The sky was quiet.
Where there should've been fire, there were only lights.
Thousands of fragments from the Cataclysm Pulse drifted down like slow rain, shhhhh, dissolving into the air before they touched the ground.
People crawled out from rubble. They stared up, not cheering, just breathing.
The Grandmasters stood among the ruins, bruised, exhausted.
Jiang let the last of the water fall. Yagushi's hands were still in the dirt. Zabuza leaned on his sword.
And Kai…
Meili caught him. Mid-air.
His body was limp, bones broken, chi gone, but he was alive.
She landed hard and didn't let go.
Somewhere far above, Xaphan's body fell. Empty.
Veyruun's soul was already gone.
"Take care, Xaphan. Now… you know what you must do."
---
Night fell.
Meili sat at the edge of the crater, Kai's head in her lap. Healers were working. Kaede was yelling at everyone to stay back.
Meili wasn't listening.
Her eyes were heavy.
Too heavy.
And then...
She was somewhere familiar again.
White mist. Endless. Quiet.
The same space from before. The one where Wraithbane lived.
Meili didn't flinch. She just stood there, annoyed.
'Why am I back here?... Right in the moment I was holding onto Kai…'
A voice came from behind her, lazy and amused.
"You're one naughty little brat, y'know that."
Meili turned.
Wraithbane stood there. But not him. A clone. Her face. Her hair. Her sword. Except his eyes. Dark, old, grinning.
"What do you want now," Meili said flatly.
Wraithbane circled her, hands behind his back, wearing her like a costume.
"In all my years, I haven't had this much fun in a human. Never would I have thought you'd put up a fight with me over my own power. I doubted you at first. Talentless Zino clan and all that. But I'm intrigued."
Meili crossed her arms. "Is that all you brought me here for? In the middle of what's going on?"
"Middle of what?" He tilted his head, grinning wider. "You can rest your mind at ease. Everything's taken care of. You lot managed to pull it off."
Meili frowned. "Huh?"
"That's why I brought you here." He stopped in front of her. The smile dropped, just a little.
"My plan seems to be heading in a way more disappointing direction. Cause now not only has the Wraith been taken care of by your master… that stupid Wraith went and contaminated your friend Kai."
Meili's eyes went sharp. "So what?"
Wraithbane smiled again. Slow.
"You know exactly what happens next…
I just wanted to ask for your cooperation. And I'll give you however much of my energy you want. You'd be able to keep your dumb promise of keeping your friends safe. Except Kai, at least. Unless… it happens he's no more a Wraith dweller..."
Meili cut him off before he could finish.
"Not gonna happen. Ever."
She stepped forward, voice cold.
"And we never speak of it again."
Silence.
Wraithbane didn't move. The smile stayed on his face, but his eyes went empty.
"If that's all you have to say," Meili said, turning away, "I'll be out now."
SHHHHK!!
The mist started to pull her back.
Meili woke up.
Her head felt like it was full of wet cotton. Heavy. Dull.
But the ceiling above her wasn't sky. It was white. Tiled.
Iron Fist Hospital. Northern district of Wushu Guan.
And right beside her bed —
"Hey, look! She's awake!"
Jaggy was the first to lunge.
Then Kagawa. Then Koko.
Arms came from everywhere. A pile of idiots hugging her at once.
Fuse didn't say anything. She just grabbed her hand and didn't let go. Sat on the edge of the bed like she'd been there for hours.
Meili blinked, too stunned to even push them off.
"Wh-What's going on? When did I get here?"
"Well well well," Jaggy pulled back, chest puffed out. "Can't imagine how much you've grown, Meili. You're worthy to be called my rival now."
"Huh? Your rival?" Kagawa snorted, leaning on his crutches. "You were mostly a spectator, Jaggy."
"Shut it, fatso!" Jaggy jabbed a finger at him. "You don't know! I was busting my ass keeping danger away from Sifu Hua and Sifu Kaito! Including this brat!"
He pointed at Koko.
Koko didn't even look up from picking at an apple. "Whatever. I'm not engaging in your mindless rant."
"Oi—!" Jaggy's face went red.
"Enough, you posers."
Ryou's voice cut through the room.
Everyone shut up.
"The war's over," Ryou said, looking at each of them. "And everyone's safe. Including Meili. That's what we should be appreciating right now."
The room got quiet.
Meili stared at Ryou. Her voice was small.
"Hey... Ryou. What happened with Lian?
Did we... get her back?"
Ryou looked down.
"...I'm sorry. We couldn't. She ran. By the time we got to her, she was already gone. We searched. Couldn't find her."
Meili's chest tightened.
Outside the door, Lei had been listening. One tear slipped down.
She couldn't bear to walk in. Not yet.
Inside, no one spoke.
Fuse squeezed Meili's hand tighter.
"And where's Lei? She's not with you guys?"
