Zeto

The broken Ashen Gate collapses behind them as Cold Yuichi drags Captain Lucien Veyr across the black avenue. His half-Pinno horn smolders, and his fractured Espresso Blade hangs from a numb arm.

Janet walks beside him with her recovered blue soul-marble secured against her chest. Marie stays close, while Captain Seraphine Vale, Kael Ardin, Mare, Friken, and the surviving soldiers guide the wounded alliance toward the Quiche exit route.

The passage forms from pale spiritual light, untouched by the dead gate’s influence. Lucien remains barely conscious, his robes dragging over the threshold as Yuichi brings him through.

The group emerges inside the Quiche under watchful white towers. Guards surround Lucien without touching Yuichi, while Marie’s fairies dim and the damaged route seals behind them.

Later, Lucien is sealed in the deepest cells beneath the Quiche. In the courtyard above, Cold Yuichi stands alone beneath the pale towers, his fractured Espresso Blade hanging uselessly from his numb hand.

The last black coils withdraw from his horn. Frost flakes from the broken sword, and the strain of using the Pinno power leaves his breathing shallow and uneven.

His horn dissolves into dark sparks. The black-and-white Blanko uniform fades with it, unraveling into ordinary clothing as the spiritual pressure drains from his body.

His sword fractures completely with a dry crack. The final break sends a sharp numbness through his arm, and the weapon’s remaining light vanishes from his grasp.

Cold Yuichi loses consciousness in the courtyard and drops heavily to the stone. Marie catches his shoulder too late, while Janet kneels beside him and checks his fading spiritual presence.

Cold Yuichi wakes in his room beneath the familiar ceiling. His body feels weak, but the worst spiritual pressure has faded, leaving only a dull ache in his arm.

Maric, his young brother with black hair and tearful eyes, kneels beside the bed. His hands grip the blanket as he tries to stop crying.

Cold Yuichi lifts his tired hand and pats Maric gently on the head. Maric leans into the touch, relief breaking through his tears.

The news reveals an unexpected advantage: Jaricho knows Yuichi is awake and has kept the house secured, while Janet and Marie are waiting nearby instead of leaving him alone.

Cold Yuichi pushes himself from the bed and walks outside, one hand braced against the wall. His numb arm aches sharply, but he reaches the courtyard.

Marie rises from the garden steps as he emerges, her fairies glowing faintly around her wrists. Janet stands beside her, blue soul-marble secured beneath her coat.

A tremor passes through Yuichi’s numb arm. Frost briefly gathers along his fingers, then flakes away before reaching his palm.

Janet steps closer, one hand resting over the blue soul-marble beneath her coat. Her silver eyes stay fixed on him as the courtyard falls quiet.

A pale thread of spiritual light appears above Janet’s soul-marble, stretching toward the distant Quiche. It trembles, but it does not break.

Cold Yuichi looks at Janet as he speaks. The pale thread above her soul-marble thins, and her outline begins fading from his ordinary sight as his last spiritual power disappears.

Janet’s silver eyes remain clear for one final moment. The blue soul-marble warms beneath her coat, leaving a faint pulse that answers from Cold Yuichi’s chest.

Janet fades completely from Yuichi’s sight, but Marie’s fairies trace her position in soft points of light. The Quiche thread remains anchored, giving them a reliable way to guide him.

Cold Yuichi keeps his eyes on the empty space where Janet stood. The last pale thread trembles there, and his face tightens as tears finally break free.

Marie steps forward and catches him as his knees weaken. He folds into her arms, crying against her shoulder while the fairies circle them in quiet, golden light.

Marie holds him firmly while he continues to cry, his gaze fixed past her toward Janet’s vanished outline. The courtyard stays still around them.

The fairies gather above Yuichi’s heart and shape a small, shimmering image of Janet’s silver eyes. A faint warmth answers from the soul-marble, proving her bond can still reach him.

After the tears stop, Cold Yuichi washes his face, changes clothes, and returns to the ordinary routines he abandoned: breakfast, chores, and school preparation.

The house settles into familiar morning sounds. Jaricho watches from the kitchen without pressing for explanations, while Maric packs his schoolbag beside Yuichi.

At Kurichi Highschool, black-and-red uniforms fill the halls. Yuichi moves among ordinary conversations and ringing bells, his numb arm hidden beneath his sleeve.

Classes pass without alarms or battles. Yuichi copies notes, eats lunch with Marie, and lets the familiar schedule carry him forward while her fairies quietly mark Janet’s presence.