The battle was over.
I walked alone, approaching Aid and Titty. Snow was keeping watch over Dia and Hidaki, who were resting on the plains. It seemed they were being given their final moments as Guardians, so she left the three of us, who had a deep connection, alone.
Seeing me approach, Aid was the first to smile and speak.
“…That was magnificent. This is the end, isn’t it? Today, the seat of the ‘Ruling King’ becomes vacant, and their apostle, the guardian, has vanished. This battle of Viaisia is surely over.”
Titty, standing beside him, followed suit.
“With this, I have no more lingering desires for the children… If there’s any, it might be for Nosfy? But it seems only Kanamin will do for that one. Alright, Kanamin! You absolutely must make sure your friend Nosfy becomes happy! I’m counting on you!”
“Uh, well… I’ll try my best.”
Given such an impossible request at the end, I could only show my troubled expression. Titty grumbled in dissatisfaction.
“Muuu… Well, then again, it’s Kanamin and your problem. I won’t push it any further.”
However, despite her grumbling, Titty’s face was bright. Her expression showed that she wasn’t as dissatisfied as she claimed.
“The children believe in both Kanamin and Nosfy from the bottom of their hearts! You are both my pride and joy as friends!”
She told me that as long as I was there, she would be at ease.
To send her off without any lingering desire, I nodded with my troubled expression.
Titty happily nodded with a “Umu,” and Aid beside her smiled and offered his blessings.
“Fufu, my elder sister has made a friend… I’m a little envious.”
“What are you saying! Aid, you are Kanamin’s friend too, aren’t you!?”
Hearing his elder sister’s words, Aid and I exchanged surprised glances.
We quickly felt assured that her words were true.
Amusingly, under the setting sun, a cliché friendship, as if forged in a brawl, truly existed between us. Aid, sensing this friendship, wore a genuinely happy expression.
“It seems so… Unexpectedly, I’ve obtained everything I ever wanted right here… Ah, this place is truly wonderful…”
Aid showed an overwhelmed face, looking on the verge of tears. Naturally, as a Guardian, his form began to fade along with the loss of his “lingering desire.”
Upon closer inspection, Titty beside him was the same.
“Hey, both of you…! Your bodies…!”
“Honestly, we’re completely empty! Not just our magic power, but our lingering desires too! That’s why it seems to be the end! Bye-bye!”
Sensing their disappearance, I first waved vigorously at Snow in the distance.
There was no hint of sadness on their faces. They accepted their existence dissolving into the air.
“Are we saying goodbye… already?”
I wished we could have talked a little longer. Just when all the rifts seemed to be mended, the final moments were far too short. I thought so, but Titty seemed to think otherwise. She shook her head.
“No, Kanamin. Not ‘already.’ This ‘now’ is not short at all. A moment longer than a thousand years exists in this ‘now,’ in this ‘here’… Truly, here…”
With her narrowed eyes, Titty surveyed the surroundings.
Looking at the Viaisia scenery reflected from her magically constructed homeland, “Oudou Rakudo,” she declared that it contained eternity.
There was an irreplaceable value in “here”—Titty’s cheeks flushed, and she opened her mouth wide in joy.
“The children are finally living their own lives! Time is tightly packed within! It’s different from the thousand years spent only accelerating downwards! Certain time exists ‘here’! I’m convinced I’m living a second longer than a thousand years right now!!”
Then, spreading her hands, she took a deep breath of the air of this homeland.
Savoring it, she shared its wonder with me.
“Ah, it’s amazing! The world is vibrant! Colorful! Time is shining!!”
Time is shining—it was a sensation beyond my grasp, but it seemed my younger brother beside me felt differently.
“Fufu, that’s right… Indeed, I finally feel alive. The faded world of yesterday is vividly real, as if it were a lie… My eyes are starting to blur…”
They looked content.
If so, I could only smile and watch them, their bodies becoming fainter.
Now, they had completely resolved their “lingering desires.” I could no longer stop them. All that was left was to bid farewell—
“Farewell, Kanamin! Thank you for guiding us this far!”
“Thank you from the bottom of my heart, Lord Uzun. I pray you can also return to your homeland.”
After being thanked, I hesitated for a moment before giving a small wave.
Bidding farewell to them, whose bodies were becoming transparent, revealing the tree behind them.
“Ah, see you then… both of you…”
The farewell for eternity ended.
Then, holding hands, Titty and Aid, still seated, decided to stay together until the very last moment before disappearing.
They held each other’s hands, vowing never to let go again, spending their final moments as siblings.
“Fufu, as expected of my elder sister… Thank you for the reward, ‘now,’ ‘here,’ from long ago…”
“Mhm. Finally, the children have returned to ‘now,’ ‘here’… But, I’m sorry. I’m quite late…”
“However, we made it… We made it. Thank you for the ‘reward,’ thank y…ou… I won’t let go… anymore…”
“The children won’t let you go either… Not… ever again…”
Their voices became intermittent as their bodies vanished.