Meili's voice cracked. She tried to blink the tears back, but her eyes were already burning.
No one answered.
They all just turned. Slowly. Toward the door.
Right on cue, the door slid open.
Sifu Mei stepped in — and stopped.
Because Lei was right there. Leaning against the hallway wall. Head down.
Sifu Mei's hand came down on her shoulder, gentle but firm.
"Still at it, huh, Lei."
Lei didn't look up. Her voice was barely a whisper.
"I know... but I can't stop feeling like such a failure. I feel so much shame just being close to them. I couldn't do anything..."
Sifu Mei sighed and pulled her into the room, closing the door behind them.
"We already talked about this, Lei. I get it. I feel it too."
Her eyes flicked to the bed, to Meili, to all of them.
"I failed to bring my student back. It was my job to keep you safe."
She squeezed Lei's shoulder.
"But right now, we need to be grateful for this. Meili's alive. All of you made it back. That has to count for something."
Lei still wouldn't lift her head.
Sifu Mei crouched so she was eye-level.
"And you and I both know who's hurting the most right now. Lian.
And if we want to get her back, we have to be in the right state of mind to do it."
She glanced around the room — at Jaggy's face, Kagawa's crutches, Koko's silence, Ryou's tired eyes, Fuse holding Meili's hand.
"Every sector is looking for her. And for Zirkyu. She's still out there somewhere in the village. We'll find her."
Then Sifu Mei stood, and for the first time since the war, she actually smiled. Small. Tired. Real.
"So take this as a win. A partial one, maybe. But a win.
You all came home. And there's nothing that makes me prouder than that."
The room was quiet.
Things finally settled.
Thanks to Sifu Mei, the air in the hospital room didn't feel so heavy anymore.
She walked everyone through what happened while Meili was out.
Meili listened with her hands in her lap, nodding.
But her eyes kept drifting to the hallway. To the wing no one was allowed near.
---
Elsewhere
Kai wasn't in a regular ward.
He was in a sealed healers' dorm deep in Iron Fist Hospital.
No visitors. No updates.
He'd given everything.
Every last drop of ki. His body was wrecked from Absolute Boundary.
Right now he was just breathing. That was it.
And Sanguine wasn't leaving his side.
Information about him was locked down.
His colleagues didn't even know if he was awake.
---
In the Western Palace, far from the hospital lights, another room was sealed.
Xaphan's body.
Not buried. Not burned.
Imprisoned.
Sacred wards lined the walls. Elite Wulins from the Golden Elite Academy stood watch in shifts, 24 hours.
Because the healers felt it — a faint, impossible flicker of ki inside him.
No heartbeat. No breath. But something was still there.
So they watched.
His warlords weren't so lucky too.
Lyra and Zephyr were dragged to the sector prisons in chains.
Kreal was found dead, crushed under rubble. He'd taken the full force of Vorgath's physical body.
And Vorgath? Him and his sister were already gone. They ended it themselves during the clash with Ryker's squad.
---
Outside, Wushu Guan was trying to breathe again.
To the people, to the warriors, it looked like the three sectors and the Grandmasters were finally standing on the same ground. Stronger bonds. Shared losses.
But no one said it out loud.
Because none of them knew where the Wushizhu of Wushu Guan was.
And in a city like this, silence always meant someone was planning something.
Still… every student, every fighter who'd made it through, went home to their town with their head up.
They'd survived a brutal war.
And for the first time in a long time, that felt like enough.
"And Hibiki?"
Meili asked quietly.
She'd done everything she could to pull him out of Vorgath's body alive.
But there was no certainty in that. Only hope. And right now, hope felt thin.
Sifu Mei looked at her, and something in her face softened.
"Meili... I can't thank you enough for what you did."
A small, proud smile. "I'm mightily proud of you."
Lei dropped her head again at that.
Meili didn't look away. "Is he... okay?"
Sifu Mei hesitated. Then forced a brighter expression, like she was holding the room together with it.
"He's... he's in a coma."
A pause.
"But he'll be fine. We just have to hope he wakes up soon."
Meili nodded.
She could see it — the way Sifu Mei was trying not to let the mood sink. Trying to carry everyone.
And Meili was doing the same. Smiling. Nodding.
Even though deep down, frustration was clawing at her. 'I should've done more.'
The silence stretched for a second before Sifu Mei clapped her hands once.
"Alright. So you guys — rest up.
In a week we'll meet in class again. Just for a little while. Then we split off to our teams and start taking missions.
Isn't that great?"
Everyone managed a smile.
"Well... I guess," Jaggy said, immediately striking a pose. "But I wanna get started right now."
"Yeh yeh, Mr. Spectator," Kagawa muttered from his chair.
Koko snorted. Fuse just squeezed Meili's hand, smiling softly.
Meili looked out the window at the hospital courtyard. The sky was clear.
"Well... it'd be nice seeing the old classroom again," she thought.
