"Operator Nearl, you have a letter."
Nearl had just finished her task and returned to Rhodes Island. Before she could even take off her equipment, Amiya rushed over, seemingly having waited for a long time. The shield emblem on the letter caught Margaret's eye, and her pupils immediately constricted. Today was not their regular contact time. She understood Noah; if it wasn't an urgent matter, she wouldn't break their agreement. Her expression instantly became serious. As she took the letter from Amiya, she immediately opened the envelope.
She skimmed through the contents of the letter, subconsciously clenching her fists. She hadn't expected Maria to participate in the Knight athletics after she left, and according to Noah's investigation, someone was planning to harm Maria in the melee round. But this letter was late; by the time it reached Rhodes Island, she was out on a mission. Looking at the time, almost a week had passed, which meant—the melee round was starting today.
The main reason for this unfortunate timing was the inconvenient communication in Terra. Between various mobile city-states, communication largely relied on messengers. These couriers, who traversed Terra with difficulty comparable to Death Stranding, were already diligent, but information transmission still had significant delays. Coupled with her own busy schedule, Noah had sent the letter a week in advance, but even so, by the time she received it, it was already too late.
"What's wrong? Did something happen to Miss Noah?" Amiya knew that Noah was practically the only one who sent letters through this route. During Noah's treatment at Rhodes Island, it was a gradual process. At first, Noah's condition hadn't deteriorated to that extent; she could still receive conservative treatment in a normal ward and even run around to chat and visit others. During that time, Noah left an excellent impression on Rhodes Island.
Humble, gentle, and sincere with people, she was a young lady without airs, able to converse with almost anyone. More importantly, by looking into her eyes, one could tell she harbored goodwill towards everyone. They were gentle, yet somewhat melancholic eyes. When Amiya and Noah met, they both discovered each other's abilities: Amiya's mind-reading and Noah's emotional perception, allowing them to understand each other's feelings almost instantly. In other words, they shared a shared empathy almost equivalent to that among the Sakota.
It was precisely for this reason that Amiya and Noah became inseparable good friends.
However, good times did not last; Noah's condition suddenly worsened. The reason remains unclear to this day, only that Noah was rushed into surgery that night, several times on the brink of death, only to struggle back through her sheer willpower. According to the descriptions of several assistants who participated in the surgery at the time, the Stone source art clusters seemed to have been stimulated, growing explosively, piercing blood vessels, and breaking through flesh. Noah also had a high fever, her blood was abnormally hot, and if Warfarin hadn't been present to forcibly suppress the massive bleeding, Noah would likely have died from excessive blood loss that night.
Even though her life was saved, Noah entered the ICU from then on and could no longer move freely.
Later, she was even informed that due to the Stone source art clusters compressing her spine, she could still feel her lower body but couldn't move it. The more severe areas of the Stone source art clusters had also spread, most critically in the spine and skull. The growth of these Stone source art clusters compressed her optic nerves and spine, directly leading to Noah's blindness and disability. It was only after an almost full-force expert consultation by Rhodes Island that Noah's life was saved.
However, due to the side effects of the medication, Noah's body also became very weak, and it was no longer possible for her to become the Knight she had once yearned to be.
Afterward, the members of the medical team couldn't bear to inform Noah of her specific condition. Ultimately, Kal'tsit took on the responsibility, unreservedly announcing that Noah would never be able to become a Guard Operator again, absolutely not a Knight, and even unable to participate in strenuous physical labor or exercise. Noah's current physical condition was truly just about being alive, and this was under optimistic circumstances. No one knew if the Stone source art would remain dormant or if it would erupt violently like that night...
In any case, Noah's body could not withstand another such event...
Surprisingly, Noah quickly accepted this fact, and no one ever saw her cry... No one knew how that girl got through the most difficult period. But in any case, the day after being informed that her physical condition would very likely lead to permanent blindness and loss of mobility, she greeted the nurses on rounds with a smile.
Everyone had originally prepared sedatives, painkillers, and even sleeping pills and antidepressants to help Noah get through this most difficult time, but the result was... Noah got through it all by herself.
She expressed her gratitude to all the doctors involved in her treatment and actively cooperated with the treatment, without crying, without hysterics, only calmness and a very sincere appreciation for the doctors' efforts. She accepted all requests from those who intended to visit her, except for one person, Amiya—
Of course, she didn't dislike Amiya, but she never saw Amiya again before she left.
She left a letter for Amiya, roughly explaining why she didn't want to see Amiya at the time...
This letter has been carefully preserved on Amiya's desk in her room to this day.
The content... Amiya remembers it vividly to this day.
—I was so scared, trembling. I never knew what it felt like to be in darkness forever, but now I understand. I can no longer see the faces of those I love, nor can I witness the future with my own eyes.
Amiya, I'm sorry for refusing your visit request.
But if you saw me, you would definitely find that I'm not as calm as I appear on the surface.
I didn't want you to find out, and I felt that if you comforted me at that moment, I wouldn't be able to hold on.
I'm very sorry. I hope that the next time I see you, I can face my future directly, because no matter what, this is the future you all gave me.
Thank you sincerely, everyone at Rhodes Island. You gave me a second life.
—
The words were brief, not even very complete, somewhat fragmented, but Amiya understood their meaning very well. She looked at the letter; she could see that the handwriting was not as delicate as Amiya had seen in the past, perhaps she herself hadn't noticed due to losing her sight. Although still decipherable, the handwriting had become messy. She was clearly not yet accustomed to... the feeling of losing her sight, the feeling of losing her legs.
She might never get used to it in this life...
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