During the truce that followed, the mountains became revitalized. In this incarnation, Fuken heard the whispers of the plants in the mountains. He took on the responsibility of offering sacrifices to the mountain god. Fuken often wandered into the forest as he pleased. Occasionally, he transplanted the rare flowers and plants to an old shrine in the mountains. In his dreams, he often heard calls from the mountain top, and this puzzled him. On the day he reached adulthood, he drank the Memory Dew, and heard the voices of his incarnations. He decided to climb to the top of the mountain to find out the truth, once and for all. The paths traversing the mountains were dangerous and the weather was severe, but he was guided by an old winding trail. He saw countless illusions along the way, in which every one of his incarnations was also searching for the truth. Gradually, he came to understand that only by combining the power of his and Kasagumo’s soul, could he revive the ancient mountain god. The separation of life after life occurred again, right before his eyes, but there was no way for him to release his grief and woe. Instead, he was left with a question that could not be answered. “I have never met Kasagumo in this incarnation. Where is she, the one that should have protected this mountain with me.” The wind was cold, and his feet were aching. Fuken was exhausted after climbing the mountain. In a trance, he saw that the summit was completely deserted except for a pile of rocks and ema with names engraved on them. Behind the chunks of broken rocks, there was a deep pit with thick clouds floating over it. Further down in the pit, there was boiling magma. Kasagumo’s figure in this incarnation floated intangibly and strangely in the thick clouds. Fuken realized she had transformed to her original form as the cloud in order to end the cycle of reincarnation. Suddenly, all the memories of his previous incarnations in this mountain, for thousands of years, gathered in his mind at once. The seal of the curse which had separated him from Kasagumo began to manifest as he found himself also in the cloud. The cycle of reincarnation had come to an end. The cloud was as dreamlike as it used to be centuries ago. Although Fuken was not able to touch it, he was unwilling to leave. Just as at the beginning, only when he was close to the clouds could he feel that he had a soul and life. So he jumped from the crater. Fuken returned his bones to the rock, his flesh to the soil, and his soul to the mountain. At that moment, the clouds floated between the sky and the earth, and a red glow filled the mountains. The divine servants escaped from their cycle of reincarnation, and inherited the spell and name of the ancient mountain god. They prepared to face their end… “According to the hints left by previous incarnations, Kasagumo and I can revive the ancient mountain god by combining our souls, but actually there is another way.” After waiting for hundreds of years, Fuken had finally got the chance to choose the other alternative with the help of visitors from afar. This time, he would rebuild the spiritual veins of the mountain, and replace Kasagumo’s soul with his own body, and return his body and soul to the god who gave him life. Now, as the stone tortoise Chitose, I can finally see- Kasagumo has been returned to rock, and the ancient mountain god has been revived in the mountains; but Fuken never appeared in the world again.