Chapter 1626 The Parting Gifts. III (The End)
Chapter 1626 The Parting Gifts. III (The End)
1626 The Parting Gifts. III (The End)
Amidst the ethereal expanse of the spirit realm, where wisps of consciousness drifted like stars in a vast, silent sea of the spirit realm, Felix found himself face to face with the spirit of his grandfather.
He had no facial features and nothing resembling his grandfather. Yet, the sight struck a deep chord within him, causing a tumult of emotions surging forth.
He knew, no, he was certain that was his one and only grandfather...
His grandfather's spirit floated there, a solitary figure in the endless void, appearing lost and untethered.
As Felix gazed upon him, a profound sense of sadness enveloped his heart.
Memories of laughter, wisdom, and warmth flooded back, a stark contrast to the forlorn figure before him.
Felix's eyes reddened a bit as he reached out, a silent apology forming on his lips for not being there, for all the moments lost and the time they could not reclaim...
The sight of his once strong and guiding grandfather, now a wandering echo in the spirit realm, filled him with a deep, aching longing and distress that clawed at his very soul.
He wanted nothing more but to make a wish and save him from drowning in this endless sea, but his ice-cold calculative mind made him drop such thought immediately.
He understood that the moment he went for it, he would fall off with Lord Hades and this would cause all of his plans to fall apart...
'Just wait a little bit more...Grandpa...I promise you...I will return even if it's the last thing I do.' Felix muttered under his breath, 'I promise...'
With a single blink, Felix got rid of such emotions and carried on with his mission...He used the help of the universe to open a portal to the spirit realm.
When it was opened, he pushed Noah's spirit within it and then closed it shut immediately.
The instant Noah's spirit connection was severed from his body, Felix snapped his finger and deactivated his sloth symbol...Then, he observed Noah silently.
He understood that his symbol wouldn't retract Noah's spirit back to his body now that he was in the spirit realm.
As expected, afew moments later, Noah's eyes opened up to the desolation and infinite darkness of the spirit realm...The only light around him was of Grandfather's Robert and his spirit, shimmering akin to a candle in a pitch-black cave.
Felix and the tenants watched as Noah's usual composed and cold expression got washed in a visceral wave of fear and distress.
The profound isolation and the eerie silence of this realm clawed at his mind, evoking a sense of existential dread that he had never known.
Panic began to set in as he realized his detachment from the physical world, the absence of familiar sights, sounds, and the warmth of human connection.
His heart raced, and his spirit trembled in the face of this vast, unknown void.
The enormity of his situation dawned on him at last...
'I think you should pull him out.' Elder Kraken sighed, 'He is still a child, moved by his emotions, and this mission might consume him alive.'
Many other tenants agreed with his take, understanding that such a mission wasn't easy for even some primogenitors...It took a different kind of Will.
'No, he will pull through.' Fenrir said with a tone filled with undeniable conviction.
Just as the tenants were about to argue with him, Noah's expression turned cold again while eyeing the spirit realm with a tint of disdain.
Like he was challenging it to break him and stop him from reuniting with his little sister.
Without an ounce of hesitation, he caught Felix's grandfather with one hand and used the other to hold the compass in front of him.
Then, he burst through the realm with a godly speed in a single line, disappearing out of Felix's vision in the blink of an eye!
Felix wasn't surprised by his speed as he had already known that nothing could stop spirits from reaching the speed of light and moving even through time in the spirit realm!
After all, there was nothing physical about them to hold their speed and they were traveling in a spiritual dimension.
That's how the Charons traveled across the spirit realm in the first place.
The only reason other spirits couldn't do the same was because they had no consciousness in the first place to make them want to do it...Meanwhile, those inside the heavenly plane were under the limitation of the plane's laws.
Still, this didn't mean that Noah's journey would be finished in a few seconds. It simply meant that he had a chance to succeed in achieving it.
"That's Noah for you." Felix smiled as he canceled his spiritual vision.
He had a feeling that Noah would be the only one capable of achieving this mission before losing his sanity.
After all, it was rare to find such a level of obsession with the protection of one's family.
