Reality, Human World.
In front of Crossroad's city gate.
Boom boom boom boom-!
A black cloud surges towards the collapsed city wall.
When the connection with the outer gods was cut off, the 'Sleepless Lake Princess' collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut.
Then, the horde of monsters waiting in the rear, surrounding Crossroad, began to charge as if they had been waiting for this moment.
"…"
The fallen heroes and soldiers quietly watched the black tidal wave rushing in, the marching end of the world.
Though they had no strength left to fight.
Everyone got up, holding their wounded parts. Supporting each other, they formed a wall with their bodies instead of the broken city wall.
For they are the last wall of this world. The final line of defense of this world.
Everyone prepared to face their dignified end.
And, the moment the vanguard of the charging monsters touched the wall of people.
Whoosh…
It dispersed.
Like mist.
All the monsters that were rushing in, armed with strong teeth and claws, muscles and hatred, solely to kill humans, dissipated like bubbles.
The moment Ash succeeded in closing the sky in the spirit realm.
In the human world, all monsters vanished simultaneously in an instant.
The horde of nightmares disappeared as if it were a lie.
Like darkness fading away before sunrise, the gathering black clouds dispersed, and only peaceful sunlight was shining down on Crossroad.
People looked around in surprise with wide eyes. Not believing their own eyes, they rubbed them and turned to look at each other's faces in astonishment.
And then, without anyone starting it first, they embraced each other and cheered.
"The nightmare is over!"
Someone laughed,
"The nightmare is over!"
Someone cried,
"We survived!"
Everyone hugged.
"We protected the world…!"
The people who embraced each other cried and laughed together.
A little away from the people rejoicing together, in the open space in front of the city gate.
"…"
Aider quietly looked down at the 'Sleepless Lake Princess' lying with her head on his lap.
Lifting the burnt veil. Carefully examining the sleeping face of his beloved.
Aider whispered softly.
"You are not the 'Sleepless Lake Princess'."
She is no longer the master of nightmares.
Because all nightmares have ended.
Aider slowly took out shining fragments from his pocket. They were the pieces of her soul that Ash had brought back from the deepest part of the Lake Kingdom.
Aider slowly tilted his fingertips, and the soul fragments that flowed down his palm fell directly onto her chest, being absorbed into her.
Whoosh…
The shadow of nightmares remaining on the 'Sleepless Lake Princess's' body slowly seeped out. Color gradually returned to her pale skin, and a faint warmth circled her cold body.
She returned to being 'Nameless'.
But Aider knew.
Even if all these scattered pieces of her soul were gathered again, it would be impossible to fully restore what she had already lost.
Though the traces of nightmares might disappear, there was no way to recover all the precious things she had sacrificed to save her world.
So Aider chose.
"I'll give you the you that I remember."
The existence of her that he remembers.
The existence of himself who remembers her…
To give to her.
"I'll give you the world of you that I remember."
From his chest pierced by the sword of darkness, Aider carefully took out a piece of his own soul.
It was a dazzlingly white piece, uniquely brilliant among his entirely ashen soul.
"Will you forgive me for mixing a bit of my impure fragment, like dust, into your noble soul?"
As Aider clenched his hand once and opened it, his soul fragments shattered into powder.
"For it is the most precious thing this poor man can give."
Those memories with her that shone like stardust, the most precious things he had cherished all his life, Aider slowly dropped onto her chest.
"You are not 'The One Who Lost Her Name'."
She is no longer Nameless.
For she will regain her rightful name.
"Your name is Ariel."
Slowly, preciously.
He calls her original name.
"Your name is Ariel."
From the 'Sleepless Lake Princess' to Nameless.
And from Nameless, finally… to Ariel.
"Your name is Ariel."
Everything about Ariel that Aider remembers.
The fragments of Aider who remembers Ariel.
Poured over her mosaic-like pieced-together soul, seeping between those wounds, firmly binding her soul together.
At that moment, tears trickled down from Ariel's closed eyes.
Carefully wiping those tears with the tip of his other hand, Aider looked down at her with an affectionate face…
"Ah."
He caught the last stardust-like soul fragment remaining in his hand.
"No. This, I cannot give."
Aider carefully peered into that last stardust.
That piece was a memory of a day.
It was the memory of the long-ago day when Ariel gave him the name Aider.
"This alone is… my everything that you gave to me."
Aider preciously put that tiny soul fragment, like a grain of sand, into his own bosom.
And he smiled sadly.
"So, it's okay to completely forget about a man with such a name now."
