Godfire: The Split Soul-Chapter 183: I’m Part of You Now

Countless stars filled the sky, bats flying high as the moon took charge, its rays blessing the ground.

Inside the male dormitory, Kai sat on the edge of his cot, the silver sword lying across his thighs. His hands rested on his knees; his fingers curled toward the blade of the sword.

Soft air exited from his lungs as his gaze remained locked on the sword. He moved his right hand slowly to the hilt, calming his heart.

In the darkness that had encapsulated the room, Kai saw Lena among the shadows. She extended her arm toward the blade of the sword.

The silver blade glittered slightly as she tilted her gaze toward him. "We are with you."

The words echoed loudly in Kai’s head, and he felt the vibration from the walls doubling. In an instant, the memory of Lena handing the sword to him flashed into his head.

Lena’s smile hovered for a minute, followed by the pool of blood that stretched beneath her body.

Meanwhile, outside the dormitory Kai was in, Merlin stood at the instructors’ building.

His hands remained at his back as his head moved forward and back softly, following the direction the wind took.

Standing beside Merlin was a young female soldier wearing her helmet. "Should we—"

"No."

Merlin’s voice paraded her words before they could fully turn into a sentence. His gaze remained fixed on the open window that had the tiny silver glow seeping out.

The soldier followed his gaze, then gave a long yawn.

"Go inside. You need rest," Merlin said without turning his gaze to Nally.

Nally bowed her head. "Thank you, sir." She walked straight to the special building that had been allocated for Team Bravo.

Merlin watched her leave with his left eye, then kept the right on Kai’s open window.

Soft wind blew on his white hair the moment Nally vanished completely from his sight.

The wind carried leaves that were plucked from their branches, then spiraled at Merlin’s front as he shifted his gaze from Kai’s dormitory window to the star-filled sky.

Two shooting stars dashed at high speed when Merlin focused his gaze on the Orion constellation. With the movement of the air, breezes exited from his mouth as he inhaled and exhaled twice.

Merlin closed his eyes. "If you’re truly his son, prove them wrong."

The words lingered in the night like a curse as he walked back inside, toward the operations chamber.

Inside the open window, Kai lay on his back. Beside his bed, which was at the corner, black motes and feathers hovered over his head.

Inside his head, he stood in a vast land that seemed to have lost its essence of life. Only grey grass, a white fog, and a sky gleamed with darkness.

Ahead of him, three crows flapped their wings slowly as they lowered themselves to the ground. From behind the crows, a figure emerged.

Brown hair, cream-colored dress, and eyes that seemed to carry more than any living being should possess.

"Lena." The name escaped from Kai as the crows parted aside for the figure’s face to become visible.

Without hesitation, Kai’s legs dashed before he could tie his mind to it.

From the side of the figure, four other figures emerged, one after another.

Kai’s boots screeched on the ground, carving an unfixing hole in the ground. His eyes welled up the moment he saw the face of his mother, Ayra.

Her blue hair and eyes that carried the sense of love he hadn’t enjoyed enough gave Kai the reflection of a five-year-old boy.

The green lines still lingered on her skin, almost as if the dream wanted him to feel the state in which she died once again.

Clara stood on the left side of Ayra, smiling. Her slightly big eyes lingered on the boy as if she were afraid of losing him or leaving him again.

At the right hand of Lena, a tall man with blue eyes who carried the dread of a soldier folded his hands to his chest.

"Lieutenant Gray." Kai’s legs moved a step forward as he screamed the name aloud.

A smile tore onto Lieutenant Gray’s face with every step the boy moved toward him. His long blue hair splattered on his shoulder as the air from the crows bounced on him.

The more Kai closed in with Lieutenant Gray, the more the distance between him and the figures increased.

The fourth figure had his face hidden, covered in a bloodied cloth.

Dust spiked when Kai doubled his steps, wanting to grab Lieutenant Gray or any other person.

At the center of the figures, Lena turned. Her lips moved, but no sound came. Two crows flew higher. One landed at the left, where Clara was. The other landed at the right, where the covered-faced figure was.

With a synchronized movement, they all stretched their hands toward Kai, then spoke in one voice and one statement. "Go... and... help... save... the... world."

By the time the last word bounced in Kai’s ears, the figures began to dissipate one after another. Clara’s body began to change, followed by the covered-faced figure.

Ayra stretched her hand toward Kai, almost as if she wasn’t ready to leave him for a second time. Yet she couldn’t resist the nature of the Gods.

They all turned into motes of dust, leaving Lena and one crow at his front.

Kai collapsed onto his knees when Lena and the crow also began to fade, turning into dust.

"Don’t leave me..." Kai stretched his hands toward the fading figure.

A smile lingered on Lena’s lips when it was left with only her head to fade. "I’m not gone. I’m part of you now."

The last word took the last piece of her.

Tears rained out of Kai as he slammed his palms hard on the ground.

Outside the dream, a black crow stood on the stool of the open window. The white curtain covered it from the volunteers who were having a sleepless night, yet it never lifted its gaze from Kai.

Kai jolted up, gasping heavily for air. Just as his heart calmed slightly, the dream fading from his head, he saw the crow.

His eyes widened when he saw something like a face in the crow’s eyes. And when he tried to stand from his bed, the crow flew back into the sky and vanished.

Rockson jolted awake and saw Kai standing by the window. "Yung Chin K, what are you doing by the window in the middle of the night?"

Although his voice was loud and clear, Kai didn’t answer. He simply stood there, staring at the eyes of the sky.

When he turned, the moon’s rays caught both the necklace and the silver sword, which lay on the bed, drawn from its case.