'Speaking of obsession...I guess it's time.' Felix smiled wryly at what awaited him next.
...
Sometime later...
On the edge of a towering cliff, with the vast expanse of the world stretching out before them, Felix and Selphie sat side by side, their legs dangling into the abyss below.
The sky was painted with the brilliant hues of dusk, casting a soft, sad light over the scene.
A gentle breeze whispered around them, carrying with it the faint scent of the wildflowers that bloomed along the cliffside.
Selphie had a sorrowful smile on her face...She was smart enough to understand what was going on in Felix's mind.
So, she tried to make it easier for him.
"Felix, you don't have to worry about me. I made up my choice a long time ago and I never regretted it for even a moment." She said with a soft tone.
"..." Felix turned to Selphie, his eyes holding a depth of emotion that was rarely seen. "How can I not worry? You are one of my closest and dearest friends...It pains me to know that you won't live your life to the fullest because of me..."
"Selphie," He continued, his voice low and sincere, "I've always known, felt, and deeply appreciated the genuine love you've held for me. Your kindness, your support, it's been a light in my darkest times."
Selphie turned to face him, her eyes searching his, a silent question lingering in their depths.
Felix carried on, the words flowing from a place of honesty and pain. "I'm truly sorry, Selphie. I'm sorry that I can't give you what you truly deserve...The love and companionship of someone who loves you as deeply and genuinely as you love them."
"You don't have to...You don't have to be sorry, I never wanted you to be sorry or love me back." Selphie held her dress tightly, tears threatening to flood down her cheeks, "I just wanted to be by your side...Nothing more, nothing else."
"But, that's unfair to you...You deserve someone who can share their life with you, someone who can give you their whole heart. And while I have seven hearts, they all belong to Asna. They always have. I can't, and I won't fool you with false promises or half-hearted affection. It wouldn't be fair to you."
Selphie listened, her expression a mix of sadness and understanding.
She had always known, somewhere deep down, that Felix's heart was taken forever, but hearing it, so plainly and earnestly, brought a sharp clarity to her feelings...
"Selphie, you are extraordinary, and you will find someone who can love you the way you deserve to be loved. So, please, I beg you, let me free you..."
Felix turned back to her and placed a finger near her forehead...The tip was shimmering with pink light, a mark of using the laws of lust.
Selphie neither moved away nor yelled at him...She merely gave him a sweet smile, a silent tear, falling down her cheek, and murmured, "I don't know what that means, but I never uttered I was a prisoner. So, do as you see fit, I can't stop you but just know this...I will always love you, now, and forever."
Felix's finger trembled near her forehead, having strong difficulty going on with his decision and Selphie's words weren't making it any easier.
"As long as your race's quirk is in place, you will never have the option to let go since you don't understand such a concept in the first place."
"Then, get rid of it." Selphie uttered with a gentle tone, "I will prove to you, that my love has not been affected and will never be..."
Felix stared profoundly into her loving watery eyes, seeing a different kind of conviction than that of Noah's...His trembling finger stopped and the color of his finger's tip got brighter.
Then, he touched her forehead, making her close her eyes in acceptance of whichever decision Felix had made.
"You are free to love whoever now, and if you still decide to continue loving me, it's not up to me to change your mind. I have uttered and done enough." Felix caressed her cheek for a moment before pulling his hand away, "Goodbye, Selphie...May fate reunite us again."
When Selphie opened her eyes, she found that Felix was nowhere to be seen, leaving behind floating particles carried away by the ocean's breeze.
Selphie neither cried nor uttered her goodbyes as she gazed at the disappearing particles.
Her heart was broken, but not shattered as Felix had decided to respect her wishes and remove only the quirk aspect of her race, not manipulate her emotions of him.
This implied that she finally had the decision to either genuinely continue to love him even after all of this or just give up and accept the reality before her.
In either case, she would be responsible 100% for her decision and this was all Felix ever longed from her.
Selphie stood up and dusted her dress, then walked away, her back facing the serene ocean, having the opposite representation of her current emotional state...
As she was walking away, she gazed into the sky and uttered one last time with a tint of hopefulness in her eyes, "See you later, my love..."