the meaning of their life, whether to drift along obliviously with the current and finish this journey, or to awaken to oneself, then leap out from beneath the surface and choose the direction they truly love.

Even though everyone's choices are different, everyone's endings are the same. Death is so egalitarian, so inevitably despairing, that it leaves no room for helplessness.

After finishing swimming, Tilan also lay on the poolside lounge chair, continuing to stare blankly at the fireworks passing by outside, thinking about many things, including familiar scenes from the past, as well as anticipated future scenarios, and so on.

Thus, until she fell asleep again. This time, however, Efnie and Wei Ke didn't disturb her and even covered her with a towel to prevent the black-haired Songstress from catching a cold.

A peaceful nap. With steady breathing, Tilan entered a deep sleep until she awoke much later, nearly two hours had passed.

At this moment, Wei Ke was sitting by the pool, her calves swishing in the water, a personal terminal propped on her knees projecting a game, cool and detached as she skillfully maneuvered her character through carnage, her actions decisive and practiced. It seemed her mood was actually quite good now, only the perpetual coldness she had always possessed was shattered today.

On the other side, Efnie was also napping on the lounge chair, the Golden Goldfish Princess with her golden hair spilling over her shoulders, her legs slightly curled up, her flowing golden locks particularly fiery against the blackness of space as the backdrop.