The Rise of the White Lotus

When Morris finally recovered his remaining stamina, he carried her directly to the bathroom. Since she was surprisingly light, he didn't need to exert more effort. As soon as the bathtub was filled with warm water and bubbles, Morris turned to her who was sitting on the toilet lid.

"Come here," He extended his arm in her direction, offering his hand.

Churu glanced at his hand first before shifting it to his eyes. Without a word, she nodded her head and accepted his hand. Slowly, he guided her towards the bathtub before he went in. While she perched on the other end of the tub, Morris positioned himself on the other end.

"Why are you there?" She asked, tilting her head to the side. She watched him spread his arms on the rim of the tub. "So I can look at you." He shrugged, smiling playfully but his words bore sincerity.

"Uhm…" Churu pouted, slowly lowering her body down until her chin touched the water. "What do you think?" She asked, raising her brows as her eyes remained glued on him.

"Hmm… I like every side of you." In a matter-of-fact tone, Morris answered nonchalantly. "It must be fun to see more of you." He added, smiling as his toe stroked her thigh underneath the water.

For a second, Churu pursed her lips as she stared back at him. After a brief contemplation, she crawled to his side. Out of instinct, Morris moved a little to the side to make some space for her. Soon, Churu snuggled with him, the side of her head on his shoulder and she slowly looked up.

"You won't want to see my demon form." Churu muttered in a low tone. "It's…" She paused, biting her lower lips as she pondered on the right term to describe how she looked like before attaining the dumpling form and back to this human form freely.

"It's still pretty." Before she could think of the proper word that could best fit her description, Morris uttered as if in conclusion. "When I said I want to see all sides of you, I didn't mean your appearance." Morris tilted his head back, his hand on the rim of the tub slowly dipped in the tub to stroke her sleek back.

"What I mean is You." The side of his lips hooked into a loving smile, images from his first encounter with her back when she was a dumpling hovered in his head. "I'll still end up liking… loving you even if you remained in that form." He added, cocking the side of his head and rested on top of her head.

"I mean it when I say I love you, Al." Morris continued on brushing her back, relishing every single moment he had with her. 

In his perspective, Churu might go away for a day, a week, or months again. Although it was a little sad on his part, Morris was slowly adapting that she had other things to worry about aside from her feelings. 

After all, he wasn't in her plans. The two of them weren't in the plan… or at least, as far as they both knew, they weren't. Thus, all he could do now was cherish every second with her and understand that she had to protect another man's life just so she could stay longer in this world.

He would be a hypocrite to say that he never cursed heaven and felt that this world was truly unfair. Morris had loads of questions, but he knew no one would answer him. Hence, instead of succumbing to self-pity, he chose to see the brighter side.

The side that he's with her. The part of this crazy relationship with a fallen angel who healed his heart with her warm and caring hands. The devil who wasn't what the books described; she wasn't a vile creature nor was she evil.

"My demon form is ugly. Those movies romanticized our images so much that people think demons are a bunch of hotties…" Churu complained, pouting as she rolled her eyes. "Well, if we're talking about literal hotties, then we are, I guess." She sighed, shaking her head slightly as her hand snaked around his waist.

"You're not ugly." Morris scratched her head gently while his hand held her arm that was resting on his abs.

"You haven't seen it yet." She argued, pouting as she was certain that he would have a heart attack once Morris laid his eyes on her, the real her. "You might not recognize me." She added, lowering her gaze as her shoulders relaxed.

"I will," Without batting an eye, Morris answered calmly. However, his calmness slightly irked the human dumpling.

Churu pulled away from him, frowning as she sat upright while facing his side profile. "How are you so sure?" She asked, blinking her eyes as she demanded for an explanation.

"I know that my beauty is limitless, alright? But, I have to admit that my demon form is not something I like or will ever think to be pretty! That's why I'm telling you, you won't recognize me…" As she grumbled her words exasperatedly, Churu paused as she rubbed her chin lightly. "On a second thought, you might not see me in my demon form since I'm currently a system." She nodded approvingly.

Morris just raised his right eyebrow as he watched her mood transition. "I'll still recognize you." He said, smiling as he remained on their initial topic despite the fact that she had already hopped to another.

Upon hearing his last remark, Churu frowned again. "No, you won't." She muttered, crossing her arms around her chest.

"Haha," Morris could not help but chuckle as she was truly a stubborn one. He retracted his back away from the tub, shifting a little closer to her. Both his hand raised, pinching her cheeks lightly which gave him freedom to smile brightly.

"Using words now is futile, isn't it?" He chuckled, stretching her lips into a smile. "We'll know once the time arrives." He added, resting his forehead against hers. However, his last remarks caused her to frown deeply.

Churu slightly pushed him away, still bearing her displeased frown. "What do you mean when the time arrives? You mean when you passed? Do you think you'll go straight to hell?" She queried one after another.

"Hmm?" 

"No, you can't go there. You should redeem yourself while you're alive so you go to paradise, okay?" Churu's eyes were fixated on him; they glinted with unwavering resolve as she waited for his response.

A moment of silence dawned on them as they stared at each other. After a minute of silence, Morris finally broke the stifling air. "What if I don't want to go to the paradise you're talking about?" 

"You have to." Her tone was adamant, her eyes never left his as her expression stern. 

"Hell is never the fun place, Momo. It's the last place anyone would want to stay for the rest of eternity." Churu added, shaking her head sideways as she recalled the damned place everyone called Hell.

"But you'll be there." After a second, Morris answered without looking away from her. "I want to live my eternity with you, Al. Even if it's fire and brimstone, a place of tribulation, or the eternal damnation… I'll choose it over and over again and I wouldn't regret or repent." His hand caressed her jaw, his thumb brushed the side of her lips.

"Don't say something so stupid." She murmured, displeased, and feeling moved at his words at the same time. Why wouldn't she? Morris was prepared to go straight to hell just so he could be with her. Although she knew that was impossible, the thought of it warmed up her heart.

"You are my paradise, Al. There's nothing else." Morris affirmed, offering a loving smile.

"How naive." Churu muttered, holding the back of his hand that was cupping her cheek. "We'll both go to paradise, okay? For now, let's enjoy this lifetime. Let's tomorrow's worry, worry about itself." She giggled, changing their topic because it was too soon to discuss it,

Moreover, Morris still has a lot of years to live while Churu has forever. Therefore, these talks should be saved for later. 

"Mhmm, Let's wash up before you catch a cold." Morris nodded his head in understanding as he dropped the subject. 

"You know I won't." She reminded in a matter-of-factly tone.

"You never know." He shrugged, smirking as a sudden idea flashed across his eyes. Without further ado, Morris tickled Churu on the side of her tummy. 

"Sto -- haha! Momo -- haha!" As he caught her off-guard, Churu could only let out loud chuckles as she asked him to start.

Just as the two were playing around instead of washing up, a sudden ring resonated inside Churu's head. After a second when that ring was heard in her head, a sudden taskbar, or rather a message that was akin to a hologram was revealed near them.

As soon as that appeared out of thin air, Churu and Morris looked at each other in confusion before turning their attention towards the message. It said:

[SIDE QUEST ALERT! SIDE QUEST ALERT!

There were 5 souls whose lives were chosen to be aired in the heavenly realm! The system must deliver their new paths of lives in the given time for each soul! 

Redemption points each successful delivery will be 50 points! If the system successfully finished the 5 tasks in due time, it'll receive additional redemption points! (100 points max!) However, if the system fails the task, redemption points will be deducted by 200 percent!

ACCEPT // REFUSE ]