The windbreaker on his body was clean and smooth, with no wrinkles at all. The angelic aura around him was mellower than before, and the outline of complete wings flashed past behind him.
He looked down at his hands, then looked at Dean, with a somewhat complicated look in his eyes.
"Cass?" Dean looked at him blankly, forgetting to blink, thinking it was an illusion that he had been beaten out, "You... you are still alive?"
"More than just living." Castiel came over and put his hand on Dean's shoulder. Warm divine power surged over, and the wounds on Dean's face, bruises and severe pain on his body were all healing at a speed visible to the naked eye. "God brought me back and upgraded it."
After he finished speaking, he turned around and walked to Bobby, squatted down, and gently pressed his hand on Bobby's forehead. The golden divine power covered it, and Bobby's originally crooked neck slowly straightened up. He coughed in his throat and slowly opened his eyes.
"Holy shit..." Bobby sat up, stretched out his hand and touched his neck, still a little confused, "Am I alive again? The feeling of breaking my neck is really strong."
Castiel walked to Bai Haorui and squatted down, raising his hand to apply divine power on his back.
But as soon as the fingertips touched his clothes, they were flicked by the chaotic purple-gold True Gang in Bai Haorui's body, and the divine power was directly released.
"Your internal injuries are too serious, and your soul is also damaged. My divine power conflicts with your Daoist skills and cannot cure the root cause." Castiel frowned, with a hint of apology in his tone, "I can only help you stop external bleeding and repair your meridians and soul. You have to rely on you to adjust your breath."
"It's okay." Bai Haorui said hoarsely, standing up slowly while holding the broken sword. His face was as white as paper, but his eyes were dim, like burnt ashes, "Thanks."
Dean looked at Castiel and Bobby, tears fell again, but his heart was still empty - Sam did not come back.
Everyone who survived is here, but the person who should be standing here the most remains in Hell.
"What are you going to do next?" Dean looked at Castiel, his voice still a little hoarse.
"Go back to Heaven, probably." Castiel paused and looked up at the sky, "Michael is trapped in a cage. Heaven must be in a mess now. Someone has to take care of it."
"So you are the new boss now?" Dean twitched the corner of his mouth, smiling uglier than crying.
"That's right." Castiel nodded, his tone was very calm, "I don't know what God wants, and I don't know if he will come back. But I think we should do this."
"Okay." Dean turned his face away, his voice was hoarse, his anger suddenly rose, and he looked at him with red eyes, "When you see him, tell me something for me - I will settle the score with him next."
"You're angry."
"Nonsense." Dean's voice suddenly rose, his eyes were red, "He rescued you, rescued Bobby, but what about Sam? What about me? What did I get? I only have a younger brother trapped in Hell!"
"You got what you wanted, Dean." Castiel's tone was still calm, but every word was heartbreaking, "There is no Apocalypse, there is no end of the world, everything is the same as before. Think about it, do you want peace or freedom?"
Dean opened his mouth but said nothing. He knew that Cass was right and the world was saved, but he just couldn't reconcile it.
Why? Why are all of them being fooled around on the chessboard? Why should Sam pay the price?
Bobby came over and patted Dean's shoulder with his rough palm, without saying too many words of comfort.
He knew that it was useless to say anything at this time, and he had to endure the pain on his own.
Castiel nodded to them and said nothing more. He spread the wings on his back, and with a flash of golden light, the whole person disappeared into the air, leaving only a few falling feathers, which quickly turned into light spots and dispersed.
Bobby was also going back to South Dakota's home. Before leaving, he walked up to Bai Haorui, patted his arm, and said in a rough voice, "Boy, don't compete with yourself. You have done enough. Someone else can't last even a minute. Come back with me and recuperate, don't think nonsense."
Bai Haorui twitched the corner of his mouth, smiled, and said nothing.
In the end, there were only two people left in the cemetery, Dean and Bai Haorui, and the Impala, parked there quietly, with dust and blood stains on the car, like a silent old man.
"Where are you going next?" Dean asked him, his voice still a little waggish.
"Go to Bobby's house for retreat." Bai Haorui looked at the horizon in the distance, with an obsession hidden in his eyes, "Recuperate and think about how to break through the realm."
"After Refining Qi into Gang, it's Refining Spirit and Returning to Emptiness you said, right?" Dean asked, "Is it difficult?"
"It's difficult." Bai Haorui nodded, with a deep tone, "It's as difficult as climbing to the sky. But I must break through."
He said in his heart: Next time I meet Lucifer or Michael, I will never be as powerless as today. I must be strong enough to pull Sam back from Hell, strong enough to tear God's bullshit script into pieces.
"Don't try too hard." Dean sighed, reaching out and patting his arm, "Sam doesn't want to see you wear yourself out."
