"Where is this?"
Jiang Zhu, who had just been summoned, looked around confusedly. Before he could react, someone threw themselves into his arms.
He looked down, somewhat at a loss, at the lovely young lady who had thrown herself into his arms.
Perhaps it was the joy of reunion; she held him, her face streaming with tears.
Holding him tightly, Ji Xuanyuan's petite body trembled continuously, as if fearing that everything in front of her was an illusion.
As his consciousness gradually cleared, Jiang Zhu quickly recalled who the girl in front of him was—his beloved, Ji Xuanyuan.
After Ji Xuanyuan went to the Nine Nether alone to fight Chiyou, and rumors spread that Ji Xuanyuan had sealed Chiyou, Jiang Zhu continuously searched for Ji Xuanyuan's whereabouts.
Many people said that Ji Xuanyuan had died, but he didn't believe it. He believed that Ji Xuanyuan was still waiting for him somewhere, and he had to find her quickly.
However... no matter where he went, even if he searched near the Nine Nether for his entire life, he never found any trace of Ji Xuanyuan.
Humans cannot live forever. Before he was about to die, he engraved everything he wanted to say to Ji Xuanyuan onto jewelry and entrusted it to Jingwei, who had been searching for Ji Xuanyuan with him.
Jingwei's identity was different, so Jiang Zhu could only place all his hope in her, hoping that she could find Ji Xuanyuan on his behalf and tell her what he wanted to say.
"I... I finally found you, Xuanyuan. I'm sorry for making you wait for so long. You must have been very lonely, right?"
Jiang Zhu embraced Ji Xuanyuan in return. Although he didn't understand why he had been reborn in this world as a young man, nor why he had reappeared.
If this was just a dream, he hoped it was a dream he would never wake from. He wanted to live in this world with Ji Xuanyuan forever.
He had finally found the person he had been searching for. This time, he would never let go, never.
"No... Jiang Zhu, I've been waiting for you all this time. Thank you for always looking for me, thank you. Thank you so much."
Ji Xuanyuan spoke incoherently. Besides these words, she didn't know how to express her current feelings.
When she threw herself into Jiang Zhu's arms, she saw the scene of Jiang Zhu searching for her his entire life. This made her feel extremely guilty towards Jiang Zhu, but the emotion in her heart made her tears flow uncontrollably.
"This is wonderful, they can finally meet again. This is the ending they deserve."
Inaba Tsukiyo had always wondered why the historical heroes often had such unsatisfactory endings.
These people had given so much, yet their final outcomes were not good. Ji Xuanyuan and Jiang Zhu's reunion could be considered a compensation for their regrets.
"Thank you so much, lord alaya. Thank you for agreeing to my selfish request."
Inaba Tsukiyo bowed to alaya, who was standing beside her. If it weren't for alaya's help, she probably wouldn't have been able to reunite Jiang Zhu and Ji Xuanyuan.
"It's nothing, just a very simple matter. If they didn't have corresponding merits, even I wouldn't be able to make them Heroic Spirits. This is the result of their efforts."
Jiang Zhu could be considered the Divine Farmer of this world; with his merits, becoming a Heroic Spirit was a very simple matter.
As for Ji Xuanyuan, even more so. To make these two Heroic Spirits, alaya could do it herself, even without gaia's involvement.
"Also, there's a condition for making them Heroic Spirits this time. You must promise me one thing, Tsukiyo."
"Uh... alright. As long as it's something I can do, I will do it, lord alaya."
This was only natural. Although it was something alaya could easily accomplish, in the eyes of ordinary people, it was a miracle.
To create a miracle, paying a small price was also a matter of course.
"That... it's not a difficult thing. It's just... you don't have to call me lord alaya anymore; just call me alaya."
For some reason, alaya suddenly became a little bashful, and her expressionless pretty face was tinged with a lovely blush.
Inaba Tsukiyo looked at alaya with some surprise. Not only alaya, but even Herrscher Tsukiyo, who was drinking tea in the depths of her mind, and Victorica, who was also drinking tea, all spat out their tea, right onto the face of Herrscher Tsukiyo, who was sitting opposite her.
"Don't you like making friends? You're also doing things for me, so if that's the case, there's nothing wrong with us becoming friends, right?"
Seemingly worried that Inaba Tsukiyo might misunderstand, alaya replied with a somewhat embarrassed expression.
However, her explanation only made her seem more and more suspicious.
Looking at alaya, who was behaving completely differently from before, Inaba Tsukiyo couldn't help but laugh.
She had originally thought that as the will of humanity for humanity, alaya would be absolutely rational no matter what she faced.
But she didn't expect her to have such a cute side. She felt a little like meeting gaia; she wondered what kind of person this unseen 'Mother Earth' was.
"...I understand, lord alaya... no, alaya. Thank you."
"No... you're welcome. Um, Tsukiyo, I..."
alaya seemed about to say something else, but at that moment, they felt a chill.
Both of them looked towards Ji Xuanyuan and Jiang Zhu. At some point, Ji Xuanyuan had transformed into the appearance they had first seen, and she coldly asked Jiang Zhu, who was drenched in a cold sweat:
"While you were looking for me, you were always with Jingwei. Did anything happen between you and her?"
