A few more days trickled by as Yukihime continued preparing the portal.
In a regretful tone, she bitterly explained, "This spell will take a bit of time for it to be completely safe. I absolutely do not wish for you to land in the middle of nowhere. Even a tiny bit of error could lead to you, transported to a place a few kilometres off the ground or location."
I nodded and replied patiently, "That's fine with me. Just tell me if my parents and Elara are fine occasionally."
"Rest assured, your family and friend are safe."
A wave of relief washed over me as I tried my best to keep my tears from falling. Damn this stupid emotional body of mine.
However, the most important part was that they were safe.
"Thank God! She's alive… she's alright." I let out a tiny sniffle. That sniffle was just a tiny slip-up, no biggie, no need to judge.
Yukihime reached out her giant hand and patted my head softly with her large finger.
One thing that I've noticed was that the wound on her chest was spewing more blood with each new day as though it was a fontaine. At first Yukihime tried hiding it with that enormous hand of hers, however, it's really hard to cover a gaping hole on your chest, no?
Noticing my concerned expression, Yukihime weakly said, "Don't worry child, this wound is just the remains of my last battle, I've already grown used to it bleeding from time to time."
Well, that answer certainly did not let me worry any less, in fact I worried even more!
One fine day, while I was meditating and trying to get better at controlling and replenishing my astralis, when Yukihime dropped a bomb.
"Kawa. Look at the world around you, don't you see the seven elements around you? Fire, Water, Wind, Earth, Healing Plants, Starlight at night. The whole world is a giant elemental sphere.Try focusing on the elements around you and start meditating again." Yukihime advised.
Her words brought a sudden understanding to me. Why had I never thought about that before? This hypothesis is genuinely correct, if you thought about it this way.
"Let me try," I nodded.
I crossed my legs upon the soft earth, the hush of twilight wrapping around me like a silken veil. When I closed my eyes, the world melted away—until only the echo of my heartbeat remained, steady and still.
Then, beneath the veil of darkness, light began to bloom. Tiny motes of color—scarlet like membered fire, cerulean like moonlit waves, emerald like dew-kissed leaves—floated forth from the air itself. The scent of night-blooming flowers mingled with the quiet hum of magic, and I found myself seated within a garden of living light.
Each mote pulsed with the breath of the elements—flames dancing, water rippling, wind sighing through unseen leaves, and starlight trembling with divine radiance. They circled me like fireflies drawn to a hidden melody, weaving constellations in motion.
When I raised my hand, the motes drifted closer, brushing against my skin like warm rain. I opened my Astralis core, and one by one, the lights sank into me—flowing through my veins, dissolving into pure energy.
The garden shimmered brighter with each breath, until the darkness itself was gilded in starlight. I could feel my essence restoring, my Astralis flowing anew—liquid brilliance surging through the soul's channels, singing with life once more.
And in that moment, I was no longer merely sitting in stillness.
I was breathing with the stars.
"Wow," I breathed. This creature's knowledge genuinely amazed me.
"Practising absorption of astralis this way can increase the efficiency and effectiveness of your body, constantly replenishing the used astralis. This is essentially used by Celesteblades to replenish astralish efficiently in battle; however, this art has been lost by humans for a long time. But, as the genius that I am, I still have this art and have passed it down to you," continued Yukihime with a proud puff of her nose.
I had to admit that this time, Yukihime was really a genius. Without a doubt, she must have roamed around Aetherion for a few hundred years, but for her to be so fully packed with mortal tips was a surprise. Honestly, I expected immortals to have their own heavenly parties thrown up there, with not a care about Aetherion.
That reminds me, "Yukihime, don't immortals live eternally and every wound closed almost as soon as it appeared?" I asked inquisitively.
Yukihime nodded slowly.
"Then why? Why does the wound on your chest never heal, only getting worse?" I questioned, desperate to find answers she was hiding.
Yukihime sighed, "Child…"
I paused for a second, struck with realisation…
It hit me, she had been getting worse while creating the portal. Just so that I could go home and meet my family, she was sacrificing her life force.
