His legs dangle over the balcony, a light breeze drifting along, rustling his feathers. It's been a few hours since he settled down, the moons high in the sky and the stars twinkling intermittently. One of the moons is Shouyou's, the other is Shouyou's favorite. There are a few smaller ones as well, one of which is poised almost directly overhead the Spire.

The nightlife of their realm has always been peculiar, and it's been lifetimes since he's watched it from this high up.

The shimmery barriers of the Palace are dull, faintly reflecting the night sky as it shimmers. Sugawara's crow flies overhead as it always does, but it's eyes glow a dangerous shade of orange, glinting with something unidentifiable. Certain parts of the forest give off occasional soft bursts of light as nymphs and other creatures settle down or come alive. Every so often, a few strains of music will drift through the air, its source is everywhere and nowhere. The Forge has died down some, now emitting a faint orange glow, not a wisp of smoke in sight. Past the Palace, something in the ocean glows with multicolored light. The beast breaches, creating a multistory splash as it crashes back into the water without a sound. The atmosphere has gone quiet and pensive, the heavy weight of magic has dissipated some and everything seems lighter and softer than it does during the day.

Kei's always loved this time of night.

His wings twitch as he hears a noise behind him. Without looking, he knows that it's Yamaguchi, his signature is its own calling card.

"Missed the view?" Yamaguchi asks quietly. He stands beside Kei, folding his arms atop the balcony railing.

"It's a wonder it hasn't changed."

Kei's been forcing himself to stay in the Spire whenever possible. He set up his workshop in this room so he wouldn't have a choice. There are memories of Akiteru everywhere in the structure, residual bits of his magic still clinging stubbornly to the walls. He's trying to be okay with it. He works, creating and creating until his hands are shaking from exhaustion, anything to keep his mind busy. He hasn't drawn up the courage to go anywhere near the portrait room, and he confines his stay in the Palace to his bedroom and a choice number of places.

"Couldn't sleep?" Kei asks, tearing his gaze from the sky to settle on Yamaguchi.

He looks more relaxed than Kei has seen him in a while, he's finally sleeping again. Ennoshita has started a new system and he's kept Yamaguchi fairly busy designing a new night sky, the project has kept his mind occupied and focused. All in all, he's doing much better. There's a star beast on his shoulder, a small dragon of some kind that's partially wrapped around his arm.

Yamaguchi freezes a moment.

"Shit, no, I was actually supposed to come get you," he says with a laugh. "A bunch of us were going to stay up in the garden. Bokuto and Akaashi are going to be telling stories. Suga wanted you to come."

"'A bunch of us'?"

"Most of the Palace, I think Hinata dragged Kenma along too."

"Okay."

"Really? I don't have to fight you for this?"

"Let's just go," Kei says, rolling his eyes.

Yamaguchi smiles as he vaults over the rail, legs glowing as he stays hovering in the open air.

Kei shifts, stretching his wings out. He's been practicing, but he can't quite fly like he used to yet. Gliding isn't an issue, but his sustained flight needs more work, and he can't maneuver very well. It's as much a mental matter as it is a physical one. When he'd woken up, the weight at his back was familiar but uncomfortable as well. He'd lived lifetimes without them, gotten used to not carrying their weight. They weren't heavy per say, the problem came when Kei attempted to lift his body off the ground.

The first time he practiced, he did so by himself, and he didn't get more than two seconds of airtime before he dropped. Memories flashed in his mind and suddenly he was locked in combat once again, he was falling again. He didn't try for a while after that.

But he's getting better.

Shouyou volunteered to help and Kei almost refused immediately. The only person who'd ever taught him how to fly was Akiteru. They'd be starting from square one, Shouyou hovering a short distance off the ground, holding Kei's hands. He'd nodded anyways, and spent the night making himself okay with accepting Shouyou's help.

His wings are almost entirely the same. They're just as big as they used to be, but his first set seems a bit more grey than it used to be, and the blue tips have spread inward a short ways. His second set is unchanged, save for a single black feather nestled amongst the blue on either side. Both sets of wings are softer though. Daichi had pulled Kei aside after he woke up to let him know that because he'd drawn so much magic from his wings during the war, they'd lost their defensive property. But he still had them, they're still his wings.

There is one major difference, however.

The brace that Yachi had made him near the end of the war had melded to his skin, merged with his magic just the slightest bit. Due to the exacerbation of his injury, the brace had grown to span the entirety of his back. It was a living brace, imbued with Yachi's magic.

Scattered intermittently amongst Kei's feathers are pale pink blossoms, tethered by roots made entirely of magic. He can feel each one just as he does his feathers, and he has sensation in them. Pulling them hurts, and they don't impede his flight, so he lets them alone.

