Rewinding

The morning mushroom knew nothing of the month's end or beginning; the summer cicada knew nothing of spring or autumn.

A hundred years could witness dynasties rise and fall,

a thousand could see seas become fields.

The seven-leaved Paris bloomed on a single stalk; dig three feet down, and a dormant cicada appeared.

Snow fell at midnight on New Year's Eve, crossing into another year before it touched the ground.

A mayfly shook a tree, born at dawn and dead by dusk,

a grain in the vast ocean, a thousand years drifting by.

A human life lasted scarcely a hundred years, and the weight of time

had never stood before Yuya as clearly as it did at this moment.

Princess Kaguya's thrust

had pierced more than Yuya's body.

Memories of the past flashed through his mind, vivid as a revolving lantern.

Once, he had longed to grow up quickly and become strong,

unwilling to keep taking shelter beneath Princess Kaguya's wings as though it were his due.

But now,

as Princess Kaguya's body gradually aged and decayed,

he wanted only for time to stop, or even turn back.

To return to before anything had happened to Princess Kaguya.

For the first time, this longing filled his mind with such intensity,

and a force of the spirit, more powerful than anything he had ever known,

erupted at that moment, becoming a warm current that surged into Yuya's eyes.

The instant Yuya awakened his Mangekyo,

he seemed to see an eternal, ceaseless river of time flowing before his eyes,

carrying the vicissitudes and weight of the ages.

In that instant, he seemed to grasp time itself...

"Ye'er..."

Princess Kaguya released the sword,

staring blankly at her hands.

Although Isshiki had fallen asleep, her consciousness was still hazy.

She had only wanted to keep Yuya with her.

The lingering instincts in her body and her muddled consciousness

had driven her to deliver that thrust in a daze.

At a loss, she stared numbly at Yuya's wound.

"I'm all right."

Yuya merely murmured,

his voice gentler than it had ever been.

Princess Kaguya trembled and stepped forward, slowly drawing closer to Yuya.

She wanted to touch his wound, but dared not.

Slowly, she raised her hand and gently stroked Yuya's cheek.

She choked out,

"Don't go..."

But then she met Yuya's scarlet eyes,

the dazzling patterns spinning within them.

The next second, Princess Kaguya lost consciousness.

Yuya had used Tsukuyomi on her, creating a beautiful illusion.

Her mind was terribly weak at that moment, and she could not resist it.

Yuya gathered Princess Kaguya's limp body into his arms.

He buried his face against her neck,

his voice a little hoarse.

"I'm not leaving... but not now..."

"I'll come back... soon..."

The next moment, the Mangekyō Sharingan in Yuya's left eye slowly rotated.

The wooden markings on Princess Kaguya's body began to recede and fade before his eyes.

This was the dōjutsu awakened in Yuya's left eye:

Flow Reversal!

It could rewind time, making it flow backward.

Yuya expended all the dōjutsu power he had gained upon awakening his Mangekyo,

until a trail of bloody tears ran from his left eye.

Only when its vision went completely black, leaving it blind, did he stop.

He had almost destroyed his newly awakened Mangekyo then and there.

But in doing so, he had reversed the backlash afflicting Princess Kaguya, delaying its arrival.

At the same time, he had slowed the flow of time over her body.

The effect could last for a month.

For that month, she would be safe,

free from the God Tree's erosion and Isshiki's interference.

Once he had done all this,

a ripple stirred in space as Yuya activated Space-Time Ninjutsu.

The next second, he appeared in the great hall of the Land of Ancestors with Princess Kaguya in his arms.

He went to her room and laid her on the bed.

As he gazed at her sleeping face, it looked exquisite and flawless.

She was in good condition now, her sleeping features relaxed,

the corners of her mouth gently lifting,

as though she were having a beautiful dream.

Yuya left a kiss on her smooth forehead.

After one last, lingering look at Princess Kaguya,

he left.

[The Wind-Snow Realm will close permanently soon. Time remaining: 37 seconds]

With only half a minute left before the Wind-Snow Realm closed,

Yuya arrived at the entrance.

"You told me to wait here. I thought you weren't coming... ah, your eye?"

Only then did Abe Kiyuki notice

that Yuya's left eye was dull.

It had the dullness of a blind eye, without the slightest spark of life.

"Open it."

Yuya offered no explanation, speaking flatly.

"Ah, all right."

For some reason, Abe Kiyuki felt that Yuya had become even colder.

Though he had already been cold before.

Seeing that he did not want to say more, she asked no further questions.

Instead, she took out an object resembling a jade pendant.

In an instant, a ball of light shone from it,

illuminating the air before them.

A faint, flickering doorway emerged.

"If you'd waited any longer, this barrier might have closed for good... even my connection to it is fading little by little."

Abe Kiyuki muttered.

Yuya said nothing more.

He cast one last look in Princess Kaguya's direction,

then stepped through the doorway.

He had just calculated his chances...

Yet his odds of surviving had dropped instead...

This time, they were below thirty percent...

Princess Kaguya had a dream.

In it, she came to a strange world.

Astonishing sights filled her vision, with buildings towering into the clouds, packed row upon row.

Carriages without horses sped to and fro, while winged iron birds roared overhead.

She walked through streets and alleys,

surrounded by men and women in bold clothes that seemed to lack enough fabric.

Long, bare legs gleamed in the open, and some people even exposed their soft waists.

Princess Kaguya felt a little shy, and a little excited.

She had never walked so freely through the streets.

It seemed no one noticed her,

or cast strange looks at her unusual white hair and white eyes.

Only when she came to a mirror did she discover

that, at some point, she had become just like them.

Dressed in clothes with too little fabric,

she had become an ordinary young girl.

She looked at her appearance in surprise,

but quickly accepted this identity,

as though she had always been this way.

She wandered aimlessly along the streets, beginning to search for something.

She did not know what she was looking for,

but whenever she stopped,

a figure that remained indistinct appeared in her mind.

"So this is where you were."

A man approached,

a bright smile lifting the corners of his mouth,

holding out an ice cream to her.

How strange. How did I know this was called ice cream?

"You took so long to find me this time. I'm going to punish you."

She accepted the ice cream as naturally as could be,

and said something that bewildered even her.

"All right, all right. Whatever punishment you want."

The man stroked her head affectionately.

"Mmm... I want you to carry me on your back."

She pursed her lips and thought for a moment before saying it.

"As you wish, my princess."

The man obediently crouched down.

She jumped onto his back, wrapping her arms around his neck,

looking rather pleased with herself.

They went to the cinema, and they went to the amusement park.

Hand in hand, they walked down every long, ancient path.

The man was always gentle,

and always would be.

They had a cozy little home,

and kept a pet dog.

They played games and watched anime together.

Every day, the man told her all kinds of stories.

And later, as naturally as could be, they married and had children.

One was named Hagoromo, the other Hamura.

As children, they were adorable and well-behaved.

But after they grew up, they went abroad and never returned.

The children were grown, so they could do as they pleased... as long as they didn't become... it was fine...

The two of them were happy to enjoy the peace and quiet.

Many years passed just like that.

They always stayed by each other's side.

With the man there, she seemed to be forever pampered like a little princess.

She never knew what it meant to have worries.

Until his health began to decline day by day.

At the end of the scene, the man held her hand.

He said to her,

"I'm going somewhere very far away. Can you wait for me to come back?"

"Can you... wait for me to come back..."

The man was her husband. His name was Su Ye.

"Then you have to come back..."

She spoke as tears streamed down her face.