The Sun was shining brightly as Shinji came up to Mio was who already waiting for him, with them promptly embracing each other and kissing each other.

"Glad you could make it, Shinji!" said Mio, smiling.

"I hope you haven't been waiting long. I went here as fast as I could."

"I wasn't. And besides, it's so nice outside today. There's no harm in standing in the sunshine."

"Good. Now then, I think it's time I reveal what I planned for us."

"Hehe, what is it~?"

"...If you would look over there..."

Shinji pointed at a small boat which looked like it could fit exactly two people facing each other.

"You reserved a boat for us?" said Mio, surprised.

"Yup. We can ride out into the waters here. I thought it would make for an unusual place to take one out on a date for, but I know you like exploring new places and admiring the scenery."

"That's thoughtful of you, and I'm already excited! But how are we going to move the boat?"

"There are paddles on it, I'll use them to move the boat."

"Okay! So... ready to start our date?"

"I am! Let's get settled into the boat then if you're ready as well."

The two boarded the boat and Shinji unanchored it. It was both their first time being out on a boat, but they both seemed excited. Shinji paddled the boat slowly onto the waters, giving them a nice view and comfortable silence, as nothing but water surrounded them.

"It's so serene and tranquil out here."

"Yeah... I can see from here I wouldn't usually see otherwise."

"Look, I can see some fish below our boat! Aren't they adorable?"

"I can't see them that well... But I imagine they are."

They gazed off into the distance for a while.

"You know... This dress suits you the most, Mio."

"Really? But they're just my casual clothes..."

"That's why they charm me the most. To be honest, I'm not the guy that needs to see a new dress on the person I adore or a new fancy restaurant."

"I'm glad you like it. And honestly, I feel the same way. Just like I want to see you every day, I don't need new material things to make me happy. But when you take me out on something like this, it makes me happy beyond words..."

"That makes me happy too. You make my day brighter with your beacon of light, even when the Sun isn't there."

"Shinji... I love you."

"I love you too, Mio."

The two leaned closer to each other and stared into each other's eyes before sharing a long, passionate kiss. At that moment, the Sun cast a sunray on their boat, outlining their display of affection. When they pulled away and opened their eyes, they blushed.

"We should go back now... We've spent a while here. Mana must be getting lonely!"

"You're right. I'm on it, Captain Mio!"

Mio giggled. Shinji started paddling back towards land.

"Thank you for taking me out here, Shinji. This date was a lot of fun."

"Oh yeah, it definitely was. I won't forget it."

***

"Target spotted, Isaac! They're returning to dock!" said Ellen. She was accompanied with very well geared men carrying protective gear and assault rifles.

"Understood. If the Spirit somehow gets past, Elliot and I will make sure it doesn't get any further."

"She won't. Preparing for ambush, over."

Ellen put the radio away. She, and the men she was with were hidden near the dock. There was only one way out of there, which played into their hands. Shinji and Mio had no idea what was about to happen, or that Mana was already in the custody of DEM. When they arrived at land and Shinji anchored the boat, Ellen gestured for the troops to prepare.

Shinji helped Mio out of the boat and then after making sure it's docked; they began walking towards the exit. When they took the right step, Ellen gestured to proceed. Instantly, they ran out of hiding and surrounded Shinji and Mio.

"Hands up! Do not take another step!"

Shinji and Mio immediately both froze in place and put up their arms. Just then, Ellen walked out of hiding and confronted them.

"Are you absolutely sure this is her?"

"Yes, ma'am. No other entity in Japan bears this signature."

Ellen took a step-in front of her soldiers.

"Huh. So, you are the most wanted "girl" on Earth? But here you are, out on boat trips.

Shinji and Mio were both confused and shocked.

"W-W-What do you mean?! We've done nothing wrong!" shouted Shinji.

