The Return

Under the coercion of the God of Darkness, Chang'e, existing as a spiritual energy body, was brought directly back to the Moon and sealed once more within the abyss leading to the lunar core.

Following this, the profound black aura rose again from the abyss, flying back toward Earth through the frozen world, finally descending once more over the skies of East Siberia.

Manifesting again in the form of a giant bird of darkness, he looked down from the firmament upon the land of white crystals that had been severely transformed by alien influence. Then, he beat His wings once more.

Invisible power expanded across the world again. The threads of causality, which linked all things and pierced through the past and future, manifested densely around the God of Darkness. They blotted out the sun and filled every corner of space. As the God of Darkness beat His wings again, a vast number of causality threads connected to the white crystal land snapped one after another. Subsequently, time seemed to rewind. The vast, boundless plains of white crystals that had already spread to the Central Plains began to shrink rapidly. The crystallized forests returned to their lush, green states; the mercury-like rivers and oceans became clear once more; and the eyes of the listless people regained their color. The tide of white crystals retreated at high speed—past the Great Wall, past the grasslands, and past the wilderness. Although the world remained in stasis, the traces of erosion were fading with extreme speed.

The God of Darkness was severing the threads of causality between Chang'e and this world. Without the 'cause' provided by Chang'e, all the 'effects' she had left upon this world would cease to exist. Consequently, all the influence the Moon Feather Princess had exerted on the world would be eliminated, leaving not a single trace behind.

This was the method the God of Darkness used to repair the erosion of Earth caused by the Moon Feather Princess.

Under the causality severing of the God of Darkness, the vast land of white crystals shrank rapidly, and the world slowly returned to the way it was meant to be. Soon, the white crystal land had contracted to its central point—the middle of East Siberia, where the God of Darkness Himself was located. It would soon be completely cleared. The light in the eyes of Eirin, Tamamo-no-Mae, and Kaguya was slowly returning.

Just then, a sudden change occurred. The massive body of the God of Darkness, originally constructed from Profound Black aura, suddenly became unstable. It began to twist and oscillate incessantly, and His form grew blurry once more, as if He could no longer stabilize His state.

The anomaly within the God of Darkness caused Him to temporarily halt His causality severing. Even the stasis of causality was affected. In that moment, the white-robed Daoist and the sphere-of-light deity manifestation beside Him were released from their stasis. The white-robed Daoist stood in a state of shock, taking in everything before him.

"The lunar evil is gone... this is..." The white-robed Daoist scanned his surroundings in astonishment before fixing his gaze on the increasingly unstable God of Darkness.

"His form is chaotic... could it be..." Seeing the condition of the God of Darkness, the white-robed Daoist's expression turned solemn. He looked at the God of Darkness in the sky, then down at the white-haired girl still lying upon the white crystal land. Based on the countless ancient secrets he knew, he judged the current situation.

Afterward, the white-robed Daoist looked toward the sphere of light, which had shrunk to a tiny point. A silent exchange of information seemed to pass between them. Then, the white-robed Daoist bowed solemnly toward the God of Darkness, whose form was nearly lost, and spoke respectfully.

"Exalted One, please return to the celestial body. We will repair your godhead and restore your stability..."

"Forcing yourself to manifest in this world without a suitable vessel is too damaging for you..."

After speaking, the white-robed Daoist remained in place, awaiting the response of the God of Darkness. The God of Darkness, whose instability had grown increasingly severe, listened to the Daoist's words for a moment. Then, He transformed back into a sky full of Profound Black aura, surging downward and converging entirely upon the white-haired girl, seeping back into her.

In an instant, the mighty power that had frozen heaven and earth vanished. Earth and the Moon resumed their rotation at the same moment. Time flowed again, and the river of causality rushed toward the future once more.

Because most of the causality regarding Chang'e's influence on Earth had been severed, the vast majority of mortals returned to their lives without realizing anything had happened. Their memories of the white crystal erosion vanished without a trace during the causality severing; they did not even remember the sudden anomaly of the black night. To them, the descent of the Moon Feather Princess was as if it had never occurred.

Of course, because the causality severing was not absolute, many people with supernatural abilities could sense an anomaly. Those who had directly participated in the battle against the Moon Feather Princess retained almost all their memories due to their deep involvement in the causality—though those memories ended just before they were eroded by the Moon Feather Princess.

"This is bad... that fellow still has... strength left?"

On the hillside, Eirin, who had just recovered, cried out in shock. Then she froze, staring blankly at the scene before her.

"Where is... Chang'e?"

Chang'e was gone? The vessel of Chang'e, who had just been making a desperate final strike to destroy the manifestations of countless Chief Gods, was gone? Furthermore, even the eroded white crystal land had receded by a massive distance.

"This... what happened? Shouldn't Chang'e have just had a desperate outburst... shouldn't our consciousnesses have been wiped away by His power?" Eirin looked at her hands in disbelief. The moment she had seen the shadows of the Chief Gods destroyed, her heart had been filled with despair.

And now, suddenly, the Moon Feather Princess had vanished just like that, with no trace of her to be found anywhere. This left even Eirin, who was once Omoikane-no-Mikoto, completely bewildered. The scene before her far exceeded the scope of her understanding. Could this be some secret weapon of those Chief Gods?

"Where on earth did Chang'e go?"

"Her? I think she has likely been sealed back on the Moon by now."

The one who answered Eirin was Suwako, who was sitting on the ground nearby. She was looking into the distance with a complex expression, toward the place where the Moon Feather Princess had been.

"Sealed back on the Moon? Who did it? Was it those Chief Gods?" Eirin looked at Suwako in confusion. Hearing Eirin's words, a small smile played on Suwako's lips, and her expression turned somewhat mysterious.

"It was a formidable existence... I didn't expect that he would still be around, and remaining in this world in such a manner." Suwako spoke with deep meaning as she gazed toward the sky. There, a streak of white light was piercing through the firmament, flying straight toward the south.