"Chrno! Is it really you?"

I smiled at Rosette. She had grown into quite the young woman in my absence.

"Yes, it's really me."

She let me go and tried to wipe away the tears that were filling her eyes.

"Wow, Rosette. You've really grown since-"

SLAP!

"How dare you keep me waiting for so long!"

I laughed. "Ok, I guess I deserved that."

Her gaze shifted down and to the right, and she did a double take.

"Never mind that! What happened to your arm?!"

Oh. Right. I'd gotten so used to it…

"I lost it, along with my horns, in the explosion that destroyed Pandemonium. I don't remember much, but somehow I made it back. I must have fallen into a coma after that, because when I woke up again, years had passed. Still, I'm sorry that-"

She put a finger to my lips to silence me. "It's all right, Chrno. You're here now, and that's all that matters."

"Do you have to keep interrupting me, Rosette?"

The annoyed expression I loved so much returned to her face. "Hey, you owe me, so you have no room to complain!"

Grabbing my hand, she began trying to lead me toward the door. "Now come on, we have a lot to –Ugh!"

Suddenly, she doubled over in pain, and I rushed to catch her.

"Rosette!"

"Jeez…Chrno…Not so…Loud…" she mumbled as her eyelids fluttered closed.

No. Not now. Not yet.

"Rosette!!!"

Rosette survived the attack, but only just. As I quickly discovered, she would soon be leaving this world.

Never in my life was I more sure of what to do.

Joshua and Azumaria recognized me right off the bat, of course. Fortunately, they were quick to realize that it was better for my identity to remain a secret. Even in this astral-hungry adult body, I still looked enough like my child form to be recognizable to those who looked hard enough.

The next couple of weeks flew by like a dream. Stubborn as she was, Rosette refused to let the threat of the end weigh her down. She remained lively and beautiful even as her body weakened.

But finally, the fated night came. There were no obvious indications that anything was amiss, but somehow we both knew. We could feel that it was time.

"Are you comfortable?" I asked as I began putting out the candles one by one, leaving only a single one which seemed to be ready to go out on its own at any moment.

"No, not yet. You're still all the way over there."

I smiled and returned to her side, giving her a light kiss as I settled in next to her on the bed.

We fell into silence for a few minutes. Then:

"Chrno?"

"Yes?"

"Do you think heaven is like they say?"

"I don't know," I mused. "There's never been a demon who's come back to tell us about it."

Rosette scoffed. "Well, yeah. No demon's ever been there before. You're going to be the first. And don't even bother wondering if you are or not. Heaven's accepted saints that are less virtuous than you."

I chuckled. "I know, Rosette."

She smiled. "Good."

Silence reigned again for a moment, until…

"Are you sure you want to do this, Chrno?" Rosette asked, her voice barely above a whisper. "You still have more time. Weeks, months, maybe even another year before you run out of astral. You don't have to die yet."

I hugged her gently. "My place is at your side, Rosette. Nothing will ever separate us again. Not even death."

And with that I began. The ragged clothing I had been wearing became the familiar outfit of the past. My hair coiled together and hardened into a tail. Wings sprouted from my back. The stump on my right arm sprouted a mass of flesh that settled into the shape of a forearm, hand, and fingers. Even the eye that I hadn't seen through for years was finally regenerated.

It was the last of my power, and now all that remained was to wait for the end.

In the flickering candlelight I could see that there were tears in Rosette's eyes, just as there were in mine. Yet we were both also smiling. I wrapped my new arm around the woman I loved more than anything and hugged her.

Wherever we went now, we would go together.

"Chrno…" she whispered. "…Thank you."

And the candle went dark.