— Final Chapter: Until We Begin Again

The morning came with golden light.

Soft. Gentle. As if the sun, too, didn't want to disturb them.

June and Elliot took the bus out of town. No plans — just a small bag, her camera, and his hand held in hers.

"Where are we going?" he asked.

"Anywhere we haven't cried in yet," she replied, laughing.

They ended up by the sea.

Not the stormy one from before — but a calm coast, where waves kissed the rocks like an old song on repeat.

June set the camera on a timer and ran back to him.

Their final picture:

Him with a rare smile.

Her resting her head on his shoulder.

The ocean blurred behind them — infinite.

On their way back, they crossed a bridge.

The sky dimmed slightly. Light rain.

A sudden horn. Tires skidding.

Then — silence.

He was falling.

But not in pain.

Not afraid.

He stood again in white.

Not a courtroom. Not his apartment.

Just endless white, and a warmth like childhood never gave him.

And then — the voice.

The first one.

That strange, calm, priestly voice.

"We meet again, Elliot."

"So… I died?" he asked.

"Yes," the voice replied. "But more importantly… you lived."

He turned — and standing across from him was a man that looked just like him.

Older, calmer, with soft eyes.

The voice… had always been his own.

"So you were me all along," Elliot said.

The man nodded.

"The god you waited for. The judge you feared. The monster you hated. It was always you."

Elliot stepped forward. He didn't cry.

"Then what now?"

The voice smiled — his smile.

"Now you stand proud. Because you were hollow, and you filled yourself. Because you were broken, and you loved anyway. Because you were dying, and you chose to live."

A pause.

Then the final words:

"Be at peace, Elliot Grey. You were worth it."

Somewhere, in a quiet hospital room, two lives ended.

And somewhere else — in a sunlit nursery, a newborn blinked his eyes open for the first time. A soft breeze blew through the window.

Cherry blossoms fell on the blanket. And in his tiny, grey eyes, there was something familiar. A voice not yet formed whispered within:

"Welcome back."

End of Final Chapter