Gaseous air exhaled through my lips in a silent burp.
I sat back, rubbing my full belly after eating a hearty meal at the food court inside the Inn we found.
The price for a one-night stay was expensive. But it included all kinds of packages.
I didn't care about anything else aside from the delicious food and soft bed. Not to mention that I didn't even have to pay for it myself.
One of the perks of working for Nirvana: your pocket is full of gold coins. But only when you need them.
My muscles were sore from all the running and revelations tonight.
Pushing the food tray away, I got up and allowed myself to burp loudly. No one was going to scold me.
The three girls shared a room while I had one medium-space room all to myself. One bed was large enough for my frail body—a window to the right and a bathroom door to the left.
Two bedside tables with accompanying lamps were present. Service water came with my food order.
The walls were painted white, and paintings of leaves hung on the blank spaces, providing an air of aesthetic.
I approached the window, slid it open, and invited the night wind to come inside.
What Ysabel said earlier still bothered me.
Fifi had no explanation for it either. She was as puzzled as I was.
In her previous explanation, whenever I fight with an enemy monster after evolving, the forcefield locked me and the creature inside an invisible arena.
The golden platform I saw earlier made that clear to me. It was wide enough to cover the fight between me and some otherworldly beast.
No one else witnessed what went down between me and the Zardik. But according to Ysabel, she saw the battle. Thus, she came to me for help.
Frowning at the second thought that came to mind, I ran a hand through Exo's smooth hair. The kid knew what he was doing regarding hair care, at least.
Everything else was up for debate.
And then there was Winter.
Startled by a soft knocking tapping on the room door, I mumbled several curses my mother would have disapproved of.
Bless her soul. She tried to raise a decent son. Between her and my father, I think she made it to Nirvana.
My father might have been in the same situation as me. Or maybe they were both happily accepted and were now enjoying and, most of the time, arguing about what I was doing with my life.
Reluctant to leave a perfect spot to sulk and whine about my awful life, I went to open the door.
Roughly pushing me away, Fifi stepped into my room. She checked the toilet and then the window.
Ensuring that it was just the two of us, Fifi sat on the bed and folded her arms over her chest.
"Don't get the wrong idea. You and I need to talk."
I scoffed, looking at her from where I was standing.
I had no intention of leaving the door now. She should have remembered to be less sarcastic if she came here to talk.
"You don't say. A lot of things weren't imparted to me when they should have. If anyone had the right to be mad, it should be me."
I copied her, leaning against the door and folding my arms over my chest. She and I stared at each other for a long time.
Fifi had to break the ice, or we would remain like that until morning. I wouldn't mind staring at her. She has a pretty face.
"Fine," Fifi scoffed. "We may have seen everything that happened in the past. That's true. Have we sent several others before you? That part was also true."
I drummed my fingers on my arms, waiting for Fifi to go on.
"Have we successfully found what we were looking for? Apparently not. But before you judge, this is exactly why each soul had been specially chosen. You are no exception."
"Uhuh, and then?"
Fifi looked at me, raising one brow in my direction. She was probably expecting me to ask about how I was chosen or what made me unique.
But those were irrelevant to the case at hand. Plus, I had partially learned the why and how when I had a short talk with the burning tree.
The remnant sting of that discussion left me salty and no longer interested in wanting to dig into why I was chosen.
Clearing her throat, Fifi lifted her chin. She was exceptionally cute whenever she tried to mask her embarrassment.
"The Divine has not given up in searching for a solution. Unless we find that minor object, person, monster, or incident, this Universe will continue to fall in the hands of the enemy monsters."
I let her words sink in, chewing on the insides of my cheek.
"What if I fail too? What happens to Exo and me?"
Fifi pursed her lips.
The consequences might not be something she was happy to share with me. Silence screamed in our surroundings. It provided so little space to think clearly.
"Exo is already dead."
"What?"
Fifi's expression was stoic, her voice flat. It was as if she didn't just drop a bomb.
But she did.
"You living his life was a parting gift. He was a good kid."
This new information rattled my insides. I couldn't fully grasp the idea that Exo had died.
I didn't have the heart to ask how. It would crush the tiny hope I have of meeting the kid himself.
He might be enraged when I took over his body.
He deserved to be mourned and remembered by the people who genuinely cared.
"And you think this is alright? I'm living his life, fooling the people he loved and loved him back that the kid was alive and well."
"No," Fifi agreed. She pouted her lips before settling to give me a frown. "I'm not happy about this at all. But it was the only way. Sending you back as a newborn baby and reliving a life where you decide to change your wrong choices would take time. We don't have the luxury of that."
Fif stared at me.
"Putting another soul inside someone's body, fresh from its death, was quicker than waiting for a miracle."