Their final conversation was about a promise made a thousand years ago—about the “reward.”
Perhaps nostalgic for the past, the figures of their childhood overlapped with their fading adult forms.
My Dimension was likely sensing the memories contained within the dancing particles of magic power and light.
I saw a green-haired Harpy girl and a white-haired Dryad boy.
Two children, holding hands and leaning against each other under a “White Cherry” tree, where a reward had once been promised.
“This grassland…—It has a nostalgic smell—… Aid, the sky is blue—!—”
“Yes. The world was this beautiful… The wind feels so good—…”
Their voices grew faint.
Becoming smaller and distant.
But I could clearly hear their voices.
Their voices welcoming their final moments—
“—Ah, we’ve finally returned to our nostalgic homeland—”
Their final words overlapped beautifully, and carried away by the wind, they vanished.
Then, like a dissipating mist, their bodies completely disappeared from the world.
The magic particles of the sibling duo scattered in the wind of Viaisia.
Now, the Viaisia boy and girl—Titty and Aid—had met their end without lingering desire, together and content, this time for real. This meant—
—The story of the ‘Ruling King,’ as told by the young siblings, was over.
The final image of their story was under a White Cherry tree standing in a rippling grassland. It ended with the image of the siblings laughing together, holding hands, shoulders touching, with wind blowing and petals dancing.
At the end of the story, they realized the answer.
That they needed nothing else to prove themselves to each other.
The sister had a brother, and the brother had a sister.
They just had family amongst themselves.
That was all that was needed—
As if to prove it, beyond the scattering final light, I could see.
I hadn’t used Future Sight or Past Sight.
I could just sense a scene from the dense remnants of magic power.
Beyond the final light, I saw a home—a house with a gable roof. Standing in front of the entrance of that nostalgic-smelling home were an old couple, two “Demons.” They were smiling, waiting for their family’s return.
Then, the two children who had been sitting by the “White Cherry” tree next to the house stood up and ran towards them.
And then—
“We’re home!”
“We’re home!”
—I felt like I heard the cheerful voices of the two children.
With that scene, all the scattered light converged.
Transforming into two crystals.
They were magic stones overlapped as if holding hands. The proof of defeating the Guardians—two “Thief of Principles” magic stones.
【Guardian’s Magic Stone】
A crystal of Guardian Aid’s magic power.
【Guardian’s Magic Stone】
A crystal of Guardian Titty’s magic power.
Following this, a “display” indicating the breakthrough of the Guardian Floor appeared.
【Title ‘Child Who Embraces the Wind’ Acquired】
A +0.50 bonus to Wood Magic.
【Title ‘Child Who Embraces Wood’ Acquired】
A +0.50 bonus to Wind Magic.
“I’m glad you could return… Titty, Aid…”
Along with the blessing, I picked up the two fallen magic stones.
Then, I raised my downcast eyes and looked around. The magic, “Oudou Rakudo,” that had been deployed was now dispelled.
Their homeland disappeared, returning me to the Royal Capital I knew.
No, that wasn’t right. Upon closer inspection, there were differences here and there.
The Royal Capital, already rich in greenery, had sprouted even more nature. Where Aid’s moved castle had once stood, lush vegetation had spread, likely through wood-attribute magic. And it wasn’t just spread out; it was meticulously arranged as if a gardener had tended to it.
Most of all, Viaisia Castle had changed the most.
The castle, which had become a giant, had transformed into a single, massive tree.
Its castle functions were maintained only up to the midpoint; from there on, it was entirely a tree. The great tree grew until it touched the sky, and from it sprouted countless branches, bearing white flowers. The type of tree was undeniably a “White Cherry.” A majestic and fantastical great tree remained in the wake of the siblings’ departure.
I gripped the two magic stones and looked up at the Viaisia sky.
The full bloom on the great tree swayed in the wind.
—Ah, the wind feels so pleasant.
The wind blew through Viaisia, and white petals danced.
Just this simple thing inexplicably made me feel very happy. For some reason, this time felt prolonged.
“Titty, you were right…”
Indeed, perhaps the world was colorful, and time was shining.
I thought so—
Although it’s short… this marks the end of the siblings’ story, or rather, their lives.
The plan was for Chapter 4 to be the first part, Chapter 5 the middle part, and Chapter 6 the final part. Hence, the similar chapter titles. However, that plot was completely abandoned very early on. But finally, it’s over. It’s over… Now I can proudly put “Happy Ending” in the tags. I, myself, love happy endings.
The theme of the work will drastically change starting from the next chapter.
Normal updates will resume from here. The epilogue will be next Friday.
Please wait a little longer for the protagonist’s final Status. Also… displaying all magic stones is taxing, so I will only display the ones that were used.
