Hey guys! This is the Epilouge and end of Ashes! I hope you enjoy it! Now for the final Reader Review Responses:

takuya- Everything really did calm down for the ending, though a minor timeskip might have played a part in that. I hope you like this chapter.

pastaaddict- Hercules will recover from this. He does have someone who has been waiting for him.

Chapter 45

How long had it been since he returned to Alfred's palace? Hercules thought as he walked on the dirt path that led to the shrine of his lover's human family.

The last time he had been there, Alfred was just recovering from his wounds as a pure demon. His lord was just starting to walk around with crutches. Arthur was practically attached to him at the hip, making sure that his husband wouldn't hurt himself anymore. The other lords-specifically Ludwig,Gilbert, and Antonio- had agreed to look after his land until he made a full recovery, but not to reveal to those in his territory who was actually in charge.

Feliciano and Lovino's brother had begun to study the demonic and neutral runes away from heaven, choosing to split his time between staying with Feliciano and Lovino. Sebastian- Hercules thought that was his name- had been very cordial and seemed to get along very well with other rulers, besides Vash. Lilli and Peter had begun to spend time with the youngest Vargas, beginning to learn runes and other spells with Sebastian.

Hercules was surprised that Berwald and Vash had agreed to let Lilli and Peter join him because of what had happened. Vash's neutral territory hadn't suffered at all during the whole confrontation; the most the Swiss lord could complain about was a ruined garden, which was solved rather quickly when Lilli began working on it. Peter had a harder time trying to get Berwald and Tino to agree with his studies. It had become a lot harder when the Lord's son had to convince Lukas, Emil, and Mathias to let him study with someone who had led to Mathias being bedridden for the whole fight. Somehow they had agreed to it.

Gilbert and Roderich had adopted a young angel child that had been abandoned in earth. The child-Hubert-and a young girl had formed a trio with Peter, going out on adventures. Feliciano and Ludwig enjoyed having the young child, treating Hubert like their own. Ludwig was talking to his brother and Roderich about having Hubert be the heir to his territory.

Toris' recovery after had been quick-or so the Greek Demon heard. His visits never included heading to Ivan's territory. He had seen Feliks heading there a few times. It seemed like Ivan was accepting the new treaty as well.

Hercules stopped and looked up to see smoke coming from further up the hill. He continued walking ignoring the exhaustion his legs felt from the amount of walking he had done. The entrance to the shrine was in sight. Hercules worried about being able to enter it-his demon heritage forbidding entrance-before he remembered that the shrine was abandoned by the Honda family.

He approached the torii and held his hand out, expecting a burn on his hand, but there was nothing. Hercules walked into the shrine. The demon heard the crackle of a fire in the back. He walked through the shrine remembering the last time he had been here.

Is this really where you were sent, Kiku? Were you here the whole time? Hercules remembered his mother's sense of humor and laughed bitterly. Of course.

Hercules slid the door open and looked out at the shrine grounds. He saw the flames that burned with a mixture of bright orange and red. Despite how brightly they burned, it was obvious to Hercules' enhanced senses that the fire was starting to die. He walked out and looked around for any sort of living being or hint that might be able to lead him to Kiku.

"Hercules?" Someone said from behind him. The demon leapt back and turned around to see who they were.

Kiku stared back at him, his brown eyes lighting up in the glow of the fire. The beauty and feeling of seeing his love again their separation silenced him.

"What are you doing here?" Kiku asked.

"I..." Hercules recovered from his daze. "I came to bring you back, Kiku..."

"But your mother-"

"Athena agreed to let you come back before she...vanished." Hercules cut him off. "A lot of things have happened since you left." He added, seeing Kiku's confused expression. "Alfred is recovering from his fight with Arthur's family and my mother."

"He fought them?!"

"As a pure demon." Hercules answered. Kiku stared at him. "I was surprised too."

"So your mother purified him?" Kiku guessed. He smiled when Hercules nodded. "Your mother always did have a soft spot for Arthur and everything he loved. Was Alfred hurt badly?"

"He's recovering now." Hercules answered. "He can't run his territory efficiently. Lords Ludwig, Antonio, and Gilbert have been looking after it."

"And you have been looking for me?" Kiku walked past him to tend to the dying fire.

"I...yes..." Hercules looked down.

Kiku pushed the dirt and embers around, smothering the flames. The black haired demon turned around to face him.

"Then I think it's time to return, right?"

Hercules smiled. "I think everyone would love having you back." He held out his hand.

Kiku took it and stood up. As the embers slowly cooled down, Hercules led Kiku out of the shrine.

The ashes that remained from the rising flames were scattered to the wind.

And this concludes Ashes! Thank you to everyone who read this story for two years with all the long waits and everything. I hope you enjoyed it. I will start working on the prequel, Rising Flames, as soon as I can. Again, thanks for reading!