"Thank you..."
Blood slowly trickled from the corner of his mouth as he smiled and offered his thanks.
"I'm sorry…"
"I guess I was never the protagonist after all…"
Elliot Yuan apologized—blaming himself for not being able to save her.
He understood everything now. Just a few words would've been enough to untangle her heart, to free her from her solitude.
She was right there in front of him… and yet he couldn't reach her.
A hundred years shut away—how lonely must that have been?
No good food, no fun, no friends, no family…
Nothing. Just her, alone.
A solitary guardian.
Even in death, Elliot was still thinking about how to save others.
Back in the real world, his back was soaked in blood, his body barely holding together.
Kazuha's eyes went wide as he saw him faltering.
Just before Elliot collapsed, Kazuha rushed forward and caught him.
Then he saw the small hole in Elliot's chest—and his hands were covered in blood.
He couldn't believe it.
Just moments ago, he was fine—he'd even taken that Musou no Hitotachi head-on.
How did things end up like this... so suddenly?
Kazuha couldn't accept it. His eyes filled with tears.
"How could this be? Didn't you block her strongest strike?"
"This… this isn't right…"
Cradling Elliot's body, Kazuha wept.
Raiden Shogun remained as cold as ever, slowly walking toward them with her blade in hand.
"Go… run…" Elliot said weakly.
Kazuha spun around, fury in his eyes as he glared at her.
Then, holding Elliot tightly, he turned into a gust of wind and escaped from Tenshukaku at full speed.
"Raiden Shogun… really is strong..." Elliot muttered with a faint smile.
"Don't talk, save your strength… hang on…"
"My slash… it was pretty cool, right…?"
"Yeah… coolest I've ever seen…"
"That's good…"
Elliot started coughing violently. Kazuha quickly stopped in his tracks.
"Kazuha…"
"I'm here…" Tears streamed down his face.
Elliot looked at him with a gentle smile—the most sincere smile Kazuha had ever seen from him.
He never imagined that this usually cheeky guy could smile with such warmth.
"Your wish… it's not small at all…"
"Don't give up… on your wish…"
Elliot glanced at Kazuha's Vision, now dim and lifeless.
"You're willing to risk your life for your wish…"
"Who else is that stupid…"
"What's the point of a wish… if you lose your life…"
Hearing that, Elliot just smiled and said, "Even so… I don't regret it…"
"Living without a dream… is just an empty shell…"
"You promised me… you'd be as free as a seagull…"
"Don't break that promise…"
And with those words, he closed his eyes for the last time.
Kazuha's eyes turned bloodshot, his pupils trembling violently.
Big, heavy tears dropped onto Elliot's lifeless face.
He choked on his sobs.
"Who would break their promise… you bastard…"
This time, Elliot's Vision lost its light—but in its place, Kazuha's Vision began to glow once more.
After burying Elliot, he took his Vision and set out again.
He couldn't let Elliot's wish become another lifeless trophy embedded in some cold statue.
Retracing the path they'd once walked together, he wandered once more.
When he returned to that familiar beach, the campfire's remains were still there—but Elliot was not.
He picked a leaf and gently played a tune.
The seagulls came, following the sound.
Last time, a whole flock had come.
This time, only one arrived—alone.
Maybe Kazuha's melody was beautiful, because the seagull began to sing along.
"A seagull separated from its flock… is very lonely…"
He remembered something Elliot had once said.
A bitter smile touched his lips.
"Stop crying, seagull. From today on… I'm a drifter too."
...
Years passed.
Elliot Yuan's mission was finally complete.
His task had been to help Kazuha destroy the Vision Hunt Decree. That meant, as long as Kazuha lived and the decree was abolished, his mission was fulfilled.
After his death, events unfolded just as they were meant to.
Kazuha escaped the decree and later joined Beidou's Crux Fleet.
The Traveler arrived in Inazuma, just as expected, and together with Kazuha and the resistance, they overthrew the Vision Hunt Decree.
When it was all over, Kazuha returned to Elliot's grave, carrying eight grilled fish.
"Elliot… I'm back."
In front of the grave, he lit a small fire.
After cleaning the fish, he skewered them on branches and set them to roast.
Above the flames, a kettle hung over the heat.
"A traveler from Liyue helped us… We took down Raiden Shogun's Vision Hunt Decree."
"Looking back now, all those years later… you were right."
"Wishes really aren't small at all…"
He sat cross-legged, as if chatting with Elliot face-to-face, speaking to him like an old friend.
He told him everything—his experiences, the people he met, the interesting stories he picked up along the way.
When the fish was nearly done, Kazuha removed them from the fire. He placed five of them at Elliot's grave and kept three for himself.
Because Elliot always needed five to feel full.
"I even went out of my way to learn how to make tea for you."
"You better appreciate it, you brat."
He grumbled as he took the kettle off the fire and brought out a tea set.
First, he rinsed the set with boiling water. Then he placed a cup on Elliot's grave.
It was the same cup Elliot had once borrowed to drink wine.
If he hadn't gotten drunk that day… maybe everything afterward wouldn't have happened…
Ever since Elliot died, Kazuha had carried that guilt with him—a wound that never healed.
From that day forward, he never allowed himself to be careless again. He planned everything thoroughly.
"This tea… it's the finest I've found in all my travels."
"Way more expensive than the wine you bought for me back then."
"You better savor it."
As he spoke, he added the tea leaves to the pot.
Then he poured in hot water, waited three seconds, and poured it out to wash the tea.
After that, he refilled the pot and poured two-thirds into Elliot's cup.
You could tell—he'd really learned how to do it properly.
Unlike wine, tea should only be poured to seventy percent full.
They sipped their tea, ate grilled fish, and chatted happily.
As if Elliot were really there.
At that moment, several seagulls took flight.
The maple leaves on the trees seemed to turn red.
The Seventh Life—Complete.