"Uh... well, Xuanyuan. Nothing happened between her and me. You know Jingwei's special nature, and don't you understand my feelings for you?"
Jiang Zhu looked at Ji Xuanyuan with some fear. Ji Xuanyuan's current appearance was even scarier than when he didn't make desserts for her. Although there was a different kind of cuteness to it, this feeling made him a little flustered.
"Hmph, who knows what you were really thinking. Maybe while you were looking for me, you couldn't resist and something happened with Jingwei. Jingwei is cute too, isn't she?"
Jiang Zhu's words had some effect, but Ji Xuanyuan didn't let him off the hook, or rather, she said it with a bit of a pout.
She forgot Jingwei's combat power, however; if Jiang Zhu truly dared to do anything to Jingwei, he would likely be greeted with a hole in his stomach.
At the same time, she gradually returned to her original appearance, which left Inaba Tsukiyo, who was watching the show, a bit confused about what was happening.
"alaya, what exactly is this…?"
"It's nothing. Although you've used the Myriad Flaw Restoration on Ji Xuanyuan, that is merely another one of her forms. She transforms into that state when she's in a certain condition."
"…Blackened?"
After thinking for a moment, Inaba Tsukiyo recalled a term she had recently heard from Bronya and asked.
alaya nodded, not saying much more. Such situations occurred far too often at Chaldea; she was already used to them.
After Jiang Zhu and Ji Xuanyuan had expressed their emotions sufficiently, they approached alaya and Inaba Tsukiyo.
"Thank you both so much, unknown adults, for allowing Xuanyuan and me to meet again."
Ji Xuanyuan and Jiang Zhu's hands were clasped tightly together, and they respectfully bowed to alaya.
Jiang Zhu had already heard from Ji Xuanyuan that his ability to appear in this form was entirely due to alaya.
To be able to bring the deceased back into this world, the seemingly petite alaya was definitely a significant figure.
Ji Xuanyuan and Jiang Zhu were figures from the mythical era, so they had never heard anything about the will of humanity, meaning they knew nothing about alaya.
"It doesn't matter, and everything you've done for humanity has already qualified you to become a Heroic Spirit, Shennong. From now on, you are the Lancer-class Heroic Spirit, and Ji Xuanyuan is the Saber-class Heroic Spirit. The xuanyuan sword you wield is your noble phantasm."
Even without carrying the xuanyuan sword, Ji Xuanyuan was already bound to it.
"I understand. Thank you, adult."
They bowed to alaya once more. After understanding the knowledge of Heroic Spirits, they also comprehended their current situation.
Although they had become Heroic Spirits, they were already content to be able to meet each other again.
However, even though they could continue to exist, for this world, there was no longer any need for them to remain; their era had ended.
"Thank you for everything you've done, Tsukiyo. If it weren't for you, I probably wouldn't have been able to meet Jiang Zhu again."
Ji Xuanyuan looked at Inaba Tsukiyo gratefully. If it weren't for Inaba Tsukiyo, she probably wouldn't have met Jiang Zhu.
"It's alright, Xuanyuan. After all, we're friends, aren't we? Helping a friend, isn't that natural?"
"…Yes, we are friends."
After a moment of stunned, Ji Xuanyuan, realizing, showed a brilliant smile. She grasped Inaba Tsukiyo's hands and smiled.
At the same time, Inaba Tsukiyo felt a familiar energy flowing into her body from Ji Xuanyuan, which was the power she had been continuously collecting.
"This is what I gained from Chiyou's body all these years. I don't know what this power is; it's not Honkai Energy, but it's very mysterious. However, I sense the exact same energy within you, so you must really need this power."
Ji Xuanyuan explained that due to sealing Chiyou, the energy within Chiyou's body was absorbed by Ji Xuanyuan.
Because this power had merged with Honkai Energy, Inaba Tsukiyo could not sense its existence.
While absorbing this power, Inaba Tsukiyo could feel Ji Xuanyuan's sword skills also being transmitted to her.
"Then I'll give you all my abilities too. Although it's just some knowledge about healing and making desserts."
Jiang Zhu held Ji Xuanyuan's hand and imparted all his medical knowledge to Inaba Tsukiyo, along with all the culinary knowledge he had researched in the past.
alaya, standing nearby, couldn't help but glance at Jiang Zhu, thinking that perhaps this guy could help Emiya alleviate some pressure when he went to Chaldea.
After completing these actions, Ji Xuanyuan and Jiang Zhu's bodies began to dissipate; their time to depart had arrived.
"Tsukiyo… Although it's very selfish of me, I hope you can help me eliminate Chiyou."
"Without the seal of the xuanyuan sword, Chiyou will awaken again. If Chiyou leaves Jiuyou, then the Divine Continent will once again fall into peril. I hope you can help me."
Chiyou, unsealed by the xuanyuan sword, was gradually awakening. Before long, Chiyou would leave Jiuyou and advance towards the Divine Continent.
In the past, she had no way to eliminate Chiyou, but in the world a thousand years later, there must be a way to eliminate Chiyou.
All hope rested on Inaba Tsukiyo.
"From here, you can find your way to Chiyou's heart. Now… I'm counting on you, Tsukiyo."
With that said… Ji Xuanyuan and Jiang Zhu completely vanished. alaya took one last look at Inaba Tsukiyo and then left as well.
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