✨ Chapter 9 — Glow

- Original song: Hatsune Miku https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wzo69SAdME - Cover: Megurine Luka https://youtu.be/ucqv8SG0GbU?si=seQIvwpe0XzgQJBa - Cover: Kamui Gakupo https://youtu.be/qUUufs0m2C8?si=v6zBhNJI2q51L5j_ - glow / 初音ミク x Leo/need(星乃一歌・天馬咲希・望月穂波・日野森志歩) https://youtu.be/YyV9jowj9PY?si=F75_C80xBBj2xLnE 💜💗💜💗💜 Story 💗💜💗💜💗 On the stage, Kamui Gakupo stood bathed in light, as if wrapped in a halo of red and gold that intertwined and shimmered. Each beam fell precisely, outlining his figure with sharp clarity, making him feel both vivid and distant. He lifted his head slightly, his long purple hair catching the glow, the microphone in his hand held steadily, as if he had finally arrived at the place he had always belonged. Each note flowing from his lips carried a strength far greater than before, like a star that had just begun to burn, radiating light that could not be ignored. Megurine Luka sat quietly in her room, watching. She said nothing and moved not a single inch. Her gaze stayed fixed on the person standing in the light. At that moment, her chest felt as if it were being gripped tightly, each breath growing slightly heavier. That was the voice she had known so intimately, once so close that she could reach out and touch his hands, his shoulders, the subtle rise and fall of his hum as he sang beside her. And yet now, through the stage’s air, through the applause and the lights, it was gradually drifting away. So far away that she almost felt she could never grasp it again. She could not find words to describe this feeling. It was not simply sorrow, nor jealousy, nor regret. It was something deeper, more complex, like being scorched by flames while simultaneously being consumed. The red light from the stage seeped into her vision and into her heart, making emotions she had carefully hidden rise, inch by inch. She should have been happy for him. She should have felt proud that he had finally reached the stage meant for him. Yet in her chest, a space that once belonged to him ached quietly, as if something had been pulled away, leaving a void that could never return. She thought of his voice from the past. She remembered the nights he had sat across from her, singing quietly together. She remembered the gentle expression when he lowered his gaze, the soft light in his eyes that seemed to belong only to them. Back then, he hadn’t reached such heights or shone so brightly. They could breathe together in the same rhythm, as if the whole world had shrunk to contain only their voices. But now, it was different. Now he stood at the center of the stage, surrounded by countless lights, as if he belonged to a more distant, more expansive place. And she could only sit there, silently watching the person she once knew being swallowed by the stage, by the applause, by the gazes of everyone around him. She could feel it—his voice was drifting farther and farther away, like wind through high places, like light slipping through her fingers. No matter how she reached, she could not hold it. It felt like it was being taken from her. Not losing a person, but losing a world that once belonged to the two of them. Not that he had left, but that he was stepping, piece by piece, into a higher, brighter place, while she remained behind, lingering in memories and the fading warmth that had not yet dissipated. Luka closed her eyes. The burning red in her chest did not fade. It spread like fire, blending nostalgia, loss, pride, helplessness, and pain into one weight pressing down on her heart. She knew she should not reach out—this distance was no longer something that could be bridged. And she knew, too, that it wasn’t a betrayal, but simply that they were moving in different directions. Yet even knowing this, the ache remained, sour and persistent. Gakupo continued singing on the stage. His voice was clear, steady, and glowing, cutting through everything. And she just listened quietly, feeling it drift further away, as if the red light and the warmth of the crowd were slowly consuming him, gently yet cruelly taking the one who had once belonged to her. She did not cry. She simply watched, eyes brimming with emotions she could not speak. And in that moment, she realized clearly— they were already in different worlds. One stood at the center of a stage bathed in light, his voice heard by everyone. The other remained in a quiet corner, carrying the unspoken feelings in her heart as she slowly accepted them. He moved forward, toward the future that belonged to him. She would also move forward, carrying the love she hadn’t yet let go of, along a different path. From now on, they would both remember each other’s voices. But those voices would no longer belong to the same world.