"—The Princess of Utsusemi.

  That is what he called me.

  Even as I felt the warmth of his noble heart…

  I could not bear its weight.

  So I left—

  leaving behind nothing but a robe of silk."

  The princess’s voice held a fragility, a loneliness woven through each word.

  "And yet, here I remain…

  adrift at the gate of Hasamaishi, unable to sever the last threads of regret."

  She led Saori to the edge of the gate as she spoke.

  "Hasamaishi," she said softly,

  "is made of two tall stone pillars,

  with a great stone resting between them—

  like a child held between a mother and father’s arms."

  She drifted gently around the stones, speaking as she floated.

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  "This is the gate that separates the living from the dead.

  If you pass through it, the silver thread binding your soul to your body will be cut.

  And with that, all burdens will fall away."

  The sound of the sea faded. The wind changed.

  From deep within the gate,

  a cold wind howled.

  Beyond it, a narrow path lay,

  lined with crimson spider lilies—

  leading toward the Sainokawara.

  "And then… you may be born again as someone’s child.

  In other words—

  you will die."

  Saori’s soul trembled.

  The silver thread shimmered, ready to break.

  There was fear—real fear—in her.

  "That’s good.

  It means you still feel it.

  Because, Saori… there’s still a path back."

  The princess wrapped her arms gently around Saori’s soul.

  "What do you want to do?"

  "...I don’t know."

  Within Saori,

  the brightness of a will to live clashed against the blackness of despair.

  "I understand.

  You don’t want to go back there.

  But… there are other places too."

  The dark haze began to dissolve,

  and in its place, a faint light bloomed.

  "I ran away, too, you know—

  from the palace.

  Slipped away quietly,

  to the side of the Governor of Iyo."

  She giggled, almost mischievous.

  "Funny, isn’t it?

  How I once yearned so deeply for the emperor,

  and then… suddenly, my heart turned elsewhere."

  "People think they have to return to where they came from.

  They believe they must endure.

  But no—

  you’ve done more than enough.

  No one has the right to demand more from you."

  Saori’s soul shimmered, softly swaying—

  as if enjoying the conversation itself.

  "You never really know where happiness lies."

  The princess floated upward, smiling.

  Her sleeves flowed like mist, catching the fading light.

  TOKKIHANA-TE TEN-NO NAGARE-NI MI-WO MASASE

  INOCHI-HA MEGURU YUUKYU-NO HATE

  * Flow with the currents of the heavens.

  Life will return—at the far end of eternity.

  Her dance grew more radiant,

  cloaked in ethereal light.

  The sky burned with sunset,

  then cooled into moonlight.

  And beneath the full moon,

  she stood wrapped in its glow.

  Transparent. Graceful.

  Like the empty shell of a cicada,

  left behind at the border of two worlds.