"...no worries, I want to do this, to have one last glimpse of reunion, love and peace before I go." She then smiled bitterly, a smile I was too familiar with.
No, I'm not losing her too.
First, Reine… then her?
Fate is indeed cruel.
"Immortals can only be slain or wounded by the two Great Swords, Lumina and Umbra. Lumina has been long lost in time, and as for Umbra…" Yukihime continued her voice steady.
"Umbra has succumbed to a great unknown power that even I, cannot identify." Her voice shook, on the verge of breaking.
From her change of tone, the wielder of Umbra had defeated her. It was that easy to guess.
Deep down in my chest, a lump of guilt was still waiting to be washed away. I still could not get over the fact that I was eating her life force to see my family.
"Listen, Kawa, yes, I am dying. Despite that, I will get angry if you blame yourself, thinking that you're the root cause of all this. I will assure you that the root cause is an unidentified person of unknown power. I have been dying for a while already; you're doing me quite a bit of a favour by allowing me to leave this godforsaken cave earlier."
As soon as she finished speaking, a radiant glow erupted from her body. I quickly shielded my eyes from going blind. In place of the monstrous figure was a petite, elegant white nine-tailed fox, licking its paw nonchalantly.
From her slender snout to the tip of her nine tails, she was robed in a pearl-white coat of fur—silken, immaculate, and faintly luminescent, as though each strand had been spun from moonlight itself. Her eyes gleamed like twin moons—one a tranquil blue, the other a mirrored silver—embodying truth and illusion in perfect symmetry. Between her brows glowed a crescent-shaped golden rune, a mark of ancient divinity.
Golden inscriptions traced along her collarbones like a sacred necklace, and each of her tails bore its own runic band at the tip, coiling so naturally around the fur it seemed they had been born together. The very ends of her tails shimmered with a faint hue of icy blue, glinting like frost under moonlight.
These markings formed an elegant, almost celestial pattern—reminiscent of tribal sigils yet refined, branching like living vines that intertwined with purpose and grace. When Astralis stirred within her, hidden runes awakened across her body, spiraling faintly through her fur like drifting constellations. Around her, silver motes of light floated in slow dance, tinged with soft blue radiance. Even her breath shimmered—a wisp of frost laced with silvery sparks, as if the winter night itself exhaled through her.
The golden light originally enveloping the nine-tailed snow fox dimmed until it fully replaced the once titan-shaped being.
"Now, dear, do I look more like a Yukihime?" Yukihime puffed proudly as she gave me a smirk.
I opened my mouth, but no sound escaped.
I tried again, really hard, but still to no avail.
Yukihime sighed, "Not amazing enough, child? I suppose so… Kawa, help me pull out the sword in my chest,"
It was then that I realised that a flickering, jagged sword had impaled her chest, with blood flowing out faster than ever.
Without hesitation, I walked up to her and laced my hands with astralis. With a great pull, I managed to remove the sword before the illusion faded into dust. Blood immediately gushed out in large quantities.
From what I had learnt in my previous life about first aid, I quickly tore off a piece of my cloak and wrapped it around Yukihime's wound tightly, to prevent the increase of blood flow.
Frantically, I outstretched my arms towards her wounds and recited, "O radiant essence that flows through all, mend the vessel before me—let flesh knit and pain fade,「Healing」,"
Somehow, I wasn't able to imagine Yukihime's wound healing and thus couldn't perform a more effective healing, silent incantation, but my spell should work.
However, strangely enough, the wound wasn't healing. I stretched out my hands to try again, but this time, Yukihime gently pushed my hand away.
"Child, it's no use, relax, I'll be just fin…"
Yukihime's body flickered once—then again—her expression twisting into pure horror.
A heartbeat later, a blinding burst of blue light exploded from her, swallowing her whole.
The shockwave hit like a hammer.
"—!"
The world was spinning as I was thrown off the stone platform and crashed hard onto the cold floor."
Thud.
I rolled, air knocked out of my lungs, every nerve screaming in pain.
"Ow…" I groaned, clutching my back.
Then it struck me.
Yukihime.
She was still in there—inside that storm of dark blue fog that now churned like a living nightmare.
"YUKIHIME!!!"
