Under everyone's gaze, a faintly flickering purple light slowly descended through the sky of the consciousness space.
It drifted down until it stopped before Ei and Lu Chen.
Then, a gentle female voice with a trace of playful warmth rang out.
"I am Makoto, the former Electro Archon who failed to fulfill her duties.
"I'm truly sorry. My departure must have left you with countless troubles."
"Makoto…" Ei's pupils contracted sharply. Even though she had braced herself, hearing her sister's voice again still sent a tremor through her heart.
Lu Chen felt the same. For countless days, he had dreamed of this very moment.
Even without seeing her face, the sound alone was enough for him to picture that familiar, graceful figure—light as air, dreamlike—winking at him with mischief in her eyes.
The voice within the light carried quiet relief. "I'm so glad. I knew that if it were you, you'd make it this far. I left a remnant of my will inside Musou Isshin, waiting for the right moment to be released."
"It feels like I've been dreaming for so, so long… It must have been ages, hasn't it?"
"Not… too long," Lu Chen said, rubbing his slightly sore nose before forcing a bright grin.
"Only about five hundred years."
Makoto let out a soft laugh. "You're still the same—always cracking a joke no matter the situation."
Lu Chen shook his head with a smile. "With you gone, no one understood my bad jokes anymore. You know how Ei is—like a block of wood~"
Ei forced her tears back, glaring at him with a mix of irritation and embarrassment. "That's because your jokes aren't funny! Half the time, I don't even know what you and Makoto are laughing about!"
"Of course we were laughing…" Lu Chen drew out his words. "At that person who snuck out in the dead of night to practice karuta in some corner! Was winning dessert really worth all that effort? Oh, and Miko told me how flustered you looked when your secret got found out. That was priceless…"
"I knew it! She must have been practicing in secret!" Makoto exclaimed in sudden realization. "No wonder her karuta skills improved so much! I thought you'd taught her."
"She's way too proud to ask for help over a little game like that!"
"…That's true."
"You two—stop talking!" Ei's cheeks puffed with anger, her expression shifting instantly.
Lu Chen and Makoto burst into laughter again.
The scene felt so familiar—like they had gone back to that noisy afternoon beneath the cherry blossoms a thousand years ago.
When their laughter faded, Makoto's tone softened with guilt. "I've always regretted suddenly entrusting Inazuma to you. Everything happened so quickly… there was no time left."
Ei's voice was low. "Did you sense what was about to happen in Khaenri'ah back then?"
Makoto replied, "Yes. To any ruler of the mortal realm, that place could not be ignored. We had no choice but to go. At the time, I thought Chen might be a turning point, so I brought him along—but none of us could have imagined the kind of crisis we'd face next…"
Lu Chen nodded. Without the system, he was certain he would have died on that battlefield.
His last memory before blacking out was of Makoto, gravely wounded.
"But in the end, it was Chen who reminded me at the crucial moment. In a way, bringing him truly did create a chance."
He remembered that day—how, as Makoto realized all was lost, she heard his dying words and, in her final moments, poured the last of her will into Musou Isshin. That was why this moment could exist now.
"Ei," Makoto said softly, her voice tinged with sorrow. "I don't know what Inazuma has endured over these five hundred years, but I'm sure the road was harsh… and that there were many times you wanted to cry, weren't there?"
Lu Chen glanced at Ei. She was staring up at the sky, as if holding back her tears with all her strength.
"Inazuma… five hundred years ago, the Pitch-Black Calamity devoured everything…
"Not only you, but even Kitsune Saiguu… could not escape.
"Endless filth, endless monsters… It felt like a nightmare that would never end."
"Ei," Makoto's voice was warm, gentle.
"It's all over now.
"I've left you a special gift—one that can ease Inazuma's pain and erase that nightmare…"
"This gift… it came from a higher being, didn't it?" Lu Chen murmured.
The light wavered faintly as Makoto chuckled. "You can't hide anything from me."
"It was Istaroth who helped you," Lu Chen said, eyes locked on the light.
"Shh—" Makoto's voice lowered. "One of her colleagues is here. Until their journey is complete, there are some things I can't say~"
Lu Chen looked back and saw Lumine and Paimon approaching from far away. During the fierce battle with the Shogun, they had run far to avoid being caught in the crossfire.
"They can't hear us." Knowing Makoto meant Paimon, Lu Chen used Anemo and Geo to form a soundproof wall around them.
"On Celestia…" He frowned. "Is the situation worse than we thought?"
Makoto gave a faint hum. "After the war between the First and Second Thrones, Phanes' fate became unknown, and of the four shadows it created, only Istaroth remains active…"
In their conversation, Lu Chen learned many secrets of the heavens. As Makoto spoke, her voice grew lighter and more distant.
"Well… if you're truly curious, one day you can set foot on Celestia yourself. I've always believed you could do it…
"But before that…"
"My time is nearly up."
The light pulsed, and a small purple-glowing seed drifted down into Ei's palm.
"Here, Ei. Take it."
Makoto's voice was fading now. "The miracle tree that shelters all remains an unseen, unknown existence. When and where it takes root depends entirely on the heart and dreams of the one who brings it forth."
"This is…" Ei's gaze lingered on the seed, her eyes unfocused.
"Give it life, Ei."
Ei closed her fingers around it, thoughtful. Lu Chen didn't know what words she silently spoke, but in a flash of blinding light—
The seed touched the ground and sprouted.
"Eternity stretches time without end.
"Dreams make each moment shine.
"The Sacred Sakura will break free of Heavenly Principles' shackles and bloom from the darkness."
Before their eyes, the seed grew into a towering Sacred Sakura in an instant.
"With this, the nightmare ends, and reality is whole…"
Petals drifted down in a breathtaking cascade.
Lu Chen recognized it at once—the Sacred Sakura of the Grand Narukami Shrine.
To Miko and the others, the tree had always been there since ancient times, its roots drawing away disaster and corruption, helping Ei save Inazuma.
But in truth—
It was Ei, here and now, who had planted it within the consciousness space. From the future it was sown, yet it sprouted in Inazuma's past…
The light began to fade, Makoto's voice thinning to a whisper.
"It's a pity… I won't see Inazuma's future, nor walk beside you…"
"Chen. You must protect Ei."
Lu Chen looked at Ei, then at the fading light, and nodded firmly.
"Then… this time, it's truly goodbye."
Her voice vanished completely, leaving only drifting petals that seemed to carry the stories of the past.
Lu Chen and Ei stood before the great cherry tree, gazing at it for a long, long time.
"…Goodbye."