119. Who Needed Whom?
"Are you alright..." Ling asked with concern, looking at Kalpas, who was covered in wounds.
"..." Kalpas didn't answer, but just walked away into the distance.
Ling looked at the devastation around him. The once bustling streets were now completely covered in ice and snow, littered with the corpses of Honkai Beasts.
Ling wanted to follow, but then remembered he was a 'jinx,' and stopped.
"Ling...follow me." Kalpas's voice came from ahead.
Surprisingly, he remembered his name.
"But..." Ling hesitated.
"Do you want to die a pathetic death here?" Kalpas knew very well that if Ling were left alone, death would be his only fate.
There were still Honkai Beasts roaming nearby, and the surrounding area was filled with massive blocks of ice, offering no chance of survival.
"No..." Ling shook his head.
"Then follow me!" Kalpas's tone was impatient.
"I… I bring calamity to those around me… Perhaps this incident is my fault to begin with… Otherwise, why am I the only one who survived in the village…"
Ling couldn't stop crying. He was just a child; how could he remain calm in this situation?
"Calamity? Ha… Hahaha…" Kalpas seemed to have heard something hilarious.
"Do you think I'm afraid of it?"
Kalpas retorted, his voice carrying a chilling undertone due to his mask.
Then, without waiting for a reply, he walked to Ling's side, scooped him up, and walked away.
After walking for a while, perhaps feeling too awkward, Ling struggled to let Kalpas release him.
"I can walk by myself."
The two embarked on their journey together. After an unknown amount of time, the sky had completely darkened. They finally emerged from the frozen land, but Kalpas's steps grew increasingly heavy.
After killing the Herrscher of Ice, Kalpas was utterly exhausted, only managing to carry Ling to safety. Kalpas's breathing became heavy, and his vision began to blur.
He stumbled and collapsed heavily to the ground with a thud. No matter how Ling called out to him, there was no response.
As if hearing Ling's voice, a plump figure approached.
Seeing Kalpas lying on the ground, she hurriedly put down the groceries she was carrying and checked his injuries.
"How could he be so badly injured... Child, come with me."
But Aponia didn't have time to think. She had Ling carry the groceries, and she carried Kalpas back.
Aponia helped Kalpas to a hospital bed and began searching for medical supplies.
"Do you need my help?" Ling looked at the barely breathing Kalpas, wanting to do something for him.
"Help me take off his clothes," Aponia said to Ling.
Ling immediately did as he was told, pulling off the black shirt from Kalpas's upper body. Suddenly, the sharp-eyed Aponia seemed to notice something.
"Alright, that's enough. You can go now. Leave the rest to me." Aponia stopped Ling's next move and shooed him out.
"Okay." Ling could only obediently comply.
He squatted outside, praying that Kalpas would be alright.
Perhaps it was because he wasn't afraid of him, nor did he hate him...
So Ling wanted him to live, to live well.
Aponia looked at the bandage wrapped tightly around Kalpas's chest, making it impossible to tell from the outside that Kalpas was actually a girl...
One would only think that this man had quite well-developed pectoral muscles.
Aponia unwrapped her chest bandage, carefully wiping her body, applying medicine, and wrapping her with bandages again.
The moment the door opened, Ling immediately stood up.
"Excuse me, how is Kalpas's condition?" Ling's small face showed a hint of urgency.
"She's alright now, don't worry. You should go and rest too. I'll take you to your room," Aponia reassured him.
"No need, thank you. I still want to stay by his side," Ling said, bowing slightly in gratitude.
Aponia didn't insist, only saying that he could contact her if anything went wrong.
Ling sat beside Kalpas, constantly observing her condition.
Her breathing had become much more even, and her complexion… well, it was hard to tell, after all, she was wearing a mask.
Ling suddenly felt a surge of curiosity—what did the person behind the mask look like…?
But he only hesitated for a second before dismissing the thought.
The mask was perhaps meant to conceal something, and he didn't want to cause any trouble, much less invite trouble upon himself.
Although the two of them looked very similar, it was clear that their relationship wasn't close enough.
They were even unlikely to be involved in anything more than a close relationship.
"You must get better..." Ling whispered.
He couldn't imagine what he would become if another person were to leave him.
Ling held her hand tightly, enjoying an unprecedented sense of security until he fell into a deep sleep.
Kalpas opened her eyes, looking at Ling beside her and her tightly clenched hand, a nameless emotion welling up inside her.
"Don't...go..."
His tender little face scrunched up, muttering in his sleep.
He dreamt of his birth, his mother dying in childbirth, of being abandoned by his father, of bringing misfortune to his old man, of the troubles that befell those around him because of him, and of Kalpas abandoning him.
He desperately tried to hold on, but found that the only person he knew was drifting further and further away.
The villagers' mockery, the children's curses, the cold coffin, the frozen village... all these scenes flashed before his eyes.
They all seemed to proclaim that Ling was a jinx, bringing disaster wherever he went.
Instinctively, as usual, he clutched his head, curling into a ball, but it was utterly useless against the malice coming from all directions.
Ling could only watch as they approached, swallowing him whole.
Just then, a voice suddenly rang out.
"I'm here."
The gentle voice completely dispelled Ling's nightmare. In that moment, his humble, lonely, and unappreciated heart finally found a place to rest.
When he awoke, he was lying in bed, but Kalpas was nowhere to be seen.
He hurriedly got up and rushed outside, searching for Kalpas.
He found Kalpas leaning against a nearby shelf, a look of bewilderment in her eyes.
"What's wrong? Why are you in such a hurry?" Kalpas asked in a neutral voice.
"You're alright...that's so good." Ling wiped away the tears welling up in his eyes. The dream was fake, but the last sentence was real.
She didn't leave; she's still here.
Kalpas was somewhat taken aback by those words and turned her head away. Her face, hidden by the mask, couldn't be seen, but her earlobes were already slightly red.
Is this what it feels like to be needed?
...
T/N [Translator Note]:
I use "he" and "his" in the way Ling called Kalpas because he still doesn't know about her gender being a girl, and still thought Kalpas was a male.
Additionally, I use "she" and "her" for Kalpas because her gender is known to us readers.