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Chapter 20: The Last Light
Daehara healed slowly.
The festival returned, not in celebration, but in remembrance. Paper lanterns floated once more into the sky, each carrying a wish, a name, a hope.
Ji stood at the same balcony where it had all begun. He wore simple robes now—no crown, no armor. Just Ji.
Duri appeared beside him, munching on a roasted chestnut. "So. Saved the world. Freed the corrupted Guardian. Ended a prophecy. You planning to retire or what?"
Ji smiled. "Just... breathe. For once."
Seora approached from behind, holding a lantern. "They want you to speak."
Ji looked out over the crowd. The Guardians, the people, even Baek Rin stood among them, no longer twisted by shadow. No-eul sat beneath the silver tree, her powers sealed, her mind free.
He stepped forward.
"My name is Ji Sok Han. I am not the strongest. I am not the wisest. But I was chosen. Not because I was perfect, but because I listened—to the light, to others, to myself."
He lifted the lantern, releasing it into the sky.
"And now, I choose to live. To guide, not rule. To protect, not punish. The Moonlight Guardian is not a title—it's a promise."
The crowd erupted into soft cheers, respectful and warm.
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Later that night, Ji sat with Duri, Seora, and Yeonhwa on the palace steps, watching the stars.
"So," Duri said, licking plum syrup off his fingers, "what now?"
Ji glanced up.
"We wait. For the next Guardian. And when they come... we'll be ready."
A final lantern drifted high above, joining a thousand others.
And far away, in the deepest part of the forest, a baby cried beneath the full moon.
A new light had been born.
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THE END