Jesse looked up at the sky, where a faint wisp of purple light slowly drifted down, like a star falling from the clouds.
He stretched out his hand, and the light gently landed in his palm, transforming into a feather shimmering with Electro light.
"Everyone... thank you..." Ruu's voice drifted from the distant horizon, gentle and relieved.
"Take Kapatcir's feather and continue your journey."
As the voice faded, the wind on Tsurumi Island ceased.
The gloom that once shrouded the island completely dissipated. The sky was clear as crystal, and sunlight pierced the clouds, showering this forgotten land.
The lingering shadows of the wandering villagers, the painful wails and curses, all transformed into specks of faint light, scattering with the wind.
The figures of Ruu and Kapatcir also gradually faded in the light, but they were no longer shackled lingering spirits; they were souls who had finally attained freedom.
Lumine looked at the empty altar and asked softly, "Where... did they go?"
A stream of data flashed across the Wolf King's eyes: "Energy signature vanished, but not annihilated; rather... sublimated."
Elliot, uncharacteristically serious, simply looked at the sky: "They can finally fly away together."
Matt scratched his head: "So... will Tsurumi Island still be haunted later?"
Jesse lowered his head to look at the feather in his hand; the Electro light flowed across his fingertips, as if he could still hear Ruu's laughter and Kapatcir's cry.
"No," he whispered.
"The story here has ended."
Paimon rubbed her reddened eyes: "Then... should we leave now?"
Lumine nodded, taking one last look at this formerly cursed land.
Sunlight shone upon the ancient altar, new buds sprouted from the dead branches of the Thunder Sakura Tree, and distant waves gently lapped the shore. Everything was quiet, as if it had never been stained by sorrow.
Only the feather in Jesse's hand proved that a lonely child and his God friend here had finally waited for the day of their reunion.
Several days later, the Adventurers of Inazuma discovered that the fog over Tsurumi Island had completely vanished, and the Electro storms no longer descended.
And atop the highest point of Amakumo Peak, a small stone statue appeared—a smiling boy, beside whom perched a Thunderbird with spread wings.
——————
Raiden Makoto swayed precariously in front of the Tenshukaku entrance. Her originally elegant Furisode kimono was wrinkled like pickled vegetables, and fragments of several documents were stuck in her long purple hair.
Most horrifying were the dark circles under her eyes—they were so heavy that they seemed to darken the surrounding air slightly.
"I see... Tsurumi Island... Thank you all..." Her voice was so weak it sounded like she might pass out at any moment.
"Eek—!" Paimon screamed and hid behind Lumine.
"Even a God can get dark circles?!"
Lumine unconsciously took half a step back: "Just how many documents did you process...?"
Although the quartet wore masks concealing their expressions, the synchronized sound of them gulping exposed their shock.
Raiden Makoto smiled bitterly and rubbed her temples: "Lord Guilliman's AI finally finished self-repairing this morning... it's incomplete, but at least it's usable..."
She pointed to the smoking main computer unit behind her.
"We only dared to close our eyes after processing the backlog of nine thousand documents..."
The Wolf King's Tactical Goggles automatically scanned Raiden Makoto's status bar: [Fatigue Value: 999+] [Caffeine Intake: 3 times the lethal dose] [SAN Value: Critically Low].
"Ei and Miss Kokomi have already been sent to the hospital." Raiden Makoto counted on her fingers.
"The Shogun and Kunikuzushi said it was 'system overload' and were dragged off to the Repair Workshop..."
Jesse suddenly realized the key point: "Wait, where are Kitsune Saiguu and Yae Miko?"
"They..." Raiden Makoto's smile suddenly turned dangerous. "Said they were going to soak in a hot spring to 'relax'..."
A scene immediately flashed through everyone's minds—a certain Pink-haired Fox and her White Fox Senior were currently comfortably soaking in the "Baku: Yumemi Ritsuki" Hot Spring, converting all the mountains of government pressure into nightmares to feed the poor Proprietress.
"I hope Miss Ritsuki's stomach is strong enough..." Lumine silently prayed for the hot spring Proprietress.
Raiden Makoto swayed as she turned: "I need to go... take a bath too..."
Before she could finish speaking, she collapsed to the ground with a "thud."
"Miss Raiden Makoto?!" Matt quickly helped her up, only to find that the First Electro God was already fast asleep, snoring softly, her hand tightly clutching the chess piece left by Guilliman.
The headline of the next day's Inazuma Morning News read:
"Shocking! Mass Fainting Incident Strikes Tenshukaku"
"Yae Publishing House Urgently Publishes
"Baku Hot Spring Temporarily Closed, Proprietress States She 'Ate Too Much'"
—Special Correspondent: A certain Mechanical Werewolf who wished to remain anonymous.