In exchange for healing all the broken wounds and burn scars of sacrifice left on Ariel's soul by offering his own soul.
Aider chose the path of becoming a forgotten existence.
So, he will embrace and die with just the memory of this name.
So that she would never remember him, even by chance.
"All those sad nights, all those painful dreams, are now over."
Aider gently stroked Ariel's cheek once more as she breathed peacefully.
"May you have only good nights and sweet dreams from now on."
Slowly bowing his head, Aider carefully pressed his forehead against hers, and made a wish more earnest than ever before.
"You must be happy, for my share too…"
Quietly facing Ariel's sleeping face, Aider whispered in a voice that seemed about to disappear.
"Goodbye."
The nightmare was over.
All the people of Crossroad embraced each other, crying and laughing with joy that they were alive.
In this moment when everyone was happy, a very small farewell passed by.
A truly long farewell that no one would remember.
Spirit Realm.
In this collapsing world too, people were preparing for farewells.
"…"
The Emperor, Traha, stood on the deck of the airship La Mancha, observing the collapsing spirit realm.
More precisely, he was watching Ash bidding farewell to the members of the suicide squad who fought together, in the center of this world.
Various racial gods, including the Four Great Gods, came to Ash, asking him to take good care of their races.
Ash made a clear promise to get along well with all races.
Fernandez and Lark first paid their respects to Traha before heading towards Ash.
Fernandez tormented Ash with words, and Lark, who approached, hugged them both tightly in a brotherly embrace. The two younger brothers screamed that it hurt.
Then the two older brothers repeatedly told their younger brother to take good care of their father and the empire.
The four red dragons each hugged Ash and exchanged words of blessing.
Everyone was in a warm mood, but only the 2nd Dusk Bringer couldn't hold back her tears during the hug, so Ash had to work hard to comfort her. The three dragons of the previous generations watched this scene and chuckled mischievously.
Ash also exchanged greetings with the previous generation of returnees. He had a long conversation especially with Dustia, his birth mother.
Dustia said she was grateful that he endured the difficult journey well, and Ash said he was grateful that she had always been watching over him.
Then Ash also made contact with the last branch of the collapsing Everblack. The returnees who had lived with Everblack helped with the communication with the tree.
Ash offered to transplant a sapling to the human world if Everblack wished, but Everblack refused.
As the age of magic had ended, Everblack, a tree synthesized by magic, could no longer survive in the human world. Everblack decided to meet its end here by its own will.
As Traha watched his son continuing such conversations…
Someone flew onto the deck and stood beside Traha. Traha looked at the other person with a bitter smile.
"You told me to go to hell, yet we meet here."
"…"
"I'm glad to see you again, Dustia."
It was Dustia, Traha's wife and Ash's birth mother.
Dustia approached with a low sigh and stood beside Traha. Traha gestured with his chin.
"How was life in the spirit realm?"
"It was always noisy because Your Majesty kept battling with the gods right next to that tree."
"Not much different from when you were alive then. Did you worry about me even there?"
"Ha, as if."
"Your personality hasn't changed much from when you were alive either."
"You haven't changed since I died either, Your Majesty."
The couple's expressions were peaceful as they conversed, seemingly arguing as they always did when alive.
The couple watched their son together. Dustia opened her mouth.
"Ash has removed all these shackles."
"…"
"The curse of endless returns that has continued for generations has finally disappeared. Now… I can depart for the afterlife too."
"It's not just the curse of returns that's gone. He's eliminated all the blessings that enveloped the world and all the laws that formed the foundation of our civilization."
"That means the fixed ideas, yokes, and evil customs that bound the world will also disappear."
Traha chuckled.
"Just because you're already dead, aren't you looking too positively at the storm that boy will bring?"
"We don't know what this world that Ash has changed will look like in the future. But, our son… will do well."
"…"
"Even if he loses his way and wanders for a while, he's a child who eventually finds the stars. So… he'll do well in future adventures too."
Dustia looked straight at Traha.
"I can no longer watch over that child. So Your Majesty must take good care of our son."
"Can't you see I'm old? It's my turn to be taken care of now."
"Don't talk weak. You, the Peacemaker."
A smile brushed across both their lips.
"When I die, I'll probably fall into hell, but you'll go to a more peaceful place now."
"…"
"It would be nice if we could meet again, but this is probably the last time, right?"
"Well, I don't know exactly what's beyond this path, but…"
Traha and Dustia's lips drew closer.
"If Your Majesty falls into hell, wouldn't I probably be waiting in the same place?"