"Silence, boy. Has this "girl" bewitched you? You are harbouring a criminal—No, there's no name for someone like her. She is the one who caused the spacequakes that rampaged the whole Earth, so think again before you say she's done nothing wrong. Both of you, get on the ground slowly. If I see you doing anything else at all, you will be shot where you're standing."

"...So, it's true. The images... were not illusions or lies. They were what I saw when I did all that... They were the product of my destruction...!"

"On the ground, now. I won't ask another time."

Mio turned to face Shinji.

"I'm sorry, Shinji. You shielded me from my past, but I remember now... I remember it all. I can't run from it anymore."

Ellen sighed. She didn't like when someone disobeyed her orders.

"Fine, then. Have it your way. Shoot her!"

The troops aimed their rifles at Mio and prepared to fire. Shinji was in utter shock.

He tried to push Mio out of harm's way, but a blinding flash suddenly emanated from Mio. It blinded all the troops including Ellen, who tried to shoot but couldn't. When it ended, Shinji could see again, but everyone else were still blinded, writhing on the ground.

"I-I..."

"Mio, we have to run! It's our only chance! Come on!"

"But you know..."

"It doesn't matter! Let's go!"

Shinji took Mio's arm, and they ran as fast as they could. But then, another person blocked their path. It was Elliot, who was holding a pistol.

"Stop, and surrender. It's better this way. The Spirit... shouldn't be free."

Mio embraced Shinji in fear. The man seemed familiar to her.

"What do you want from us?! We're not harming anyone! Mio doesn't deserve to have men pointing guns at her, threatening to take her life!"

Elliot had a hard time speaking. He realised Mio looked happy with him, and even though he too wanted the best for her, he might have been doing the opposite thing all this time.

"Mio? Is that the name you gave her?"

"Mio Takamiya. I'm... Mio Takamiya. Shinji saved me... At least let him go!"

"No, Mio! I'm not leaving you behind, whatever happens!"

Elliot couldn't keep his gun trained on them anymore. He felt like the bad guy, the monster.

"This wasn't supposed to happen. Isaac said we would make the world a better place... Through peaceful means. But this isn't what he promised. We summoned you, Mio, but I didn't realise this would be how it would go down."

"Then why are you doing this? Why are you helping them?"

"I... I don't know. I thought I could save you, Mio. Save you from him."

"Then let us go. That's how you redeem yourself, how you do the right thing," appealed Shinji.

"Mio... are you happy with Shinji?"

"I love him. He means everything to me."

Elliot dropped his gun.

"Then go. Maybe the world will be a better place if you do."

Shinji and Mio both smiled.

"Thank you. What's your name?"

"Elliot..."

"Then thank you, Elliot. We won't forget this."

Shinji and Mio then started running again, passing Elliot who only looked back at them. They were almost out of there, but one more obstacle remained. When they turned the last corner, they saw a man with his arms crossed standing in the middle of the road.

"This is the end of the line for you. Both of you."

"Careful, he could be armed!" whispered Shinji to Mio.

"Just let us go! This isn't right!" said Mio.

"So, Elliot couldn't do it. It's too bad, you got past everyone but me."

"WHO ARE YOU?!" shouted Shinji.

"Isaac. Sir Isaac Westcott. And calm yourself, before this gets ugly for you."

"What do you people want?!"

"The Spirit. She belongs in our custody. Surrender her and yourself, and you won't be harmed."

"She doesn't "belong" in anyone's custody! You won't get away with this!"

"Oh, but I already have. Do you even know who I am? The founder of Deus Ex Machine Industries."

"W-What...? You? Why would you do this then?"

"It's our mission to capture the Spirit here, or deal with her."

"You're the guy who tried to touch me back at the summoning site! That's when I subconsciously escaped and landed in the centre of Eurasia..."

"Indeed, I'm the magus who has achieved the impossible. And now, you will be mine."

Shinji tried eying potential escape routes and ways to get away from there.

