After the scandal finally ended, Tomoe and Du Xulan learned something important.
Love did not require them to abandon who they were.
It required them to make room for each other.
Their careers remained demanding, but they became better at balancing them.
They stopped trying to force their relationship into the tiny spaces left over after work.
Instead, they deliberately made time for one another.
Breakfast together whenever their schedules allowed.
Late-night conversations.
Quiet weekends.
Short trips between assignments.
Sometimes they simply sat in the same room doing completely different things, content to know the other person was there.
Their relationship became less dramatic and more profound.
Years passed.
Their professional lives continued to flourish.
Tomoe remained one of Japan's most respected medical professors, while Du Xulan continued his diplomatic career, eventually reaching one of the highest positions available to him.
And through all of it, Tomoe carried a secret happiness.
He had recovered another fragment of Du Xulan's shattered soul.
The moment the soul shard had returned to him, the familiar sensation had filled Tomoe's being.
Another piece.
Another fragment.
Another part of the man he had searched for across countless worlds.
Tomoe carefully preserved the shard within the depths of his soul.
He would never lose it.
He would find every fragment.
Eventually, Du Xulan's soul would be whole again.
But for now, the man standing beside him was enough.
Eventually, they decided it was time to leave.
Not because they were running away.
They simply wanted a quieter life.
They left the country together and settled somewhere far from the constant attention surrounding their former positions.
Their new home was peaceful.
A beautiful house surrounded by trees, flowers, and enough land for them to enjoy their retirement when the time came.
For the first time in decades, they could walk outside without worrying about schedules, reporters, meetings, or official obligations.
They were simply Tomoe and Du Xulan.
Two men who had found each other again.
And one evening, while watching the sunset from their garden, Du Xulan finally asked the question.
"Will you marry me?"
Tomoe stared at him.
"You've taken this long to ask?"
Du Xulan laughed.
"I wanted to do it properly."
Tomoe smiled.
"You already had me."
"I know."
"Then yes."
Their wedding was small.
No political spectacle.
No grand ceremony.
No crowds.
Just the people closest to them and the promise they had already made years before.
They exchanged rings beneath a clear sky.
And when Tomoe looked at Du Xulan, he realized something.
He had spent three eons as Yggdrasil.
He had created worlds.
He had watched civilizations rise and disappear.
He had crossed dimensions looking for this soul.
Yet somehow, this simple moment was one of the most precious things he had ever experienced.
Eventually, they reached sixty.
And they retired.
Their colleagues were shocked at first.
Both men had spent decades at the highest levels of their respective professions.
But neither cared.
They had given enough.
They had accomplished enough.
Now they wanted something else.
A life.
Their life.
They traveled.
They cooked together.
They argued over whose turn it was to clean.
They planted trees.
They read books.
They slept late.
They watched the seasons change.
And then, unexpectedly, their family grew.
Tomoe became pregnant.
The news left Du Xulan speechless.
For several seconds, he simply stared at Tomoe.
Then his expression softened into the widest smile Tomoe had ever seen.
"Our child."
Tomoe laughed.
"Our child."
Their daughter was born several months later.
They named her Du Yuelan.
Yuelan grew up surrounded by love.
She inherited Tomoe's intelligence and curiosity and Du Xulan's calm temperament.
She knew her fathers were extraordinary people.
But to her, they were simply Dad and Papa.
The two people who made breakfast.
The two people who attended her school events.
The two people who stayed awake when she was sick.
The two people who taught her how to ride a bicycle.
The two people who hugged her when she cried.
They gave her the childhood neither of them had ever imagined they would experience.
And they cherished every moment.
Years continued to pass.
Yuelan grew up.
She married the person she loved and began a family of her own.
Tomoe and Du Xulan became grandparents.
Then great-grandparents.
Their quiet home became filled with laughter.
Children ran through the garden.
Grandchildren fell asleep on the furniture.
Great-grandchildren tugged at Tomoe's clothes and asked Du Xulan endless questions.