"May I propose again then?"
"Of course you should. Your proposal in life was the worst."
The two kissed slowly, and then stepped back.
"Well, it's time to part."
"Goodbye. My damned love."
Dustia left the deck, and Traha drove the airship towards Ash.
Ash was in the middle of struggling, caught by Salome.
Ash tried to shake her off, saying "I already have someone! Get lost!", but Salome kept clinging on, shouting outrageous things like "It's better because you have someone!"
"Ash!"
Traha called out loudly.
"There's no time! We have to leave now!"
Boom boom boom…!
The spirit realm was collapsing rapidly.
Ash, who had just thrown Salome far away, nodded towards the Emperor, then looked around at the many people watching him.
There was no longer any meaning in verbal farewells, nor was there time for them.
After exchanging glances with everyone once, Ash flew towards La Mancha.
At the same time, the five Glory Knights began preparing the dimensional transfer magic circle installed on La Mancha. It was the magic furnace that had been transferred and installed from the demon race's ship.
Whirr!
Although there was still enough magic power left in the spirit realm, it was clear that the magic power supply would disappear from the moment they crossed the boundary to the human world. So, they were using the magic power stored in advance in the ship's storage as the power source for operating the magic furnace.
The Emperor exclaimed softly.
"At first I wondered why we were transplanting this alien magic furnace, but it was the means to return to the human world."
"If it was just me, it might have been different, but of course I prepared a retreat method as the top priority when escorting Your Majesty."
Ash grinned.
Even if the passage between the spirit realm and the human world closed, this was the contingency prepared as a method to return to the human world from the spirit realm for one time only — La Mancha with the dimensional transfer magic circle attached.
It was the moment when Ash, flying through the air, was about to grasp the hand of the Emperor standing at the edge of the deck.
Boom-!
Suddenly, a violent vibration shook the area.
"…?!"
"…!"
A massive shockwave originating from the magic furnace engraved with the dimensional transfer magic circle swept through the area. La Mancha shook greatly, and Ash was pushed back sharply.
The hands of father and son missed each other in mid-air.
The blood drained from Traha's face.
"Your Majesty!"
At the same time, Hecate, who was preparing the dimensional transfer magic circle in the bridge, screamed.
"The dimensional transfer magic circle is going out of control! It entered the operation sequence on its own as soon as we started supplying magic power!"
As Coco, who had installed the dimensional transfer magic circle, had warned in advance. The alien magic furnace itself was in an extremely deteriorated state.
It had already been used once when entering the spirit realm from the human world, so its durability was at its limit.
Moreover, La Mancha had to undergo fierce battles during the great battle in the spirit realm. It had been thrown into the sea of the spirit realm and miraculously resurfaced.
In this process, it was impossible for the dimensional transfer magic circle, a delicate magic and machine, to remain intact.
Added to this was the very unstable environment of the spirit realm itself collapsing…
Boom-! Boom-! Boom-!
Irregular vibrations erupted from the magic furnace one after another. Ash was pushed back repeatedly like a leaf swept up in a storm.
Traha called out urgently towards the bridge.
"Stabilize it immediately!"
"It's impossible! The magic furnace isn't listening!"
"Then stop the operation for now! Force it to stop! Ash is outside the ship!"
"Ugh…!"
Hecate hit the stop button on the magic furnace control panel several times, then tried to forcibly cut the connection between the magic furnace and the magic storage connected to this magic circle by drawing her sword.
But the amount of magic power going into the operation of this magic circle was too large and enormous for an individual to handle.
Clang-!
Just striking the connection point with the sword shattered the sword, and Hecate was thrown backwards.
Traha tried to stop the airship itself by infusing his consciousness, but the dimensional transfer magic circle continued to run wild regardless of the control of the airship itself.
One of the other Glory Knights who was trying to stop the operation somehow shouted.
"We can't control it, Your Majesty! At this rate, soon…!"
The next moment.
Flash-!
The dimensional transfer magic circle that had gone out of control forcibly activated, ignoring all the necessary processes.
The entire huge hull of La Mancha was enveloped in light, and with a dazzling flash, it cut through space and… disappeared.
It left for the human world, leaving Ash behind.
"…This is why."
Watching the only method of return to the human world disappear before his eyes, Ash laughed helplessly.
"I shouldn't let my guard down until the very end…"
Immediately after, the aftershock of the dimensional transfer magic and the impact of the spirit realm's collapse swept through the area.
Swept up in that fierce vibration, Ash fell to the bottom of the collapsing spirit realm.