Rebirth / Cloud's End · Farewell

"Go!"

Pierre beat his wings, stirring up a gale as he carried Gan Fall through the trees and into the sky.

From a distance, Gan Fall looked every bit the dashing Sky Knight despite his age!

The only eyesore was the Pegasus beneath him: pink-skinned, black-spotted, and crying "Pie~" instead of neighing.

It rather spoiled the effect.

But that was no concern of Kuta and the others.

Kuta drew back his gaze, raised his Wine Gourd for a sip, then took one last look at the place his domain had covered earlier.

A smile flickered in his eyes.

Then, in the fading light of the sunset, he turned and left with Kuina's hand in his, his companions following.

They left that ordinary yet extraordinary stretch of forest behind.

Not long after they were gone, darkness swept across the sky like a curtain, blotting out the last rays of the sun and revealing an endless expanse of stars.

When the bright moon rose,

the dark forest had light again—a soft, shimmering light.

But unlike its usual quiet, the forest was remarkably lively tonight. Pinpricks of fire emerged from a well-hidden cave and swiftly joined into a long, winding line.

A closer look revealed the residents of Angel Island, coming to welcome home family members who had been away for over four years.

Their arrival filled the once-silent forest with the warmth of human life. This place Enel had seized and called the Holy Land—a place that was merely an ordinary island above the boundless Sea below—seemed to come alive again.

Perhaps that was what people's love for the land could do to an island.

After all, however precious an island might be, it was people who gave it value. Without them, even an island covered in gold would be nothing but