"Hide. Hide, wake up."
Hide blinked awake to Sona leaning over him, shaking his shoulder gently. He could tell by the glow outside that dawn had barely broken.
"The elder wants to see you," Sona said softly.
Hide stretched, ran a hand through his hair, and stood to wash up. By the time he stepped outside, the village elder was waiting at the small gate, a gentle smile on his face.
"Hide-kin," the elder said. "The people wish to know — how long will you stay?"
Hide glanced at Sona by his side, then back at the elder. "We'll be setting off today. It's time."
The elder gave a respectful bow. "Then we won't stop you. This village will always be open to you — to both of you."
They gathered what little they needed — local villagers handed them dried fruit, fresh water, and little handmade charms for safe travel. As they stepped beyond the village edge, Hide felt Sona's hand slip into his.
"So," Sona teased, "back to wandering, huh?"
Hide smirked. "Of course. There's still so much hidden here in the Land of Exiles."
She laughed. "I just hope my feet survive it. You know, we could teleport."
"Where's the fun in that?" Hide shot back. "When we walk, we see the world."
"Yeah, yeah," Sona said, squeezing his hand tighter. "I guess I can't stop you from doing what you love."
Elsewhere, hidden from sunlight, trouble stirred.
"So… the two bodies we found. And the missing boy — it's all gone cold?" a dark figure asked.
His partner shrugged. "All we know is they were after something they shouldn't have been. Whoever helped them escape was good — maybe fiend good."
"Let's see what crawls out of the shadows," the first murmured.
Back in a hidden urban safe house, Ji-San and Priscilla watched over Miss Yumi, still pale but breathing.
"You think saving her was wise?" Ji-San asked, arms crossed.
Priscilla didn't look away from the woman resting under thick blankets. "When we found her, she was whispering Master's name over and over. That's reason enough."
Ji-San grunted. "We'll question her when she wakes."
Through moss and sun-dappled groves, Hide and Sona roamed deeper into the ancient wilderness until they stumbled upon a crumbling stone statue overgrown with vines.
Hide brushed the moss away to read the engraving aloud: "King Regis — Who Helped End the Fiend Invasion."
"His statue's in better shape than yours," Sona teased.
Hide didn't laugh. He rubbed his left eye, which pulsed with a dull ache.
"Your eye…" Sona said softly. "It's changing again, isn't it?"
"I'm fine," Hide lied, turning his face away.
Sona frowned — then pulled him by the arm. "Take your shirt off."
"What? Here?" Hide protested.
"Shirt. Off. Now."
He rolled his eyes and tugged it over his head. She traced a pale scar across his right chest.
"You still have this… Nagamoto's work?" she murmured.
"Looks like it healed fine," Hide said.
Sona lifted her own shirt just enough to show a faint matching scar at her side. Hide blinked, surprised.
"You kept that too," he said.
"Proof we survived," Sona said. She smacked his arm when he grinned at her. "Don't get any ideas."
They pressed on until broken metal and cracked walls emerged from the trees — the remains of Nagamoto's old facility.
Nature was clawing it apart. Ivy curled around broken windows. Rust bit into old research machines.
Inside, yellowed papers littered the floor — records of Hide's life, sketches, blood samples.
"They watched you like an experiment," Sona muttered, flipping through files.
"They made me one," Hide corrected gently. He picked up a torn photograph: a memory — him, Sona, Jin, Rin, Lucy — at a beach long forgotten.
"When did we take this?" Sona whispered.
Hide's eyes softened. "Maybe it was real. Or maybe they staged it — made me smile so they could study what happiness did to my powers."
Deeper in, they found a massive containment chamber, half collapsed. Inside: faded control panels and cages big enough for beasts.
"So this is how you learned to tame them," Sona said.
Hide shrugged, embarrassed. "Some things stuck, I guess."
"You think you're ordinary, Hide. You're not."
Hide leaned against a wall, closing his eyes. "I'd give it all up to be ordinary."
She touched his arm gently. "I wouldn't want you to."
They burned the facility down when they left. Flames consumed the lies Nagamoto had left behind.
By dusk, they sat under a tree on a grassy ridge. The sun bled into the horizon.
"Hey, Sona…" Hide said suddenly.
She turned to him. "What?"
"If I ever lose control — for real — I want you to stop me. Only you can."
Sona flinched. "Why would you say that?"
"I feel it," Hide whispered. "A pull. Like before… back in Lissandra."
"And you're giving me this job?"
Hide cracked a tired smile. "I already gave you the power to do it. Back in Rexes, when you were asleep. You'll remember it when you need it."
She clenched her fists. "I hate you for asking this. But… okay. If it happens — I'll do it."
Elsewhere, Jinko flipped through files in a quiet office. Lee peered over his shoulder.
"Hey, have you seen Miss Yumi? She was supposed to meet me," Lee said.
Jinko didn't look up. "Vacation."
"That's weird. She never takes time off," Lee muttered. But he drifted away, leaving Jinko alone with old names, old suspicions — and the word Owl scribbled in the margins.
Minami lay sprawled on Hide's old bed, staring at the ceiling. The note Delin left for Hide still rested on the desk.
I hope you're alive, Minami thought. It's boring here without you.
Back at camp, Hide and Sona ate dinner together — simple grilled meat and foraged fruit until Hide, with a snap of his fingers, turned it into burgers and fries.
Sona squealed. "What is this?"
"Welcome to civilization," Hide teased. "Try it."
She bit a fry, eyes widening. "It's salty. Crunchy. I love it."
Later, under stars brighter than city lights, they lay side by side. Sona watched him trace constellations with his finger.
"You know," Hide said, "if you wish on a shooting star, it comes true."
"You're such a liar," Sona laughed.
"Maybe. What's your wish, then?"
She smiled slyly. "I'll show you."
She leaned in and kissed him under the drifting silver of a falling star.
Far away, Miss Yumi woke in Priscilla's spare room, pain pulsing through her stomach. Priscilla sat at her bedside.
"Where am I?" Miss Yumi croaked.
"Safe," Priscilla said. "We found you. You were calling for Hide."
Ji-San appeared behind her. "You know him, don't you?"
Miss Yumi nodded. Her eyes drifted to a family photo on the wall — Hide as a child, perched on his father's shoulders, his mother's sharp claws glinting in the sun.
"He's half-fiend," she whispered.
Ji-San nodded. "And he's alive. He'll return when the time is right."
Miss Yumi's lips trembled. "I'll help him when he does. I owe him that."
Back home, the rain fell steady as Minami's family planned a visit to old friends they'd long hidden from the world. The wind rattled the windows — like a promise that the calm was only temporary.
And somewhere, far from all cities and eyes, under the ancient stars — Hide and Sona drifted to sleep side by side, wrapped in each other's warmth. The journey wasn't over. It was only beginning.