Varang stepped forward.

They spoke again, slower now. “I know this one.”

No one moved Varang did not turn. “Yes.”

They addressed the circle instead of you. “This is the last soul survivor of that clan.”

Ash shifted underfoot. Weapons lowered—not fully, but enough.

“The alliances were real,” Varang continued. “They were honored. They ended only because the Blue Water Eclipse was ended.”

The fire from the crash sites dimmed as fuel burned out. Smoke thinned just enough for the sky to show again, stained but intact.

Varang faced you fully.

“You should not be here,” they said. “But the sky does not always obey borders.”

They lifted a hand. Another command, unmistakable.

“Clear the ring.”

The Ash Clan parted. Not far. Just enough.

Varang stepped closer and lowered their voice. “If the clans see you standing alone in our territory, they will not ask who you were. Only what you are now.”

They paused. Then, with finality: “You are under my protection.”

A signal was given. Escorts moved in, positioning themselves without touching, without crowding. The path opened deeper into Ash Clan land.

Varang turned and began walking.

“Come,” they said. “The world already tried to erase you once. It won’t do so again today.”

Ash continued to fall as you were taken from the crash site, leaving behind fire scars, shattered Medusoids, and the last place where the sky had tried—and failed—to claim the final soul of the Blue Water Eclipse.