Chapter 226: Left alone?

Before Leo could even understand what had happened, he coughed up blood. His eyes widened, and he dropped to his knees and held out his hands pathetically.

"You beast! I shouldn’t have awakened you!" Moon shouted.

He was trembling with rage.

His lips were bleeding from the rough kiss, and his neck throbbed with pain. He really just wanted to leave and be alone.

He turned and took a step.

But suddenly, his body went limp.

His eyes widened in shock as he heard an irritating sneer behind him.

A sudden pressure swept over him, followed by a tingling sensation that spread through his body. His limbs weakened, and he could barely keep himself upright.

"HAAAAH! Good for my wife. I like it fierce!"

Leo slowly stood up, still sneering. He walked closer and lifted Moon’s chin.

"Darling... you shouldn’t have made me your equal soul beast!"

He leaned over Moon, forcing him down towards the grass.

Moon’s body trembled.

How could he forget!

They had a soul contract.

He couldn’t kill this man. He couldn’t hurt him without suffering the same consequences.

If Leo died, they would die together.

Moon’s eyes reddened as he cursed his own foolishness.

"Don’t cry."

Leo wiped the corner of his eye with his thumb and murmured, "You should have made me your slave when you still had the chance. You lost it, baby. There is no turning back."

He leaned down and pressed his lips against Moon’s forehead.

But the next second, a burning pain suddenly spread through his chest.

BAM!

Moon’s palm slammed against Leo’s chest, sending him flying backwards.

Moon struggled to stand and scoffed, "Even if I can’t make you kneel, I can still choose to die and take you with me!"

Leo clutched his chest.

Moon’s spiritual energy was still lingering there, gnawing at his flesh and reaching deep into his very soul.

Yet Leo only sneered.

His body trembled as he forced himself to stand. Seeing him approaching like a madman, Moon gathered his spiritual energy in his palm again.

But Leo leaped forward even faster.

Moon barely had time to raise his hand before Leo was already lunging at him, as though he were a dead man with nothing left to lose.

A sharp THWACK split the air.

Leo’s body jerked.

His eyes rolled back, and he fell to the ground, senseless.

Moon’s spiritual attack shot into the open air, missing its target and slamming into a nearby tree. The tree shuddered before crashing to the ground.

All of it happened in a blink of a eyes that moon was utterly bewildered.

He turned towards Axe, who had appeared behind Leo. His hand was still raised, his fist covered in obsidian-black iron.

His special iron fist hammer.

Axe looked at Moon with a gloomy expression.

"Now it’s peaceful."

Moon glanced at Leo’s motionless body.

If not for their contract, he would have thought the man was dead. But he was still alive, only unconscious.

Ugo came over and swiftly bound Leo’s body with his vines before taking him away.

Nox shifted nervously.

He looked at Moon, then took a hesitant step forward.

"Moon... don’t do that. You’re hurting yourself, too."

As soon as those words fell, Moon suddenly coughed up blood.

Indeed, striking Leo’s chest with that spiritual attack had affected him as well. But he had been determined to teach the man a lesson, no matter the cost.

Nox immediately moved to approach him, but Axe stopped him.

"Stay away for a while. He’ll be alright."

With that, Axe left with Ugo, who was carrying Leo away.

Nox hesitated, remaining where he stood.

He wasn’t sure he could keep himself under control if he got too close to Moon.

Moon slowly pushed himself upright, then staggered away.

A few moments later, his figure vanished from the spot.

Moon didn’t know how long he had been running.

Nor did he know where he was going.

All he knew was that he wanted to run. To free himself. To break away from every restriction and every burden that had been placed upon him.

He wandered through the forest, his mind drifting as he questioned himself.

Why am I even trying?

What will happen even if I achieve eternal life?

Look at Lupine and the others. They were already half a step into immortality, yet what did they become?

Immortals without bodies, with broken souls. Even after reaching their pinnacle, they were scattered.

Did this life even have any meaning?

What if he simply died?

Left alone?

No one cared anyway.

There would be no one waiting at the door with a pot of sweet milk porridge, asking, "Mooney, come eat while it’s still warm...."

No one would scold him either.

"Mooney, did you catch that grasshopper? Yekky, wash your hands, Mooney, it’s so gooey!"

So, what was he struggling for?

Moon kept running.

His hairpin fell, and the ribbon came loose.

His long black hair billowed in the wind.

When he finally reached the mountaintop and looked down at the Lost Realm from the cliff, his entire demeanor had changed.

He looked otherworldly, cold and calm, and distant.

As though he no longer had any attachment to this world.

Was this even his world?

Or did this world belong to him?

There was nothingness everywhere. Nowhere to rest. Nowhere to belong.

He stood motionless.

Then, suddenly, he felt an epiphany.

It was as if the world was calling him, and his soul was wandering through it.

He couldn’t tell whether he had become one with the world or whether the world had swallowed his soul.

He felt dazed as his body slowly tilted forward.

He didn’t even want to hold himself up.

A mere mortal body.

Did it even matter anymore?

He could be the wind. He could be the air, the earth, or nature itself.

He could be...

What else could he be?

His consciousness began to grow vague.

What else could he be?

A missing part?

He searched around, but found nothing.

What else could he be?

Moon’s mind went blank as his body finally toppled sideways into nothingness...