Shiro kneeled in front of Yitchi, tears dripping down his cheeks. "Thank you," he said softly. "I don't care about myself."
He looked up, eyes steady. "I'm not weak…
I'm a monster with a heart."
As Shiro stood and stepped toward Luis, three silver bullets tore through his chest one after another.
The chief stood nearby, gun raised, Elsa beside him, panicked.
Shiro collapsed instantly, but he kept crawling. Hearing the howl, Chííł arrived and saw Shiro bleeding on the ground. He rushed to him. Shiro, struggling to breathe, looked up.
"Can you… Take me near him," he whispered. "I want to give him… my remaining life force… before I die."
As Chííł carried him closer, Shiro's blood poured from his chest, pooling on the ground… mixing with Luis's.
Shiro began chanting softly ancient spells whispered through trembling lips.
As he spoke, memories of Luis flashed before him with every smile, every walk, and every laugh.
Tears streamed down his face; he looked at Luis one last time… and smiled.
Then, with eyes still open, Shiro collapsed into a permanent sleep.
Chííł gently closed Shiro's eyes. But elsewhere, Shiro opened them.
All around him was darkness. He whispered, "Am I dead… or still alive?"
Suddenly, a calm voice echoed through the void.
"Follow the voice."
He walked forward, step by step, deeper into the silence. Then the voice stopped.
Far ahead, a soft glow. A distant light, Shiro ran toward it.
As he reached the end of the darkness, the voice returned, gentler this time, from the sky itself.
"You defeated the darkness. You ended the cycle… and broke the curse. You are in the afterlife now."
Shiro stepped into the light. There, in a still pond, he saw his reflection. He was human again.
A year passed, the chief hid the existent skinwalkers at the request of Chííł and retired as a chief, Chííł once again started his hunting to stop dark skinwalkers, and explained all about Shiro to Luis and gave him a blue moon pendant, which will protect him from dark skinwalkers.
Also, Luis had fully healed both in body and in spirit. He married Elsa, and together they had a baby boy, filling their days with laughter and light.
One quiet evening, they visited a nearby shelter. A small, loyal dog looked up at them with gentle eyes.
They adopted him without a second thought. Luis smiled softly as he held the pup and said, "Let's name him… Shiro."
~ The end ~