Chapter 21: I Won't Lie To You
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"Um… Liu Yuan, could you come a little closer?"
Furina said with some hesitation, her eyes unconsciously averting, fingers clasped in front of her.
"Closer?"
"Yes, a little closer to me, just a tiny bit is fine…"
Furina's tone was weak, as if she was wavering, but she had made up her mind.
Liu Yuan looked puzzled but moved a little closer, standing by the bed and looking at her.
"Lower your head a little more."
Furina continued.
Liu Yuan nodded softly and leaned in a little, bringing her face nearer to Furina's.
Furina took a deep breath and reached out.
For a moment Liu Yuan froze.
Furina's hands cupped Liu Yuan's cheeks, but her fingers couldn't actually touch — they only held Liu Yuan's face in mid-air, since Liu Yuan was still intangible.
Liu Yuan blinked, confused, and something strange — that same special emotion — rose inside her again.
Furina stared hard at Liu Yuan, her heterochromatic eyes fixed on Liu Yuan's deep-blue ones, not looking away.
Although there was no real sensation under her palms, from Furina's perspective she had already touched Liu Yuan's face; that was enough.
Can't touch her… but this is fine too.
"Liu Yuan, tell me honestly — will you disappear?"
Now Furina was deadly serious. This was the question she had most wanted to ask, and the one she feared most to hear the answer to.
Even so, she had forced herself to ask; even if the answer hurt, she wanted to be able to face it when it came.
"Disappear? Do you mean me leaving you?" Liu Yuan asked, a little puzzled.
"I can't leave you, Furina. Although I can now move within six meters of you, I won't leave you." Liu Yuan answered. Her voice was calm.
Her free range had expanded — from three meters to six. She guessed it might increase with time: perhaps after years she could go farther. In theory she might eventually gain near-complete freedom.
But Liu Yuan had never really thought about leaving — maybe she didn't want to. Even she didn't realize that fully.
"No, I don't mean you walking away. I mean… will you one day suddenly disappear? Completely — never appear before me again?"
Furina's tone sharpened; her hands fell from Liu Yuan's cheeks and clenched at her chest. Urgency shone in her eyes.
The question was asked, there was no turning back. She forced herself to breathe slowly and waited for Liu Yuan's answer.
"Completely disappear… do you mean death?" Liu Yuan murmured, head tilting as if thinking.
"…Yes. That's death. Tell me, Liu Yuan… will… will you die?" Furina finished, every word strained with hope and fear.
Silence settled. Furina stared, waiting.
"Death…" Liu Yuan repeated softly, eyes dropping for a moment as she considered.
After a pause she gently shook her head. "I don't know."
"Don't… don't know?" Furina's serious expression froze. She opened her mouth once, twice, but no sound came out.
Liu Yuan didn't notice the change in Furina's face and continued, "I don't really know what kind of existence I truly am. If you use human definitions, it's like my body has disappeared and only my soul or spirit remains."
"Like a… ghost?" The word made Furina flinch; her hands clenched tighter.
Liu Yuan hurried on, "I don't know where a dead person's soul goes, but I don't think I'm that. I can use elemental power, move around, think — aside from being intangible and not needing to eat, I feel no different from a normal person.
But because I don't need to eat, I must have some special energy source sustaining me. I've never felt weak. I should be able to live—maybe—quite a long time. I don't know exactly how long. So, I shouldn't die for now."
She spoke simply and honestly, as if laying out the facts she could see. For once, words flowed freely from her — perhaps because she trusted Furina so much, or because she knew how much this answer mattered.
When Liu Yuan said she wouldn't die for the time being, Furina's clenched hands slowly relaxed. A huge weight lifted, the last little spike of dread eased away, and Furina felt something like an immense, immediate relief.
Five hundred years of loneliness — which had surged up and been forced down again after the script had triggered her breakdown — left a scar. But hearing Liu Yuan's answer, that burden melted in that instant. Furina felt wholly, surprisingly calm.
"Really?" she asked, needing confirmation.
"Really." Liu Yuan's voice was steady.
"Not lying to me?" Furina threatened in a mock-fierce tone, trying to sound tough.
"No." Liu Yuan met her gaze seriously. "I won't lie to you."
Furina blinked, heterochromatic eyes softening as her heart began to race.
After a moment she couldn't keep looking at Liu Yuan and turned her gaze away, cheeks faintly flushed.
"Okay… okay, I know. I know you won't lie to me. Don't… don't look at me like that…"
She trailed off, embarrassed, and the quiet room filled with the small hum of two people who had said more than they'd planned.
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