[BL] Guardians of Fate
Chapter 89 - 21: An Unexpected Savior [3]

Chapter 89: Chapter 21: An Unexpected Savior [3]

When Luke decided that he wasn’t hearing things, he came to a conclusion, albeit a shaky one.

If someone was urging him to wake up, it had to be one of three things:

One, he wasn’t dead, and he really did get buried under the rubble. But someone had rescued him, and now he was in a clinic or being treated by a doctor or healer. Maybe he fell into a mild coma or something.

Two, he wasn’t dead, and he was imagining a voice in his head because he was now stuck under the rubble, doomed to experience a crushing pain before his eventual pitiful death. It was like being buried alive, but he wouldn’t be in a coffin. He would be stuck with jagged stones that would tear at his skin and bleed him dry.

Three, he was dead, and he was just hallucinating. There had actually been previous reports of people having these strange hallucinations in near-death experiences. They started imagining non-existent scenes in their minds, even auditory hallucinations. It was said that these visions would be triggered by one’s stress or fear of impending death.

It was also said that lack of oxygen and dying brain cells would also trigger them. It varied from person to person, but it did happen. Some would even report seeing their deceased loved ones reach out to them to retrieve their souls from the world of the living.

Although this wasn’t too far-fetched considering the existence of Lingers and the Eternal Meadow in this world, it was very rare for souls to wander among the living. If they were sent to the Meadow, they would probably stay there forever. That was the common belief.

But if the third one was the case, then who was the one calling out to him?

His father, perhaps? His mother?

[You’re stirring, aren’t you? Come on. Wake up, dammit!

[You can’t die on me. Not now!]

What a fierce tone. Who could it be? His father had been stern, but not aggressive to this kind of extent. It couldn’t be his mother, either, because this voice belonged to a man.

Wait, maybe it was Zach? But Zach didn’t usually sound like this. Or maybe he was being aggressive because Luke was currently on the verge of death? If so, then Luke was probably alive, because the last time he checked, Zach was not dead at all.

But could it be? Could Zach really have come all the way here to the Silver Kingdom after Luke had hung up on him the night before?

’I’m not going to die on you’ was what Luke wanted to say in response to the voice, but he was frozen in place, as if all his limbs had stiffened. Even though he wanted his body to move, his mind was the only thing that worked. It felt like he was struggling to wake up.

Then... I’m not dead after all?

Luke took a deep, internal breath. Even though it was a logical option, he still couldn’t quite believe that the voice belonged to Zach for some reason.

In the past, when he was all alone and his sister was gone, Zach had offered to let him stay with his family. Luke had refused at first, but Zach had been very insistent that day. Thinking about it now, Zach must have seen the empty look in his eyes and worried about it a lot.

Luke knew how much Zach worried about him every day, even until now, and it made him feel even more guilty. Although Zach could be innocent and cheerful at times, Luke felt that his childhood friend was much stronger mentally and emotionally than he was.

Luke always tried to appear calm and collected so that his loved ones wouldn’t worry about him. Zach sometimes wore his heart on his sleeve, but when the situation called for it, he made much more mature and wise decisions than Luke. He was calm and rational, although at times he could be very impulsive and prone to anger.

For years, the children made fun of them and the adults despised them. They wanted Luke and Zach out of the village because, according to them, something bad would always happen. Like a sudden plague, an unexpected fire in someone’s house, things like that.

It was ridiculous, really. It was like they just wanted someone to blame because it was easier that way.

Even though the two of them were looked down upon by the village and were told to move out several times, they couldn’t even if they wanted to. Not only were they living in poverty, but it was also difficult for them to get a job because of their identity. So even if they wanted to leave, they couldn’t.

Luke let himself to be bullied and intimidated, but he and Zach often protected each other when it came to it. But they never fought back against anyone. There was just no point. Besides, they didn’t want to stoop to the level of those people.

So, if Luke died, and then Zach was left all alone...

The mere thought of what might happen made Luke’s insides twist even more from guilt.

No. I need to wake up. I need to prove to him that I’m not dead.

I need to open my eyes.

-

Luke felt himself slowly coming out of unconsciousness, a hazy fog lifting as his awareness returned. He felt a weight pressing against him, a dull ache coursing through his body.

Fighting the disorientation, he tried to open his eyes, feeling his lids grow heavy.

The world gradually came into focus, and something hovered above him. His eyes adjusted to the dim light filtering through the rubble, tracing the lines of the figure’s determined expression.

The air hung heavy with the scent of dust, and he could hear the sound of groaning and heavy breathing above him.

What the hell?

When he finally realized what was happening, his vision sharpened in the darkness, and then his heart stopped.

A man’s face stared back at him, his features contorted with the strain of carrying the impossible weight on his back. His palms were pressed against the shattered pavement, blood trickling from his scraped knuckles.

A man who was most definitely not Zach.

"God. You’re... awake. It’s good that you’re awake," the man grunted, and there was an unmistakable relief in his eyes. "I’ve been trying to wake you up for a while. I was afraid that you might’ve died."

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