According to Daichi, the flowers only grew a week or two before he woke up. His wings had reverted to little more than light and magic at the start, slowly solidifying as they bonded to his body. Daichi said that dots of pink light had appeared at that stage but they'd vanished once his wings became tangible.

Yachi had erupted into an unintelligible mess of apologies the moment Kei woke up. Yamaguchi had burst into giggles while Sugawara and Daichi hid their smiles behind their hands. Shouyou had been entirely enamored with the new additions, the first thing he did was try to touch one of the blossoms. Kei's smaller set of wings had reacted, sort of smacking Shouyou's hand away.

Kei lets himself fall over the railing, gliding down until he touches the ground. It's different. Akiteru's winds were specifically attuned to his and Kei's presence, giving them drafts when needed. It's strange not to have them anymore.

They walk the rest of the way, Kei tucks his wings against his back but keeps them out. He can sense the old magic by the time they reach the gate, and it only grows stronger the closer they get to the garden. The only source of light comes from the glowing flowers around them, casting the area in a hash of pinks, purples, and reds.

The whole group has settled near a fountain, likely for Kozume's benefit as the nymph is resting in said fountain. In front of him is Lev, the two of them quietly conversing. Kei almost has to double take. Running right through Lev's nightmare eye is a scar, stretching from his hairline to the middle of his cheek.

Tanaka sits beside Kuroo, fidgeting with his hands as he talks. Initially, Tanaka had completely avoided Kuroo, whenever and however possible. His fury at what the key revealed had burned out during the war, but he was still raw about it. It's only in the past week or so that Tanaka has finally begun speaking to Kuroo.

Just next to them, Oikawa and Iwaizumi sit with their team. Watari and Yahaba are lying down, Kunimi slumped asleep over the latter. Kyoutani sits beside Iwaizumi, pointing out something in a bound journal. Kindaichi is with Matsukawa while Hanamaki and Oikawa talk in hushed tones.

Nishinoya, Yachi, Asahi, and Kiyoko are clustered together, none of them speaking as Yachi focuses on changing the types of flowers that decorate her skin. Kiyoko is braiding Asahi's hair, twining in a few slim, blossoming vines.

Sugawara sits between Daichi and Akaashi, conversing with both of them. He's without his gloves, baring the red stains on his skin. A paper bird rests on his shoulder, Kei can't tell exactly what type it is, only that its colors are constantly changing. Akaashi has Bokuto's head in his lap, absently stroking through his hair. Bokuto's eye is glowing, little blips of light slipping past his lips as he talks.

Then there's Daichi. Daichi, who looks more well rested than Kei has ever seen him, is holding Natsu in his lap. He's smiling as she talks to him, laughing for the first time in what feels like lifetimes. He doesn't look so aged, so exhausted.

When Kei had gone under, Daichi still looked somewhat haggard, not yet recovered. He'd looked only marginally better when Kei woke up. But now? Daichi looks like a God again.

Yamaguchi nudges him over to where Shouyou and Kageyama are sitting. Shouyou's sprawled on the ground, trying to stack a number of oddly shaped rocks atop one another. When he looks away to find another, Kageyama knocks the tower down.

Kageyama sees them first, tapping Shouyou's shoulder to get his attention.

"You came!"

Surprisingly, Shouyou doesn't come running, doesn't jump up and lock his legs around Kei's waist. Instead, he just takes Kei's hands and smiles brightly before tugging Kei to sit down. Yamaguchi strikes up conversation with Kageyama while Shouyou lays down once again, this time with half of his body on Kageyama and the other half on Kei.

"We're still waiting for everybody else," he says.

They make quiet chatter for a while. Kageyama shares some weapon designs he's been working on, Shouyou talks about how Natsu's been trying to teach him how to spit fire. Yamaguchi talks about the project Ennoshita's given him, and Kei is just content to be in the moment.

There's conversation all around as everyone arrives and once Akaashi deems it right to begin, he starts to glow. Bokuto follows suit, and Sugawara does as well.

Without a word, everybody falls into silence.

Akaashi stretches out his arms, pink light swirling down his left, green light down his right. The light pools into the center of their makeshift circle, fusing and pulsing. Bokuto opens his mouth but no words come out, a simple melody spills past his lips, haunting and calm. His entire body glows a light blue as the music swells. Then Sugawara extends his left hand, iridescent light spills past his fingers to join the mass of magic light in the center.

Images begin to take shape, some humanoid, others not so much. The colors change, a dark shape emerges from the haze of magic and from it four beings form.

