My Iyashikei Game

695 Butcher's Knife

On the building made from dead bodies, Han Fei and his companions reached toward the mirror surface before the souls went berserk. Han Fei was not alone. He had found many kindred spirits. They supported each other, holding the torch as they moved with determination towards the dark.

The light of the blade flashed in the eyes of the dead, illuminating their nightmare. All the mutated souls became incredibly angry. Those who had gotten used to darkness believed that the light was the real sin. However, they didn’t dare to do anything because the light had gotten too bright.

“Fu Sheng!” Han Fei was a rational person, but sometimes, he was more naïve than most people in the world. At that moment, he would rather take the risk of dying to rescue the real Fu Sheng.

The light pierced through the mirror. The mirror made from smiling faces didn’t stop it. The blade easily entered the mirror. It brought hope to Fu Sheng inside the mirror. From Fu Sheng’s perspective, originally, everything was dark. There was no sound and light but things changed. The familiar voice came from the phone that he would never part with, and a ray of light cut through the permanent darkness.

Fu Sheng reached toward the light. Warmth, kindness, and stability, he didn’t know how to describe the feeling he felt when he touched the light.

All the souls went on a rampage when the mirror was attacked. All the patients and doctors became monsters. They struggled loose from the shackles of death and charged at Han Fei with fury and resentment.

The rotten arms grabbed onto Han Fei. The sound of bones breaking and zombie monsters growling entered the young man’s ears through the phone. He couldn’t tell what was happening outside the mirror. He could only see that the light was still there. No matter how scary things got, the light remained.

“Are you alright?”

“I’m fine. I’ll find a way to get you out.”

“Actually, I’m fine here alone.”

“I’m like you. I’ve walked through the darkness. If there’s someone in the world who can understand you, it’s me. Therefore, you can trust and rely on me.”

The curse exuded from his body. The rotten zombie bit Han Fei, leaving behind a festering wound on Han Fei’s shoulder. However, the zombie was infected by Soul Poison. He fell from the top and couldn’t move again. The young man inside the mirror could hear what was happening outside. He hesitated and then turned to look at the darkness behind him. “Instead of being trapped in the dark forever, becoming part of this light might be a better choice.”

Han Fei outside the mirror was still considering how to break the mirror, but the young man inside the mirror walked voluntarily towards it. He allowed the light to pierce through his chest! His hands pressed against the mirror. The young man looked at the darkness before him. He knew that the person he had been waiting for was right before him, standing in the future that he couldn’t see. Han Fei didn’t expect the young man to do this. He wanted to turn Fu Sheng into a ghost tattoo, but his vengeance was toward Fu Sheng’s memory fragment, who had killed him 99 times, not this child.

“I never got the chance to say thank you. I’ll not create trouble for you anymore.”

The young man’s soul dissolved. He held the hands that wanted to save him. He couldn’t find a way to leave the darkness, so he chose to stand with the light. Since he couldn’t bring light to others, then he’d become the ember that kept the light going. Han Fei tapped on the mirror. He wanted to retract the blade, but it was already too late. Fu Sheng’s heart was punctured by Rest in Peace. He imbued the remaining humanity of his soul into the blade.

“My past is endless despair. Your appearance has given birth to these beautiful memories. Now, I will return them to you. I hope you’ll not reject them. This is the only thing I can do for you.”

Salvation went both ways. Fu Sheng couldn’t leave the mirror, so he came up with this idea. As Han Fei tried to pull the knife out, the mirror made from beautiful memories started to ripple. Some of the memories were peaceful, and others were exciting. When they were triggered, they would explode in inexplicable power. It was hard to persist on the correct path. Even so, there would be endless ordinary people who would walk that path. Fu Sheng’s lingering soul entered the blade. The light of Rest in Peace burned brighter. The memories that guarded Fu Sheng flowed into the blade as well. Han Fei held the hilt and slowly pulled. The mirror started to crack. The smiling faces were drawn into the butcher’s knife alongside Fu Sheng’s soul.

The mirror shattered. Rest in Peace transformed. Something blurry surfaced on the hilt.

“Fu Sheng?” Han Fei didn’t expect Fu Sheng’s trapped soul to enter Rest in Peace. The kid started as a kind and gentle person too. In the whole city, he was the only one looking after the lonely ghosts.

Han Fei looked at the blade with complicated emotions. In Fu Sheng’s other memory world, he had changed Fu Sheng’s destiny. At that moment, Han Fei had changed his destiny too. If Fu Sheng didn’t hear his voice, the mirror wouldn’t have shattered; if Han Fei didn’t regain a part of his memory, he wouldn’t have remembered the number he left for Fu Sheng. 99 deaths carved out a path for Han Fei. He couldn’t guarantee that he’d reach the end, but at least he was closer to the goal.

Raising Rest in Peace, the doctors and patients that held onto Han Fei let go. They appeared to see their dream at that moment. Many shadows appeared behind Han Fei. He was alone, but he was never lonely.

“It was Fu Sheng’s good memories that were trapped inside the mirror. He was a part of the soul pulled out of Fu Sheng.” Since the danger was gone, Yan Yue stopped and moved back with Brain. She was the first to escape and the first to return.

“Fu Sheng should have abandoned the goodness in his heart here before entering the theme park. Didn’t the blond student say that a teacher once saw Fu Sheng try to sew the ghosts at the hospital into his body?” Yan Yue’s mother was surprised that Han Fei managed to survive. She was cautious of the butcher’s knife he was holding.

Han Fei had encountered similar occasions before. The earliest was with the Mirror God. In the underground surgical room, he was deprived of his organs and the illusion of goodness. He opened his arms to embrace the darkness. The same thing happened again. Dream collected Fu Sheng’s abandoned human kindness to make them into his vessel, but he didn’t expect Han Fei’s appearance.

“I’ve changed Fu Sheng’s destiny, but he still chose his old path. Is he telling me that the future is predestined?” Han Fei’s eyes landed on the glowing blade. This blade was very special. It didn’t absorb the slaughtered souls but allowed those who believed in Han Fei to stay. The ‘stock’ at the meatpacking factory at Cattle Alley, the senior ghost who had to sustain the hereditary ghost, and now, the kind persona of Fu Sheng.

“Rest in peace…”

The light of the blade slowly faded away, and a robotic voice echoed in Han Fei’s mind. “Notifications for Player 0000! You’ve obtained Grade D unique butcher’s knife—Rest in Peace!”