"To your brother, Tian Qi."
"And to all those who sacrificed themselves. Our victory came because of them."
The three of them downed their drinks in one go and started laughing, a little tipsy.
The bartender, laughing and then crying, his tear-stained face forming a stark contrast to the radiant smiles on the faces of others in the bar and on many faces across Azure Star.
The bartender wasn't an exception; for everyone cheering for the victory, there were just as many shedding tears of grief, having received the news of the loss of loved ones—sobbing uncontrollably or silently mourning, as if lifeless.
They couldn't bring themselves to cheer for the victory, couldn't muster a radiant smile. Many found themselves unable to continue working or living normally.
Just like how Azure Star simultaneously held both daylight and nightfall, sunshine and torrential rain, clear skies and heavy clouds, icy landscapes and scorched earth…