A few minutes passed after Casseo spoke with everyone about the approaching tide. They all went through varying expressions before their faces stopped with exhaustion and resignation.

Adults leaned against timber walls while the elderly sat on wooden benches, hands folded in their laps.

Nigen stood beside him, jaw set in grim acceptance. A Mori soldier sprawled across the ground, staring at clouds that filtered light above.

Casseo lifted his gaze to that sky, patches of grey visible between branches that had oppressed this place for three centuries. Then he turned back to the assembled townspeople and spoke, his voice carrying across the silent settlement.

"But it isn't all bad, as the Dark Silence was destroyed in the process."

Everyone froze before their heads all shifted towards him,

"Eastern Hesod is finally free."

A woman's hand flew to her mouth, and she trembled. An elderly man's eyes widened while a man stumbled before leaning on his wife.

"Free?" The word came from a middle-aged man with scarred hands. "We're actually... free?"

"The towering tree that created this cursed forest." Casseo continued. "It has been burned down by the team that ventures into the forest, and the roots are beginning to crumble. The three-hundred-year nightmare is finally over."

The silence lasted for a couple more seconds before it then exploded.

A roar erupted from dozens of throats simultaneously, shouts of triumph mixed with disbelief and joy. A woman collapsed to her knees, hands pressed against her face as sobs wracked her frame.

An elderly man threw his head back and laughed, the sound cracking with age but carrying pure elation. The adults who were sitting on the ground, soldiers surged to their feet, embracing each other.

"They did it!" Someone shouted. "They actually did it!"

"The forest is falling!"

"We're free! Eastern Hesod is free!"

Nigen's legs gave out before falling to the ground, but he didn't care. His hands trembled as they rose to cover his face while his shoulders shook, whether with laughter or tears, perhaps even he couldn't tell.

"Amiya and Janus." A woman called out with a grin. "Those kids! They really helped end it!"

"They saved us!" Another voice joined. "They saved everyone!"

The celebration intensified.

People grabbed each other, dancing in circles despite having no music. Tears streamed down weathered faces while laughter rang out uncontrollably.

Casseo's gaze swept over them. "So all the kids have already left the forest."

Nigen nodded with a sigh. "The Mori Soldiers came back to report. They're safe."

Casseo nodded once, before his eyes then drifted to the periphery of the square, where a Mori soldier was still lying on the ground. It surprised Casseo that he hadn't run away when he pointed out the approaching tide, and even more so when soldiers continued resting on the ground.

He moved away from Nigen and walked towards the man with a faded scar cutting through his eyebrow.

Casseo stood over him, blocking his view of the sky.

"Given up?" Casseo asked.

The soldier shifted his gaze to Casseo and said. "There is no point in panicking or going crazy. I am just glad I did a good thing before I died…" He shifted his gaze back to the sky with a light laugh. "That I could protect those kids and teenagers."

Casseo's expression softens as he tilts his head. "You don't regret?"

The Mori Soldier laughed again, stronger this time. "If I regret doing something like that, then I wouldn't have opted to become a soldier, let alone come over here."

Casseo threw his head back and laughed. "Impressive. It seems I had underestimated the Mori Soldiers, you guys do have some value and a desire to protect."

The soldier chuckled with a grin. "Damn right we do."

Casseo nodded at the Inquisitor before he walked back to Nigen and held out the Light Signal. "The only thing I can do for you all is give you a chance to say goodbye."

Nigen blinked, his composure cracking for a single moment. Then, a tremor ran through his frame as the voices of Amiya and Janus spilled from the device.

Casseo then turned back to see that the tide was even more visible through the tree line. The crimson-black flames were visible to even the townspeople now, a tide of corrupted fire flowing through the forest like water.

It consumed roots and trees alike, spreading toward Naraku Town with the light painting everything in shades of blood and shadow.

The laughter didn't stop.

"Ha!" One of the elders grinned so wide it split his face. "Even that can't take away what we know now!"

…

On the other side of the connection, chaos reigned.

Janus was screaming into his own communicator, his knuckles white. "Casseo! Answer me! What's happening!?"

Then the voice of Nigen rang out from the device.

"Janus? Amiya?"

Janus's voice died in his throat, his face becoming even paler as if all the blood had been drained.

"It's… It's me, son." Nigen's voice was soft, stripped of its usual gruff authority. "I… I am sorry. For doubting you… For doubting both of you, and not believing sooner. I didn't see that you weren't the little kids running through the town anymore. You were adults, strong enough to take on the world and survive."

Janus trembled, his breath hitching, and the device shaking in his hand. "We can talk about that later. Please-"

Nigen interjected, his voice forcing a warmth into it. "Hahaha, I am already rushing out, silly. The kids and teenagers were evacuated early. We're doing it, so now you can listen to me while we make our way to higher ground… So listen to me, it helps give me strength."

A tremor of relief ran through Janus, and a smile spread across. "Okay." He whispered, his voice hoarse. "I am listening."

Then he heard a voice, which was the Mori Soldier as he spoke. "Amiya! Janus! You hear that?! You ended three hundred years of suffering!"

"We're so proud!" A woman's voice cracked with emotion. "So damn proud of you both!"

"You did what none of us could!" An elderly man called out, his voice shaking. "You took that step forward when the rest of us stayed trapped!"

Janus trembled from their praise while Amiya giggled as both of them were holding the Light Signals.

…

Nigen lifted his head, tears streaming openly down his face as he laughed. The sound carried notes of pride and sorrow and love all twisted together. "My son."

He said, voice thick with emotion, directed at the Light Signal. "My brilliant, courageous son and his equally brave friends." He wiped at his eyes with the back of his hand. "You saved everyone and gave Eastern Hesod people a chance to live their lives without fear of the night and surroundings."

"The future generations won't have to pick up the burden of fighting this nightmare anymore." Another voice added, an older woman with grey hair. "They'll be able to leave, to travel, and to choose their own paths."

"Because of you two!"

"Because you refused to give up!"

The praise continued, overlapping and building. Each voice added to the chorus filled with pride, gratitude, and celebration, the end of an era even as death approached in burning waves.

A woman pushed forward through the crowd. She had curly black hair that framed her face with orange eyes, while a man walked behind her with crimson eyes and blond hair.

Both of them approached Nigen, who was holding the Light Signal, and then stopped with the woman trembling and the man resting his hand on her lower back.

"Lena." Someone murmured. "Darius."

Amiya's parents.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.