The Price of the Beloved

: Half a Wisp of a Remnant Soul

2

I thought I understood the Celestials of the Celestial Court, but I never imagined Lyra Aurelian would actually get someone to come.

'Is there really anyone in the entire Celestial Court who wants me to live?'

The person who came was my Master.

He sat by the lantern, his once-gentle, loving eyes not on me, but fixed on the Artifact Spirit.

"Soul-Locking Lantern, haven't I given you enough Celestial Treasures? How can you not even preserve a mere Remnant Soul?"

The Artifact Spirit was hopping mad. "You were the ones who said the Soul-Gathering Lantern couldn't gather her soul! I only said I would *try*—how could I possibly guarantee I could nurse her back to health? I'm the Soul-Locking Lantern! I'm for punishment, not rescue! Besides, there's barely any of her soul left—just a wisp of a remnant soul. How am I supposed to sustain that?"

"Calm down. I know her best. She cherishes her life more than anything and was always dabbling in strange Secret Techniques. She would never let herself disappear completely."

I didn't look at my Master, but I could still imagine the look on his face as he said those words.

He was probably stroking his long whiskers, an all-knowing look on his face.

The Artifact Spirit was silent for a long moment before speaking, its tone conflicted. "If you don't want this wisp of a remnant soul anymore, then I'll just stop controlling my flame…"

My Master flared up. "What do you mean you don't want her? This is my disci—"

After a long pause, my Master added sullenly, "At any rate, she called me Master for several hundred years."

'I knew it. My Master had never forgiven me.'

When the Demon Clan attacked, I caused my Senior Sister's tragic death out of jealousy, and my Master disowned me as his disciple on the spot.

My Master said, "I only took you as my disciple back then because your Senior Sister said you were naive and cute. But today, you killed your Senior Sister out of jealousy. I, the Koi Sovereign, have no disciple like you!"

'Master, oh, Master… I once thought you were the person closest to me.'

'But I never realized you never truly saw me as your disciple. Your beloved disciple was always, and only, Senior Sister Lyra Aurelian.'

'Your love for her was so great it made you ignore the truth: that I was the one who used my blood as a sacrifice, who fought with my life on the line, just to barely activate the Demon-Purging Array.'

'Back then, my only thought was to activate the Array and protect the Celestial Court. I was bleeding to death! How could I have had any time to be jealous of Senior Sister?'

Only then did the Artifact Spirit speak. "The things you've brought are no longer having any effect. You'd be better off finding things she used to be interested in to help her soul grow stronger so it can absorb Soul Power. Otherwise, I'm afraid she'll vanish from the Three Realms completely."

"Wait here. I'll get Silas Aurelian." With that, my Master sent a voice transmission to him.

Silas Aurelian is my Senior Brother, the person who once doted on me like a real brother.

Back then, I was still a little Koi, and I spent my days by the edge of the Koi Pond, blowing bubbles out of boredom.

"You little Koi, the rainbow bubbles you make are quite pretty. Grow up quickly, and I'll ask Master to take you as his disciple." Silas Aurelian was very handsome, the very picture of a dashing young gentleman.

I just stared and nodded blankly, which made him laugh.

After that, he often came to see me and tell me interesting stories about the world outside the Koi Pond.

One day the Celestial Guard got beaten by a monkey, the next Marshal Tianpeng turned into a pig…

He also brought me lots of delicious treats, things I had never seen before.

I asked him, "Why are you so nice to me?"

He said, "Tens of thousands of years of cultivation is a long, bitter road. I wanted to find a little sister for myself to cherish."

Finally, I succeeded in my Metamorphosis and became his little shadow.

He loved patting my head and saying, "Let's not cultivate today. I'll take you somewhere fun."

And so I really would stop cultivating and happily trot after him to find some fun in the Celestial Court.

"Master, I'm busy right now. I have to prepare the wedding venue for Lyra Aurelian." My Senior Brother didn't appear, but his voice carried over the transmission.

'A wedding banquet…'

'Couldn't the two of them have waited until my last wisp of a remnant soul dissipated before holding their wedding?'

My Remnant Soul flickered again, as if it could be extinguished at any moment.

The Artifact Spirit quickly sent a surge of Spiritual Power to stabilize me.

My Master paused for a moment before speaking. "A wedding is important, but we can't let Elara Aurelian just scatter into nothing. Go to the storeroom, find some of her old things, and bring them over."

My Senior Brother was clearly exasperated, his next transmission dripping with impatience. "Why right now? Can't it wait until after the wedding is over? Elara Aurelian is really something else. Even with just a wisp of a remnant soul left, she still has to try and ruin Senior Sister's wedding?"

My soul thrashed wildly.

'I never wanted to ruin their wedding! No matter how much it hurt, I would have wished them well just like everyone else. So why won't anyone listen to me?'

'They used to call me the cutest, most simple-hearted Little Koi in the Koi Pond.'

'But why doesn't anyone believe me now? All they do is accuse me of being deceitful and vicious. And how convenient that I'm stuck here now, a Remnant Soul that can't even make a sound to defend myself.'

"That's enough," my Master snapped at Senior Brother. "She's down to a wisp of a remnant soul. You were once the closest to her, so you go and get her things."

My Senior Brother had no choice but to agree.

But I could still hear the impatience in his tone.

'I don't need him to find anything to strengthen my will to live. I don't want to absorb Soul Power at all.'

'I just want to leave, to disappear from the Three Realms for good.'

My Senior Brother did return with something, after all.

My Master looked at the wooden box, exasperated. "I told you to find things that were important to her, not to haul over a box of garbage."

"These are the only things she left behind at the Koi Pond." My Senior Brother's face was a mask of impatience as he tossed the wooden box onto the ground.