last conversation between a father and daughter

"Yeah... thanks again, Shirokae," she said softly, sitting on her bed, her grey eyes glimmering with warmth.

Shirokae, who was leaning against the corner of the room, smiled gently while holding his kiseru in his paw.

"Thanks? For what?"

She looked at him with the same warm smile.

"For everything you've done for me... Shirokae."

His eyes widened before he closed them, speaking softly as his nine white tails swayed gently in the air.

"You don't have to thank me, Ipoh. You know I see you as my own child."

She laughed lightly and sighed.

"You know, I had a dream about our first encounter. You were really mean that day, you know? Playing with me..."

He let out a smirk and replied,

"Foxes are mean by nature, Ipoh. But I wasn't even mean—I just had to calm you down a little."

Her eyes widened at his response, and she giggled.

"By hitting me with a giant sword?"

He slipped his hand inside his black kimono, resting it there, his golden eye gleaming in the room's light.

"You're the one who tried to burn me alive..."

They both laughed, reminiscing about old times, their laughter gentle.

then she stopped laughing and she said while it look like her eyes reflected nostalgia

"I am feeling quite nostalgic right now.."

Shirokae looked at her for a while, his soft expression now almost melancholic as he spoke, still smiling.

"Really? When you've been alive for billions of years, nostalgia is something you have to get used to..."

he looked at him with a curious expression and said,

"I guess you're going to feel nostalgia for a long time, still, my dear Shirokae... because you're not going to be reborn until you get your vengeance, right?"

He nodded while smoking his kiseru pipe.

"I won't rest until all of the wicked followers—and He himself—are completely erased from the cycle of rebirth. So, I suppose you're right. I'll still feel nostalgia for quite a while."

She patted Viora's head as she slept on her knees, her head and arm resting on Mama Ipoh's lap.

"Even though I didn't live for billions of years, nor can I even imagine what such a lifetime would be like, I still feel as if I've lived for centuries."

She tightened her grip on her blanket, as if frustrated.

"I'm sorry I wasn't able to reach the potential you saw in me in time..."

He shook his head, his voice full of pride.

"You don't have to feel any shame, Ipoh. You became a great shaman—one that shamans of the new generation still look up to to this day. You don't have to be the elite of the elite to be a great shaman. You've achieved many things in your life that you can be proud of. I'm glad I found you that day….and I'm glad I became someone you can call your father."

She smiled gently as she said,

"I'm really glad you found me that day too, and I'm glad I got to have a father as amazing as you."

She then glanced at Viora, who was in a deep sleep, and breathed gently.

"So... what do you think of my little piece of sugar?"

He took a couple of steps toward her, his wooden geta echoing in the room as he walked.

"She's a kid with a soul of gold. She reminds me of you when you were a child. She always stayed by your side when you were asleep... she was very worried."

Her hand was still resting on Viora's head as she sighed, blushing.

"During that entire year when I adopted her, I noticed I saw myself in her multiple times... Both she and I suffered from abandonment and loneliness throughout our childhood. Both of us wanted to keep to ourselves in solitude so we wouldn't have to suffer any more loss... but she was way nicer than I was at her age. I'm glad I was able to become her mother."

Shirokae then looked at her with a somber expression, opening his lips to say something, but he couldn't. They remained silent for a while until Mama Ipoh broke the silence.

"Shirokae... I'm going to die soon, aren't I?"

She said it with an expression that wasn't sad, but understanding.

"You... you're not going to die, Ipoh... I..."

Mama Ipoh interrupted him.

"Don't lie to me, Shirokae. You've never lied to me, so don't start now. There's no Chiryōjutsu technique—or anything in reality—that can heal the Superflux of Verdania. Because, apart from me... that sickness has probably never existed before."

She looked at him for a while as he stared silently at the ground, gripping his kiseru tightly. Then, with gentle eyes, she said,

"Don't be sad, Shirokae... I've lived a long and proud life. And you and I both know all too well—death is not the end for us shamans, or for anyone, really."

Shirokae, still looking at the ground, spoke, his voice trembling slightly.

"But your soul itself will crumble... you'll be gone from the cycle of rebirth forever. And even if this condition only takes you, life is still something to be cherished... you still have many years you could live..."

She lingered for a moment, her hand trembling.

"But... still, even though I've lived a life I can be proud of... my only regret will be leaving Viora behind."

Tears began spilling down her face as she smiled gently, crying.

"I would have loved to see her grow, to stay by her side. I hope... she doesn't feel like she was abandoned again."

Then, she began to speak, her voice trembling gently.

"Shirokae... no, Father... can I ask you one last request?"

Shirokae lifted his head as a single tear fell from his right eye. He paused before replying, his eyes becoming hollow.

"Can you please... take Viora to our homeland, to Sylvanara?"

Shirokae smiled gently, but his eyes remained hollow, lifeless.

"You know I can't do that."

Her voice trembled even more as she pleaded,

"Shirokae, please..."

He turned away from her, walking toward the door. As he reached it, he paused and, without turning back, said in a low voice,

"Just give me some time to think about it."

He stepped out of the room, climbing the stairs that led above. Her room, nestled in the basement, fell silent behind him. At the top of the stairs, he stopped. Tears began to spill from his eyes, but no sound escaped him. His golden eyes filled with murderous rage and fury as he stood there trembling.

Then, a laugh broke free—a laugh of despair, bitter and twisted.

"You forced me to kill my own master... you killed so many of my friends... and the spirit you let escape from hell will cause the death of my daughter..."

He stared down at the kiseru in his paw, a bitter smile curling his lips.

"Wicked... I don't know why you're targeting this random world, but I will kill you and your followers. Every last one of them... in the most terrible of ways. I will not rest. I will not be reborn. Even if I must live for billions more years... I will have your head at my feet."

His golden eyes, now hollow and filled with rage, didn't focus on anything in the room. Instead, they stared at something far beyond his reach—something only he could see.

chapter fifty-three end