"The oath of starlight cannot be given to you."

Bai Cheng said calmly, "But the chime of the golden bell... is willing to guide the way home for all those who have lost their way."

She looked back at the dawn.

On the bridge, Zi Yuan sheathed her blade, Blue Bird dispersed the thunderstorm, Leng Ningxue deactivated her tactical eyepiece, Lu Duo and Yu Nian shared a smile, Garel and Aurora nodded, and Elune's light wings unfurled softly.

No words were spoken, but that silent understanding—the willingness to grant a second chance—spoke louder than a thousand words.

Norton watched all of this, looking at these young successors he had once regarded as mere experimental variables, and tears slowly welled in his eyes.

"Do we... still have the right to turn back?"

"Turning back requires no right," Bai Cheng said, releasing her hand and pointing toward Shandora at the end of the Rainbow Bridge.

"It only requires courage—the courage to admit one's mistakes, and the courage to start anew."

The twelve sages stood in silence. Finally, Norton, representing them all, bowed deeply to Bai Cheng, to the dawn, and to the entire sky island civilization.

"Then... please allow us, as sinners..."

"To witness how the oath of starlight illuminates... the starry sky we once personally obscured." 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

The Rainbow Bridge returned to tranquility.

The dawn set sail once more. Behind the ship's hull, the twelve sages, having shed their logical shackles, followed using their most primal energy flight.

They no longer attempted to calculate anything; they simply felt. They felt the warmth of the rainbow light brushing against their skin, the wind blowing from the depths of the sea of stars carrying dust and hope, and the heart that had begun to beat again after two thousand years of silence.

Inside the bridge, the droplet-shaped crystal of the oath of starlight within the energy stabilization chamber suddenly floated up of its own accord. It flew through the observation window toward Bai Cheng.

Instead of merging into the insignia of judgment, it landed gently in her palm, transforming into a simple earring condensed from starlight.

At the same time, the final fragments of the Lord of the Sky's voice echoed in Bai Cheng's ears.

That was the message the oath of starlight truly intended to convey:

"My child..."

"When you hear these words, it means you already understand: power is not a shackle used to conquer or protect, but a match to light the spark within others' hearts."

"The fusion of the oath of starlight requires no ritual, no sacrifice."

"It only requires you—"

"To keep walking forward."

"Continue to make mistakes, continue to grow, and continue to ignite a glimmer of light for one another in the darkness."

"Because the story of a civilization... is always written by those who dare to move forward into the unknown."

The earring flickered once and then returned to stillness.

Bai Cheng gently put it on and gazed out the porthole at the Golden City of Shandora, which was drawing closer and closer.

In the center of the city, at the top of the Golden Bell Tower, the Bell Spirit had already sensed the aura of the returning voyage. The body of the bell began to vibrate slightly, awaiting the moment of resonance with the oath of starlight.

And at the far end of the sea of stars—deep within the cradle of the Observer Council, before the silver heart remains that had turned into an ordinary mirror—an elderly figure sitting in a wheelchair slowly lifted his head.

There were no logic runes in his eyes, only a chaotic gloom that seemed capable of swallowing all light.

Yet, a faint, almost sorrowful curve tugged at the corners of his mouth.

"Elvia... Norton..."

"You have finally... made your choice."

He pushed his wheelchair to the mirror and looked at his own face, etched with the marks of time.

"Then, I should also..."

"Go see those children... whom we abandoned two thousand years ago."

The wheelchair wheels turned, rolling over the cold floor toward the exit of the cradle.

Behind him, the ordinary mirror no longer reflected his solitary figure.

Instead—

It showed a glimmer of light belonging to a newly born starry sky, slowly brightening.

The sky of Shandora had never been so bright.

Atop the Golden Bell Tower, the starlight earring formed by the oath of starlight swayed slightly by Bai Cheng's ear, resonating with the runes flowing across the surface of the bell.

It was no longer a simple energy resonance, but a kind of... awakening.

The entire Golden City seemed to come to life.

Ancient patterns emerged on the street stones—blessing marks left by the various civilizations during the peak of the Sky Federation;

The sea of clouds churned, forming a rainbow grand avenue leading to the city center; even the air was filled with a long-lost fragrance.

The scent of memory.

High Priest Aurora stood before the porthole of the dawn's bridge, his white robes fluttering without wind.

The wooden staff in his hand had completely turned to gold, and the names of Shandora's successive High Priests appeared on its surface. The very last one was his own.

"The Bell Spirit is calling," he said softly. "Not just Shandora... all sky islands are responding."

Before his voice could ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) fade—

In the direction of the Emerald Sea, the cracks in the star track network began to repair themselves. The broken starlight paths reconnected like vines, weaving a massive star chart across the night sky.

In the center of the star chart, phantom images of the Spirit Race ancestors appeared, nodding slightly toward Shandora.

On Thunder God Island, the eternal thunderstorm belt became gentle for the first time.

The lightning was no longer violent, but fell upon the island like a fine drizzle. Every flash of electricity contained fragments of memories left behind by Rego.

Baros and three guards knelt on one knee, their war hammers pressed to their foreheads, lightning and tears intertwining in their single eyes.

Deep within the Nest of a Thousand Mirrors, those cold mirror surfaces no longer reflected false illusions, but the truth.

They reflected Mirror Pupil's hesitation before choosing betrayal, the final meeting of the first generation of Observers before their long sleep in the cradle, and everything currently happening above Shandora.

Two thousand years after the sky island civilization split, it was truly... connected for the first time.

And at the center of it all was Bai Cheng.

She stood on the platform at the top of the Golden Bell Tower, with Zi Yuan, Blue Bird, Leng Ningxue, Lu Duo, Yu Nian, and Garel lined up on either side, while Aurora and Elune stood slightly behind her.

The twelve newly awakened sages, led by Norton, hovered around the perimeter of the platform. They no longer wore silver-white robes,

But had changed back into the plain robes of the Federation Council from two thousand years ago, though the hems still bore the indelible traces of rational erosion.

The oath of starlight earring continued to glow.

With every flicker, a segment of memory flooded into the consciousness of everyone connected—

It was the complete scene of the Lord of the Sky before his fall:

The edge of the Star Abyss was not a battlefield, but a massive observation deck.

The Lord of the Sky, with twenty-four pairs of light wings on his back, stood in the center of the deck. Three authority memory crystals, newly divided, floated before him: the oath of starlight, the Key of Reason, and the Source of Creation.

"Give the Key of Reason to Norton and the others," the Lord of the Sky's voice was calm but weary.

"They are my wisest students; they will use it to protect civilization from destruction by emotional impulses... I only hope they do not wander too far."

He cast the second crystal, the Source of Creation, into the depths of the Star Abyss: "This... is for the variables of the future.

When a civilization reaches a dead end, it always needs some... uncalculated vitality."