Soul Realm：Fate Change

Chapter 6 - The Final Day

To our surprise, we couldn’t meet Yuka for several days in a row. After that talk show ended, Yuka and his son seemed to have vanished from the world. We followed the address on the business card to his house, a quiet white standalone house in the suburbs. Thick curtains covered the windows, blocking our view. The mailbox by the front door was overflowing with flyers and letters, and the lawn was covered with fallen leaves, clearly neglected for a long time.

Our calls also went unanswered, with only voicemail prompts after long waits.

"Just when we were so close, the trail has gone cold again." After yet another unanswered call, I hung up the phone, wrapped myself in a thick blanket, and lay on the couch, idly scrolling through social media to keep myself occupied.

"Maybe I should look for gifts for Celeste and Qianqian? Or buy a train ticket back to Grandma's house. Speaking of which, why hasn’t Grandma replied to my message or called me—Achoo!"

The heater was on full blast, and I was bundled in layers of warm clothing, but I couldn’t shake the cold that seemed to seep from my bones. I shivered uncontrollably.

Francis Fat Tiger seemed to sense my discomfort. He hopped onto the couch and nestled in my arms, resting his head on my arm like a warm hot water bottle.

Starting two days ago, my body temperature had plummeted, barely kept alive by hot water and heaters. When I woke up this morning, I found I could no longer control my limbs, especially my fingers. It was difficult to bend them or pick up small objects.

If nothing changed, today would be my last day. I knew clearly that I was dying.

Before this, even after being consumed by Dark Twilight, I had found a chance to survive in the Soul Realm. Even after reading about my death in Grandma’s letter, I had clung to the hope that "three years is still a long time; there must be a way."

"I may be unlucky, but surely not that unlucky." That's what I thought, which is why I told Celeste I didn't want to lose here, even confidently saying, "My fight has just begun."

But when I tried to tap into a post and found I couldn’t command my fingers, I felt a pang of panic.

"It’s okay, Raina. Stay calm." I encouraged myself, focusing all my attention on my fingers, trying to will them to move. Francis Fat Tiger also stared at my fingers, his paws firmly planted on my legs, silently urging me on.

Finally, under my intense concentration, my thumb twitched slightly, like a cramp. At the same time, Francis Fat Tiger, having relaxed, let out a silent fart.

"Ugh! Francis Francis Fat Tiger! Your fart could wake the dead!"

Francis Fat Tiger ignored me, looking perfectly content.

"It seems I worried for nothing." The sound of the door opening was accompanied by a familiar voice. Celeste, dressed in the same sharp black suit he wore when he first arrived in the mortal world, still exuded an air of calm authority.

"If we still can’t get close to Yumoya today, your life will end by sunrise tomorrow."

"Humans usually cry or feel regret at this point," Celeste glanced at the post I had struggled to open on my phone, "but you seem to be in good spirits."

"At least you’re still in the mood to pick out gifts."

"Hehe, you should pick one too." I spoke enthusiastically, wanting to get closer to Celeste, but my movements were slow and clumsy. In the end, I could only stretch my neck, my eyes following Celeste’s movements, creating a strange contrast.

"In a couple of days, it’ll be the holiday here. During this holiday, friends and family exchange gifts." I gestured for Celeste to look at my phone. "I originally wanted to give you the gift in person after retrieving my soul, but that seems unlikely now."

"But even if I order today, it won’t arrive by tomorrow. So, after I die, you’ll have to stay in the mortal world for a few more days. Oh, and since you don’t have a phone, I’ll leave Qianqian’s number so she can pass it on to you."

Celeste didn’t follow my train of thought. "You’re not afraid?"

"Afraid of what? Afraid of the death that will inevitably come tomorrow?"

I had to admit, when I first saw the Pathfinder Bird burn, I did feel panic. At that moment, I desperately wanted to find a solution. I even thought, no matter the cost, as long as I could find my soul and survive, it would be worth it.

But for some reason — perhaps because Celeste had helped ease the pressure—that panic quickly faded.

