CHAPTER 648: FUTURE

The entire garuda territory was collapsing—crumbling piece by piece with the fading life of the Master of the Sky.

From a distance, the scene appeared more like a giant Lego structure coming apart, with blocks after blocks falling from the sky akin to a meteor shower. It felt almost monumental, compelling one to just stop whatever they were doing and stare in rapture.

However, only those who were there to experience it themselves knew how dreadful, how frightening it was to lose the ground beneath their feet within the span of a breath.

It was like doomsday was upon them.

Roads, houses, people, animals—none of them were spared. Even the garudas, with their ability to maneuver through the sky, was caught off guard and hit by the collapsing cliffs and buildings, only to be buried underneath forevermore. Screams and shrill cries for help reverberated through the air, sounding almost like a symphony of tormented souls from the deepest pit of Hell.

And yet, there was no salvation.

Nothing—and no one—could stop this from happening. Death arrived swiftly with each and every breath they took. Unstoppable. Uncompromising.

Inevitable.

Gu Luoxin had no idea whether to call himself lucky that he just happened to be in an open area, and so when the ground caved in, he just kept falling and falling and falling... his injured body weighed down by gravity.

The instant it happened, he had instinctively held onto the wreath on his head to keep it from floating away, as the lack of any item would render the healing prop invalid. And yet in his attempt to do so, he had missed the chance to keep his severed legs, allowing them to plunge into the abyss down below.

It was like seeing the last glimmer of hope faded away right before his eyes.

At this rate, if he smashed right onto the bottom, he would instantly lose his life... right?

Maybe if he was lucky, he would simply drop dead without having to endure another second of this excruciating pain. But what if he’s not? What if this fall was not enough to kill him, and he would still have to struggle until the moment he took his last breath? Or worse, what if he still clung to life even after his body was rendered into a lump of meat pie? That was just... too sad and scary to think about.

I must really be dying if I can think of such idle thoughts,

he mused, almost in a daze.

It could be because of the extreme blood loss numbing his senses, but Gu Luoxin found that... he didn’t seem to feel as much fear as he had expected in the face of his imminent death. Once he accepted it, he was calm— relieved, even. As if he had finally reached the end of the path he had been arduously trekking, as if the other shoe he had been waiting for had finally dropped.

Maybe... maybe in the back of his mind, he had been prepared for this all along.

In hindsight, he should have, shouldn’t he? He should have known that someone like him—someone so weak, gullible, spineless and cowardly—could never survive for long in the Nightmare Cycle. Having reached this far was nothing short of a miracle. It was all because of sheer dumb luck and amazing support system he acquired along the way that he could persevere until this point.

Had he been alone, there was no way he could have passed his first personal test, let alone challenging a high-level Cycle.

But after today, everything would end.

Looking back, it was such a huge relief that he had managed to pass on all the crucial information about the Nightmare to Shen Nianzu before it was too late. Good thing he had been so stubborn and insistent on speaking back then! Otherwise... if he had taken that secret to his grave, he would have never been able to forgive himself. He might have just clawed his way out of his coffin from sheer regret!

But luckily...

Luckily...

He was still able to contribute something after receiving nothing but care and protection from them all this time.

Luckily, he had not dragged them down with him. He, Gu Luoxin, had not become a burden to his team!

What a clear and beautiful night... Gu Luoxin found his mind wandering. Without the shadowy creature, the night sky was finally revealed, dotted with countless twinkling stars. For some reason, the sight reminded him of a simple conversation he’d had with Jin Jiuchi before they entered this Cycle.

.

"A mete—what?"

"A meteor shower!" Gu Luoxin thrust his phone right in front of Jin Jiuchi’s clueless face, his index finger jabbing at the screen. "Look at this, there will be a meteor shower in July! It will be the first phenomenon seen in the last sixty years! The timing is right during my summer vacation too, so why don’t we go? You bring Xiao Shen along, while I invite Senior..." he fantasized while cupping his blushing cheeks, all starry-eyed. "We can dress up in yukatas while playing with fireworks. It will be so fun!"

"Fireworks?" Jin Jiuchi’s eyes lit up. "I like fireworks! Let’s go, go, go!"

"Okay, but wait for me to invite Senior first..."

.

Luckily, he had not sent out the invitation yet, since he could not watch that meteor shower anymore.

