Ren Lian didn't speak again.
She didn't need to.
Her presence grew quieter, but not weaker—like a candle slowly burning out, not from neglect, but completion.
Shi Mu stood beside her, silent. Not rushing. Not pleading.
She had learned something important as Oathbearer:
Goodbyes should never be forced.
Only offered.
The spirit glanced one last time at the desk—at the folded uniform, the teacup, the drawings—and then at Shi Mu.
"Will you remember me?" she asked, barely above a whisper.
Shi Mu didn't hesitate.
"Yes."
Not as a mission.Not as a name on a list.
But as someone who waited with hope instead of hate.
Ren Lian smiled.
This time, it wasn't sad.
It was light.
Then she stepped back.
Her form began to dissolve—light breaking into threads, like paper set gently into water. Not vanishing.
Transforming.
Freed.
The room dimmed, then brightened softly.
The mark on Shi Mu's wrist shimmered and cooled.
The teacup stopped vibrating.
The drawings fluttered once.
Then settled.
She walked out of the memory room slowly, closing the door behind her.
It didn't lock.
It didn't need to.
No one waited inside anymore.
[System Notification]
Spirit Ren Lian: Released Peacefully
Final Thread Archived
Memory Transfer Logged
Brotherhood Value +200 (Oath Fulfilled + Spirit Transition Completed)
Current Total: 7,110 / 1,000,000
Back in the main hall of the Archive, the torches glowed warmer.
The corridor shifted again.
Another object was already floating from the next shelf—
A ring, wrapped in faded ribbon.
Shi Mu watched it descend slowly into her hands.
The system chimed:
Next name assigned.
She exhaled once.
Then whispered softly to the silence:
"I'm still here."
And somewhere, in the Archive's breathing walls,another forgotten soul heard her.