A/N:

We have finally arrived at the last chapter!

To those who have followed me on this journey, really, you have my utmost gratitude. Especially those who took the time to review, it was your constant support and encouragement in my story that kept me going. Without you guys, I believe that I would not have had the strength to carry on until the end.

To date, this is my longest story yet. When I first started writing this, I honestly never expected it to grow to this length so it really came as a surprise. But I'm glad that I managed to complete this before the year came to an end. This huge monster took a lot out of me, so I probably won't be attempting another KNB chaptered story anytime soon.

Now then, please enjoy!

The world was in a state of complete chaos after the collapse of the palace.

Having to fill in the massive crater while rebuilding the palace at the same time, as well as carefully restoring the scorched earth and greenery; everything was a mess.

Not only that, but when the two princes truthfully explained everything to the people who were now free of the hypnosis, the members of royalty all suffered greatly. They were attacked day and night by the peasants as well as their own attendants. They hated the royalty, refused to cooperate, and called for the death of the emperor.

But even through all that, Nijimura and Kiyoshi did not give up, doing their best to convince the people to trust them again. With the efforts of Kiyoshi's fiancée, Aida Riko – who had been the only one to give her full support and trust – the people finally settled down.

That said, it still took months before there was any change.

And Akashi, true to his word, never once attempted to help them. He left it all in the hands of the royalty. After all, he was a Sleeping God. He wasn't someone that was governed by the human royalty. The only leader he had was the Higher Calling.

He didn't return to sleep after the completion of his task, instead, he chose to stay awake with his 'reason' being Kuroko Tetsuya. Since he let him live, he took it upon himself as his duty to monitor that existence.

He had brought everyone back to the rebel base, and gave them the option to either stay or leave. Of course, everyone stayed with him.

The sound of Akashi's footsteps against the polished floor were light yet loud, sufficiently announcing his presence.

The door to the room opened before he even reached it.

He nodded towards Midorima as he entered, coming to a stop before the bed.

Kuroko Tetsuya was sleeping peacefully, covered with countless scars from his neck down to his feet. And he has not woken up since then.

Akashi stared at him for a moment before reaching down to pick up one limp hand.

He pulled out a knife and slashed Kuroko's palm before Midorima could even process what was happening.

"Akashi!" With a cry of surprise, Midorima snatched the knife out of Akashi's hand. "What are you doing!"

"Relax, Midorima. I was just testing something." Akashi leisurely answered as he observe the wound.

"Testing? Just what kind of testing requires you to injure someone?"

Akashi turned to face Midorima, pulling out the handkerchief from Midorima's clothes to press it onto the wound he made. It wasn't deep, and blood flow was minimal.

"…As I thought." Akashi murmured.

"What's wrong?" Midorima questioned. "Is there someone wrong with Kuroko?"

"Take a look."

Akashi gestured for Midorima to look down at Kuroko's palm.

"…What?" Midorima frowned, confused.

"Have you forgotten? Kuroko Tetsuya has really impressive healing abilities, does he not?" Akashi hinted.

Midorima's eyes widened as he finally noticed.

"…Yes, he does. But that wound you made just now is not healing at all." Midorima observed.

"Indeed. And for such a shallow wound, the blood flow still isn't stopping. A healthy individual's wound would have stopped bleeding by now." Akashi nodded in approval and then casted magic to heal the small injury.

"This is probably because of what happened back then. He went over his limits, and his fate was to die. But I interfered with that, forcefully stopping him from dying. The body he has now is prove of that." Akashi gently placed Kuroko's hand back under the covers.

"He has lost his ability to heal his own injuries, including a normal person's natural healing. If he were to ever get injured now, no matter how slight, he will need to someone to heal him."

Midorima hummed. "Why not have him learn healing magic? Now that he has reached this stage, perhaps healing magic may be possible."

Akashi frowned. "Actually, that is another thing I am concerned with."

"What do you mean?"

With a sigh, Akashi explained, "I cannot sense any magic in him. I do not know if it's just buried, or that he has lost the capabilities to wield magic as well. The only way to know for sure is to have him test it out once he awakens."

"But…" Midorima didn't complete his sentence, however, Akashi still understood what he was trying to say.

"Yes, we do not know when he will awaken. It might take a couple more months, or even years. We can do nothing but wait."

"There hasn't been any change?" Kise asked.