"Nu-uh. Don't even think about it, boy. I must commend you, getting along with a Spirit... I almost want to take you too. But this is the end. Your time is spent."

"What do you mean?"

"We've taken your sister, Mana Takamiya. She's at our mercy now, so I suggest you think this through carefully. Give me Mio, and I promise not to harm her or your family."

"Mana, sister...!"

"Shinji, it's all right. Perhaps surrender is the best option, I don't want more bloodshed..."

"Wise girl. You should listen to her, Shinji."

Shinji started surrendering, but then he charged at Isaac and pushed him on the ground.

"Run, Mio! I'm right behind you!"

Mio began running, and Shinji then got off Isaac and started running too. Isaac was caught off guard, but he swiftly got back up and drew a pistol he was concealing. Without hesitation he aimed it at Shinji and pulled the trigger. The loud noise stopped Mio, who looked at Shinji. He was shot in the chest, immediately stopping in his tracks.

"Mio... I'm sorry I couldn't save you... I love you..." said Shinji before collapsing on the ground. Mio was in utter terror before crying out in agony.

"NOOOO!" yelled out Mio, overwhelmed with all sorts of emotions.

"What a waste of a bullet. Your foolish dreams end here, Spirit."

Mio looked at Isaac before letting out another cry, but this time the flash of light started emanating from her again. In her rage, her powers were unleashed. Isaac was blinded and sent flying before hitting the first obstacle in his path, with the light becoming so bright and large no one in miles could see anything else. Mio then grabbed Shinji's body and shot up into the sky with him in her arms, leaving a beam of light behind her. When Isaac could see again several dozen minutes later, they were both gone.

Mio suddenly found herself in a place above Earth, but she could still see and feel everything, including the warm breeze of air. She concentrated all her power to heal Shinji, but he wasn't waking up. His wounds were gone, but he already succumbed to them earlier. Mio cried and wept, finally realising Shinji meant more than everything to her. She was him. When he died, all she inherited from him died too. She no longer smiled like he did, no longer cared about anything. Only one thought remained in her mind, one last wish. To see Shinji again.

Mio pondered a long time on how to bring him back, before coming up with a plan on how to save Shinji. She kissed him with all the love she had for him, causing him to turn into light and be absorbed into her. She intended to recreate Shinji by nurturing him in her womb before giving birth to him. She never wanted to experience him leaving her again, so her plan was to make him her eternal lover by entrusting him with her power.

Since a normal human couldn't take all that power in at once, she decided to give him only the power to take in the Spirit's power. Then, she divided her power, planting them like seeds into young girls for Shinji to gradually take their powers one by one. However, humans were not compatible with the she created, causing them to turn into monsters and go berserk. Therefore, Mio decided to reverse their properties, turning them into to make them more compatible. To do so, Mio continuously had the Qlipha Crystals bond with humans, turn them into monsters and finally kill them to slowly purify them.

She didn't feel joy from doing this, as she had to kill a lot of people and the process was slow. So instead of using Qlipha crystals imbued with her negative emotions, she used her strongest emotion: love to create Sephira crystals, which would be pure from the get-go. In the process she created a second pure Spirit. However, she felt like this would backfire on her, so she reduced the physical form of the Sephira crystal back into its original form.

She couldn't bring herself to destroy it, knowing it was someone like her, so she instead decided to use it to aid her in her plans. When all was prepared, she gave birth to Shinji and left him to be adopted into the Itsuka family, knowing he couldn't stay with her. She was patient and waited for him to one day claim all the Spirit's power, once again returning to her so they could be together forever and eternally, sharing the same happiness they did before.

Mio was then only left with one thing reminding her of Shinji, the teddy bear he won for her. She never let it go, just as she would never let her eyes let go off Shinji when he was growing up again in another family.

However, there was one other perspective before the story can rightfully end. What of the four magi? Isaac's plan had failed, but was that it? What transpired next? This, the final chapter will tell.

***

End of chapter.