The word tore from my throat before I realised it, my legs already moving. I sprinted through the thickening mist, the cold biting at my skin, tears burning my eyes. Every step echoed with dread.
And then—silence.
The fog began to thin, dissolving like smoke at dawn.
On the throne before me, where the divine white fox once sat, a new figure awaited—
one unmistakably human.
I froze.
There—seated upon the frost-covered throne—was a woman?
Her long, snow-white hair spilled over her shoulders, catching faint threads of blue light like frozen starlight, her fox ears twitching. The once-blinding aura of a divine fox was gone, yet something about her still bent the world around her, commanding silence.
She wore a flowing kimono of white and silver, a sleeve slipped off her shoulder, revealing it's porcelain white skin. Its fabric rippling gently as if stirred by an unseen breeze. Traces of pale gold gleamed along the hems and sash, where intricate embroidery shimmered like faint sunlight reflected on snow. Every fold, every movement, exuded quiet majesty—both fragile and powerful.
Her eyes opened.
One was pale blue, the other silver—soft, luminous, and unmistakably hers. The same gaze that once shone from the nine-tailed fox now belonged to a human face—gentler, but no less divine.
My voice trembled.
"Yukihime…?"
She blinked slowly, her expression unreadable, before whispering in a voice like falling snow,
"…So this is what it feels like… to be goddess again."
For a heartbeat, neither of us moved. The air was still, the mist settling like reverent silence around her.
And in that silence, I finally understood — the white fox of legend no longer sat upon that throne. Before me now was Yukihime reborn — not as a beast of divinity, but as something far more beautiful, and infinitely more fragile.
" Y-Yukihime?? Y..you're beastman?!" I exclaimed from pure shock.
"Now that I am in this form, we do not have much time left. Yes, my child, indeed, right now I'm in my second last form, which can only means he's coming. Child, we, divine beings have three forms to conceal our identity or aura. Human, beast, beastmen. Now listen up, I am dying, not because of you, but because I sustained this wound after narrowly escaping death. I had sensed one of them approaching dangerously close to my den a few days ago, so my time of hiding is drawing to an end. This form of mine will most likely alert them of my location, which is why I only have time to explain what is necessary. Take care of this for me, will you?"
One of her nine tails lifted up, revealing a white stone ball, about the size of an adult palm. With its divine soft glow, this stone resonated an aura that made me hesitate in holding it, as if I wasn't worthy.
Without waiting for me to respond, she gently placed it in my palm. She continued, "All will unfold in time, so just hold on to this and do not let anyone know that you have this. Most will not know what it is but its shell should be able to conceal its aura."
While I was gently placing the stone into my pocket, where I had earlier moved my item box, I suddenly got pushed back.
Yukihime's body flickered again, her expression twisting into bitterness.
Before I could react, she reached for me — her trembling hand pressing flat against my chest, right over my Astralis core.
A soft gasp escaped my lips. "Yuki—?"
Her eyes met mine — one silver, one blue, both blazing brighter than before. The air around us thrummed, and faint threads of light began to bloom beneath her palm.
Then, suddenly, a surge of warmth radiated through me. My core pulsed once, twice — and exploded in a burst of gold and blue.
Light spiraled between us, forming ribbons of energy that shimmered like liquid stars. The glow from her hand deepened until it burned white-hot, and I felt something move inside me — not pain, but a pull, as if my soul was being unraveled and rewoven.
A thin trail of luminous mist — gold streaked with blue and silver sparks — rose from my chest and into her grasp. The world tilted; my knees almost buckled.
A cry escaped me before I could stop it. I blinked through the haze, heart racing, watching in disbelief as Yukihime slowly drew her hand back.
There was blood on my torn shirt, but when I touched it — nothing. No wound. No scar. Just warmth.
Her expression had softened, but her body swayed weakly. The radiance that once surrounded her had dimmed, her silken white hair losing its ethereal glow. Her eyes — once bright with divine light — were now a muted blue, heavy with exhaustion.
"Yukihime!" I reached for her, but she managed a small, pained smile.
"It's… done," she whispered, her voice barely audible. "Our Astralis are bound now. You'll… have my legacy, chosen one."
