âThat means that the other me should be somewhere close byâŠah, there he is.â
I hadnât been able to see him at first, but he was squatting a short distance away.
I raised a hand and said, âhey!ââŠbut he barely reacted.
He just slowly turned to me and raised his hand a little.
âWhat is it? Are you feeling low? AlsoâŠarenât you a little pale?â
Like there was less color in himâŠI wasnât sure.
As if he was fading away.
âWhat happened to you!â
He looked like a ghost.
âItâs nothing.â
He said, giving me a thumbs up to show that he was alright.
However, that in itself was painful to see.
âItâs clearly something! Are you sick? Why are you squatting? Are you in pain?â
âIt really isnât anything. Donât worry about me.â
âOf course, Iâll worry! You look faded.â
It was like he was starting to become transparent.
âI said that Iâm fineâŠdamn it. Itâs here already.â
He clicked his tongue.
âHere? What is? Weâre inside of the Orb of Control, arenât we? Is it Melvis again?â
I could not forget that presence. Is that what he was afraid of?
âNo. The hole. The hole is here.â
âHole? âŠOh, you mean that hole?â
The one that we jump into in order to return.
But we had only just met, and had barely been able to talk.
âNo, itâs different. This one isâŠvery dangerous. We cannot escape from it.â
âI donât understand. You canât run away? What do you mean?â
It didnât look like he was joking, but what was he thinking about?
I stared hard in the direction that he was looking.
âThat? Is that the hole?â
Something that looked like a big, black tornado was moving towards us.
Iâll say it again.
It was a big, black tornado.
And there seemed to be lightning crashing inside of it as well.
âYes, thatâs the hole. I managed to survive it once earlier. Because you werenât here.â
âItâs too big for a hole. That thing could swallow up a whole village⊠What do you mean you would have survived if I wasnât here?â
You could not run away if that thing got close to you?
So how had he managed? It didnât make any sense.
As I looked at him oddly, he slowly opened his mouth.
âItâs a hole that leads to the Under World. When I escaped it, I got a glimpse at what was on the other side. I saw the dead souls that writhed within.â
âWhaâŠt?â
What did he just say?
A hole to the Under World? Souls?
Why the hell would such a thing appear in our Orb of Control?
No, wait. Why was I here?
Remember. Why was I sent hereâŠ
âNehyor.
Nehyorâs head had bitten my neck.
There was horrible pain. My reflexively tore it off and stomped on it.
And after that.
My eyesight grew dark⊠And then what?
âI remember now. Poison⊠I must have been poisoned. And thenâŠI got weak and collapsed.â
The last thing that I remember seeing was Tralzardâs face.
That old woman had been the first to rush towards me.
I had died looking at an old woman.
âYou remember? I was following Nehyorâs head as it rotated in the air, but I didnât make it in time. Iâm sorry.â
âNo, itâs nothing for you to apologize about. Itâs my fault for not noticing it. Yes, Nehyorâs head bit me and his fangs sent the poisonâŠâ
âAye, thatâs right. And then we died.â
âIn other words, the reason that you look like this is because we were poisoned.â
âThis isnâtâŠno, never mind. In any case, the fact that a hole to the Under World has appeared here means that there is no way to escape.â
The hole had been far away at first, but it was now much closer.
It was more like a typhoon than a hole.
âAre you serious? Iâm going to die here.â
Indeed, there was no way to escape from a hole that swallowed up everything in this world.
Running wouldnât be of any use.
Besides, the other me seemed like he had accepted his fate.
I suppose I had to do the same.
âI had a fun time.â
âSo did I.â
And then we shook hands.
We shook hands and then our arms locked together.
We would always be together.
Our final moment had arrived.
As if gravity were being manipulated, our bodies were sucked towards the hole.
âItâs just so sudden.â
And like that, my consciousness ended.
ââŠHmm?â
Or not.
No, it wasnât the case.
I had entered a dark tunnel and was not able to see anything. But once I was through it, I entered into a world of pale light.
âIs this the Under World?â
I could see an ocean far below. It was made of souls.
That was why it was glowing.
And then the sky.
The clouds were also made of souls. Glowing clouds.
So this was what the other me had seen on the other side.
âThis is the Under World that Melvis visited.â
In the center, there was a thick pillar that connected the sea to the clouds.
Souls would rain down and drop into the water, while others would rise to the clouds through the pillar.
The circle of souls.
As this continued, the souls would get purified until they were brand new.
âHey, you.â
âWhat is it?â
We were currently just souls.
We could not see each other.
However, we could still talk.
âWeâre going to fall into the Under World sea.â
âYes. Weâre descending slowly now. We will definitely fall into it if this continues.â
âListen to me carefully. There is one way to get out of this.â
âWhat?â
âDo you remember what Melvis said? If the soul and flesh are connected, then you cannot leave the Under World.â
âYes. The reason that he was able to return to the Demon World was because his soul was still connected to his body.â
In other words, resurrection. Or call it a near death experience.
