As Tokyo Bay's morning light crested the Glyph Tree, Lanye stood by the hovercar, his Reverse Scale Core's warm glow merging with the galaxy's purple-gold hue to form a tiny star in his palm. The star suddenly vibrated, ancient characters appearing on its surface—the same inscribed on the Dragon-Locking Abyss bronze fragment:
"The eighth knot is born from the deepest rift and grows in the warmest love."
"Captain!" Xiaotao's voice came from behind, her star meteorite bracelet glowing deep blue. "Chaoyan's Glyph Core... there's new activity."
The squad turned. Chaoyan stood at the institute door, her star meteorite bracelet oozing faint purple mist—not contamination, but a subtle sweet scent like the jasmine on Yue Kui's hands when she wiped the berserk guardian's blood three hundred years ago.
"It's my grandma," Chaoyan's eyes reddened. "This morning she said she dreamed of a maiden in dark green armor holding a bleeding boy, crying under a cherry tree."
Lanye's breath caught. He recalled Dragon-Locking Abyss murals: three hundred years ago, General Suolong carrying his sister Su Jiuli (Li) to the altar, her neck marked with the same seven-color pattern as his.
"Li?" Su Jiuli's voice emerged from the crowd. Her star meteorite bracelet resonated with Lanye's Core, a galaxy of light between them. "I had the same dream."
In the institute's glyph lab, Chaoyan's Core hovered mid-air, its surface no longer just star meteorite shine but fine patterns—map of Dragon-Locking Abyss from three hundred years ago, each groove matching a Tokyo Bay street.
"This is..." Su Li's Time Glyph expanded, star tracks in her cocoon aligning perfectly with the Core's patterns. "A timeline overlap."
"More than overlap." The berserk guardian's phantom appeared, his Core purple-gold like the galaxy. "The eighth knot is awakening."
Chaoyan's Core vibrated violently, purple mist releasing memory fragments:
—At stormy Dragon-Locking Abyss, Young General (Lanye's face overlapped) carried bleeding maiden (Su Jiuli's outline) toward the collapsing altar, her neck birthmark matching Su Jiuli's.
—Three hundred years later, Su Jiuli crouched under the Glyph Tree, bandaging Coalball, her birthmark oozing purple mist that overlapped with Chaoyan's Core.
"So..." Lanye's voice shook. "The eighth knot is 'heritage'."
"Heritage of love." Su Jiuli placed her hand on his, their Cores glowing brightly. "Three hundred years ago, Yue Kui sealed contamination with the Reverse Scale Core; today, Chaoyan awakens memories with a star meteorite bracelet—we're flowers on the same vine, just with different names."
The time rift at Dragon-Locking Abyss rumbled. Lanye and Su Jiuli gripped their Core and bracelet as the stone beneath cracked, revealing the black hole where Yue Kui sealed contamination.
"Here it comes." The berserk guardian's phantom stood before the rift, his Core like the galaxy. "Residual contamination will strike as the galaxy weakens."
Black mist serpentined out, taking forms of despair: the berserk guardian with the Controller, Su Qinghuan crying "Xiaokui, don't go", even Lanye's shadow sneering "You don't understand love".
"It's attacking our weaknesses." Su Jiuli's Core shielded them. "But our weaknesses are our strongest weapons."
Lanye raised his Core, seven-color light piercing the mist, which shrieked like a baby's cry—not evil, but a three-hundred-year-old plea for help.
"It's not the enemy." Lanye's voice calmed. "It's forgotten love trapped in the rift."
He released his Core, letting light flow into the mist, which softened to reveal a chained maiden with Su Jiuli's birthmark and Yue Kui's tear mole.
"Li?" Su Jiuli reached out trembling.
The maiden's tears fell on Su Jiuli's hand, her Core bursting with light, releasing fragments: Su Jiuli leaping into the rift, Yue Kui exhausting her energy, Xiaotao attacked saving a cat, Chaoyan weeping for her mother...
"We're all the same person." Sakura sobbed.
"No." Lanye held Su Jiuli's hand. "We're incarnations of love. Every reincarnation fuels today's galaxy."
The maiden's chains snapped. Her Core resonated with theirs, forming a light bridge where Yue Kui's phantom smiled: "Welcome home."
As first light broke, the Glyph Tree bloomed with seven-color flowers, each petal holding silhouettes: Xiaotao and Coalball, Sakura and the child, A Jiu and her crows, Su Qinghuan and Chaoyan, Lanye and Su Jiuli...
"The galaxy is us." Xiaotao pointed, tears in her eyes.
"Every star shines for another." Su Jiuli's hand joined Lanye's, their Cores forming a tiny star.
Chaoyan cheered, running to her mother with the yellowed letter: "Mom! The stars are making a heart for us!"
Su Qinghuan looked up as the brightest star—Yue Kui's Core from three hundred years ago—fell as gentle light onto her lap.
In a dark vortex beyond sight, the last trace of contamination dissolved, not in struggle but as a wisp of light joining the galaxy's embrace.