Ouki's hand rested on the shaft of his glaive.
For a moment, the world seemed to narrow.
No generals.
No armies.
No nations.
Only the young man in front of him.
"…Come closer."
Shin obeyed.
Every step felt unreal, as if the ground itself had stopped existing.
Behind him, Tou did not move.
Moubu did not speak.
Hyou Ren watched in silence.
Even Lu Shen held his breath.
Ouki slowly lifted the glaive from his shoulder.
The weapon that had defined an era.
The weapon that had ended countless lives.
The weapon that had carried Qin's name across blood-soaked continents.
Now…
It was heavy.
Too heavy for even him.
But he still raised it.
Not as a weapon.
But as a legacy.
"…Shin."
The voice was softer now.
Not the roar of a Great General.
But something human.
"…Do you know what this is?"
Shin swallowed.
"…Your glaive."
A faint laugh escaped Ouki.
"Kokokoko… wrong."
"This is not mine anymore."
The glaive tilted forward.
Not aimed.
Offered.
Shin froze.
"…General?"
Ouki's eyes sharpened one final time.
"I am giving you a weapon you do not yet deserve."
The words struck like thunder.
"Take it."
The entire escorting army went still.
Even the horses stopped shifting.
Shin's hands trembled violently.
"…I… I can't—"
Ouki interrupted him.
"Then learn to."
A pause.
A breath that felt like the end of a world.
"You guide my horse."
"You carry my last battlefield."
"Then carry this as well."
Shin's vision blurred.
His fingers closed around the glaive.
It nearly crushed him.
He staggered.
But did not fall.
Behind him, soldiers began to whisper.
"…That boy…"
"…He's holding it…"
"…Ouki's glaive…"
Ouki watched him carefully.
Then, for the first time in a long time…
He smiled with something like peace.
"…Good."
The weight of the glaive shifted.
Not because it changed hands alone.
But because something inside Ouki had finally reached its end.
Shin looked up sharply.
"…General…?"
Ouki's body remained upright on the horse.
But his eyes…
They were no longer focused on the present.
They were looking far beyond it.
"…So this is it."
His voice was almost absent now.
"…A good end."
Tou's expression tightened.
"…General!"
Moubu's hand clenched.
Hyou Ren lowered his head slightly.
Even Lu Shen turned away for a moment.
Shin shook his head violently.
"No… no, wait!"
But Ouki did not respond to panic.
He only spoke one last time.
Quietly.
Not as a commander.
Not as a legend.
But as a man leaving something behind.
"…Future of QIn is yours."
The wind passed through the column.
And for a moment…
It felt like the world held its breath with him.
Then…
Ouki's presence changed.
Not collapsing.
Not falling.
Just… gone.
Still seated.
Still upright.
But no longer there.
The Great General of the Heavens had stopped breathing.
No one moved.
Not immediately.
The soldiers of Qin did not cry.
Not yet.
It was as if their minds refused to accept what their eyes saw.
Shin remained frozen, gripping the glaive so tightly his arms shook.
"…General?"
His voice broke.
"…General Ouki?"
Silence.
Tou slowly lowered his head.
"…As expected…"
Moubu closed his eyes.
"…Damn it…"
Hyou Ren remained still.
But his eyes sharpened with something deeper than grief.
Understanding.
Lu Shen exhaled slowly.
"…So even you…"
A horse snorted softly.
But no one answered it.
The wind carried Ouki's cloak gently behind him.
Like a banner still refusing to fall.
Across the Six Kingdoms
The world learned before the battlefield even cooled.
Not through messengers.
But through consequence.
Courts fell silent.
Maps were studied differently.
War councils stopped mid-discussion.
The name spread like fire through dry land.
Ouki is dead.
Chu
A war hall filled with laughter fell into silence.
A strategist slowly set down his cup.
"…So Qin has lost one of its pillars."
But no one smiled.
Because they understood.
A pillar removed does not weaken a structure.
It changes what replaces it.
Wei
An official swallowed hard.
"If even Ouki can fall…"
A general cut him off.
"Then Qin will come harder next time."
No one disagreed.
Han
Fear arrived quietly.
Not as panic.
But as calculation.
"If Qin can produce men like that…"
"…what are we supposed to do?"
No answer followed.
Qi
A young officer leaned forward.
"…So that is the Great General of Qin."
A pause.
"…I want to see the man who killed him."
Yan
Silence lasted longer than expected.
Then a cold voice:
"Good."
"Now Qin bleeds like everyone else."
But even the speaker did not sound convinced.
Zhao
Deep within the retreating Zhao headquarter…
A messenger returned to a silent command tent.
"…Riboku-sama."
The strategist did not move for a long time.
Then he spoke softly.
"…So he is gone."
A pause.
Not of relief.
But of respect.
"…Ouki."
"…You truly were a wall worth standing against."
Back on the road…
The army began to move again.
Slowly.
Mechanically.
As if following orders written in stone rather than spoken by a living man.
Shin still held the glaive.
His hands did not loosen.
His eyes did not blink.
Tou finally spoke.
"…We will return him properly."
Moubu nodded once.
Hyou Ren looked forward.
"…The era has changed."
Lu Shen added quietly.
"…And it will not be kind."
The horse carrying Ouki continued forward.
Still upright.
Still carrying the weight of Qin's legend.
Until the horizon slowly swallowed him whole.
And the world moved on.
Not because it wanted to.
But because it had no choice.