I have too many questions to ask her. I walked beside her and peeked at her. She was looking straight ahead. I watched her gaze sweep back and forth around the park, her red hair reflecting the setting sun with every step she took. Did she see anything? Is that how she usually patrols? Did she get bored? Why did she come? I couldn't believe she agreed. Why did she come? I picked up my pace to keep up with her.

"Doom—I mean, Sarah." I remembered what she said then.

She was still looking at the road ahead, and I didn't stop.

"Thank you for coming. I know this request is abrupt. Lulu sometimes draws strange things. Actually, it's often painted. And the other Star Guardians on your team—"

"Eze was really left at school, Lux." She said.

"Oh," I stammered. "It's amazing." I felt my cheeks heat up. I tugged at the fingertips of my glove. She looked back at me, a smug smile softening the seriousness of her face.

"He wanted to come, too," she said, "and Soraka wanted to come too, but there was a shortage of people in Panson's store." And then Sindra has an astronomy class at college tonight—"

"-Where's Ahri?" I blurted out and immediately regretted it.

Sarah's smile froze. "She's been busy."

"Don't worry." I thought about how to change the subject. In the middle of the park, Jana is playing the merry-go-round with Poppy and the swaggering Jinx. Lulu swings like a fly on a swing next to her, the sound of chains colliding as softly as lonely wind chimes. There was no one in the park but us. "It's quiet."

"You're right, you shouldn't worry." She said lightly.

I pulled out a folded sheet of paper from my pocket. The raw edges left behind when I tore the page from Lulu's notebook and slapped it in the breeze. The rides painted above, the Valoran City Subway Park, and the surrounding power lines are all recognizable, but what worries me are the dozens of circles in the sky. Poppy said that it was too hot in physics class at the time, and Lulu applied it so that she didn't get sleepy.

"Look!" Lulu on the swing screamed, interrupting my thoughts. She had swung to the highest point and was pointing excitedly to the horizon. A point of light rises above the silhouette of the skyline. "Evening Star! I was the first to see! ”

It took a long breath that I realized that I had been breathing. It's just a star. There is no danger.

"The Evening Star and the Morning Star are the same planet, not stars," Poppy said solemnly, "and it doesn't shine on its own." ”

"Jana said that everything in the world contains starlight." Lulu retorted.

Jana nodded approvingly.

"Make a wish, Xiaolu." Jinx absentmindedly teases Black and White as the merry-go-round still spins. Lulu sticks out her legs on the swing and swings herself higher.

"More stars!" "I want to see more stars," she shouted. ”

"But it's not dark yet," said Jinx, "and the rest of the stars haven't come out yet." ”

"It's okay," Lulu straightened her legs, "the rest of the stars are in the sky all the time. You just can't see it. ”

"Cannon's right," Bobby said, examining the warhammer for non-existent scars so as not to appear to approve of Jinx. "In the city, you don't see the stars until it's completely dark. It's not the same as camping. ”

I put my hands to my lips and shouted to them, "You're all right. Jinx wanted to open her mouth to retort, but shrugged and accepted the victory.

I turned back to Sarah.

"Have they always been like this?" She asked. She must be comparing us to her own squad. If it were their squad, this conversation wouldn't have happened at all. They will simply finish patrolling the park and then close the team. I don't know if she's bored or has a headache or both.

"Are you saying they're always talking like that?" I found a staircase. "Not really, it's just, occasionally...... Quarrel—"

"I mean it's innocent." She said lightly.

"Well, you've got Ahri at the lead. Of course, there is always a clear goal. What are we...... They only have a captain like me. ”

"Innocence is not necessarily a bad thing." She had a distracted expression on her face, as if she wanted to recall some dream from a long time ago. She nodded slowly, as if in agreement with her own memories. "Yes, you remind me of that person."

"Me? Reminds you of Ahri?! "I was at a loss to hide the helplessness in my voice. Does she really think I'm like Ahri? Where is it like? Maybe like Ahri when she was little? Well, they should have known each other since they were young, after all, she was Ahri's vice-captain. Is there more than one vice-captain in Ahri's last squad? Maybe if our squad joins, I can also become another vice-captain, like Sarah?

"Nope." Sarah burst out laughing. I don't know if she has mind reading, but my hopes are as deflated as a balloon that doesn't have a mouth.

"It's someone else. You remind me of someone else. Her tone softened, "Someone I lost a long time ago." She also has pink hair. She looked at me again, trying not to writhe in the eyes of scrutiny. Speaking of which, you also put your loyalty to your friends above your own safety...... And he's a big dreamer. You are an amalgamation of almost all of them. She said.

They? Is it your lost squad? Am I doing something wrong? Who are they?

There were a whole bunch of questions that had been lingering in my mind to ask her, and now I had added ten.

What was going on then?

"Lux! Sarah! Take a look. Lulu shouted happily, interrupting my train of thought before I was too far away. My wish has come true! ”

We looked back at the playground in the distance. I did a quick check of the number of people. Lulu. Jinx. Bobby. Jana. All unharmed. Twilight softens them and makes them look a little younger. The street lights in the park are lit by a strange coincidence. A large flickering light hung overhead. The team seems to be trapped in a magical dream.

"Xiaolu, I just said that it's not dark enough...... "The creak of the merry-go-round gradually stopped, and Jana, Bobby, and Jinx all looked up. It gets dark very quickly. It's unusually fast. I could barely see the trees around the park. Sarah and I began to walk briskly towards the playground.

"Not the stars," Salad said. I squinted my eyes to take a closer look, and the spots of light flickered on and off, even a little sparkling.