Chapter 20: Loved Ones

Ray woke up and found himself in an abandoned city. Ray looked around and soon figured out that he was in Delhi. The same place where he had fought the Puppeteer.

He was really surprised as to why he was there. He started walking around and started calling out to Yuki. He tried to telepathically call Yuki but failed. He got more surprised and started to get scared.

Suddenly the buildings around, caught on fire. At this, his fear started to take over his mind and he started running. He ran through the burning abandoned city, trying to get out.

He tried to use his spirit powers to increase his speed but he failed. He started frantically calling for Yuki.

"Yuki….. Yuki, where are you? I need your help..... ComeCome on Yuki. This isn't a good time to play hide and seek with you."

No one answered.

Suddenly he got hit by falling debris and fell to the ground. He screamed in pain.

The debris had burned his back. He slowly got up and started running again but he stumbled on something and fell down again.

He tumbled as he tried to get up. His fear turned into pure dread when he suddenly heard a familiar voice.

"You could've saved us, Ray. Why didn't you?"

It was the voice of Avni. He quickly looked at the direction of the voice and his eyes widened. He saw Avni standing there. Her body was bloodied, face flattened into mush. It was just as he had seen her when he reached the scene that day.

Suddenly he heard another voice from the opposite direction.

"Why did you leave us alone, Ray. We wouldn't have died if you were there for us."

Ray quickly turned back towards the voice and saw Aditi. She too was the same way he had seen her that day.

Another voice came from his left.

"You betrayed us, Ray."

This time it was Coda. Ray's terror kept increasing. He tried to talk but wasn't able to gather his voice. Suddenly he heard another voice from behind him. This voice was what hurt him the most.

"You didn't stop after letting us die. You had to kill us yourself again. Why, Ray? Why did you betray us?"

Ray covered both of his ears with his hands and fell to his knees.

He yelled, "No. I didn't betray you. I didn't betray anyone. I tried to save you. I... I.…"

His voice disappeared. He tried to speak but failed. The four of them started walking towards him while saying, "You betrayed us, Ray. You betrayed us, Ray. You betrayed us, Ray."

Ray squirmed down and closed his eyes.

Suddenly all sounds stopped. No more voices, no more footsteps, no more cracking sounds. Ray opened his eyes and looked forward. He saw nothing around him. He found himself in a white place. It was dazzling. He stood up and looked around. There was nothing.

Suddenly he heard a gentle female voice behind him. The voice was really familiar. He turned around and saw a lady standing a few feet away.

It was a British woman in her late 20s. She had an oval face, black long hair, grey eyes and a gentle smile.

Ray said, "Mum. Mum, is that you?"

Ray ran towards the woman and hugged her. The woman hugged back. She patted Ray's back in order to comfort him.

They let go of each other.

Ray said, "Mum, where were you all these years? You look exactly how you looked 10 years ago."

The woman said, "I've always been inside you."

Ray said, "Come with me mum. Let's get out of here."

She put a hand on Ray's cheek and said, "Oh, Ray. But I can't. Anastasia Foster is not alive anymore. I'm just a fragment of her mind, put inside you to guide you."

Ray took a few steps backwards in disbelief.

"How… How can you say you're dead? You're standing right in front of me."

"I'm not your mom, Ray. She died 10 years ago."

Ray was in denial. He said, "What are you saying, Mum. Come with me."

Anastasia came and hugged Ray.

She said, "Accept reality, Ray. She's dead. You lived without her for all these years, I'm sure you can do it now too. If you still sometimes feel alone, I'm always inside you."

Ray looked up at her.

"Come on. Wipe your tears. You're a strong man, Ray. You have to stay strong for the ones that are still alive. For Tessa, for Yuki, for Mrs. Karim. Can you do it?"

Ray nodded.

She smiled and said, "That's the Ray I know."

Yuki's faint voice came from a distance.

"Master…. Master, wake up."

Anastasia said, "Looks like our time is up. Don't worry. We'll meet again. Go to the north and find your blade. You can get stronger. You Need to get stronger. After all, you're gonna be the strongest one day."

Ray woke up and saw Yuki looking at his face. Yuki asked with a concerned voice, "Master, what happened? You were squirming in your sleep. You were calling my name."

Ray sat up and said, "Nothing. Just a bad dream."

They were inside a van that was on autopilot. Ray took control of the van and stopped it at a corner.

Both of them got out. Ray stretched and looked around.

He said, "Looks like we're almost in the Kharkiv region. Let's take a breather here. Grab some food and move on. We should be able to enter Kharkiv by tonight."

Yuki asked, "How many days has it been since we started this journey?"

Ray replied, "I've lost count. Maybe three months. Might be more. We've come a long way. Also, got a lot stronger."

Yuki said, "Also had near death experiences multiple times."

Ray laughed, "Yeah. Yeah we did."

Yuki said in an irritated tone, "More than half of them were because of your reckless behavior, you battle junkie."

"Come on. We're still alive, aren't we?"

"Yeah. A big miracle."

Ray tried to change the conversation and said, "Anyway, let's get ready to eat. I'm starving."

Ray attempted to go forward but suddenly a sword landed right in front of Ray. Ray got shocked and fell to his hips.