668,
The moment he called out “Mom,” Feng'er’s body began to glow.
Meanwhile, after facing the Spirit of Death’s fierce assault, the others finally joined forces and drove it back.
When Onigashima turned and saw the light radiating from the infant corpse demon, he couldn’t help but marvel at the sight.
Normally, special incantations were needed to cleanse the infant corpse demon of its resentment. The words were not only an apology—they also contained an ancient magical power.
By bringing the two into harmony, they could dispel Feng'er’s resentment, leaving his body with nothing but pure natural energy.
Using this method to transform him into a spirit had a ninety-percent success rate.
But Cyclone didn’t know those incantations. Faced with a newborn baby, he could only reach out to him with the power of his own words.
Onigashima didn’t know what Cyclone had said, but he was sure the words had come from the purest love in Cyclone’s heart.
That was what Onigashima believed.
“What do we do now?”
Yuna asked.
“It’s done. Now we just have to wait for the cremation to finish.”
“Cremation?”
Cremation didn’t mean they were going to burn Feng'er with actual flames.
As light shone from Feng'er’s body, he slowly changed back from a monster into a human baby.
“Cyclone, you have to let go now.”
Onigashima reminded Cyclone, but in that moment, Cyclone still couldn’t bring himself to let go.
It was as if Feng'er would be gone forever the moment he released him.
Feng'er grew hotter and hotter in his arms. Only when Cyclone’s hands could no longer bear the heat did he finally loosen his hold.
Light filled Feng'er’s entire body. He floated in the air, held aloft by his own power.
His appearance hadn’t changed much. He’d returned to the way he’d looked at the beginning—as a baby.
Only after he’d changed back into a baby did the light finally dim a little.
But even dimmer, Feng'er was still glowing.
A tiny, glowing spirit—that was Feng'er, Cyclone and Elyse’s son.
“Feng'er…”
Elyse looked at Feng'er and took a step forward.
Perhaps sensing Elyse’s wish, Feng'er smiled and flew into her arms.
Mother and son embraced. It was a heartwarmingly tender sight.
“Feng'er…”
“Mom…”
But as they held each other, Feng'er suddenly pushed Elyse away.
“Feng'er?”
Elyse was confused by the way he pushed her away.
“He’s maintaining this form with pure natural energy. I’m sorry, but the longer a spirit stays in contact with you, the weaker his power becomes. Eventually…”
Onigashima didn’t finish. The next words were simply too cruel for the others to hear.
They were only one step apart, yet the distance between them felt immeasurable.
As a spirit, Feng'er couldn’t stay with Elyse.
Just as Onigashima had said from the beginning, it was time to say goodbye to Feng'er.
Then Feng'er flew into the sky, circled once, and returned to Elyse’s side.
Feng'er reached out with his little hand and took Elyse’s left hand. Then he flew over to Cyclone’s right hand.
Feng'er placed Elyse’s hand on top of Cyclone’s, and their hands joined together in that moment.
Feng'er wore a smile, happy with what he’d done.
Cyclone smiled, and Elyse smiled too.
Who would’ve thought that even at the very end, Feng'er would still be worrying about the two of them?
Even with tears streaming down her face, Elyse kept smiling.
At the very end, Feng'er, now a spirit, picked up a small stone from the ground.
No one knew how it worked, but the moment the stone broke apart, it turned into a tiny crystal.
It was tiny, but it shone with the same light as Feng'er.
Feng'er placed the glowing crystal in Cyclone’s hand, but didn’t let go right away. First he looked at Elyse, and only then did he release it.
As if trying to tell them something, Feng'er smiled, kissed Cyclone on the cheek, then kissed Elyse on the lips.
“Feng'er… are you leaving?”
At Elyse’s question, Feng'er nodded.
“Will we… will we ever… ever…”
Elyse couldn’t bring herself to ask.
Feng'er neither nodded nor shook his head. He only kept smiling as he slowly flew up toward the sky.