"I’ve done my best. There’s nothing to fear." My smile reflected in Celeste’s eyes. "Maybe I’m just that unlucky. There’s nothing I can do."

"And dying three years later or dying now, there’s no difference."

Death and spraining an ankle might just be different levels of misfortune.

Celeste fell silent again. In the past few days, as my condition worsened, Celeste had often been silent or disappeared for long periods.

I waited for him to say something, but my thoughts began to wander.

I realized I didn’t really know Celeste. From the moment we met, he had been like a machine focused solely on his goal, dedicating himself to easing my stress, healing my spirit, and helping me find my soul. I had shared my past and my troubles with him, but my understanding of Celeste was limited to his identity as a Guardian from the Soul Realm.

He had no intention of revealing himself to me, or more accurately, it seemed like he was deliberately hiding.

But I could easily understand Celeste’s choice. To him, I was just one of countless Divine Chosen, an ordinary service recipient for the Guardians, a role anyone could fill.

But given the current situation, knowing that continuing to help me might be futile, he could have just left and returned to the Soul Realm, leaving me to my fate. Why did he stay?

I tried to understand, and suddenly a possibility occurred to me.

"Will you be punished?" I blurted out. Celeste seemed not to understand my question.

"If your Divine Chosen dies, will you be punished?"

"...Why the silence? Has no Divine Chosen ever asked this before?" I urged Celeste to answer quickly, but then immediately tried to excuse him: "If that’s the case, just say you’ve tried everything. This was already a difficult problem, and you even took the initiative to tell me about it and took responsibility for bringing me to the mortal world to find my soul."

"I wasn’t even your Divine Chosen to begin with. I just somehow ended up in the Soul Realm... a... black market entry?"

I looked up at Celeste. He remained silent, seemingly deep in thought, occasionally meeting my gaze. His eyes were deep, with a hint of... guilt?

I was slightly stunned, but when I tried to discern it more clearly, those pale blue eyes returned to their usual calm.

It must have been my imagination. Celeste had already done his best. What did he have to feel guilty about?

As I thought this, I saw Celeste’s lips move, but I heard no sound.

"What did you say?" I thought he was answering my question and wanted to get closer to hear better, but my limited mobility made it difficult. I could only remind him to speak louder: "My hearing seems to be failing too. Oh no, am I only going to be able to move my mouth soon—cough cough cough."

I had twisted too hard on the couch and accidentally choked on my own saliva.

Seeing me cough, Celeste instinctively picked up a glass of water nearby and handed it to me. "Talk less."

"Cough cough, no. If you’re going to be punished, then let’s try harder." I tilted my head back, unable to move freely for the moment, and my fingers struggled to reach the phone screen, trying to call Yuka again.

"Stop messing around," Celeste reached out to stop me. "I’ve been waiting for news these past few days, even expanding the range of my communication, but there’s been no response from the plants."

As Celeste was about to take the phone, I panicked: "Wait, what if Yuka has been in a place with no plants during this time?"

Celeste tried to use his magic to summon vines to take the phone. Although the vines were fast, I had the advantage of being unpredictable. My uncontrollable limbs flailed in the air, and Celeste couldn’t anticipate my movements, so for a moment, he couldn’t reach my phone at all.

Francis Fat Tiger, seeing the commotion, got excited and joined the fray, swatting at the phone like it was a butterfly.

In the chaos, someone swiped the screen, opening a new video. The camera shook, the scene was dark, and the only sound was the heavy breathing of the person filming.

"What’s this?" I squinted at the uploader’s ID, reading it slowly. "Truth Seeker? Sounds like a*** that thrives on exposing scandals."

"These kinds of videos are usually staged, not interesting. Celeste, close the video and let’s hurry up and try calling Yuka again."

Celeste relented, taking the phone from me. But before he could close the video, the voice of the person filming came through the speakers.

He spoke in a hushed tone, as if afraid to wake something: "I heard from a nurse friend that Yuka’s son, the one who came back from the dead, has suddenly fallen critically ill again."