A few days passed.
Meili was fully healed. Too healed.
She was bouncing off the walls.
"No training. No missions. I'm bored, Fuse. Let's just go see Kai already..."
She yelled it across their room while Fuse sat at the mirror, twisting her hair up.
"We can't," Fuse said without looking back. "We were told noon. Only noon."
Meili flopped onto her bed with a groan. Then sat up instantly.
"Okay new plan. Hey Fuse — what if we get everyone together? For ramen?"
Fuse paused, book halfway open in her lap. "Ramen? Right now?
I mean... okay. But it's pretty sudden. Think everyone will even be up for it?"
"Only one way to find out!" Meili was already pulling on her jacket.
---
First stop—Koko's room.
Meili knocked twice.
The door opened a crack. Koko peeked out, hair still damp.
"Umm... okay, I guess," she said. "Wait outside though. I'll be out in a sec."
Click!! Door shut.
Meili and Fuse stood in the hall.
"She really doesn't let anything get to her, huh," Meili said quietly.
"What do you mean?" Fuse asked.
Meili leaned against the wall. "Her first friend at the academy. Her roommate.
Lian's still out there. Missing. And Koko's just... calm. Hopeful.
I know it has to be eating her up inside. But she's handling it better than I am."
Fuse tucked her book away. "That's just Koko.
She can deal with Jaggy and Kagawa arguing 24/7. She can deal with Sifu Mei's speeches.
She can take anything."
Meili let out a small laugh. "Yeah. She really can."
From inside, they heard footsteps.
The door opened again.
"Alright, I'm ready," Koko said, already walking past them. "So. Ramen?
Who are we dragging next?"
Meili grinned. The boredom was gone.
"Lei, Jaggy and Kagawa. Then Ryou. Operation: Feed The Dweebs begins."
"Lei??"
Fuse and Koko said it at the exact same time.
"Yeah!!" Meili grinned. "We have to include everyone."
Koko shrugged. "Uh, well, have at it. I'll be waiting downstairs."
She turned and headed for the stairs.
"Wait for me," Fuse said, falling in step beside her.
Meili blinked. "Wait, you're just... leaving me to do this?"
Both of them waved without looking back.
"Oh. Well..." Meili sighed. "Guess it's just me then."
She walked to the end of the hall and knocked on Lei's door.
The door swung open on the first knock.
The room was pitch black. Curtains drawn. Air stale.
Meili hesitated. "Uh... Lei? You here?"
No answer.
She stepped in slowly. "I can't see anything. Could you please—"
Something brushed her ankle.
"AHH! What is that?!"
Meili jumped back, arms flailing.
SHHHK!!
The curtains ripped open.
Light flooded the room.
Lei stood there. Eye bags deep enough to swim in. Hair a mess. The floor covered in books, cups, training gear.
"...Meili?" she said, squinting.
"Oh—sorry! I must've taken a wrong turn. I'll just—" Meili turned to bolt.
"Hey. Stop."
Meili froze.
Lei let out a breath and leaned against her desk. "I've been meaning to talk to you."
Meili turned back slowly. "About...?"
"I want to know what happened. With you and Kai. Inside that monster during the battle."
Lei's voice was quiet, but steady. "Full detail. If you can."
"Really? Um... okay."
Meili watched Lei's face — exhausted, but listening. Really listening.
So she told her everything. The fight. The inside of Vorgath. Sanguine.
Even Wraithbane.
She left out one part. The part about Wraithbane wanting Kai dead.
Lei was silent for a long time after.
"What... really?" she finally whispered. "This whole time, you had a spirit inside you. And now Kai's infected too."
Meili's shoulders dropped. "I'm sorry I didn't tell any of you. Hibiki made me promise."
Lei shook her head. "No. I'm sorry for making you feel like you had to disobey your Sifu."
She gave a tired, crooked smile. "It sounds insane. But after what you did in the war... I believe you.
Thanks. For telling me."
Meili stepped forward and knelt in front of her.
"Lei... please."
Lei looked up.
"Please help me get Lian back," Meili said. "To do that, I need you to drop whatever's weighing you down.
Be the Lei I met on day one. The one who talked down to me, who was the most intimidating warrior I'd ever faced.
That Lei."
Lei stared at her. Memories flickered —
She exhaled and stood up.
"I don't need you worrying about me," Lei said. "Worry about yourself.
At least now I get what you're going through. Get that sorted out.
And if you're too incompetent to do it alone... I'll lend a hand."
She smirked at the end. The old Lei smirk.
Meili smiled back, real this time. "That's more like it."
Lei rolled her shoulders. "I'm getting my friend back. If it's the last thing I do."
"Right," Meili said.
Lei grabbed her jacket off the chair. "So. What did you actually come here for?
You've suddenly grown some balls."
Meili brightened instantly. "Ramen! All of us! Right now!"
Lei stared at her.
"No."