The air in Ghoul City felt thinner that night—like the world itself sensed Yuki's choice before she even spoke it. The moon hung low, almost bruised purple, casting long shadows over the broken rooftops of the 678 Web. Yuki stood outside the battered safehouse, her hands trembling slightly, her new aura flickering with soft pink undertones. Something sacred. Something dangerous. Something final.
Tonight, she would leave everything behind.
Seven felt it before she said a single word. He stepped out from the shadows, his hood down, silver hair catching the moonlight. His expression was hard, unreadable, but Yuki could feel the hurt beneath it like a hot pulse.
Shara was beside him, her arms crossed, her jaw clenched tight. For the first time, she wasn't mocking, wasn't irritated—she looked scared.
"Yuki… tell me you're not really doing this," Shara whispered.
Yuki swallowed. Her voice cracked.
"I have to."
Seven stepped forward, fists shaking. "No. You don't. We can protect you. I can talk to the leaders again. You don't owe the Sacrifice Web anything."
But Yuki shook her head.
"It's not about owing them. It's about what I am now. What Sakura awakened in me. I can't stay here… not like this."
Her aura rippled outward—white, pink, violet—bursting like soft fireworks. It made Seven flinch back. Shara steadied herself on the wall.
Yuki wasn't just a normal ghoul anymore.
She wasn't even a soul eater.
She was something ancient.
A sacrifice ghoul.
And sacrifice ghouls belonged to only one place.
---
THE GOODBYE
Seven stepped closer, voice breaking.
"Yuki… after everything we survived, after all these fights… you're really walking away from us?"
"I'm not walking away."
Yuki wiped her tears.
"I'm being pulled."
Shara folded her arms around herself. "Sakura did this to you. She left you with power you didn't even ask for. You're allowed to refuse."
Yuki looked up at the moon—the same moon she used to stare at as a child, the same moon Sakura whispered to when she lived inside her body.
"She didn't force me. She freed me," Yuki said softly.
"And now I have to follow the pull she left behind."
Seven's voice cracked. "Then what about us? About this group? We're your family."
"That's why this hurts so much," Yuki whispered.
She stepped forward and hugged Shara first. Shara froze for a moment, then clutched her tightly like a sister being torn away.
"Don't let them use you," Shara whispered into her hair. "Promise me."
"I promise."
Then Yuki turned to Seven. His eyes were red—not glowing, just emotional. He grabbed her hand quickly, almost desperate.
"I can't lose another person," Seven said.
"Not you too."
Yuki touched his cheek gently.
"You're not losing me," she said.
"You're letting me grow."
Seven dropped his head, breathing shakily. "I hate this."
"Me too," Yuki whispered.
---
ZERO
Yuki's path took her across the city, past destroyed corners of the webs, past ghoul patrols, past memories that already felt heavy. She walked until she reached the old bridge overlooking the human world's side of town.
A figure leaned against the railing.
Zero.
He didn't turn around when she approached. He didn't need to. He felt her power—but he also felt her sadness.
"You're leaving," he said.
She paused beside him. "Yeah."
Zero stared at the water below. "You know… when we were kids, I always thought you'd leave someday. You were never meant to stay in one place."
Yuki blinked. "We were kids. You remember all that?"
Zero exhaled a shaky breath. "More than I want to."
---
FLASHBACK — AGE 9
Yuki sat beside Zero in the alley where they used to hide after school, eating stolen popsicles and laughing about nothing. Zero nudged her shoulder.
"Promise me you'll never disappear," he had said.
"I don't like when people leave."
Yuki laughed. "Why would I leave? You're my best friend."
"Promise."
"I promise."
The memory drifted away, painful and sweet.
---
Back on the bridge, Zero's jaw tightened.
"Funny how promises don't mean anything now."
"Zero…"
Yuki's voice cracked.
"I'm not choosing to leave you. I'm choosing to survive."
He finally looked at her—and his reaction was the same mixture he'd carried since the fight.
Fear.
Wonder.
Heartbreak.
"You're not human anymore," he said softly.
"I wasn't human long before this," Yuki whispered. "You just didn't see it."
Zero shook his head, eyes watering despite him trying to hide it. "You think I'm scared of you?"
"You are," she said gently.
He swallowed.
"…yeah."
Yuki stepped closer and held out her pink-glowing hand.
"I'm still me."
Zero stared at it. His throat bobbed.
He didn't take her hand—but he didn't pull away either.
"Where are you going?" he asked.
"To the Sacrifice Web."
Zero looked like she had stabbed him. "That's practically another world. You don't come back from there."
"Maybe I won't," Yuki whispered.
"But if I stay here… I'll bring danger to everyone."
Zero wiped under his eye quickly, embarrassed he was crying.
"You always wanted to be something bigger," he said.
"I just never expected it would mean losing you."
Yuki stepped in and hugged him.
Zero froze—then wrapped his arms around her like he didn't want to let go.
"I'll find you," Zero said into her hair.
"I don't care what universe you end up in."
She smiled weakly.
"You always did chase me when we were kids."
"Still do."
They pulled apart, the moment heavy and beautiful.
Zero touched her cheek once, memorizing her.
"Go before I change your mind," he whispered.
Yuki nodded.
And then—she walked away.
Zero stayed on the bridge long after she was gone.
---
THE SACRIFICE GHOULS
The entrance to the Sacrifice Web was not a gate or a portal—it was a tear in the sky. A thin, shimmering line that rippled like a wound in reality. As Yuki stepped closer, her aura sparked brighter, responding instinctively. Her body warmed, her veins glowing pink beneath her skin.
A guardian ghoul emerged from the tear—long white hair, glowing eyes, wearing ceremonial armor carved from starstone.
"You have heard the call," the guardian said. "And you answered."
Yuki nodded, her heart thumping.
"My name is Yuki. Sakura was—"
"We know who Sakura was," the guardian said gently.
"And we know what she left inside you."
Yuki stepped forward, swallowing fear and grief.
"Will I ever return?"
"That choice," the guardian replied, "is not ours. Or yours. The universe will decide."
The tear widened, revealing a world of floating islands, star-lit pathways, and beings shaped from light and shadow.
A place that didn't feel like heaven, hell, or Earth.
Something older.
Something sacred.
Yuki took one last breath, thinking of everyone she was leaving behind:
Seven's trembling voice.
Shara's worried eyes.
Zero's arms around her.
Sakura's final smile.
Then she stepped into the universe of the Sacrifice Ghouls.
The tear closed behind her.
And Ghoul City, for the first time in centuries, felt the weight of a destiny unfolding.