Reunion Under the Full Moon

"It's really over..."

The red-eyed man was barely propping up his crumbling body. The one responsible for unleashing catastrophe right in the heart of the city. Takahashi Ren.

"Urgh..."

One of his eyes was blinded by a wound, and dark crimson shadows were slowly corroding spots all over his body. Even though the source of the catastrophe had vanished, his body continued to break down.

"Looks like my body's reached its limit..."

Ren could instinctively sense he couldn't hold on much longer. With great effort, he lifted his head to look at his guildmates.

"I know I can't be forgiven, but..."

Regret from the man who betrayed his comrades and triggered a horrific disaster.

"For turning my back on you all and causing this... I'm truly sorry..."

"Ren, you... Haa."

The guildmates couldn't respond easily. What he'd done was far too enormous. But their eyes still held complex emotions toward the man regretting it all too late.

"Ren, the sins you've committed are definitely hard to forgive. But we never imagined you'd be backed into a corner like this."

"If you'd just trusted us a little... it wouldn't have ended like this..."

"Really...? Haha... Too late for that now, huh?"

Ren let out a hollow laugh. His comrades' words felt like they were giving the sinner another chance. But knowing it was too late only deepened his remorse.

"Ren. I wanted to give you a proper thrashing myself."

"Leon... Were you serious about turning me into dough earlier? Haha..."

"I'm always serious. And... it's awkward to say it now, but I wanted you to live and pay for your crimes."

"The sin ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of unleashing a catastrophe and plunging so many into chaos... How could I ever repay that while alive...?"

"You idiot... Don't you know running from it with death is even more cowardly...?"

Leon shook his head with a bitter expression.

No awakener with healing abilities is here. And even if there was, whether they could heal that is another matter altogether...

Ren's body was already more than half eroded by the dark crimson energy. It had reached a point of no return.

"Tsuki... I finally... finally got to see you..."

"Ren... Please, snap out of it..."

—Squeeze.

Tsuki grabbed Ren's hand, but it was growing colder by the second.

"Tsuki... Your hand... it's so warm..."

"Ah... No... Ren, please..."

Ren's breathing grew fainter bit by bit.

"Sorry, Tsuki... Not the right thing to say now, but... I feel... strangely sleepy..."

"Ren, don't close your eyes..."

"Just... a quick nap, and then... I'll see you again..."

Ren's eyes dimmed like dying embers that no longer burned.

"This is weird... Why's no one here...? Tsuki... are you there...?"

"...Ren, I'm right here. Right by your side..."

"R-Really? Good..."

Ren turned his hazy, fogged eyes toward the direction of the familiar voice.

"Tsuki... They say a full moon's coming soon... Wanna go see it together...?"

"Of course... Who else would I go with but you...?"

"Is that so...? Haha... We've never had a proper date... So from now on..."

"Hehe... I can look forward to it, right...?"

"Of course... Naturally..."

Ren, with no strength left in his body, gripped Tsuki's hand tightly.

"Ah... There you are. Tsuki..."

"Of course... I've been right here all along..."

"I wanna talk more, but... sleep keeps coming... Just gonna close my eyes for a bit..."

"You're such a sleepyhead, just like always..."

"Haha... Sorry... Just a little nap..."

"I'll be right here... So sleep well... Ren..."

"......"

"Sweet dreams..."

A single transparent tear fell onto Ren's fully closed eyelids. As if she and he were crying together. The story of the man who gave everything for the one he loved ended on that page, under the silvery moonlight pouring down brightly.

"Ren... I'll follow you soon..."

Tsuki already knew her own condition. Having sealed Eclipse for a thousand years, she was part of that story. With the catastrophe over, her disappearance was only natural.

I've prepared myself... But one thing bothers me...

The man who became destruction itself to save everyone.

"Lucifer..."

The pitch-black man had silently watched over them until Tsuki bid Ren farewell.

He's not the playfully smiling Lucifer from back then... But I can tell.

His unspoken worry and kindness. The warmth that even the aura of destruction couldn't hide.

Tsuki rose and cautiously approached him.

The destructive energy is a bit scary...

But contrary to her fears, as she took one step, then two, the energy calmed, eventually becoming completely still.

"Even unconsciously, you're worried I might get hurt..."

His pitch-black eyes gazed at her with a distant look, but she could read the meaning within.

—"Sorry for coming back so late."

"You're not late at all... I'm just grateful you came back like this. Lucifer..."

Instead of replying, the pitch-black man reached out and gently stroked her head.

"Hehe... Past or present, you're the only one who treats a shrine maiden like this."

Lucifer, who had cared for her since she was a young shrine maiden. To her, he was a kind older brother and a man she respected.

I have no choice but to fade away now... But I worry you'll keep wandering without ending your own story... That's my only concern, Lucifer...

