Afterlife Department

"Woah! Wow! It's so beautiful!" Huo Ling exclaimed as he looked at the orange crystal held by Yi Bing. 

Yi Bing turned to him. "You don't feel anything from it?" he asked. 

"Hm? Nope? Should I feel something?" Huo Ling asked and he pondered over it. "It felt warm?" he said. 

The coldness in Yi Bing's eyes thawed slightly. The skin of his fingers feels being burned by the Soul Fragment. But, in order for Huo Ling to not notice anything strange, he endured the pain that was starting to burn his muscles, bones, and his soul. 

He felt his soul was stung and he immediately took out a special box from his suit before he placed the Soul Fragment inside it. As soon as the lid of the box was closed, they heard a loud rumbling sound, and the mausoleum started to shake. 

"W – what… what's happening?!" Huo Ling asked as he gripped Yi Bing's clothes tight. 

"… you're a soul, so you won't tumble and fall. Why are you grabbing onto me?" Yi Bing asked as he expressionlessly looked at Huo Ling. 

"… my bad. Instinct." Huo Ling said and immediately let go of Yi Bing. Shortly after that, the shaking stopped. "What happened?" he asked. 

"It's because of this crystal." Yi Bing answered and patted the lid of the box. 

"What is that crystal?" Huo Ling asked. 

"A Soul Fragment." Yi Bing answered. "This time, it possesses a power." He said. 

'this time'? Huo Ling thought. "What power?" he asked. 

"Void." Yi Bing answered. 

"'Void'?" Huo Ling muttered. 

Yi Bing nodded. "It's to create an empty space, then place the things or people in that space that will be manipulated later." He explained. "In this case, the Soul Fragment entrapped your friends in this space around the mausoleum, making their souls not leave this place…" his voice trailed off. "… as well as I." he spoke in a low voice. His brows knitted and he looked at the box. 

"There's such a thing?!" Huo Ling wondered. 

Yi Bing nodded and motioned to him the box containing the Soul Fragment. 

"Soul Fragments… are this powerful?" Huo Ling asked as he stared at the box. 

Yi Bing didn't answer. He didn't expect for a piece of Soul Fragment to be this powerful. Not only did the Soul Fragment entrap the souls of Huo Ling's friends, but it also affected the Soul Furnace, thus things in this world escalated. The Soul Furnace could only gather souls within a certain vicinity. But, with the Soul Fragment, it can gather souls in such a large scale. 

The founder of the Soul Society must also have noticed the Soul Furnace becoming more and more powerful, thus he became more daring. What he didn't find out is that there's a Soul Fragment inside the Soul Furnace. 

Even Yi Bing can't do anything with this Void. He can enter and leave the space, and Huo Ling could, too, since Huo Ling is with him. And, it might have felt the presence of Huo Ling's soul, and recognized him as its owner, so it let Huo Ling enter and leave the space it created. But, Huo Ling doesn't know, and Yi Bing also couldn't break the Void. 

Lord Zero, the first archangel and first grim reaper, his predecessor, is much, much stronger than him. He can only send Huo Huainan and Huo Zichu signal and made them come to the mausoleum to find out the truth in the mausoleum. 

"Yi Bing?" Huo Ling called when he saw Yi Bing is silent. 

Yi Bing blinked. He turned to Huo Ling. "Yes. The Soul Fragments are very powerful." He said. "And so is their owner." He added. 

"Their owner? They have an owner?" Huo Ling was surprised. 

"Yes. Since Soul Fragments, from the name, are the broken pieces of one's soul." Yi Bing told him. 

Huo Ling's eyes widened. "No way…!" he exclaimed and looked at the box in Yi Bing's hands. "A soul… can break?" he asked. 

Yi Bing nodded. "En." He answered and raised the box. "Do you want to touch it?" he asked Huo Ling. 

Huo Ling's eyes went round. "I can?!" he asked. 

Yi Bing nodded. "En." He answered. After all, this is yours. He thought as he opened the box. The warm glow of the Soul Fragment illuminated Huo Ling's eyes that seemed to sparkle. Suddenly, he remembered something. "No. I'm just joking." He spoke before he closed the box. 

"Huh?!" Huo Ling was startled. 

