Spiritrun Arena

Mid-Autumn in Tokyo arrived quietly. Grandma Chizuru stood in the courtyard, gazing up at the old osmanthus tree—where Yuekui had placed the first rabbit-shaped moon lamp in her palm on Mid-Autumn three hundred years ago. Now osmanthus fragrance, wrapped in moonlight, drifted under the veranda, and twelve paper lanterns lit up one by one. Each lantern depicted a different moon phase: an armored general (Yuekui), a double-bunned girl (Chizuru), an aproned woman (young Su Qinghuan)... The last lantern's surface was blank, painted with only a half-waning moon, its edge traced in gold powder with the characters Completion.

"This moon viewing, we must leave a lamp for Yuekui." She turned smiling, holding a wicker basket. "Yuekui said in a dream we'd 'mend the moon' together today."

Inside the basket lay twelve rabbit moon lamps, each more intricate than last year—pale pink from Asagao's crow feathers, indigo from the glow of Lin Ye's Reverse Scale Core, light yellow from threads of Little Peach's knitting... Ripples of light spread across the central lamp's surface as Grandma Chizuru moved, revealing a scene from three hundred years ago: on a Mid-Autumn night at Locking Dragon Abyss, Yuekui wore a plain white kimono, a cherry-blossom hairpin in her hair, crouching under the osmanthus tree with Chizuru—one weaving a bamboo frame, the other adding osmanthus petals to the lamp; young Su Qinghuan ran over with sweet wine rice balls, her cherry-blossom hairpin shining; sixteen-year-old Lin Ye carried injured Yuekui through darkness, murmuring "Little Peach, don't be afraid"...

"Our Mid-Autumns have long been strung through time." Asagao smiled, holding a tea cup. Her spirit pattern core resonated with moonlight, light patterns weaving tiny osmanthus shadows on the cup's edge. "Like these osmanthus petals in the lamp—each holds past winds, yet all fall into the present moon together."

Little Peach was tying a rabbit moon lamp garland around Coalball's neck, her crows helping from her shoulders. Suddenly, the flower-winged crow flew up, fetching a special rabbit moon lamp—its body made of translucent glass, enclosing a star that glowed softly as Grandma Chizuru moved.

"It's Yuekui!" Sakura pointed at the screen. In the spatial spirit pattern projection, Yuekui emerged from the osmanthus tree. She wore a crimson kimono, a cherry-blossom hairpin in her hair, armor replaced by sheer gauze, her stardust meteorite bracelet glowing warm gold. Most delightfully, a double-pigtailed girl shadowed her—Little Peach.

"Yuekui!" Little Peach shrieked, dashing forward, but Sakura held her back.

"Wait." Grandma Chizuru took out a sugar painting. "Yuekui said you must 'see' for yourself."

Yuekui's figure sharpened. She knelt by the wooden frame, fingertips brushing Little Peach's hair: "Three hundred years ago, I always said 'when the war ends', but on Mid-Autumn after, I couldn't even see a whole moon. Until you came, I realized—reunion isn't 'waited' for; it's held in the present."

Lin Ye's Reverse Scale Core burned suddenly. He took out the stardust fragment (Grandma Chizuru had slipped it to him that morning), which resonated with Yuekui's bracelet to form a complete star map in mid-air. Each star matched a "Reunion Knot": Su Qinghuan's rice balls, Asagao's scarves, Jiu's crows, Grandma Chizuru's sugar paintings... At the center, Lin Ye and Little Peach stood hand-in-hand.

"I've been part of your 'now' all along." Yuekui smiled at Little Peach. "Your firefly lanterns, your sweet soup, Coalball's collar... Each mends the 'reunion' I couldn't finish three hundred years ago."

Little Peach's tears splashed on the rabbit moon lamp. She recalled Yuekui's dream words: "The brightest star belongs to the most precious 'now'." Now she understood—Yuekui had never left; she'd become every warmth, every heartbeat, every "now" wrapped in love.

At dusk, they sat under the Spirit Pattern Tree, eating mooncakes. Yuekui's figure faded, but before vanishing, she tossed the twelve rabbit moon lamps into the air. Stars within them fell, merging into everyone's cores—this time, Lin Ye's core held Little Peach's laughter, Su Qinghuan's echoed Coalball's purrs, Asagao's felt the clumsiness of knitting, Grandma Chizuru's sparkled with sugar painting gold dust...

"This is..." Su Li touched her burning spirit pattern core. "Our 'Reunion Knots', stored in eternity by General Yuekui."

Late at night, Lin Ye sat alone on Tokyo Tower's observation deck. His Reverse Scale Core hovered on his lap, starlight flowing with the day's scenes: the Spirit Pattern Tree dancing with rabbit moon lamps and moonlight, Yuekui's smiling phantom, Little Peach holding a moon lamp and shouting "Sister Yuekui".

"Captain." Little Peach's voice came from the stairs. Wrapped in his new scarf, holding Coalball, osmanthus powder in her hair from their earlier play, she said, "Grandma Chizuru says Yuekui's moon is especially round this year."

Lin Ye looked at her face, lit by moonlight, and suddenly remembered that autumn night three hundred years ago—when he'd carried the injured Yuekui, murmuring "Little Peach, don't be afraid". Now he held Little Peach, standing in Mid-Autumn wind, thinking, Yuekui, look—we're all doing well.

Wind swept the tower, carrying an osmanthus leaf that drifted far away, landing on a healed soul's shoulder—it was Yuekui, and every "Reunion Knot" ever wrapped in love.

In a warmer corner, Coalball pawed at Grandma Chizuru's newly baked rabbit-shaped cakes, Sakura and Jiu organized the day's spirit pattern core memories, Su Qinghuan brewed a second pot of osmanthus wine in the kitchen, and Asagao knitted new scarves for the crows...

The moon remained the same moon, but it already carried the warmth of eternity.