So this is the final chapter. I know it's pretty short, but I've basically done everything I could with this story, so there it is. I'm really busy with college and so forth, so I'm pretty much saying goodbye to my nonsense story writing. If you absolutely can't deal with it, then why not read some of my other stories? They're not particularly good, but it's worth a shot. Thank you for all of your support and reviews these past few years. I hope you've enjoyed the story.

Asakura Hao won the Shaman Fight. There was no dispute, no fight, nothing to prevent him from finally achieving his lifelong goal. Finally, after a thousand years, he was free to change the world. he had the power and the strength to finally make a difference.

Still, even with the power of the universe itself behind him, he was unable to defeat his brother.

Well, if he'd gotten the chance, he probably could've done so if certain people - or rather, spirits - hadn't stopped him. See, a man is only as powerful as his motivation, and it's hard to find the motivation to kill people after your mother has slapped you in front of your enemies. It was a shame, really. One moment he was about to have his enemies sucked into a black hole, and the next everyone he'd ever defeated or was about to defeat had appeared to tell him to stop being a jerk. You just couldn't make anybody happy these days.

Hao gritted his teeth. He had finally gotten every last annoying soul out of his society. He'd graciously revived those who deserved to be revived and sent away the rest. All he wanted was some peace and quiet for him to mull over what exactly had just happened. Only the five warriors and Ayame remained.

"I won't settle for leaving the world as it is," Hao said, sitting in his throne. "I intend to bring this world forward into an age of light, even if you won't allow me to destroy the humans. Something must be done, and the burden is now on you to see that it happens."

The warriors shared uneasy looks, but Yoh, as always, smiled. "That won't be a problem. We'll make it our duty to serve you and to create a better world."

Hao raised an eyebrow. "Words only go so far, little brother. It won't be as simple as you think. First of all, you'll have to cleanse yourself of your own sins before you can cleanse the world." When Chocolove looked away, Hao nodded. "I am referring to your pasts. You must tie up all loose ends, and then help end conflict in the world." He looked at each warrior individually. "I'll be watching closely."

With the wave of his hand, the five warriors disappeared, leaving a practically empty society.

Ayame looked around at the vast, empty space. "We'll definitely have to fix this place up."

Hao rubbed his temples. "It looks fine to me."

"There's nothing to look at. That's the problem." Ayame walked over to the throne - the only object for what seemed like thousands of miles. "If this is my new home, I want it to be a home I'll never tire of, considering my trips into the physical world will be quite limited from now on."

Hao looked up at her. They were finally alone together. Finally. She'd only changed slightly since becoming part of the Great Spirit. When he looked at her, although she still resembled her newest incarnation, her aura showed the full magnitude of her power. She was everything at once, the perfect picture of a goddess. Yes, she was beautiful, but it was so much more than that. Her eyes showed a knowledge that even Hao would never understand. He was technically the Shaman King, but he was completely willing to take orders from her.

"You are happy, then?"

Ayame looked at him with shining eyes, and a little bit of her old, girlish self returned to her smile. She leaned down and placed a kiss on Hao's forehead.

"You've made me so proud today, Hao," she said. "I've never been happier."

Hao smiled with relief.

Ayame looked at the space next to the throne and the next moment, another throne appeared. She sat down and turned to face her husband.

"Are you happy, Hao?"

Hao took his wife's hand and kissed her lips, feeling like he knew everything and nothing at once, and it was such a wonderful feeling.

AJ kicked the sand beneath her feet. "Is it just me, or was that kinda...anticlimactic?"

May sighed. "Ayame didn't even say goodbye."

"I mean, really," AJ continued, kicking a seashell out of her way. "Put all this effort into it and the bad guy still wins. Now, where is the justice in that?"

May stopped and looked at the vast ocean before them, crossing her arms. "I'm going to miss her."

AJ looked back at May. "Come on, sugar cube. Plane's headin' out soon. And don't you worry. We'll be seeing her again."

"How do you know?"

"She's the adventurous type," AJ said, starting to walk again. "You really think she's gone be okay with stayin' in that stuffy spirit for eternity? Nah, she'll be back. Now come on, your family's waiting and I still have shit to pack."

May cast one final glance at the ocean before following AJ back to the house. She never knew goodbyes could be this hard. In the Great Spirit, a lot of people they'd lost had returned, and before they really got a chance to talk to any of them, Hao had sent most of them away. Now one of their team members was gone indefinitely and everyone else was heading home. Even Ren was going back to China. That thought really made her sad.

"Don't worry about Ren," AJ said as they finished packing their stuff. "He's rich. He can visit whenever he likes. Me? I barely got money to make it back to Mississippi."

"I know," May said. "I'm going to miss you AJ. Maybe if I save enough money I'll come see you."

"Yeah," AJ smiled widely. "See? Everything's gone be okay. You and me, we gotta change the world however we can. When I get back to the US, I'm going to do everything to get my law degree. It's a brand new century, and even though I didn't win, I feel like I'm on top of the world."

May smiled at this, but her throat seemed to be closing. She coughed. "Let's, um, let's get going."

Goodbyes are hard. It's hard to believe that you can go on after saying goodbye to the important people in your life. May knew about goodbyes. She knew about love, and about family, and about letting go. She hugged the people she'd grown close to, hopefully not for the last time, but it's hard to see the horizon sometimes, and she didn't know when she'd see any of these people again.

Everyone was going to start over. Since they hadn't won the Shaman Fight, they'd have to figure out how to live their dreams on their own. It sounded like a difficult task, and one that came at a pretty large expense, but they weren't going to stop trying.

Although the Patch would ultimately stay in the Great Spirit with Hao, they had been revived long enough to take the remaining contestants and their families home. Different oversoul helicopters were to take people to different parts of the world, so everybody had to say goodbye on the island right before boarding.

May held on to Ren for a long time, and he didn't object. She closed her eyes and tried to commit this moment to memory. She wanted to feel his arms around her forever.

"I'll come see you," Ren promised. "And I'll call you every chance I get, and we'll write to each other. It'll be okay." He seemed to be trying to convince himself for than her.

May kissed his cheek. "Just don't forget about me, Ren. Even if we break up, and you fall in love with somebody else, don't forget about me."

Ren kissed her. "How could I forget someone like you?"

When the plane finally took off, May stared out the window with blurred vision, trying to catch a final glimpse of Ren. It seemed like they'd had such a short time together. Now everything was changing. Once they returned to Tokyo, May would go back to high school and Yoh would start his quest to change the world. Everyone would go their separate ways.

May felt a hand close around hers, and she turned to look at Yoh. He was smiling at her.

"It'll all work out," he said gently.

May smiled, another tear falling from her eyes. "I believe you."