"Ha, didn’t he claim to have received the Guardian’s blessing? Why isn’t the Guardian protecting him now?"

I widened my eyes in surprise, looking at Celeste.

Celeste also stopped what he was doing.

The person filming continued talking to the camera, with only the sound of creaking footsteps in the background: "He made such a big deal about this so-called Church of Bliss... tsk, today we’re going to expose his lies."

"They say Yumoya’s room is just around the corner. Everyone, hit that follow button. Now, I’m going to open the door."

As the door opened, a faint light appeared in the frame, like sunlight filtering through white curtains. In the light, there was a figure half-sitting on the bed. Hearing the door open, the figure slowly turned its head.

Then the screen flipped and went dark, and a terrified scream came through the darkness.

"What’s going on... what is this! Monster, monster—"

The video ended abruptly. I anxiously waited for more, but all I saw was Celeste frowning at the phone screen.

"What’s wrong?" I wanted to keep watching, eager for more.

"Phone call."

Celeste turned the phone screen toward me, and I noticed it was vibrating. An incoming call had interrupted the video.

Soon, after I saw the caller’s name, the cold that had seeped from my bones seemed to grow even stronger.

Celeste answered the call for me, and Yuka’s voice came through.

"Sorry, Miss Shen. I’ve been busy with trivial matters these past few days and haven’t had time to answer your calls. My apologies."

"Hehe, welcome, welcome to visit."

His voice was hoarse, his laughter like a vulture waiting for carrion, or a snake flicking its tongue.

"No time like the present. I’ll be waiting for your arrival today. The address... you know it, right?"

"Yuka seems like a completely different person. When I first saw him working at the café, he was a down-and-out unemployed man. By the time I returned from the Soul Realm, he had become a well-dressed preacher, though he was still quite shy back then."

"It seems like ever since we ran into them on the street, Yuka has become unusually aggressive. The tone in his call today almost scared me to death."

I waved my fists indignantly as Celeste helped me out of the car.

From the moment we received Yuka’s call until now, just a few hours later, my condition had worsened to the point where I could no longer move on my own.

To make it out, I spent half an hour begging Celeste to give me another "shot of adrenaline."

"What’s a shot of adrenaline?" At first, Celeste didn’t understand my request.

"It’s something that stimulates me, boosts my energy, and lets me function normally." I sat stiffly on the couch. "Otherwise, I feel like a mannequin in a store."

I blinked, looking at Celeste with pleading eyes. "You must have a way to do that, right?"

"No." Celeste rarely showed such firmness. "Doing that would only accelerate your death."

……

"Stop moving." Celeste interrupted my recollection, steadying the wheelchair as he pushed it forward.

"I’m flexible!" I couldn’t help but shift in my seat. "Celeste, I can walk on my own. I don’t need a wheelchair."

"Every bit of energy you use now is draining your future. If you want to live longer, stop moving."

"Hehe, are you worried about me?" Perhaps because I was at the end of my life and had nothing left to lose, I even dared to tease Celeste.

But strangely, I waited for a while and didn’t hear Celeste respond to that. I couldn’t help but sneak a glance at him.

The sunlight outlined Celeste’s silhouette, and I suddenly noticed that the brooch on his lapel seemed different from before.

"Celeste, has your brooch darkened?" I tried to recall. When Celeste first returned today, his brooch had been a bright, eye-catching red.

When had it turned this dark red? It seemed to have happened right before we left, when he finally gave in to my pleading and used his magic to forcibly restore my vitality. After that, his brooch no longer caught my attention.

"Worry less about that and more about how to live longer," Celeste glanced down at me, his hands firmly steering the wheelchair around a corner.

The white standalone house came into view once more.

Unlike the desolation we had seen during our previous visits, this time, Yuka’s house was bustling with visitors.

"I have a feeling we’ll find my soul this time." I patted the armrest of the wheelchair, feeling a surge of excitement.

"Captain Celeste, full speed ahead!"