Dead souls would come here.
However, there are times when someone isnât actually dead.
And in such cases, those souls are returned.
And it seems as if they have come back from the dead.
And there was one other thing.
Visit wuxiaworld.eu for extra chapters.
Our true purpose.
âYou can also leave the Under World if you become a pure soul, right?â
When you are purified and cleansed, you are sent out and reborn in another world. The circle of reincarnation.
âYes. Listen to me, if this continues, I will be reborn.â
âHuh?â
What was the other me saying?
Reborn?
He had been acting very strange ever since I met him today.
âIn fact, my soul is already mostly purified. And so I donât have much time left. I can tell⊠â
And then he laughed.
âWhy? Your soul is purifiedâŠare you sure? But that means you will lose your memories and everything. Why is this happening?â
âBecause of the salt. It started to carve away at my soul.â
ââŠâ
I knew what he was talking about.
The Wild Hunt soldiers had died so easily when exposed to the salt of holy power.
It wasnât that those soldiers were weak. Nehyor had brought them with the intention of killing Tralzard.
Would salt be enough to kill such soldiers?
So why had they all died?
It damaged them with no regard for strengthening abilities and mana levels.
And yet I was fine.
Was it because I had a human soul?
If that was true, what about the other me�
âTo be honest, I was in such pain that I wanted to roll on the ground. But strangely, it doesnât hurt anymore now that we are here.â
The reason that he barely reacted.
The reason that he was pale.
âYouâŠso it was the salt of holy power.â
âWellâŠyes.â
âIâm sorry for not noticing!â
âNo, itâs nothing. Even I had no idea that it would have such an effect.â
The reason the salt of holy power was dangerous to residents of the Demon World.
It was because it directly affected the soul.
âI put you through something horrible. That damned Nehyor. If I ever see him againâŠâ
âHeâs already dead. He is here, isnât he? âŠNo, nevermind that. More importantly, Iâm only going to say this once, so listen closely.â
âSay whatever you want. Iâll listen to what you have to say. Iâll do anything!â
âIâm glad to hear it. I wonât last here much longer. You may not believe me, but I can tell. Preparations for my rebirth will be starting soon. However, our souls are connected.â
âYes. Weâre always together.â
âAnd I donât think that will be allowed when I am reborn. And so when it starts to happen, I want you to move away from me and go! Push me to the side so that you will be reborn instead.â
âWhat are you talking about!? I thought we were going to stay together.â
âYou just said that youâd do anything that I asked. I want you to ride the wave of rebirth instead of me. That is my request. I donât know where you will be reborn, but Iâm sure that you will manage.â
âAs if I could just abandon you here!â
âYou must! I am going to lose myself. My memories will be gone, and I will be just like the other souls that are here. And then I will be prepared for reincarnation. If we stay together, then your soul will be purified as well. I donât want that to happen. This is my wishâŠmy first and final wish. PleaseâŠplease make it come true.â
âNo! We have to stay together! You canât just decide that I should leave!â
âLeave me! See, weâre almost there. Once we are inside of the water, I will lose consciousness. ListenâŠitâs a promise. It wonât be my soul. But you can take my memories with youâŠâ
And then we sank into the sea.
The other souls floated to the surface and were pulled towards the pillar. But we continued to sink.
After some time, I could no longer see other souls around us. And then I saw that the bottom of the sea was shining.
And we were pulled towards it.
So this is where you were rebornâŠI thought, but then I got stuck on something.
I suppose souls could not go any farther.
âHey, can you hear me?â
There was no reply.
But I continued to talk.
âApparently, we canât go any farther⊠Maybe they have high standards for rebirth. And weâre not allowed.â
I could feel that my soul was caught on something.
âWeâve always stuck together. There is no way that I would leave you here.â
âYou knew this would happen, didnât you? Youâre terrible.â
âI would have stayed here with you until my soul was purified. ForeverâŠâ
âBut I made a promise. I doubt that you would be angry if I broke that promise. You would just look annoyed. You know what? That gets on my nerves even more. You have a knack for doing thatâŠyouâre a genius.â
âHey, you. Iâm sorry⊠I really am. Itâs not like you wanted to separate from me either.â
âAnd yetâŠand yetâŠI forced you to say such things. Iâm sorry.â
âSaying sorry wonât fix anythingâŠbut Iâll do it. IâllâŠmake your wish come true.â
âIâll do it, no matter what.â
And so I removed the other soul, which was now just a foreign substance.
And I threw it up to the surface.
The soul of the other me rose up and disappeared into the distance.
âIâll carry your memories. And soâŠand soâŠletâs meet againâŠin our next life.â
âFarewell.
And like that, I entered into the place that he should have gone, sinking towards the floor of light.