With his hand on his bent knee, Ji Yao struggled to catch his breath as the pain subsided. Beads of sweat flowed down his forehead onto the ground with a light splatter.
His head was hung low seeming defeated. It looked like he was truly going to give up considering the pain he felt was like his brain cells were set alight. Panting heavily he clenched his fist mumbling, "I, I can't."
But the cries became louder and louder. The boy's voice choked up as he cried out, "Yao-ge, please don't go. I will die if you go." Unlike his previous dream, the boy's call was now specifically crying for him. Ji Yao's heart twisted painfully as he heard that cry.
He clutched his chest as he steadily got up again and began to walk. The pain like that from a thousand cuts amplified tenfold but Ji Yao persevered as he staggered to the source of light. The closer he got something seemed to weigh heavy on his heart telling him to stay down but Ji Yao kept going.
