Kiyoshi turns around, but no one is there. But yet she continues hearing someone gently and loving call his name. "Who is that? I must find whoever is calling me". Remarked Kiyoshi as he was drawn to the voice calling out to him.
As if his life depended on it, Kiyoshi took off with a burst of speed. His injuries and wounds healed as if they were never been there, which was a remarkable feat even with his demonic healing. But Kiyoshi didn't notice his injuries were gone. His mind was only focused on the voice continuously calling out to him over and over.
Kiyoshi, Kiyoshi, the voice called out to him. Hitting him gently in his ears like a cherry blossom petal touching his skin. Kiyoshi ran through the forest as the moonlight shone upon him as if it was following him through his journey.
The air was quiet and still unnatural so but Kiyoshi gave nothing any mind besides the voice. Somehow it was unknown to him, yet so familiar to him, but he couldn't remember from where. As he had been on so many missions to so many different locations, it was hard to tell. But what he knew was that somehow the voice was of someone very important to him, but who was the person calling out to him?
Kiyoshi ran for miles with it only feeling like minutes to him as he need to know who was calling out to him and what was this place and why was he there. He sees a bright light signaling the end of the forest trail. On other the other side, he arrives at the edge of the river but no one is there and the voice has stopped calling out to him.
Kiyoshi searches desperately for the person behind the voice, but to no avail. Distressed, Kiyoshi drops to the ground, wondering what cruel faith has brought him to this place. Was he dead? He thought to himself as he couldn't communicate with Lilly or the others and his sword was not with him.
Until he hears his name once again. Excited, Kiyoshi arises from the ground and turns to finally see the person calling out to him. To his shock, surprise, and disbelief, the person on the other side of the river calling out to him was no other than Aniko.
"Aniko, is that really you?" cried Kiyoshi as he smiles with tears running down his face as he wipes them away.
"Yes, it me chinooukoyou. You've grown up since I saw you last." Aniko smiles as her green eyes shine like emeralds in the moonlight.
"Am so happy to see you, but you're dead. How can you be here with me and what is this place?" Asked Kiyoshi as he slowly approaches Aniko.
Kiyoshi tries to enter the river to embrace Aniko but is stopped by an unknown force, preventing him from stepping further to meet her.
"Why can't I come closer to you Aniko?" cried Kiyoshi as he continues to push against the unknown force preventing him from reuniting with Aniko.
"Ahh Kiyo, we have so much to discuss." sighed Aniko as she looks at Kiyoshi with an adoring look as the night breeze blows her hair gently block small pieces of her face.
Meanwhile, back on the battlefield, Tyrook still trying to wake Kiyoshi screams as the young samurai is still knocked out cold.
"This bad Kivuli the kid is still knocked out, and the enemy can still attack. What do we do?" asked Tyrook as he looks up into the sky to see that Aina hasn't made her move as yet. As she is only looking down, observing both Tyrook and the unconscious Kiyoshi from the sky above.
"You and I will just have to be the offense for now until he wakes up. Damn it, this is terrible." Replied Kivuli as they prepare to counter Aina's next move. Aina raises her left arm into the air, causing lightning bolts to shoot out, hitting rocks and boulders magnetizing them.
The magnetized rocks and boulders were quickly pulled from the ground and compressed against each other, hovering above Aina's left hand.
"What is she doing now?" Asked Tyrook as rocks above Aina continued to compress together from some sort of rod-like object.
"Tyrook, grab Kiyoshi and run, run now!" Declared Kivuli with a worrying and terrified tone of voice.
"Why?" Asked Tyrook, confused as to why Kivuli sounded so troubled.
"Don't you recognize what she doing? She is creating a spear of Adton. Take Kiyoshi and run now, Tyrook." Scream Kivuli.
Tyrook looks up in Aina's direction to see her with a spear made of rock in her hand. But before Tyrook could react, Aina launches the spear into the sky, piercing the clouds in the night sky.
Seeing this, Tyrook grabs Kiyoshi and takes off running with an unnatural burst of speed. With everything he has, Tyrook runs transporting the unconscious Kiyoshi on his shoulders. From the distance, he can hear a crackling sound as if popcorn was popping or even worst the sound of electricity.
Piercing the heaven and coming back to earth, the spear of Adton came crashing back into the ground, creating a blind light that consumed everything in a one thousand kilometer radius, including Tyrook and Kiyoshi in its overpowerful light.
The force of the spear blasted trees, rocks, and debris alike into the town of Uragiri like meteorites falling from the sky, destroying homes and infrastructure with violent rage and force.
Whilst all this is going on, Kiyoshi and Aniko continued their conversation in the strange forest.
