As time passed, the Black Mist on the Shadow Isles grew fainter and fainter until it finally vanished completely. Sunlight at last shone upon this island that had not seen the sun for a thousand years.
Feeling the sunlight fall upon her, Gwen was as delighted as a child.
More precisely, she was a child—a child innocent of the ways of the world, yet one who had always endured pain.
But to Yorick, the dispersal of the Black Mist meant that his life was nearing its end. After all, he had only remained alive because of the Black Mist.
"Yorick, you..."
Yorick interrupted Lan Hong before he could finish his question. He seemed to already know what Lan Hong wanted to ask.
"I'm already used to loneliness. Let me spend what time I have left by myself."
With that, Yorick walked away. He had once been called the gravedigger; perhaps he would dig a suitable grave for himself.
Since it was his own choice, Lan Hong naturally chose to respect it. He then turned his gaze to Maokai, who was also looking at him.
"Thank you. You saved this island and finally dispersed the Black Mist that had plagued it for a thousand years.
It's time for me to return as well, to get a good night's sleep. I hope that when I wake next time, this place will have become prosperous once more."
After saying that, Maokai too dragged his heavy steps back into the twisted forest.
He would not die, but it would still take a long time for him to remove the curse from his body.
In truth, he could have absorbed the purified Water of Life from the Eternal Well.
But Maokai did not choose to do so. Perhaps he had sensed that the Water of