The sunlight shimmered gently on the rooftop.
Yuta Okkotsu's laughter slowly quieted, his smile still lingering. But something in the air had shifted.
A soft breeze swept by, and behind him—
where Rika's grotesque cursed form once loomed—
her body began to glow.
The monstrous outline faded like smoke in the wind.
And what remained—
—was the girl he loved.
Rika Orimoto.
The real Rika. The innocent, bright-eyed girl from years ago, standing barefoot in a white dress that fluttered like paper in the wind.
"…Rika?"
Yuta turned around slowly, as if afraid to blink.
Afraid it was an illusion.
But Rika smiled, tears shining in her eyes.
"Yuta… you did it," she said softly.
The world seemed to still.
The battlefield, the pain, the screams—gone. In this moment, it was just the two of them.
"I… I'm free now."
Yuta stepped forward, trembling. "Rika… I…"
He couldn't say it all at once. His throat choked up.
But Rika reached forward and gently placed her hands on his cheeks.
"You don't need to say anything."
"No," Yuta whispered. "I do."
And then he pulled her into his arms.
"I love you," he said, tears running down his face.
"I loved you then… and I still love you now."
Rika clung to him tightly, her voice shaking. "Thank you for freeing me… for remembering me."
"I never forgot," Yuta whispered into her shoulder.
"Not for a second."
Their hearts beat as one.
And then—light.
A warm golden light surrounded Rika, like sunlight through stained glass. Her form began to glow brighter, softer.
"It's time," she said, almost in a whisper.
"No—wait—"
"Don't be sad, Yuta," she said gently, smiling through tears.
"I'll always be with you… here."
She pressed a hand over his chest.
And then, like a breeze scattering petals in spring—
Rika vanished.
Gone.
Yuta stood alone again.
But there was peace on his face.
A soft smile.
He looked up at the sky and whispered, "Thank you… Rika."