The golden sky continued to shine.
Nobody moved.
Nobody spoke.
The ocean had gone strangely still.
Even the waves seemed quieter.
Takeru stared upward.
"…Yeah."
Yuji looked at him.
"Yeah what?"
"I don't like this."
Then—
The entire sky seemed to vibrate.
A deep, ethereal voice descended from above.
Not loud like an explosion.
Loud like the sky itself had spoken.
"TAKERU."
The sound rolled across the beach.
Everyone froze.
Yuji's eyes widened.
"…It knows your name."
One of the Gojo's looked upward.
"That was definitely directed at you."
The other Gojo nodded.
"Very definitely."
Takeru stared at the sky.
His expression went completely blank.
"…Nope."
Yuji blinked.
"What?"
Takeru immediately turned around.
"Nope nope nope."
He started walking away.
Yuji followed.
"Takeru?"
Takeru sped up.
"I'm not dealing with this."
"Takeru, where are you going?"
"Somewhere else."
He started jogging.
"Takeru!"
Now he was running.
"I AM NOT DEALING WITH GOD!"
And Takeru took off.
ZOOM!
He disappeared down the beach.
Everyone stared after him.
Silence.
Takaba slowly raised his hand.
"…Did he just run away from God?"
Nanami adjusted his tie.
"Yes."
Hakari laughed.
"That might be the smartest thing he's done all week."
Yuji looked toward the sky.
Then toward the direction Takeru had disappeared.
"…Should we follow him?"
One of the Gojo's shook his head.
"I think he's made his position very clear."
Kenjaku stared upward.
The golden light continued to shine.
The voice didn't return.
For now.
Meanwhile, somewhere far away—
Takeru was still running.
"NOPE!"
He glanced behind himself.
"YOU CAN KEEP YOUR DIVINE QUEST!"
He ran faster.
"I HAVE A BEACH!"