The branch creaked softly as the wind passed through the canopy.
Eijin lay sprawled along the thick limb of the tree, one arm draped over his eyes, breathing slow and even. Dried blood still clung to his clothes—the remnants of demon generals who would never rise again. The battle had ended hours ago. For him, that was reason enough to sleep.
Footsteps crunched against the grass below.
Without opening his eyes, he spoke, voice flat and unbothered.
"Quiin. What do you need?"
A woman stopped beneath the tree.
She wore simple, casual clothes—nothing like the ceremonial armour or flowing regalia the resistance adored her in. And yet, even dressed like this, she carried herself with an inescapable authority, as though the world itself had learned to stand straighter in her presence.
Quiin looked up at him and smiled faintly.
"You really haven't changed," she said, teasing warmth in her tone. "Still the same lazy man I know."
Eijin didn't move.
"Shut up, Quiin."
She folded her arms, amused. "You know what the children were saying today?"
He sighed. "I don't care."
"They're scared of you," she continued anyway. "They say you look like someone who murders people just by staring at them."
"Shut up."
She laughed softly. "It's your expression. So cold. So unapproachable. Honestly, you could try smiling once in a while."
"Shut up."
Quiin's smile lingered, but her voice softened as she changed the subject.
"Eijin," she said, "why don't you find someone to fall for?"
His hand tightened slightly against his face.
"My affairs are not your concern," he replied. "And you don't have the right to comment on that. You can't even find someone to like yourself."
For a moment, she stared at him, stunned.
"Y-you—!" she stammered, colour rising to her cheeks. "I have many admirers! So many that you wouldn't even be able to count them!"
Eijin opened one eye, glanced down at her, then closed it again.
"Yeah," he said flatly. "And yet you're single."
Silence followed.
Then the leaves rustled again as he turned onto his side, resuming his nap.
Quiin exhaled sharply through her nose and looked away, pretending not to care.
They continued like that—small words, sharp remarks, familiar banter—two people standing at the very peak of their world. To the resistance, they were symbols of hope. To the people, they were legends: Eijin, the cold blade that never bent, and Quiin, the Blessed One, the true queen whose power held the fate of the world itself.
Yet for all their strength, only they understood the weight they carried.
Eijin, antisocial and distant, never truly belonging among others.
Quiin, revered and untouchable, surrounded by followers but without a single soul she could call a friend.
Except him.
And him, only her.
****
The final war came with fire and screams.
The Demon King fell to his knees, his roar shaking the battlefield as victory drew close. Blood, demon and human alike, soaked into the ruined earth. Hope was within reach.
Then the knives came from behind.
Allies turned. Blades flashed. Spells were cast not at demons—but at those who had trusted them.
Eijin reacted instantly, stepping in front of Quiin as steel and magic tore through the air.
"Stay behind me," he said, voice steady despite the chaos.
One by one, their comrades fell—cut down by traitorous humans and ravenous demons alike. The battlefield became a slaughter, until only two figures still stood against the encroaching tide.
Eijin staggered as a strike meant for Quiin pierced straight through him.
He fell.
Quiin caught him before he hit the ground, dropping to her knees as she pulled him into her arms. Blood stained her hands. His breathing was shallow. Fading.
She stared down at him, her expression unlike anything he had ever seen.
Her voice trembled as she whispered, almost to herself,
"Ah… ah… in every world… I still can't save you."
Eijin's vision blurred. He didn't hear her words. His thoughts drifted, unfocused, gentle.
Ah, he thought, Quiin will be lonely.
His lips curved just barely.
No one will listen to her corny jokes anymore.
His chest stilled.
Quiin felt it.
She froze, eyes wide, tears spilling freely as she stared at his lifeless face.
"…Maybe I am wrong," she whispered. "This is not the way."
She pressed her forehead to his, her voice breaking.
"My world… may this blessing guide you. May you find the world that deserves you."
Slowly, she laid him down.
Then she stood.
Quiin turned toward the remaining demons, the Demon King, and the traitor humans who cowered before her.
Her tears dried. Her grief hardened into something absolute.
"This world," she said quietly, "doesn't deserve my world."
Power surged, ancient and boundless, tearing through the sky itself.
"And it doesn't need to exist anymore."
Light swallowed everything.
Demons. Humans. The battlefield. The world.
All were erased.
Far beyond the destroyed cosmos—
From an ancient tree that existed outside time, a single leaf fell once more.
The cycle continued.
And somewhere else—somewhere new—a soul began to wake.
****
"99th reincarnation complete, the true samsara is starting"
"Final reincarnation initiating. The one true soul is achieved, body compatible"
"Blessing of the chaos, *********, body compatible"
"Blessing of the blessed one, Spirit gathering was acquired, body incompatible, restricted usage "