A small chunk of land covered in green grass, likely a part of the collapsed park, brushed past Gu Luoxin’s head as it fell. Yet the force it carried was not small, enough to make his vision flash white. Somehow, the fresh color reminded him of the lush trees outside his dormitory window which he had stared at while chatting with his uncle over the phone.

.

"This time... this time for sure! Uncle will definitely come and see your performance!" He emphasized again and again, saying how he would attend even if the sky rained ice or flame, and that nobody could stop him.

Gu Luoxin tried and failed to suppress the smile on his face. Having been disappointed countless times over by his workaholic uncle, he should have known better than to place any hope in the spoken promise. And yet, he still did. Time and time again, like a fool.

"Are you sure?" he deliberately sounded hesitant. "I wouldn’t want to get in your way of work..."

"Hush, this child. What are you saying?" The man chided him with a mix of fondness and exasperation. "This is your big performance. Of course, Uncle has to come and watch!"

Blushing, Gu Luoxin stuttered, "I-It’s just a minor role, though..."

"Minor or not, Uncle still wants to see you on stage. You know what, I will buy a camera just to record your amazing debut! We can even play it in front of your parents’ graves next year!"

"Geez, Uncle! My screen time is not even ten minutes long!" Gu Luoxin stomped his feet in embarrassment, yet joy and expectation still bloomed in his heart regardless.

The role notwithstanding, the thought of seeing his one and only family member in the audience that day made his heart flutter with giddy anticipation.

.

Has Uncle brought that camera? Gu Luoxin couldn’t help but wonder.

He hoped not. It would be such a waste to leave such an expensive item forgotten and gathering dust in the corner, since there would be nothing more to record anyway.

A tearing pain convulsed through him as he choked out another mouthful of blood. The innards which were left exposed in the air sent him waves of excruciating pain as if it had been rubbed and grinded with salt. Gu Luoxin felt like he had blacked out for a split second, because when he came to, he found that he had unknowingly let go of the wreath, sending it flying out of his vision.

Crimson blood stained his clothes and vision.

...It looked as dazzling and striking as the beautiful roses he had eyed on a flower shop near the campus.

.

"Excuse me... may I ask if these roses will still be available in June?" Gu Luoxin gingerly asked the shopkeeper, who responded with an enthusiastic smile.

"Yes, of course! Would you like to place a reservation now? Is it for a boy you like?" The female shopkeeper teased, having mistaken Gu Luoxin as a tomboyish girl.

Nonetheless, she was spot on—it was indeed for a boy he liked.

Heat climbed up to Gu Luoxin’s cheeks. He had planned to confess to Noir after his performance, and he couldn’t help but think it would be nice to have a bouquet of flowers as an addition. Perhaps the sweet fragrance might confuse Noir’s senses for a second, leading him to accept Gu Luoxin’s confession.

"That..." Gu Luoxin tugged on his bangs sheepishly. "Actually, I still haven’t decided on what flowers to give. Can I come back again later?"

"Sure, you’re welcome to visit again!" The shopkeeper handed him a namecard, smiling brightly. "If you have anything to ask, feel free to call and consult. I’ll be happy to help you choose the most suitable flowers for your boyfriend!"

"No, no...!" Gu Luoxin denied in a fluster, feeling like his face was about to become as red as a boiled lobster. "He’s not— he’s not my boyfriend!"

.

Even until now, that name card was still lying in his drawer, tucked securely between the pages of his notebook. Gu Luoxin hadn’t had the time to pay another visit to the flower shop due to his busy schedule, and now... he didn’t have the chance to do it anymore.

He could no longer find out the most suitable flower he could give to Noir.

Gu Luoxin’s vision began to blur. In all the movies he had seen and books he had read, it was often said that you would replay the most important events in life when you were on the brink of death, but why... when it came to him, why did all that came to mind were these mundane days, filled with happiness and expectation of the future?

It was too bad...

This ’future’ would never belong to him.

From this day on, he no longer had a ’future’ to look forward to.

Gu Luoxin unconsciously shut his eyes the closer he got to the ground, bracing himself for the excruciating fall. And yet one second before he crashed, a powerful force suddenly swooped in out of nowhere and caught him in midair, wrapping him with a warmth that couldn’t be more familiar.

This...

Gu Luoxin’s bloodstained eyes snapped open. And his heart, which had slowed into a sluggish rhythm, suddenly pounded with so much vigor as if a surge of life had been injected in it. He stared at the person embracing him as the two of them crashed to the ground following the momentum, dazed. He could hardly believe what he was seeing.

Could this be... a dream?