4 The Feeling of Death - Part 4
Asura Ryuu raised his hand, slowly placing it on the girl's cheek and gently caressing it with the back of his hand.
"I will trouble you to explain everything, if you will...", he said with a self-satisfied grin stretched across his face.
Who would have thought the first thing he would experience when he died was a sweet kiss from a cute and lovely demon girl?
This was worth even if he died ten more times! Actually, he could even perish this moment with no regrets!
---"Fufufu. It was a long time since I last saw your embarrassed face. How nostalgic...", the girl said while putting her small warm hand over his as if she was trying to feel his touch thoroughly.
She touched her own lips with a smile so bright even the surrounding stars paled in comparison.
---"This taste, it's as sweet as ever. Aahhh finally, I could finally feel it again after so long!!!"
Let's be honest - her reaction took Asura Ryuu by surprise. Where can you find such a lovely girl with a carefree mind? If he didn't feel how hard his own heart was beating, Asura Ryuu would even think this was just a dream.
*Thud*
*THUD*
*THUMP*
His heartbeat seemed as if resonating with the twinkle of the surrounding stars, and even the starry tree pulsated to that rhythm.
"Hm?"
Precisely at this moment, Asura Ryuu noticed something which absorbed his full attention.
The girl saw his furrowed eyebrows and knew this was the moment when he was on to something, so she decided not to disturb him and gently lied below the tree, leaning on its trunk with folded wings and closed eyes.
Surely you wonder, why is Asura Ryuu not enjoying the sight of a naked beauty now that she retracted her wings?
But in his mind something was seething, as if a huge dam was about to break and let the captive water burst forth with unstoppable momentum.
As if a locked monster was about to awaken...
---"Finally, you're beginning to recall... who you truly are...", the girl murmured with an impatient expression and a beaming smile.
-----
What triggered this process in Asura Ryuu's mind could be called trivial beyond belief - it was actually the twinkling of the stars.
When he first noticed that stars were twinkling according to his heartbeat, his first thought was: "Shouldn't that be impossible in the space? After all, the twinkling of the stars is caused by refracting rays of light through the atmosphere but there shouldn't be an atmosphere in the space, even more so in this Astral realm after death..."
.
.
.
"Why does everything behave according to my subconscious thoughts?!"
"Can it be, this actually isn't the afterlife?"
. . .
*KA-BOOM*
A thunderous sound rang out in Asura Ryuu's mind, threatening to collapse his consciousness and dissipate his Spirit, but he endured.
A splitting headache which can't be put into words assaulted him instantaneously as if condensed into a singularity which burst forth, similar to a nuclear bomb's explosion - but in this case, it was intangible and invisible.
But that pain was only the cover for what followed - a vast, endless surge of memories.
Asura Ryuu felt an incredible feeling that couldn't be put into words...
Imagine seeing nine people in front of you, everyone with differing appearance and personalities, but they are actually all you from your previous lives.
Nine streams of memories coagulated into his mind, but parallel to that process, nine sparkling chains shot out of nowhere, penetrating Asura Ryuu in front of the girl as each of those chains pierced through his Spiritual body and coiled around his heart.
Only now did Asura Ryuu understand why everything was going according to his will - it was because this space was his own mind!
An entire world - no, that would be too degrading if put that way.
An entire universe was actually hidden in his mind, in the deepest part of his soul, inaccessible to his consciousness.
He finally understood who he was, why that girl seemed so familiar and invoked such sweet feelings in his heart - after all, she was his woman.
She had spent a countless number of years watching him from the shadows, only being able to interact with him when he was sleeping.
It was truly underestimating to call their fate tragic - it was beyond tragic. What befell the two of them was simply a Divine Tribulation ordained by Heavens to separate them.
But you know...
A man should always follow his path, even if fighting against the heavens, gods, or even the entire world.
And that was precisely what he did!
-----
A translucent tear slid down Asura Ryuu's cheek as he once again looked at the girl leaning on the tree, but his gaze now differed vastly from the carefree look in his eyes from before - it was full of love, regret and longing.
Don't let it trick you - although it was only a slight tear which almost couldn't be seen with naked eye, its weight was heavier than the entire world as it followed the contours of Asura Ryuu's face.
He felt as if a mountain was pressing on his heart and each millimeter the tear slid down was so distinct that he could count them if he wanted.
But there was no more space in his mind to pay attention to such trivial details.
Memories from nine lives were still flashing by like shooting stars as their surroundings actually morphed to countless small fragments connected to each other but individually distinct.
It's as if broken shards of glass were painted in unique colors and then re-connected again into one whole but with distinct lines separating them according to the trail of initial fracture, a mosaic made of colorful shards.
But in this case, those fragments of glass were instead fragments of space in Asura Ryuu's mind and distinct colors were moving images of memories from his past lives.
He finally remembered everything!
. . .
Asura Ryuu felt as if all strength from his body was forcibly absorbed and fell forward, bending his knees until they hit the fragmented space flashing with images.
*Clang-Clang----*
Nine chains binding him immediately followed, as if predestined to be his followers for eternity, pressing down on his heart as they tightened.
Each of the chains had a different aura, and each carried a complete set of memories from the worlds of his previous lives but in the end, they all congregated to one finite point - they were all part of Asura Ryuu.
His own limbs... his memories, experiences, emotions, pain and suffering as well as the happiness and joy.
The weight of each chain was immeasurable, but compared to the weight of a hand clutching his heart - they amounted to nothing.
Pushing all sharp swords filled with emotions aimed at his heart away, Asura Ryuu's lowered head slowly rose and locked gazes with the girl whose face was brimming with tears of happiness as his lips slightly parted.
In the instant their eyes met, as if two magnets became one, the emptiness in each other's hearts disappeared as if it was never there to begin with.
Asura Ryuu's voice full of pain but also at ease crept out of his slightly parted lips;
"Master... I'm back."
