A hundred Kai after Pluto's expulsion incident, the planet leaders gathered for their usual secret meeting. But this time, it wasn't like any other meeting. No one spoke, not a word uttered. All gazes were fixed on one spot; a place that had left a significant mark on all of them. Yes, it was Pluto's usual spot.
It was the tenth planet leader's habit to come eagerly early to the meeting to meet his brothers and help them with everything he had, but all those memories vanished, no longer existing.
Mars stood up, trying to break the heavy silence. "What's with the gloom, guys? Let's discuss the latest developments as we always do.."
But Saturn, leaning back in his seat, muttered in a cold tone, "But... this time isn't like the others... why."
Silence fell again, until Mercury stood up impatiently. "Are you still clinging to this matter? A hundred Kai have passed! Pluto has already left, and we must move on."
The echo of his words resonated in the hall, but they were met only with disapproving glances and disappointment from everyone. However, the one looking at him differently was Earth, who regarded him with pride.
As for Uranus, he sighed after looking upwards. "Indeed... only one cosmic year has passed... the memory of that fateful Kai has haunted me all this time."
Mercury tried to feign indifference, but he felt the weight of the words on his chest. He looked at Earth as if asking a question only the two of them knew the answer to. The short leader's mind wandered, and he felt the bitterness of memories surfacing as if time had rewound...
"Come on... come on... a little more... I'll succeed this time.. Aaaaah!!"
Dark red meteors with prominent cracks had suddenly appeared, floating above Mercury in a circle, showcasing his absolute power. But without warning, one of the meteors fell directly towards him, almost crushing him, had it not been for Earth's intervention, who destroyed it with his cosmic weapon before it reached him.
Mercury gasped, looking at Earth in terror.
"Th.. thank you... "
Earth smiled calmly. "It's alright, whenever you need me, I'll be near you."
Mercury smiled gratefully, but he retreated when he gave Earth a long, deep look, then averted his gaze to the other end of the large room... and said in a low voice, "I'm trying to develop a new ability... the cosmic combination of my weapon and my power."
Earth nodded his head in admiration. "As usual, your superior ability to develop your style is amazing. But you won't be able to achieve it alone, you know that, right?"
Mercury lowered his head and said bitterly, "I know that... I asked Venus for help, then Uranus, then Mars... but they all refused."
Earth looked at him scrutinizingly, before saying in a calm and balanced tone, "But Pluto... he was helping you, wasn't he? For all the past cosmic years?"
Mercury couldn't answer immediately. There was something weighing on his chest, something he hadn't faced until now. Earth sat beside him, looking at the ceiling, then said in a deep voice, "Whenever a person remembers their heinous deeds, nothing comforts them except recalling their precious memories... As for me, nothing makes me forget my mistakes except one person."
Mercury looked at him in astonishment. "What is this sudden talk? Who are you talking about?"
Earth smiled faintly and said, "I wasn't the one who said these words, but I realize now... He's truly wonderful."
Shock was evident on Mercury's face. He suddenly remembered Pluto's last words to him: "Because you're the best thing that happened to me... And I'll repeat this over and over until you understand what I mean."
He felt a burning inside him, as if the words had pierced his soul directly. He pressed his chest, as if the pain residing there had exceeded his endurance.
Earth said firmly and in a sharp tone, "So why? Why did you say that? Don't you realize you're the best thing to him? Didn't he tell you that himself? I feel the weight of those words in my chest even though I wasn't the one concerned at the time... If I were in Pluto's place, I would never have forgiven you. If I were in his place, I wouldn't have found peace until I saw you broken before me. How could I not, when I see my precious time wasted on someone like this? So, what's the point of your empty words? Let me answer for you... Yes, you've become stronger since our first meeting, but do you know what hasn't changed in you? What you deliberately ignored? It's yourself."
Mercury didn't move a muscle, but his body began to tremble. But Earth continued speaking, indifferent to how the first planet's leader felt.
"What did you think? That these words would earn you everyone's respect? That you'd get attention? Congratulations, you got what you wanted. Everyone is thinking about you now... but not in the way you hoped. They see you as a burden, they hate you, or more accurately..." He rose slowly, staring into his eyes from above, as if his gaze alone carried what his tongue hadn't yet said... "We hate you."
The first planet's leader remained silent, avoiding eye contact with Earth, as if his words hadn't found their way inside him. Then he nodded slowly, trying to escape the confrontation, and said in a low voice, "I think he said I'm just a means to satisfy the self..."