"None." Murasakibara replied.

Kise lowered his arm to the table, staring down at his food listlessly.

"Kise-chin, you can't do that. You have to eat properly." Murasakibara scolded, though his words held no anger.

"I know, but… It's hard to eat."

"You should get used to it. If you are always like this, you won't last." Midorima chided as he placed a piece of meat into his mouth.

"But it's been four months!" Kise whined.

"Akashi said to be prepared, didn't he? He has never given a set time either."

"…But…"

"Here, Kise-chin. Eat. Even if you don't feel like it, you need to eat if you are to wait until the day Kuro-chin wakes up."

"…Okay."

"Midorimacchi? Where are you going?"

"The palace."

"Eh? Why?"

"Akashi wants a report on how things are going."

"Oh. He's keeping tabs on them to make sure there won't be any incidents like before, right? …But will they hand over a report on how the palace is so easily?"

"Momoi is there, she was given a position."

"Ah, that's right. She's there, isn't she? How long has it been?"

"About three and a half years now."

"Three years huh. There's no change in our sleeping beauty either."

"Hm."

"Midorimacchi…"

"What, Kise?"

"Will he ever wake up?"

"…No one knows for sure. Not even Akashi."

"Hey, Kurokocchi, can you hear me? I've heard that it's possible for sleeping patients to hear what's going on around them. Kurokocchi, won't you wake up anytime soon? The world was been restored, and there's peace once more. Everyone's happy now, both humans and the Dark Creatures. The world as it is now is very beautiful, you know. Aren't you curious, Kurokocchi?

"You are free now, you can go wherever you want. I can bring you to places you've never seen before; to a land where snow falls endlessly or to a place filled with sand as far as the eye can see. I will show you the world's most beautiful places, provide you with whatever it is that you seek.

"…So please, won't you wake up soon?"

"Oi, what are you doing?"

"Huh, Aominecchi? You're back?"

"Mm. What's that thing you're holding?"

"Ah, this? It's a bird I made out of magic. Akashicchi taught me."

"Heh. Not bad, huh. To think you're now able to use magic so easily."

"It's because I've been training really hard! And… And I think that Kurokocchi would be happy if he sees how much progress I've made. So…"

"Hm, I see."

"What, Kise. You have gotten slower. It's boring to spar with you now."

"Hah? I have not, you're the one who has gotten slower, Aominecchi!"

"Oh yeah? Then, what's with those cuts on your arms, huh? Did my sword fly there by itself to nick you?"

"Like hell you can talk! You have tons of cuts too!"

"Less than you though."

"Lies!"

"Heh. These past nine years really made you old, eh, Kise?"

"It has not! Tch! I will make sure to slice up your arms so bad until Midorimacchi has to heal them!"

"Try it if you can!"

"You really took you time, didn't you?" Akashi smiled.

"…Where…?"

"We are in the rebel base."

"The base? Why…?"

"It has become a home of sorts, I suppose. Everyone is here."

"Everyone? Then… Then is everything over?"

Akashi reached forward, carefully supporting the pale body to lean against the bed's headboard.

"Yes, everything is over. It has been twelve years since then."

"Eh? Twelve years?"

"You slept for a very long time, Kuroko."

Kuroko blinked up at Akashi, dumbfounded.

Akashi laid a hand on Kuroko's head, ruffling his hair.

"Welcome back."

Kuroko scratched the huge black snout before him, chuckling softly.

The dragon's rumbling growl of pleasure echoed lowly throughout the clearing. Akashi had filled him in on what had happened the past twelve years over the next few days.

His black dragon had been under the care of the palace's white dragons, who had only allowed the black dragon to leave once every single wound he has sustained was fully healed. It caused quite a bit of commotion, since the black dragon wanted to see Kuroko was soon as he could, heedless of his own injuries.

But the white dragons won against the black dragon, forcing him to sit still.

Kuroko had laughed when Akashi first told him, because it was as though the white dragons were acting as mothers disciplining a misbehaving child.

But when the black dragon returned and realised the state Kuroko was in, calling upon all the magic he knew, he tried all means to wake Kuroko, only to fail. Eventually, the black dragon too, had no other choice but to wait for Kuroko to awaken by his own power.