Bai Haorui smiled and didn't answer. He patted Dean on the shoulder in turn. "Go to Lisa's place. Sam told you to take good care of yourself. Don't let him down."
Dean was silent for a long time, so long that the wind blew several times before he nodded lightly.
Two cars stopped at the entrance of the cemetery, Impala and black Ford F-150. Their engines started one after another, making a low roar. Dean sat in the driver's seat and raised his chin at Bai Haorui through the car window.
Bai Haorui nodded and turned the steering wheel.
The two cars drove in opposite directions, one to the east and the other to the west, and gradually disappeared at the end of the road, leaving only two lines of raised dust, slowly dispersed in the wind.
The setting sun dyed the houses in the suburbs into a warm golden color, the lawns were neatly trimmed, the grill in the yard was emitting a faint smoke, and the aroma of barbecue floated far away along the wind, mixed with Ben's laughter.
Dean stood at the door of Lisa's house. He raised his hand for a long time before gently knocking on the door.
The door opened. Lisa stood at the door, wearing a homely T-shirt and jeans. When he saw him, his eyes suddenly lit up, and then he was filled with deep worry. "Dean? Thank God, are you okay?"
Dean looked at her, twitching the corner of his mouth, his voice a little hoarse, and a little tired from all the travel. "Well... if it's not too late, I want to come over and have a cup of beer you mentioned."
Lisa smiled, turned sideways and let him in, with a gentle tone. "It's never too late."
The door closed gently behind you.
The warm yellow light from the living room shines through and falls on the lawn in front of the door. It is quiet and quiet, like the evening of any ordinary family.
Dean stood in the living room, looking at the warm yellow light, watching the back of Lisa going to the refrigerator to get a beer, and listening to the sound of Ben playing with toys in the living room, and suddenly remembered what Sam said - "just take your share for me."
He closed his eyes and said softly in his heart: Sam, I will live well.
In Chuck's hut, the computer screen shines with a cold white light, and the cursor of the document flashes before stopping at the last line. There is a half cup of cold coffee on the table, and a few old books are spread out next to it.
Chuck sat in front of the computer. After typing the last word on the keyboard, he took back his hand and stretched. He looked at the screen and smiled, then spoke slowly, as if he was talking to the air or to someone invisible:
"Endings are always difficult. Any keyboard typist can write a beginning, but the ending? It's too difficult. You want to tie up all the foreshadowings, but you can never finish them. Fans will always complain, and there will always be loopholes. Since it is the ending, it has to be a little meaningful, right? To be honest, this thing is really annoying."
He stood up, and at some point his casual clothes turned into a clean white shirt, so smooth that there was no wrinkle.
"But then again... does anything ever really end?"
As the words fell, his figure slowly faded, disappearing into the room like water vapor evaporating.
On the computer screen, the last line of the document read, "The story is far from over."
The cursor is still flashing, as if waiting for the next word.
Late at night, outside the window of Lisa's house, the street light flickered, and then went out with a "ZLA" sound. The surrounding area instantly darkened, leaving only the warm light in the house that passed through the glass window, casting a square bright spot on the ground.
A figure stood in the shadow of the street lamp, wearing the plaid shirt he usually wore, with his coat on his arm. His face had no expression, and he looked quietly at the lights in the room through the glass window, watching Dean sitting on the sofa talking to Lisa.
He just stood there quietly, looking at it for a long time, like a shadow that never existed.
The night was dark, the wind blew gently, and his figure swayed, like smoke blown away by the wind, and slowly disappeared into the darkness.
The street lights came on again, and the road was empty, as if no one had ever been there.
In the basement of Bobby's house, there is a bit of damp musty smell in the air, shotguns and thick supernatural books are hung on the wall, and sundries and oil drums are piled in the corner.
Bai Haorui is sitting cross-legged on the futon, the purple-gold True Gang all over her body is flickering, and the Lotus Seal between her eyebrows is dim.
He closed his eyes, his face was still pale, and there were still traces of blood on the corners of his mouth.
The broken mahogany sword was placed on the ground in front of him, Five Emperor Coins was scattered beside it, and its patina-like luster had dimmed a lot.
In his sea of consciousness, the images from today were turning over and over - Lucifer's mocking eyes, Michael's arrogant posture, Sam's last smile before jumping, and the warm hand that pushed him back.
Peak of Refining Qi into Gang, still not enough.
In front of the real God, he is still like an ant.
He clenched his fists so hard that his knuckles turned white.
At the dantian, the original silent source began to rotate slowly, with a fierce force that refused to admit defeat, hitting the barrier of Refining Spirit and Returning to Emptiness again and again.
. The pain in his meridians came through, and he didn't even frown.
The story doesn't end.
The chess game has just begun.