Kei's heard the stories, they all have. But their memories go only as far back as their beings. Attributes may have existed since the Beginning, but that doesn't mean Akaashi or Sugawara was there to witness it.

All they have are the stories.

The four beings take hazy shape, one wreathed in brilliant red, another dripping in icy blue, one is surrounded by an inky black while the last one emits pure white.

Another figure begins to take form, this one much larger than the four. It has a thin purple outline but it's composed of multicolored light. In a flash of blinding light, the being vanishes, each color within it forming into its own figure.

Akaashi and Bokuto play out their stories, the images becoming clear and clearer as they move forward. After a little while, Kei can make out some faces. There's a young Akaashi, Sugawara free of scars and magical brands, and baby faced Ushijima. Once their realm starts to take shape, Asahi rises from the forest, Kenma's face pokes out from the waves. Kuroo arrives from the outer reaches of the realm, where it's unformed. He's followed quickly by Daichi, who falls out of the sky. There's an image of the Demons finalizing their alliance with the Gods, and the ensuing celebration.

More and more gods and goddesses and nymphs and demons take shape in the magical light.

Kiyoko emerges from a massive flower one day. They find Nishinoya wandering through the mountains. Ennoshita appears in the aftermath of an exploding star. The first Constellation God is non existent one day, and by the time night falls, he's sitting on the roof of the Stronghold. Goshiki stumbles out of the sunset, wreathed in pink and red.

In, arguably, the most brilliant display, the oracle appears out of thin air. A column of multicolored fire erupts into the sky and the oracle steps out surrounded by an orange glow.

Somewhere between the building of the Stronghold and the creation of the first animals, Natsu slips from Daichi's lap and moves to sit in Kei's. They watch Ennoshita make the first system outside their own, watch the various gods of the time work together to make it perfect. Following that, Akaashi displays stories from the time of heroes. Tanaka and Saeko are at the forefront of these stories, they're the ones who went down to be around mortals the most often.

The stories continue into the early morning hours. Akaashi falls asleep mid story and the image vanishes. Bokuto follows soon after. More than half of them are asleep anyway. Shouyou's leaning against Kei's side, wings vanished, and Kageyama is lying down with his head in Shouyou's lap. Yamaguchi's curled up around a star beast while several others have settled on and around him. Kenma is still awake, half slumped out of the fountain, he meets Kei's gaze before vanishing. Daichi is asleep against Sugawara's shoulder, the latter looks as though he'll fall asleep at any moment. Everyone else is in various states of consciousness, those not wanting to sleep outside are slowly picking their bodies up and drifting back to the Palace.

Kei feels a sharp sort of pressure at the base of his skull. It's good right now, they're all good. Everyone's alive, their enemy is gone for good. There shouldn't be anything for him to worry about.

Where do they go from here?

For all their power and ability, they lead a rather repetitive life. Constant creation, constant destruction, a never ending cycle. They're practically immortal, if they die it won't be of old age. Are they really so lucky as to live out the rest of eternity in peace?

It would be ideal, but he's never truly been the complacent type. What if they go soft? What if something happens in the future and they're not-

"Your face gets all scrunchy when you think hard."

Natsu's still awake, still in Kei's lap. Her hair has died down some but it's a dark red instead of the soft orange it usually turns when she's tired or calm. She's lying down, sort of anyways, partially propped up against Kei's torso as she sits sideways, cradled in the crook of his arm. Her wings are folded against her back, they're not quite big enough to carry her yet, but they've certainly grown from when Kei first saw them. Her eyes are half lidded, heavy with fatigue, as she looks up at him.

"Hm?"

"When you think hard, your nose scrunches up and your eyebrows get pinchy," she says. "You shouldn't do that, your face will stick."

"I'll do my best not to."

"Besides, I already told you that everything is going to be fine, you shouldn't be worrying."

"Natsu, can I ask you a question?"

"What is it?" She sits up a little, opening her eyes completely to meet Kei's gaze.

Before, her eyes had been a polished black, and they still are, but they've changed. Faintly, just behind the black, there's a swirling mass of color.

"How do you know?"

Natsu shrugs.

"I just do. I told you, I saw it."

It's actually over? Oh my goodness.

First and foremost, thank you all so much for sticking with this story up until the end, it means everything to me. I really hope this was an acceptable ending, and that you liked it. Let me know what you think, I'm very much interested in hearing your thoughts, especially now that the story has ended.

If you have any questions about the story or interest in any of the other characters please let me know, I'd love to talk about them. You can shoot me a question at wire-pudding on tumblr.

I think that's it. Thank you for reading!