WARNING: This may contain spoilers for OneShot (and yes, that includes the Solstice run).

Mirage

Somewhere in a calm, peaceful world, a child looked up at the bright sky, their large, yellow, catlike eyes narrowed to keep the potent sunlight from hurting them. The child's feline face had a pensive expression as they glanced at the village in the distance before sighing and looking down at the ground on which they sat. They had unconsciously dug their fingers into the soft earth during their observation of the sky, and a sad smile had briefly flashed on their face.

After a few more seconds of silence, the child spoke. "Hey…" they softly greeted. "It's been a while." They looked up again, not knowing if the person they were talking to could hear them. "How've you been?" No reply. "Me, I've been…good. I guess." A pause. "Mama made me pancakes again. She's been doing that more and more often lately. I wonder if that's because…"

They cut themself off before sighing again. "Hey, I…I know I've said this a lot, but… I miss you. I want…I want to talk to you so badly, I just…" Tears began to appear in their eyes, and they put a hand to their mouth in an attempt to muffle the imminent sobs. They looked down again. "I-I wish you could come here. Visit us. I've been doing more and more jobs for the village to try to forget my sadness for a while… B-but I…I…" They sniffed. "It-it always comes back.

They took a while to calm down, after which they dried their tears and looked up at the sky again. "I…I don't know if you can hear me. I don't know if you could hear me last time. Or the time before that…" They paused. "But even if you can't, I…I want to thank you. For everything." Yet another sigh escaped their throat, and they bent down to grab a small pile of wheat that lay next to them. They then stood up and looked up again. "T…talk to you later," they said before beginning the journey towards their village, clutching the wheat.

The child's name was Niko. Somewhere in the past, they had been transported to a world they were apparently meant to save. Fortunately, a person – who the locals claimed to be their god – guided them, helping them on their quest to return home. After going through some obstacles and challenges, the world was saved and Niko was able to return to their own world.

The price for going back home, however, was that communication with the other world and the person who'd guided them became impossible. Niko's knowledge about both subjects was enough for them to conclude that they would never see the god or the people from the other world again. As could be expected, this saddened them greatly – something that did not go unnoticed by their mother.

As Niko continued walking, they began to feel a fear they'd never experienced before. They felt as if they were being watched, and while the tall wheat made it quite difficult to see, they couldn't remember any time that they felt this tense around here.

They were just about to pick up their pace—

"Niko?"

Startled, Niko whirled around to meet the owner of the voice, and was greeted by a person whose mere appearance made them stand out… As in, they definitely weren't from around town or any other location Niko knew about. They didn't even have the catlike features most people had.

Despite the person's calm, almost sad gaze, Niko couldn't help but feel nervous. The child's already large eyes widened, and they took a small step backwards. Their grip on the wheat tightened.

A moment of silence happened.

Then, the person spoke again. "Niko…"

Their voice had something familiar to it…

Niko felt their breathing get funny. "H… How do you know my…?"

The person melancholically looked back at them. "Right. You never met me in person, did you…"

What…?

It's their voice, a thought in the back of Niko's head said. The voice. Concentrate on their voice.

"W-what?" Niko stammered. "Never met you in…person?"

Their voice.

Then, it clicked.

Niko's eyes widened even more.

"They called me a god," the person softly said. "You remember that, don't you?"

Niko stared at them for a second, their mouth open.

Then, they said a name that, thanks to a certain event in the past, bore so much weight that just saying it made the feline's eyes water.

The stranger couldn't help but smile in response. "Yes… You remember…" Their eyes began to water a bit as well.

Having lost all sense of hesitation and caution, Niko dropped the wheat before leaping forward to hug the person they now recognized. Expecting to be met by said person's embrace, they felt a sting when they passed right through them and ended up behind them.

Turning around to meet their friend again, Niko felt drops of water fall from their eyes, run down their cheeks and fall off their face.

The person had also turned to them, their smile replaced by a look of sadness.

Niko breathed out in an attempt to hide a sob. "Wh-what…?"

"Niko…" the person sighed. "I'm…sorry. The World Machine gave me a way to talk to you for a bit, but…" They paused. "The…mechanism…isn't perfect. I'm not really…here… And the World Machine can only keep this link intact for a minute or so. I'll have to leave soon."

More tears began to stream down Niko's face. "B-but…but…" They let out a cry. "I-I want to talk to you so badly! I-I don't want to say goodbye again! I missed you so much, I…I…"

"Hey…" the person gently said. "It's okay, Niko. I'll come back. The World Machine said it'd be able to do this again after a while. It'll even upgrade the mechanism and everything."

Niko hesitated. "I…I can see you again?"

Their friend remained silent at first. They then sighed again, looking down. "Well… Yes… But according to the World Machine, it'll take at least six months before I can visit again."

A distressed look made its way onto Niko's catlike face upon hearing that. New tears welled in their eyes and they put their sleeves to their mouth. "S-six months?!" A painful lump appeared in their throat. "S-six…months?"

The person nodded regretfully. "I'm sorry, Niko…" They looked at the child again. "But hey. It's okay. If the mechanism gets upgraded, I might be able to visit more often. And we'll have more time to talk, and…" They trailed off, squeezing their eyes shut. A tear or two rolled down their face. "I-I missed you, Niko…"

"I missed you too!" Niko cried. "I…I…" The lump in their throat grew more painful, preventing them from talking more.

Then, something happened. Like some kind of glitch, a ripple went through the person's body, and for a second it looked like Niko was looking at them through a shabby camera. They seemed to notice it as well, as evidenced by their slight flinching and glancing around.

Niko's eyes widened once again. "Wh-what was that!"

"We don't have much time," the person softly said as they turned their gaze back to Niko. "I…gotta go in a bit."

The child sniffed and wiped their eyes. "O-okay…" A sob escaped their throat. "I…I'll see you…in six months?"

The person nodded and gave another smile. "You will. I promise."

And with that, their figure glitched out of existence.

Despite the Solstice ending being the best possible ending, it still devastated me ('cause, y'know, I'll never see Niko again). Part of me hopes I'm not the only one. Part of me hopes I am.

UPDATE: I'm currently working on a second chapter.