Before the Fantasy Tree, whose Mana had been reclaimed by the Alien Apostles, completely vanished, StormBorder finished taking in the survivors from Village 23.
Most of them were children, with only a handful of adults left to care for them.
Once the evacuation was complete, Skadi and the three Valkyries followed Chaldea and withdrew from the Lostbelt via Imaginary Number submersion.
Before entering the Wandering Sea, StormBorder surfaced once more from imaginary space and slowly passed over the paper-white expanse of Scandinavia.
"So this is… the outside world," Skadi murmured as she looked down at the white land below. "It's like a planet that's lost all possibility of nurturing life, where even the Great Source has run dry."
"But I can still sense the Great Source," Shiomi said.
"It's just a metaphor," Skadi replied. "With the planet in this state, does that mean you're the last of humanity?"
"Mm…" Shiomi looked toward the direction of the Lostbelt.
The Storm Wall was fading away, revealing a planet beneath it that had likewise been bleached white.
Skadi followed his gaze. Thinking of those who could not be brought along, she instinctively wrapped her arms around herself, a sharp, knife-like pain twisting in her chest.
"In the very end, I still couldn't save everyone. I couldn't even face the end of the world together with them. I…"
Even though she had already made her choice, and even though she had taken as many people as possible in the extremely limited time they had, Skadi still could not let go of everything that remained behind.
"Then let me tell you a little about myself."
Shiomi let out a quiet sigh and spoke slowly.
"In the Britannia Lostbelt, I once called myself a god-king and ruled Londinium for two thousand years. In that city lived tens of thousands of people, along with a small number of fairies."
"…Eh?" Skadi froze for a moment.
"Britannia and the Scandinavian world are completely different. You can't compare them outright. But to me, those people who followed me generation after generation and fought for my sake were the ones I wanted to protect."
Shiomi bent down and sat on the deck, his hair fluttering in the wind.
"But in the end, Britannia was destroyed. Londinium was destroyed as well. I wanted to take the surviving soldiers with me, but for my sake, they fought against a calamity they couldn't possibly overcome. They all died right in front of me."
"…Do you still regret it now?" Skadi asked softly as she sat down beside him.
"I regret it, but I also understand that it was their choice," Shiomi said with a faint, soundless smile. "For them, dying on the battlefield was something they chose for themselves. Even I had no right to stop them."
Skadi slowly closed her eyes, tears slipping from the corners.
"At least they knew why they were alive. Whether it was survival or destruction, they could face it without hesitation."
Unlike the villagers, who vanished together with the pruned phenomenon without ever knowing the meaning of their own existence, leaving nothing behind.
"It's not that nothing was left behind," Shiomi said, sensing the pain in Skadi's heart. "You're still here. The Valkyries are still here. And the villagers who followed you and survived are still here too, even if there are only a dozen of them. You are the proof that the world which vanished once existed."
"You really know how to comfort people," Skadi sighed softly. "Even a goddess could be persuaded by words like that."
It wasn't that she couldn't accept it in her heart. It was the pain of having to abandon so many lives she had protected for three thousand years that continued to linger.
"It's not really comfort," Shiomi said. "After all, before we could even act against the Fantasy Tree, the Alien Apostles reclaimed its Mana and completely disrupted all our plans. If you truly can't accept this outcome, then let's seek revenge together, against the Alien Apostles, and even the Alien God."
"I'm a goddess who governs ice and snow, and you're telling me to seek revenge…" Skadi couldn't help but laugh.
"If you don't want to, that's fine," Shiomi said with a smile. "Chaldea will face the culprit behind the bleaching of Earth sooner or later anyway. It's just a matter of whether you want to hitch a ride with us."
"Hitch a ride… honestly…" Skadi found it all the more amusing.
She slowly raised her hand.
"I wouldn't mind doing you a small favor, but the moment the Scandinavian world disappeared, I could already feel my own existence becoming unstable…"
"It's not just you. The Valkyries, the survivors, all of them need a foundation to maintain their existence. And as their goddess, you're the most critical part."
Shiomi spoke calmly.
"As long as you can continue to exist after losing your world, they can persist through their faith in you."
"Then… what exactly should I do?" Skadi asked seriously.
Shiomi's expression turned subtly awkward.
"Simply put, you need to obtain a new identity with enough weight. For example… becoming the bride of a newly born god."
"So that's why Odin gave me those instructions," Skadi said, gradually understanding.
"But given the current situation, you'll need to stay by my side," Shiomi added as he leaned closer to her face.
Realizing what was about to happen, Skadi flushed and tried to pull back.
"D-don't get so close! I'm not used to human body heat… divine body heat isn't any better either!"
"At the very least, we need to establish a contract of continued existence before anything else."
Shiomi took a deep breath and gently held Skadi's face.
"Then surely there's another wa—mm…!"
Her voice was instantly cut off.
Shiomi's presence surrounded her far more vividly than it ever had in Valhalla. The warmth carried through lips and the tip of his tongue made her dizzy.
Intoxicating.
Only when her breathing faltered did Skadi finally pull free, swaying as if drunk.
"With the contract kiss as its foundation, your condition should stabilize now," Shiomi said.
"…Mm…"
Skadi had already realized that during the kiss itself.
But now she felt both shy and faintly resentful, wanting to scold Shiomi yet lacking the confidence to do so.
After all… the experience had been rather… wonderful.
"So that's what you meant earlier about becoming a new god."
Morgan appeared beside them without warning, nearly stopping Shiomi's heart.
"In that case, perhaps you should follow Odin's example and offer yourself to yourself for nine days and nights. You might grow even stronger."
Scáthach shook her head repeatedly, wearing an expression that looked almost disappointed.
"Come, let us head to the Seat of the Gods together," Artoria offered gently.
Everyone knew that this "invitation" was deeply suspicious.
"As for the binding rope, we can substitute it with my Mystic Code, 'Crystal Mayfly'. It's sturdier than it looks."
Touko lit the last cigarette in her stash, took a drag, and spoke casually.
"…I have no objections…" Skadi quickly agreed.
And then, a scream that echoed across the entire deck rang out.
It was Shiomi's.