“Run away, huh? All my life, every time, all I did was run,” Lyra whispered.
Lyra’s vision grew blurrier as a faint memory came to her mind. It was from her childhood.
Lyra was running through the corridor of her house. Her hand caught a vase on the way past, and it shattered on the ground. She was only eight at the time.
The vase was precious to her father, as it was the last reminder of his mother.
“Oh crap. I broke it. What will I do now?” She ground her teeth as sweat ran down her face. She sat down, picked up the broken pieces, and tried to fit them back together, but it was no use.
The vase was in no condition to be fixed.
This was father's favorite vase. He will definitely scold me – what do I do? Lyra bit down on her fingers, panicking.
She looked around. “Father and Mother would not return until sunset.” Her eyes widened.
She got up and ran through the door.
After her father returned to the house, Lyra was nowhere to be found.
“Lyra. Lyra? Where are you?” he shouted. When no answer came, he panicked and started looking all around the house. Lyra’s mother searched with him.
While looking for her, Lyra’s father came across the broken vase. He gave a small smile and walked toward the exit.
“Where are you going, sweetheart? Did you find Lyra?" Lyra's mother called after him.
“No. But I know where she might be,” her father said as he went out with a smile.
The sun was setting over the island, casting golden-brown light across her father's face.
He went directly to the nearby children's park and found Lyra sitting there on a swing with her face down.
He took a deep breath and walked toward her.
“You can’t just run away every time something bad happens, Lyra,” he said with a smile on his face.
The moment Lyra looked at her father's face, she broke down in tears. “I d-didn’t want to br-break it, father. It hap-happened by mistake,” she said between sniffles.
Her father sat down and hugged Lyra. “It’s okay. You are far more precious than that vase,” he said.
“But that was the last reminder of grandmother.” Lyra’s face was wet with tears.
“It’s okay. We will fix the vase. Let’s go home,” her father said in a calm voice.
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“Really? You are not mad?” Lyra asked.
“Like I could get mad at my daughter,” he answered.
Lyra’s face lit up with a smile as they both went home. Her father then fixed the vase with tree resin. It took him all night. When Lyra woke up in the morning, he was holding the vase in front of her.
Wow. It got fixed?" Lyra said, looking at the vase, eyes wide and mouth open.
“Yep. It’s like new,” her father said.
“But the cracks are still visible.” Lyra’s face went dull again.
“Well, that’s what makes it more valuable now. Cracks are beautiful, both on vases and on humans,” her father said.
“Wow,” Lyra said, staring at the vase while her father smiled at her.
- - -
That was not the only memory that came to Lyra’s mind in an instant.
She was about to participate in the sixth competition to leave the island and explore the mainland. But on the day of the competition, she locked herself in her room and didn’t leave it.
Her father and mother both tried opening the door and convincing her that it would be fine, but the door didn’t budge.
“Let her be for now. She will come around by herself,” her father said to her mother as he went to the other room.
“But she is alone there in the room,” Lyra’s mother said to him.
Her father gave a small smile. “Sometimes being alone can fix many problems that being with someone cannot.”
Lyra’s mother didn’t understand what he meant, but she trusted her husband. She went to do her daily work as usual.
She asked Lyra again in the afternoon to come for lunch, but Lyra didn’t open the door.
It was only in the evening that she finally opened the door and came to the kitchen, where her father was helping her mother prepare dinner.
“I did it again,” Lyra said. Her father and mother both looked at her.
“You did what?” her mother asked.
“I ran away from the competition because I was afraid that I would fail,” Lyra said.
Her father went to her and sat down on his knees, placing both his hands on her shoulders.
“Listen, Lyra. If you keep running, you will only lose. But if you stay and fight, there is always a chance that you will win. The fight can be hard, but it is never impossible.”
“But what if I fail?” Lyra broke down in tears.
“If you fail, then try again. Everyone fails in life, but the thing is you don’t have to take it to heart. Try again. And keep trying until you win,” her father answered.
Lyra was still crying while her mother was standing behind. Tears ran down her mother's cheeks as well.
Her father smiled. “Just try to show up when it matters. Don’t run away from your problems. Face them. Even if you fail, you will be proud of yourself for at least trying.”
“I alre-already failed thi-this tournament.” Lyra sniffed.
“No worries. Try again next time,” her father said.
“Can I do that?” Lyra asked.
“You definitely can. You can try as many times as you want,” he answered.
- - -
Kharvos came near Lyra and raised his longsword.
Her vision got steady when he swung his sword, but Lyra blocked it with her needle.
Kharvos’s eyes widened. He was surprised that Lyra had strength to block his attack and with a needle.
Lyra stood up, blocking his attack from the side of the needle, and said, “I have been running my whole life. Even when Elena was dying in front of me, all I could do was run. But not now. I will not run away anymore.” She turned toward Kharvos and kicked his left hand, which was numb.
Kharvos hissed and stepped backward. Lyra got into a stance, one leg behind, pointing her needle at Kharvos.
? S.P.E.C.T.O.R - [A Sci-fi space adventure with fantasy elements] ?
by Sweeper
Unconscious and on the verge of death, an android appeared before taking him to a place ship, Spector, which healed him up.
Now this Spector wants him to be its operator, so that they can leave Earth. But before that, he needs to settle the grudge he has against those who attacked him and killed his girlfriend.
Armed with advanced technology, Adam hunts them down before heading out to explore the universe.
Strangely, though, he has to do all this and more while livestreaming to the whole universe.
Release Schedule: Daily
This story is also available on RoyalRoad, Webnovel and Patreon.
Access 40+ chapters on Patreon.com/Sweeps083
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Discord:
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I plan to use the usernames of readers who leave comments as some of the livestream viewers in the novel, so if you want to be included, leave a comment.
Also, add what planet you would like to be from and if you would rather your viewer be pro MC or against the MC, or maybe you just want to see the universe burn.
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Sexual content, while not the primary focus of this novel, is a part of it. The warnings listed below are in the chapter titles that have sexual content.
* = Minor sexual content.
** = Around 1/2 of the chapter has sexual content.
*** = Over 3/4 of the chapter has sexual content.
This novel also contains Yuri elements.
