When the Wild Beast is Trapped in the Nightmare Cycle (BL)
Chapter 367: Unbreakable Bond (3)

Chapter 367: Unbreakable Bond (3)

Day five.

Ying felt like her organs were scorched inside out. Every inch of her body screamed in protest, especially her legs and the soles of her feet, which had been scraped raw and bloody.

She had no idea whether it was only her imagination or not, but the sun seemed to intensify each day, and it felt no different than being fried in a pan. She couldn’t even quench her thirst with her saliva anymore as her tongue felt so dry and swollen. Her head throbbed, and her eyeballs seemed like they were going to pop out of their sockets. Her knees trembled with every step she took, threatening to buckle at any moment.

Despite the torment, she kept muttering under her breath, "A little more... just a little bit more..." it was unknown whether she was saying it to encourage herself, or to reassure the person on her back.

Her brother’s breathing resembled a tongue of flame licking the back of her neck. His entire body was so hot that it felt like she was holding a charcoal.

But at least, he was alive. He was still alive, and that was enough for Ying to keep going.

The absence of water posed a critical challenge, especially for Ying’s brother who needed a lot of water supply into his feverish body. Ying had tried to beg the others again. Hell, she would literally do anything they demanded, even if they told her to swallow rocks.

Unfortunately, at this point, everyone was suffering more or less the same."It’s a challenge of survival from here on," a more experienced player informed her with a touch of pity. "As long as you’re strong, you will be able to survive."

But Ying did not care about herself; she only wanted to bring her brother to safety as soon as possible.

Despite her desperate plea, her efforts yielded no results. Hence she could only grit her teeth and continued to climb... one step after another... again and again. She had always complained that her brother was very thin and light, but oh, never before had he felt heavier than now. So heavy that Ying was almost crushed by the weight.

It was the weight of his life she was carrying with her.

"Put me down..." her brother whispered weakly into her ear, his voice barely a whisper. "It’s okay... just leave me alone and go on. If it’s you, you can definitely reach the end. I’m already dying anyway, so..."

Ying blocked out the rest of his words. Her twin brother was a liar, she had known this from early on. Just like how he had told her he preferred staying in and reading books over playing outside, what he truly meant this time was also:

Don’t leave me... Don’t leave me, Jie. I don’t want to die...

"Jie—"

"Shut up!" Ying growled, her voice cracking in the end. This was the first time she’d ever snapped at her brother, but she couldn’t help it. "Shut your mouth up and save your energy! I will not leave you behind! Am I not your Jie? So listen to me. If I said that I won’t leave you behind, then I won’t!"

Her brother indeed fell silent after that, yet his tears continued to fall like relentless rain. The rims of Ying’s eyes reddened as well, but she staunchly suppressed the urge to cry. Crying would only hasten the depletion of moisture in her body. Crying would only drain her strength. Crying... would make her brother sad. For that, Ying refused to let her tears fall.

"Shut up..." she said again, her voice softer this time, devoid of energy. "Shut up and stop crying."

When night descended, the twins curled up in their tent with Ying desperately trying to share warmth with her freezing and shivering brother. She could feel it. She could feel it with every inch of her soul, with the invisible connection that had been forged between them the moment they grew together in their mother’s womb— her brother was fading away.

Her weak, precious brother was slowly dying, but she...

Was there anything she could do? Yes, there was. As long as she reached the peak of the mountain, then her brother would definitely be saved. She had to move now, this was not the time to rest!

That night, Ying forewent sleep altogether as she continued to carry her brother on her back.

The night air chilled her down to the bones, mist escaping her mouth with every exhale. Yet only her back remained warm from the scorching temperature of her brother’s body. His weight was getting heavier, or it could also be because her energy was almost depleted. But Ying gritted her teeth and persisted, even as a wave of thick fog began to envelope the path before her and render her vision useless.

Perhaps it was the night that weakened the barriers around her heart, or maybe it was the palpable sense of her brother’s weakening heartbeat. That night, five days into the harrowing Cycle, the ever tenacious and strong Ying finally allowed herself to cry.

Why...?

Why was this world so unfair to her brother? Why must he suffer so much? From the moment he was born until the nineteen years that followed, he had suffered through every single day. So why... even when he was struggling amidst life and death, why did he still have to be tormented like this? Was it her fault after all, for causing her brother to be born weak, for dragging him into this realm where every single second stretched into unbearable agony?

A gentle touch landed on her cheek, startling her.

"Sssh don’t cry..." he slurred his words, the high fever and extreme dehydration already making him delirious. His voice was so quiet that Ying wouldn’t have heard it if not for their close proximity. "Don’t cry... I am not hurt... it doesn’t hurt at all..."

Ying released a choked whimper, a sound full of anguish and desperation akin to a dying beast in its final struggle. "Don’t leave me..." she pleaded with every ounce of strength she had left within her. "Please..."

But her brother could no longer respond, his mind slipping in and out of unconsciousness. Yet even in such a state, he managed to wipe Ying’s tears away for her. With each falling teardrop, he would always catch it, as though it had been a conditioned reflex for him to do so.

"Jie..." he whispered, and somehow she could envision the smile on his face— it was the one she had always cherished the most. "I’m happy, Jie..."

As those words escaped his lips, Ying’s tears slid down her cheeks, falling to the ground below.

Her brother no longer moved to wipe them away for her. His breathing, his heartbeat, his presence— she could not sense them anymore.

"Ah— ah—!" Ying’s eyes clouded with tears as raw and tormented cries were torn out of her agonizingly parched throat.

She called her brother’s name again and again, yet not even once did he respond. All that remained of him was the cruel weight pressing down on her and the lingering warmth that firmly clung to her back, as if he was quietly assuring her that he would still be here even after death.

The next step she took was shaky as though the ground beneath her feet was crumbling apart. But she, like a madwoman, gritted her teeth and began to run. She wept out loud as she did so, incoherent cries falling from her lips – whether it was the call for her brother’s name or curses for this cruel fate, she could not tell.

She cried out again and again— for the better half of herself that had left her incomplete.

In the quiet and desolate night, only her anguished cries reverberated through the air.

She ran, ran, and ran, until she emerged from the dense fog, until the gentle glow of the sunrise fell upon her, rendering her unable to open her eyes. Before her lay a breathtaking and majestic scenery of the peak— a meadow of vibrant flowers, with a tall wooden building standing in the distance. The air was cool and fresh, carrying a sweet fragrance, and the soft trickle of water played like an ethereal melody.

It was like stepping through the gates of Heaven after enduring Hell.

"Look..." she exhaled shakily, her lips stretching into a heartbreaking smile. "We made it, brother. We finally made it..."

Like a marionette with its string severed, her knees abruptly gave way and she collapsed onto the ground. Tremblingly, she brought her brother into her arms, gazing at his pale and serene face that looked no different than when he was sleeping. If her eyesight had not failed her, she even saw a faint smile on the corner of his lips.

With a tiny mournful sound, Ying broke down as she cradled the lifeless body close to her, weeping her heart out.

So what? So what if she made it, so what if she became strong, when the price was losing the most precious person to her?

Even if she managed to reach Heaven’s high, was there any meaning if she did not have him by her side?