Her hand slipped from my chest, falling limply to her side. And as she collapsed forward, I caught her — her warmth fragile against the cold air, her once-mighty presence now quiet and human.
She had turned into her last form…for me.
Before I had the chance to ask what she had done, a giant explosion interrupted me.
I whipped my head back to see that the entrance of the cave had been blown off, revealing a shadowy figure, it's shape constantly shifting and flickering. It's eyes red and bloodshot, cald in sleek black armor and a bloodied cape.
Yukihime immediately stood up and reached her hand towards the sky, creating a shield, just in time to protect me from the falling debris, and probably to hide me from our unexpected visitor.
"Empress Yukihime, I suggest you stop your stubbornness and surrender. Your fate has already been decided by the Lord. If you are to submit, He may even give you an easy death." The ghostly knight who seemed possessed by the shadowy figure reasoned impatiently.
Immediately after he had finished speaking, Yukihime whispered, "Shadow Fade,"
And then we were gone.
I looked around to find ourselves in a translucent black sphere.
I could see the visitor frantically trying to find us even though we were right in front of him.
Ignoring the enemy, Yukihime casually instructed, "I'll open the portal now. I'm sorry, I didn't have enough time to make it go to your home. But it should direct you to somewhere nearby. My spell doesn't last long so hurry. Do not let him see you and do not look back," Her eyes somewhat solemn.
I ignored Yukihime's instructions and asked quietly, "Is it true? You're going to die?" My voice more of a whisper.
"I'm sorry, honey, but my long life ends here." Her voice was as elegant as always, but with a tinge of bitterness I was all too familiar with.
"No," I murmured.
I wasn't going to lose her like Reine lost me.
"No! If you don't want to die, you can come and escape with me!" I begged, clinging to her hand.
"Unfortunately, as long as I am with you, you will always be in danger. No one must know that you have had contact with me. I need to stay here, for our sakes.
Yukihime gently wiped my tears off my cheek with her soft and fragile hand, her dimmed eyes lines with…tears.
In all these weeks that I had spent with her, I couldn't help but think of her as my granny. She would nag at me, reprimand me if I did something wrong, but most of all, sacrifice for me, even if it costs her life.
"You once asked me why I chose to save you. There's a second part to the reason. It was to satisfy my own greed. I wanted to keep you as my own child, even for a little bit. I wanted to be able to care and love like a mother, just once in this lifetime. I intentionally prolonged the teleportation spell just to spend more time with you, but it seems…that I am unable to finish it." Yukihime confessed.
"It's ok, I've never had a grandma, and I seemed to slowly think of you as mine. I have also enjoyed this journey with you. Just escape with me!" I pleaded.
"I'm sorry, Kawa, but I must stay here. As for my last selfish request, could you be my grandson and call me grandma for this once?"
"Grandma! Grandma! I'll call you as many times as you want, just come with me!!!"
"Please…I'm begging you, I don't know what I'll do without you! He can't see us now, just escape with me!!"
Suddenly, fine cracks began to spider across the surface of the black sphere surrounding us. Yukihime's eyes widened in shock before twisting in pain as she doubled over, coughing up a mouthful of blood.
"Grandma! You're injured! You have to come with me!"
She grimaced, "Listen, Yoru Kurogane, the world isn't the way it seems. Everything will be unfolded in time. But for now, I know too much and must go."
She then whispered a silent prayer, "Sorry, Azelarion, but I took him too," She then turned to me and whispered, "If you find a more compatible person, please give my legacy to her."
My jaw dropped as I stared at her, eyes widened in shock. Yoru Kurogane? How does she know? It's been years since someone called me by that name. Sh had known the entire time…
I swear, that sneaky white fox chose that exact moment to push me into the portal. I held onto her, desperately trying to pull her in with me.
"NOOOO!! You can't! YOU CAN'T DO THIS TO ME!!!!" I cried.
In my final moment with her, Yukihime smiled—a gentle, breathtaking smile that felt both like farewell and peace.
I could hardly hear what she said before her hands pressed against me, sending me through the portal.
"Thank you, my grandson."