This time, if she left, perhaps she would never... have another chance. How could she possibly leave so easily, without caring?
Kiana, watching this, felt the same way.
Thinking back, when Kiana had said goodbye to Himeko, it had been just like this! Kiana had also thought that as long as she did not leave, she could stay with Himeko forever.
And now, it was Mei's turn. She could not bear to leave Elysia...
The two of them really were so alike.
And it was not just them. As everyone watched the comic, seeing Mei repeatedly say, "Don't..." under the weight of her emotions...
They, too, filled the screen with [Don't] comments. Don't leave like this. They did not want to leave Elysia...
They wanted to stay with Elysia forever.
"...All right!"
"It's okay. When you don't want to move forward, then stop for a while! Then... look beside you, look behind you..."
"See..."
"We'll always be here, exactly as we were before, won't we?"
Elysia pointed to the side. The next moment... the snowy white expanse turned into images of the Flame-Chasers. Beneath the setting sun... they all stood there, not a single one missing.
But...
That only made it harder to hold back their emotions. Their noses stung.
Then, Elysia told Mei many things. The story of the Thirteen Flame-Chasers was that simple. All they needed was for those who came after them to carry on their spirit.
Faced with all the stories Elysia had told, no matter how unwilling she was to part... Raiden Mei finally made up her mind.
Just like the new Herrscher of Flame back then, no matter how reluctant she was, she still had to keep moving forward.
"...Thank you. I won't forget."
"Goodbye, Thirteen Flame-Chasers! Goodbye, Elysia..."
[Goodbye, Flame-Chasers!]
[Goodbye...