Sometimes Tomoe would sit outside beneath the trees and watch his family playing.
He would smile.
Three eons as Yggdrasil had taught him that life was precious precisely because it was temporary.
Every generation eventually gave way to another.
Every beginning eventually became an ending.
And he had learned to treasure both.
Their later years were peaceful.
Their hair became white.
Their movements slowed.
Their hands became less steady.
But they never stopped holding them.
One autumn evening, decades after their wedding, Tomoe and Du Xulan sat together on the veranda.
Two rocking chairs moved gently beneath them.
The sunset painted the sky gold.
Tomoe looked over.
"Do you remember when we first realized we loved each other?"
Du Xulan smiled.
"How could I forget?"
"You were nervous."
"I was not."
"You were."
"I was thinking."
"You were terrified."
Du Xulan laughed.
Tomoe smiled.
"You know, back then, I kept wondering whether our responsibilities would allow us to be together."
"And now?"
Tomoe looked at the enormous family gathered inside their home.
Their daughter.
Their grandchildren.
Their great-grandchildren.
Their photographs covering the walls.
Their wedding picture.
Their younger faces.
Their lives.
Tomoe's eyes softened.
"I think we answered that question."
Du Xulan reached across the space between their chairs.
Tomoe took his hand.
"We did."
They sat quietly for a while.
Then Tomoe whispered,
"I'm glad I found you."
Du Xulan squeezed his hand.
"I'm glad you did too."
Tomoe leaned toward him.
Their shoulders touched.
For a moment, they were young again.
Two men meeting for the first time.
Two souls recognizing something neither could explain.
Two people wondering whether love could survive responsibility.
It had.
It had survived everything.
Tomoe slowly rested his head against Du Xulan's shoulder.
Du Xulan leaned his head against Tomoe's.
Their rocking chairs continued moving gently.
Back and forth.
Back and forth.
Their breathing became slower.
Neither was afraid.
They had lived.
They had loved.
They had built a family.
They had grown old together.
And when the final moment came, they embraced.
Tomoe wrapped his arms around Du Xulan.
Du Xulan held him just as tightly.
Neither wanted their final memory to be one of fear.
They wanted it to be love.
Their eyes closed.
And together, peacefully, they passed away in each other's arms.
For several moments, the world remained silent.
Then Tomoe opened his eyes.
But he was no longer an old man.
The human form of his body had returned to its original state.
His light green hair moved gently in the wind.
His golden, silver-rimmed pupils glowed with ancient power.
The body of Yggdrasil had awakened beneath the human shell.
Tomoe looked down at Du Xulan.
A translucent golden screen appeared.
[Host's companion has passed away.]
[Soul shard detected.]
Tomoe smiled sadly.
"I know."
He gently placed his hand over Du Xulan's chest.
A small golden fragment emerged.
It floated into his palm.
Another piece of the soul he had spent countless years searching for.
Tomoe closed his fingers around it.
"I'll find the rest."
He looked toward the horizon.
The world behind him had already begun fading.
The lives they had shared.
The house.
The garden.
Their family.
Their memories.
He would carry all of it with him.
Tomoe turned toward the endless void.
His cheat system appeared.
[Soul Shard Recovery: Successful.]
[World Completion: 100%.]
[Next World Coordinates: Located.]
[Would the Host like to proceed?]
Tomoe smiled.
"Yes."
A massive portal opened before him.
He took one final look behind him.
For just a moment, he could almost see Du Xulan standing beside him as they had been when they first met.
Young.
Alive.
Smiling.
Tomoe whispered,
"Until we meet again."
Then he stepped through the portal.
The world disappeared behind him.
And the journey continued.
Another universe awaited.
Another world.
Another story.
Another fragment of the soul he loved.
Tomoe's golden eyes gleamed.
After all—
he was Yggdrasil.
The Tree of Origin.
And he would search every world necessary to bring his lover's shattered soul back together.
No matter how many lifetimes it took.