Earth smiled sarcastically, as if he had expected this response from the beginning, then muttered, "Heh, just as I expected... You won't understand him."
Mercury, who was trying to hold himself together, felt his chest tighten. He finally looked at Earth, his eyes gleaming with a shadow of hesitation and pain, before whispering in a broken voice, "So... you hate me..."
He hesitated slightly, as if the words were choking him, before adding in a barely audible voice, "I am the weak one... who needs harsh words."
Then he looked up, memories exploding in his mind, and continued speaking, "After I heard those rumors about Pluto's expulsion, I didn't believe it, rather I didn't want to believe it. Whenever Pluto came to my headquarters, I made excuses about lack of time and being busy to avoid spending more time with him."
But he paused for a moment, closed his eyes as if a bitter memory was pulling him back... and continued, "But... the last time was different, and it was a Kai before the incident: 'Helllooo, my friend Mercury! I haven't seen you in a long time!' It was Pluto who addressed Mercury with those words.
Mercury sighed, trying to hide his tension, and replied coldly, 'That's not true, I've been around for the past cosmic centuries. What do you want?'
But Pluto was unfazed, instead pulling something from his pocket and saying with a bright smile, 'This is for you! It's a very special gift!'
Mercury stared at the necklace; it was white and glowing, looking strange, yet familiar somehow. Then Pluto continued speaking in a calm voice, 'I noticed that you all haven't been well lately... I don't know what's going on, so I wanted to give you something to bring back joy.' Pluto said it enthusiastically.
Mercury felt something break inside him, no it wasn't one of his crystals, but he feigned indifference and said coolly, 'Alright, but this will be the last time you visit me. I have many responsibilities.'
Pluto's smile widened, and he shook his head negatively, 'Never, that won't happen!' Then he said it.. that famous sentence whose echoes resonated throughout the universe: 'Because you're the best thing that happened to me... And I'll repeat this over and over until you understand what I mean.'
I hid my sadness and weakness from him, but I didn't break down. Then Plu.. my teacher, continued his words wonderfully as usual, but this time he held another necklace that was gray like the color of my armor. 'Alright.. this white necklace will be yours, and this one is mine.'
So I asked out of curiosity, 'What's the meaning of these necklaces?' His answer was completely contrary to my expectations: 'Your necklace is white like the color of my planet, and my necklace is the color of your planet. The more you miss me, the more my necklace will gradually turn white, and if the opposite happens, your necklace will gradually turn gray.'
Earth didn't utter a word, but continued listening with great interest, but Mercury interrupted him when he took out his necklace, tears starting to stream from his black eyes, and said, 'Look.. it's not white, it's gray, do you know why?'
Earth tried to compose himself, and before saying anything, Mercury finished his last words, 'I was scared.. distracted.. lost.. and when that fateful Kai came, when the meeting was supposed to happen. I arrived late, hoping that nothing I heard would happen, but what I feared occurred: The Ex-Politas decreed Pluto's expulsion, and it was a huge shock not just for me, but for all of you and for him too.. I wasn't ready to say those nonsensical things, I only said them to calm myself down. If I hadn't said those words, I would have broken down in front of you all. After Pluto left the headquarters, I went straight to my planet through the gate, and then I took off the necklace and burst into tears and screams, destroying everything in the room.'
Earth stood surprised and said to himself, 'So that explains the mess in the room!'
Mercury returned to the present, tears gathering in his eyes, but he didn't want to break down. He looked at Earth, then whispered in a hoarse voice, "I... I'm sorry, please don't hate me."
Earth gently patted his shoulder and said, "I knew you were forced into that, but there's no time for crying now. Pluto has already left, we must move forward no matter the difficulties we face. We will always remember him, and we will never forget him."
Mercury nodded slowly, as if Earth's words brought him back to reality. "Come on then, let's start training on your new skill together. You have a long and arduous path ahead to reach full compatibility with your cosmic weapon."
Mercury smiled faintly, although tears were still streaming down his cheek, and made a sign, his special sign, which consisted of raising the index and middle fingers while keeping the other fingers folded. "Alright... Let's go."
His return to the past was interrupted by the voice of Earth, who rested his chin on his clasped hands, saying, "Our friend Mercury's words are true. At least now, we haven't forgotten the others for thousands of cosmic years, and we will never forget them, and this applies to Pluto too."
Everyone nodded their heads, understanding their position, but Mars broke the silence with a questioning tone, wanting to solve all the mysteries, "What is his plan then? Why did he say he would freeze the sun?"
So what is the secret behind Pluto's famous sentence?
— End of Chapter —