The wind fell silent.
Nobody spoke.
Their eyes remained fixed on the distant silhouette standing high above the clouds.
Only now...
...did they truly see where he stood.
It wasn't a mountain.
It wasn't a castle.
It was...
A temple.
An enormous temple of brilliant white stone floated effortlessly among the clouds, its golden rooftops glimmering beneath the morning sun. Ancient pillars stretched toward the heavens, while bridges of marble connected towering halls that seemed far too massive to remain suspended in the sky.
Yet somehow...
It did.
Kentaro blinked.
"...No."
"...That's impossible."
Rokuro rubbed his eyes.
"I thought it was just a really weird cloud."
Katsu adjusted his glasses.
"...Clouds don't usually have architecture."
Ryosen stared silently.
"...The Celestial Temple..."
Shichiro glanced at him.
"You know this place?"
Ryosen slowly nodded.
"I've read about it."
"...I never believed it existed."
Then...
The clouds beneath the temple shifted.
Something moved.
No...
Someone.
Two colossal stone giants slowly emerged from the sea of clouds.
Each was larger than an entire castle.
Their weathered bodies were covered in moss, vines, and cracks that hinted at countless centuries of existence.
One giant stood beneath the front of the temple.
The other supported its rear.
Their enormous shoulders carried the impossible weight of the floating sanctuary as though it were nothing more than a wooden cart.
Kentaro's jaw dropped.
"..."
"...THE TEMPLE HAS LEGS."
Katsu sighed.
"They're giants."
"...Same difference."
One of the giants took a single step.
The earth trembled.
Birds scattered into the sky.
Trees swayed from the shockwave.
Then another.
And another.
The floating temple...
...was moving.
Toward them.
Nobody dared move.
Nobody dared speak.
The two giants finally stopped several dozen meters away.
With perfect synchronization...
They slowly lowered themselves onto one knee.
The temple descended with them.
Massive stone chains groaned.
Clouds rolled outward like ocean waves.
The sanctuary now hovered just above the forest floor.
Silence.
The lone figure remained standing at its highest balcony.
Watching.
Waiting.
Then...
He stepped forward.
Aegis gasped.
"He's going to fall!"
Without hesitation...
The stranger walked into empty air.
For a single heartbeat...
He fell.
Then...
Six magnificent white wings unfolded.
One after another.
Like blooming flowers greeting the morning sun.
White feathers drifted gently through the air.
He descended effortlessly.
Not carried by wind.
Not resisting gravity.
Simply...
Floating.
His feet touched the earth without making a sound.
The grass beneath him didn't bend.
The dust didn't rise.
It was as though the world itself welcomed his arrival.
The stranger smiled warmly.
"...Good morning."
No one answered.
Kentaro slowly raised a finger.
"..."
"...You have six wings."
The stranger glanced behind himself.
"Oh."
"These?"
Kentaro stared.
"...You've got to be kidding me."
The stranger chuckled.
"My apologies."
"I forget they tend to surprise people."
Ryosen stepped forward and respectfully pressed his palms together.
"...A Seraphim."
The winged man returned the gesture with a gentle bow.
"It has been a very long time since someone greeted me properly."
Shichiro hadn't moved.
He couldn't.
Those words...
That voice...
The dream.
The feather.
It was him.
The Seraphim slowly turned toward Shichiro.
Though his six wings concealed his eyes...
Shichiro somehow felt as though he was being seen completely.
The stranger smiled.
"...Your heart is quieter now."
Shichiro's breath caught.
"...It was you."
The Seraphim tilted his head.
"...Have we met before?"