STORY

The 22nd century. Space development has advanced rapidly, beginning with SpaceX and the first private flight around the Moon in 2023. On Earth, two ways of life have emerged: the Progressives, who push technology ever further, and the Returners, who seek a more natural, more human way of living. Born in a Returners' town: α (Alpha), and his childhood friend λ (Lambda). These two stand at the center of the story about to begin.

One day, α volunteers for the black-hole exploration program run by the private space agency "Project SOL". It is a grand plan to unravel the mysteries of the universe — with almost no chance of coming back alive. Space law forbids sending a pilot on a one-way mission, but this program slips through the net: only α's consciousness is uploaded into the tiny spacecraft "SPEED OF LIGHTS", while his body remains on Earth in cryogenic storage. Overriding λ's objections, α finally reaches the day of departure.

Left behind on Earth, λ visits α's frozen body inside the Project SOL facility, day after day. At night she looks up at the stars and wonders where in the universe he might be now — holding on to the hope that he will surely come home.

Aboard the SOL, carrying α's consciousness, lives an assistant AI called "SOLA", and a database known as the Akashic Records, holding the whole history of humankind — letting him experience countless realities through the long voyage. In those virtual worlds α grows through unknown adventures. But in reality he is only sailing on and on through a vast, monotonous void. Slowly, α's mind begins to erode.

At last the SOL reaches its destination and is drawn into the black hole's heart. In a gravity that not even light escapes, time stretches without limit, and α relives everything since his birth — meeting λ, parting from λ — over and over, like a lantern of memories. Days without end, like an eternity, repeating. As if he were trapped inside a dream.

By then, long years had passed on Earth. λ, now old, still visits the aging Project SOL facility where α's body is preserved. One day, standing before the cryo-capsule, she senses something wrong. The capsule opens — and α's body, which should never move, is standing there. λ knew at once: this was not one of the dreams she had seen so many times. α had finally crossed the black hole and, passing through another dimension, reached her unconscious mind. The farthest place was connected to the nearest. λ wished the dream could last forever. But then α's consciousness would remain on the far side of the black hole. He had to be freed from the dimension of dreams. Quietly, λ pulls the life-support plug of the cryo-capsule. Whether or not he understood her intent, α quietly breathes his last. By ending the α of the dream, λ staked everything on returning him to the dimension of the real.

Even though it happened in a dream, the memory of ending α casts a shadow over λ's soul. She begins to see his phantom again and again in the waking world. Was what she did right? Shaking off doubt and regret, she keeps praying for his safety, and for his return.

More long years have passed. λ's life is nearing its end. Perhaps the wish will never come true. But on that day, in a daydream like a miracle, they did meet again — once. Tonight too, the stars color the night sky like balloons. As long as light remains in the heart, it is never too late: that is what α taught her. λ vows to live what life remains, strongly, to the very end.

Time rewinds to the year 1054. A star seven thousand light-years from Earth goes supernova. Within the energy of that explosion is the SOL. The black hole, connected through another dimension, has carried the ship across warped spacetime into the past. He might make it back while λ is still alive. Believing in the miracle, α enters warp toward the Earth where his dearest one waits.

…Long, long ago, in a galaxy far away, Hikoboshi set out into distant space, and Orihime, who stayed behind on her star, was granted one reunion in a lifetime. So the legend goes. Will α make it back to Earth while λ still lives? Waking from the frozen sleep, in a body of flesh once more — can they meet again…?