"How old are you now Kiyo?" Aniko asked as she looks on at Kiyoshi who was overwhelmed by his emotions
"Twentysix." Replied Kiyoshi as he still tries to come to terms with Aniko being in front of him. He didn't know how that was possible, nor did he care. All that mattered is that he was reunited with her.
"Twentysix, wow, it's has been almost a decade since I saw you. You have grown up to be such a handsome young man." Remarked Aniko with a loving smile on her face.
"I could still see in your eyes that you're still gentle and that you're still the hurt boy I was around all those years ago, chinooukoyou." She continued as Kiyoshi blushed, as it has been years since he heard the nickname chinooukoyou, which brought sweet and bitter memories.
"Kiyoshi, you have to stop blaming yourself for my death. It wasn't your fault." Aniko announces as she gets into what she came to discuss with Kiyoshi.
Shocked by her words, Kiyoshi bows his head, remarking if he didn't enter her life she would still be alive to enjoy her life and that he robbed her of a full life.
In a serious but gentle tone of voice, Aniko commands Kiyoshi to stop as no one knows how long they have on the earth and that even if Kiyoshi wasn't in her life, if it was her time to die she would have still been dead.
"But your death was directly my fault, Aniko." Declared Kiyoshi as he looks down at his feet in self-pity.
"Kiyoshi, my death wasn't your fault. But what I will say is that the joy I had during my last days of life was. I enjoyed every moment I spent with you and that is the truth, Kiyo." Remark Aniko as tears run down her face as she smiles.
Hearing this, Kiyoshi raises his head as Aniko starts walking toward him. As she walks toward him, her flowery kimono dress gently grazes on the grass beneath her feet, turning it into Japanese red spider lilies as she continues walking.
From the depths of the red spider lilies, fireflies fly up into the air, creating a bokeh effect behind Aniko as she enters the river. The water of the river hardly covers her feet as she stands in it, calling out to Kiyoshi to come.
As if the force blocking him before just vanished, Kiyoshi embraces the waters of the river, standing only a few inches away from Aniko.
"Hey" both Kiyoshi and Aniko say to each other as their smiling faces filled with sorrowful yet joyful tears embrace each other with adoring looks of love.
"It's not your fault Kiyo, my death is not your fault. But if you don't stop blaming yourself for my death and fight off Aina. The death of your friends and the people of Uragiri will be your fault. I know you want to save her to redeem yourself of my death, but you can't save everyone chinooukoyou." Remarked Aniko as she holds on to Kiyoshi's hands as the fireflies surround them.
"It's not that. Of course, I wish I could redeem your death and bring you back to life. I would nothing more in this world to see you back in the world of the living. But after hearing Aina's story, I understand why she went in this direction, and killing her doesn't sit right." Remarked Kiyoshi as Aniko smiles, admiring how much of a man he grew up to be.
"As usually your purity never ceases to amaze me Kiyo." Replies Aniko as she embraces Kiyoshi with a hug. The warmth of Aniko's skin relaxes Kiyoshi's body and mind as they continued embracing each other, surrounded by fireflies under the moonlight.
As they continued embracing each other with love and adoration, Aniko announces to Kiyoshi that her time is up. Before Kiyoshi could protest, she places her index finger on Kiyoshi's lip as she gently kisses him on the forehead.
She then leans into his ears and whispers to him that she is so happy to see her beloved chinooukoyou again and for him to do his best. And most important that she loved him now till the end of time. With that, she pushes Kiyoshi into the river.
As Kiyoshi sinks down to the bottom of the suddenly deep river, he looks up to Aniko's body, turning into several hundred fireflies. As he begins to lose consciousness under the water, he could hear Aniko's last words to him.
"Survive, live Kiyo, and enjoy your life." And with those last words echoing in his head, Kiyoshi loses consciousness as his body continues sinking to the bottom of the river.
Kiyoshi awakens to find him back on the battlefield. Kiyoshi, regaining his bearings, looks up to see Tyrook cover him with his body.
"Hi, kiddo am glad you're back. Am sorry this is all I and Kivuli could do." Remarked Tyrook as he falls to the ground de manifesting back into the sword. Kiyoshi stands up to see the entire battlefield and half the forest turn into an enormous crater.
"What happen while I was out?" Remarked Kiyoshi as he looks around the gigantic crater. From above, he can observe Ania landing on the opposite side of the crater.
'Am surprised you survived." Laughed Aina as she look down at Kiyoshi, marveling at her destructive work in full display. As Aina continues laughing, Kiyoshi's subconsciousness to his sword limbo dimension. In front sat Devivial as usually sitting on his throne-like prison.
"Have you come to your senses, fool, and decided to use my power?" Devivial screamed as Kiyoshi continued walking, ignoring him. Kiyoshi sticks on his hand and suddenly a wooden door appears in front of him.
"So you're using its power interesting." Remarked Devivial as Kiyoshi proceed inside the door.