Yi Bing looked at the lid of the box with a thoughtful expression. He remembered that Huo Ling was possessed by the Soul Fragments twice before. But, those Soul Fragments aren't as powerful as the Soul Fragment he currently have now. Who knows what might happen if Huo Ling touched this Soul Fragment, much less possessed by it? 

"I knew I should have come back here! I will find you two!" a familiar voice spoke. 

Yi Bing and Huo Ling turned. "Philip!" Huo Ling exclaimed. 

Philip ignored Huo Ling. "Where is he?!" he asked Yi Bing. 

"Why are you looking for him from me? I only want the soul." Yi Bing said and glanced at Huo Ling floated beside him. 

Huo Ling. "?" huh? My brain seems to have gone offline again… 

Philip fell silent. "When I woke up, the Soul Furnace was still there. But, he was gone." He said. "I don't care about the Soul Furnace. You can have it. But, give him back to me!" he told Yi Bing. 

"I will tell you for the last time, I don't have him." Yi Bing spoke. "But, I know where he is." He said. 

Philip's eyes widened. "Where?!" he asked. 

"The others are going there now." Yi Bing said. 

"'the others'?" Philip muttered, then he was stunned when he realized something. "Zhou Cheng and Peng Qian?!" he asked. 

Yi Bing shook his head. "They're already dead." He said. "It's Huo Huainan and Huo Zichu, as well as two police officers." He told him. 

Philip gasped. "They're finally here!" he said, delight in his voice. Then, he breathed a sigh of relief. 

Yi Bing looked at him. "You… won't go back to see him?" he asked. 

Philip shook his head, then bitterly smiled. "I'm going to die." He said, remembered the punishment of the Soul Society. 

"You're not." Yi Bing told him. 

"Huh?" Philip looked at him. 

"Also – " Yi Bing slowly spoke. " – are you really sure you don't want to be a part of this new one's life?" he asked. 

"What do you mean?" Philip asked. 

"The soul that replaced him – " Yi Bing said and looked at Huo Ling before he turned to Philip. " – he is someone you're very familiar with. The Soul Furnace was influenced by your mind, so…" he didn't continue and just looked meaningfully at Philip. 

Philip's eyes widened when he realized it. His eyes brightened in joy and anticipation. Yi Bing indifferently told him the name of the place. Philip looked at Yi Bing, his eyes filled with gratitude. He told him the location of the Soul Furnace, then he glanced at Huo Ling. He smiled at him, before he ran away and disappeared. 

"Yi Bing… what just happened?" Huo Ling asked, puzzled, as he looked at the direction Philip left. 

"Although he treated you as a younger brother, but he still reserved some distance between you and himself, because he knows the soul in your body is going to be replaced." Yi Bing answered. "However, he still wishes for the soul that will replace you a good life, and that won't suffer the same way as you die – be replaced in the family. In short, he wanted for the vessels to be freed from the Soul Society. That's why, when Rourou told him everything, and gave him the Soul Furnace, he is internally happy because the Soul Society is going to end. They can't use the vessels anymore." He explained. 

"Oh…" Huo Ling muttered. He felt like his mind is filled with cobwebs. He only understood a small part. "Where is the Soul Furnace now?" he asked. "Philip said you can have it… are you going to bring it?" he looked at Yi Bing. 

"Why not?" Yi Bing smiled as he walked. "He gave us a treasure. I'll treat it as a gift." He said. 

Huo Ling floated behind him and rolled his eyes when he heard what Yi Bing said. Shameless! He thought in his heart. Suddenly, he remembered something. "Right." He spoke. "You said that the Souk Fragments have owners… who is the owner of this Soul Fragment?" he asked. 

Yi Bing heard his question and he suddenly stopped. 

"Hm?" Huo Ling paused and turned, only to see Yi Bing staring at him. 

"The owner of the Soul Fragment…" Yi Bing spoke. "He's gone." He answered. 

"'gone'?" Huo Ling asked, surprised. What does he mean, 'gone'? He disappeared? Or, did he... 

Yi Bing nodded and forced a smile. "His soul already broke and was scattered into pieces. How can he still stay alive?" he asked. 

In short, the owner of the Soul Fragment died.