It was in the city of Kalahari, not long before Sango first arrived. Kitsune had reunited with Xinyu and Musique atop the tallest building in the city, though not with good tidings. As a looming storm approached fast in the distance, time was running short. Hastily, they prepared to brave the desert terrain and make their escape.
"Musique is gathering supplies in the square. What is it you wanted to speak to me of alone?" Xinyu asked as she walked up to the edge of the building and stared down at the busy streets of Kalahari. "Is it truly that important?"
"What is the secret of the heavens you're trying so desperately to expose?" Kitsune asked.
"Have I not said this before? You and the world will know soon enough," Xinyu said.
"You keep saying that, but I must ask, what could it possibly change?" Kitsune asked. "What could angering the heavens accomplish?
"More than doing nothing will," Xinyu said, shrugging with that innocent carelessness she always seemed to bear.
"Now's not the time to hold back, if you know something, then you've got to-" Kitsune began.
"I am not holding back anything!" Xinyu interrupted, fist outstretched toward the sun as it became festered by dark clouds. "Then and now, I have always run on the path ahead with these blind eyes. Even if I perish, I will continue to fight because I have found the secret to immortality! The people of my land think it is an everlasting body, but that is not true at all. Immortality is a prolific soul that can be passed down eternally! My name and face may one day be forgotten thousands of years in the future, my exploits vanished, but if the seed I plant blossoms into a hopeful flower that spreads its own seeds to the wind in an unabiding circle, then I will have successfully come back from hell to fight!"
"It sounds like you want things to end," Kitsune said. "You sound as if you rush toward death."
"Is that so wrong?" Xinyu asked. "I was never meant to come so far, yet here I stand. I clawed here with bloody knuckles and broken feet across a path of corpses and despair. My body is unlike any other, and it is finally nearing its limit. I can feel it. All things come to an end, and I am no exception to this eternal rule."
Xinyu pulled up her silken sleeve and revealed her arm. Upon looking at it closer, Kitsune saw that it was covered in little frightful bumps, even in the intense desert heat.
"Do you understand?" Xinyu asked, her face more serious than ever before. "I am afraid. My heart knows better than my brain that my end draws near. Running away may save its shape, but then my body will be nothing more than a breathing corpse. If both running and fighting lead to my death, I will always choose the one that saves my soul. You said it yourself, I am fated to die. Do you truly believe I can change so much on my own?"
"I understand my plan might fail and you may still die," Kitsune said. "But you know that artifact that you and Musique retrieved? Surely you could have inferred its purpose from its name. Maybe it only has one use left, but it can bring back the dead-"
"If I happen to die, do not dare bring me back," Xinyu said. Her voice was firm and lacking her usual joy. "Once I leave this world, I will certainly come back, but not my physical body. Do not ever dream of dishonoring me with resurrection."
"What are you afraid of?" Kitsune asked.
"Ruining your expectations," Xinyu said with a smile. "I will not reveal the heavens' secret until I have proven it true, but I will say this: once I do so, whether I am alive or not, I can never use the magic of the gods again. And seeing as how I do not have magic of my own, that means I will never use magic again."
"Then keep their secret for now," Kitsune said. "We need your strength, no matter what. The prophecies supersede your own selfishness. Do you really want humanity to die because of your stubbornness?"
"I would rather see this world destroyed than give up what I set out to do," Xinyu said. "When I first encountered Bai Hu, do you recall what I said to him?"
"You don't have to do this," Kitsune said. "Don't let the world die because of your selfishness."
"I told him I am greedy!" Xinyu said, ignoring Kitsune completely. "The greediest of all! That is because greed is the human soul, and it is because I am greedy that I will do what I please, no matter what!"
"Your greed will only lead to ruin," Kitsune said. "Not just of yourself, but to the world you claim to love."
"Maybe so, but I do not mind," Xinyu said. "I love this world, and I have faith that it will survive, even if I were to die. That is my gamble to make."
Kitsune opened her mouth to say something, but her words had all dried up in the desert sun. That girl had already made her decision, after all. There was nothing she, nor any god, could do to change her mind.
"Do not worry," Xinyu said. "What I will leave you with will be much more useful than this broken body. I am sure that the flute has a lovely sound, but it is not for me to hear. It should be played for someone much more worthy than I."
"Fine, but please, for now, leave with us westward," Kitsune said.
"I shall," Xinyu said. "Lest I cannot."
"Just don't… just don't be so hasty to die."