At that moment, a faint lunar energy flowed from him, softly enveloping Tsuki. Moonlight that warmly wrapped her fading existence.

Now I remember... There's only one person in the world who could embrace me in such warm moonlight.

Tsuki took his hand and closed her eyes with a radiant smile.

"Please take care of the princess... Lucifer."

Tsuki, who had existed for so long to suppress Eclipse. Her story of sacrifice to save everyone finally came to an end. Leaving a fragment of her silvery, moonlit tale in Si-hyun's hand.

Whoosh—

The feel of a gentle breeze brushing her cheek made Tsuki open her eyes.

"Where is this...?"

A bright moon hung in the sky, its pure white light caressing the scattering petals. A beautiful landscape of silvery sparkling flowers stretching wide.

"These flowers are full moon flowers..."

Full moon flower (Manwolhwa). A special flower that glowed silver only on nights when the full moon rose beautifully. Native only to the country where Tsuki had lived.

"Does that mean... this is Selenum...?"

Looking around slowly, she realized she had awoken in a familiar place. The Moon Temple. Where she had stayed from being chosen as shrine maiden until her country's fall.

Is this a dream I'm seeing before fading away?

It was a familiar sight. So familiar it felt like walking in a dream. Tsuki rose and wandered the surroundings.

"Everything's just like before. Here too... and this."

A neatly placed outfit inside the prayer room. Shrine maiden robes made of fabric closest to moonlight in color.

"Hehe... Clothes I wore over a thousand years ago, but I haven't forgotten how to put them on."

Old memories ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠bubbled up fresh. She didn't know why she was here, but if it was her final dream, she wanted to savor this nostalgic time a little.

A day passed, then two, three... Tsuki cleaned the temple in the mornings, tended the garden, and spent peaceful days. At night, she prayed to the moon as a shrine maiden. Before she knew it, a fortnight had gone by.

"Full moon tonight, so I should head to the garden later."

Tsuki took simple refreshments and warm tea to the moonlit garden.

"...This view is always so beautiful."

The garden of full moon flowers sparkling even brighter under the pouring moonlight. Filled with silver, it was adorned with a beauty no artificial light could match.

Tsuki settled in the center and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠looked up at the sky. Memories surfaced under the exceptionally bright full moon.

What happened during Eclipse...

Tsuki quietly closed her eyes.

"If not for Lucifer, we'd have been like candles in the wind..."

Amid her various thoughts, one name emerged.

"Ren..."

The man who loved her despite her ghost story-like state. And she who felt the same for him.

"Tonight feels especially lonely without Ren..."

Then.

—Clank.

The sound of the garden gate opening. During her time here, Tsuki had seen no one else. Who could be visiting?

A red-eyed man entered through the gate. Tsuki recognized him at a glance.

"...Ren?"

The man who gave up so much for her. Who committed an unforgivable sin out of longing to see his love. The foolish man who gazed only at her until the end.

"Ren...!!"

"Tsuki...!!"

The moment their eyes met, they ran to each other without a word.

—Whoosh!

Under the full moon, the shadows of one man and one woman gently overlapped.

"Hic...! Sob...!"

Overwhelmed with emotion, Tsuki soaked his shoulder with transparent tears.

"Tsuki... Is it really you...?"

"Yes... Yes... It's me, Ren...!"

Tsuki's hands clutched his back, Ren's arms wrapped around her shoulders. They held each other for a long time. As if afraid the other might vanish.

How long had it been? Tsuki slowly pulled back and looked up at Ren through teary eyes.

"So my punishment has finally ended..."

"Huh? What do you mean, Ren?"

"Tsuki... After our last farewell, I woke in a wasteland under a scorching sun."

"A wasteland...?"

"And as soon as I opened my eyes, words appeared before me."

"A thousand years...? Is that real?"

"Strangely, Tsuki, it matched the time you spent sealing Eclipse. So I figured it was punishment for my sins."

Ren had walked and walked that wasteland. Under the blazing sun, without water or rest, just endlessly forward. Until he forgot why he walked, where he was, who he was.

Then the Moon Temple appeared before him.

"Even if the punishment ended, I never dreamed I'd see you again..."

How was this possible? Tsuki suddenly turned to gaze at the sky.

"...Maybe Lucifer and the princess granted my wish."

"I don't know who they are, but if they let me meet you... I wanna know them too."

"Then I'll tell you bit by bit—you'll have to study hard?"

"...For real?"

"You're ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a fool who only has eyes for me."

"...What's that supposed to mean."

Tsuki let out a small laugh at his embarrassed look. An endlessly soft, warm smile. Ren couldn't help but smile back.

In the dazzling moonlit garden, they reunited. Like a miracle on a beautiful full moon night.