And as for the fallen royal family, it took years of effort before the people forgave them, with the emperor's seat being given to Kiyoshi Teppei. They had rebuild the palace too, but unlike before, it wasn't as fancy. It was still large, but rather than being used to show off their luxuries, there was a comfortable, homey feeling to it.

Such a palace was unheard of in their history, but it marked the turning point of the world.

Kuroko was glad.

He had yet to visit the palace, but he was thinking about it. He didn't know how they would react to his presence, especially after the things he did.

Kuroko made his way around the dragon, sitting himself down and settling against the dragon's side comfortably. The black dragon watched him through one eye, and then curled his tail around him, lightly tapping the ground in a rhythmic beat.

A soft smile crossed Kuroko's face.

He hummed under his breath as his thoughts shifted onto his current body.

As Akashi had concluded, Kuroko's body no longer healed. Any injury he received needed to be healed by someone else. And also, though he didn't lose all his magic abilities, he was at the level of a child. Trying to break a small pebble could exhaust him for a whole week.

His entire body was covered with scars from the time where his own power tried to kill him, and neither Akashi nor Midorima could make them go away. Kuroko didn't mind though, they served as prove of everything that had happened. The world was so peaceful now that sometimes, Kuroko wondered if he was still asleep and dreaming.

There was a secret that he was keeping from everyone else; the fact that he knew he didn't have long left to live. Perhaps it was because he had gone past his body's limit, and this was another consequence of it.

He didn't know when he would die exactly, but it was a guarantee that he had not much time left. He was hiding it, but he suspected Akashi knew. Or at least, he had his guesses. He never did ask Kuroko about it, which only strengthened Kuroko's suspicions.

That aside, there was also a sense of peace within him that he never felt before. It was strange and so very different from what he was used to. It took time, but eventually, Kuroko was able to accept the peace and freedom that he had never known.

He sighed.

"So you were here."

Kuroko glanced up, blinking at Akashi who was walking towards him.

"It seems you have taken a liking to this clearing." Akashi commented.

Kuroko nodded. "It's nostalgic. I was drawn to it."

"I see."

"Ah! There you are, Kurokocchi! Murasakibaracchi made some snacks!" Kise ran in to the clearing, interrupting their conversation. He was holding on to a small basket, and Aomine, Midorima, Murasakibara all followed closely behind.

"It's really easy to find you, Tetsu. I just have to look for that huge, black scaly body of the dragon and there you are!" Aomine grinned.

Kuroko smiled. He had gotten close to Aomine after he had woken up – close enough that Aomine even gave him a nickname – and a surprisingly strong bond was formed between them.

They sat themselves down around Kuroko, keeping a respectful distance from the dragon. It wasn't that they didn't trust the dragon, just that the black dragon was temperamental about anyone coming too close, especially when he was with Kuroko. Basically, he came overprotective.

Even Kuroko couldn't do anything about that behaviour. And Akashi apparently wasn't going to attempt to do anything, in fact, he seemed to find it amusing.

The black dragon has never once attacked them after all, though he enjoys scaring them once in a while.

Kuroko gratefully ate the snacks Murasakibara made, relaxing in the peaceful atmosphere. The chirping of birds and the gentle rustling of tree leaves formed a soothing lullaby. And when there was a sudden lack of murmuring voices around him, a glance to the side told him that the rest had fallen asleep.

He smiled at the sight, turning his head to look over at Akashi. He was the only one still awake, even the black dragon was sleeping. Kuroko took a deep breath of the clean, crisp air and then slowly exhaled while his eyes roamed about, looking at nothing in particular.

After a while, he spoke.

"Akashi-kun."

"Yes?"

"Are you not going back to sleep since your assigned duty is fulfilled?" Kuroko asked.

"What's with that sudden question?" Akashi raised his eyebrow. "I won't, not yet. Now, you are my 'reason' for not returning into sleep just yet."

"I see." Kuroko smiled.

He softly whispered, "I'm no longer alone, am I?"

Akashi glanced over at Kuroko, knowing eyes watching him for a moment. "That's right. You're not alone anymore," he replied, voice equally soft. "Kise, Midorima, Aomine, Murasakibara and of course, your dragon, Astaroth. We will all be with you."

"Even you, Akashi-kun?"

"Including me."

"Always?" Kuroko murmured, staring up at the brilliantly bright blue sky.

Akashi shifted, taking in Kuroko's serene expression.

He smiled.

"Yes. Always, until your soul meets its end."

End