They were camped near the shell of the shrine Kazuki consumed. No one spoke. No one slept. Not even the wind moved.
Kazuki sat alone.Staring into the night like he expected it to blink first.
Mistral padded over quietly.
No tail flicks. No sarcastic swagger.
Just silence.
He sat beside Kazuki for a long while.Didn't speak.
Then he said, without looking:
"You know I'm bound to you."
Kazuki nodded.
"You also know I was never assigned. I chose you."
Another nod.
Mistral's voice was calm.
"I believed in you before you believed in yourself. Even when you were a joke. Even when the system laughed at you."
Kazuki finally looked at him. "I remember."
"But I don't recognize you anymore."
Kazuki didn't flinch.Didn't get defensive.
He just asked:
"Is it the shrine?"
Mistral shook his head.
"No. It's that you didn't hesitate. You walked in knowing what it would cost—and you smiled when it worked."
Kazuki exhaled.
"I had to. They're all watching. Waiting for me to slip. So I didn't."
Mistral stood.
"You're not slipping anymore. You're diving."
A pause.
Then:
"I can't follow you into that."
Kazuki looked down. His voice was soft.
"...Do you hate me now?"
Mistral hopped up onto a rock, eyes glowing faintly in the moonlight.
"No. That's what makes it worse."
"Because part of me still wants to."
He turned and started walking away.
No ceremony. No drama.
Just the quiet shatter of the last thing Kazuki thought he could rely on.
As he disappeared into the night, Mistral's voice echoed once more:
"If you ever come back—not as a god, not as a rewrite, but as Kazuki—I'll be there."
"But not for this."
Kazuki didn't cry.
He just sat there, looking at the fire.
The system pinged:
[Familiar Bond: Severed (Voluntarily)][Kazuki's Isolation Level: Critical]
He stared at the flames.
And whispered:
"This is still worth it."