She really... wanted to die.
Or rather, she wanted to find a deserted place to completely 'disappear' from this world, all to protect everything she cherished.
"Kevin, Mei, listen to me."
Su Yu spun around, his words firing like a machine gun, his voice laced with an unprecedented urgency and seriousness.
"Help me find her! Right now, this instant!"
"This isn't just a matter of her getting lost... If we don't find her, something terrible will happen. Something really, really terrible."
He had no time to explain things like 'transmigration,' 'Anchors,' or 'disappearing.'
He could only hope that the couple trusted him.
Kevin looked into Su Yu's eyes.
In all the years he had known Su Yu, he had never seen such terror.
It was the kind of look that suggested if he didn't seize this very second, he would lose something forever.
"...Understood."
Kevin didn't ask a single question.
He grabbed Mei's hand and nodded.
"Mei and I will check the exit and emergency stairwells over there. You take this way."
"Call us when you find her," Mei immediately understood. Though her face was filled with worry, she was a woman of action, immediately pulling out her phone to contact the venue staff.
"Thanks."
With those two words, Su Yu turned and bolted down the corridor.
[28:15]
The corridor was empty, save for the echo of Su Yu's hurried footsteps and his own heavy breathing.
But he knew that as soon as he left this VIP area, he would be met with a sea of people in the general audience section.
Trying to find one person who was determined to hide among tens of thousands... was no different from finding a needle in a haystack.
"BOOM—!!!"
Just then, a colossal cheer erupted like a tsunami, shaking the entire dome arena.
The concert had begun.
The lights suddenly went out, and countless light sticks lit up, converging into a sea of purple stars.
At the center of the stage, a spotlight shone down, and the woman with wine-red hair—Eden—gracefully took hold of the microphone.
Her beautiful and ethereal voice, amplified by the top-tier sound system, instantly filled every inch of the space, drowning out Su Yu's hoarse shouts.
"Kiana—!!!"
Su Yu charged into the aisle of the general seating area, pushing through the dense crowd, frantically scanning every corner.
He was surrounded by fervent fans, every single one of them screaming and waving their arms.
This extreme excitement and joy, in Su Yu's eyes, had become a wall of despair.
He was shouting, but no one could hear him.
He was searching, but the white figure was nowhere to be seen.
[25:40]
Sweat trickled down from his forehead into his eyes, stinging sharply.
Su Yu didn't bother wiping it away. He moved through the crowd like a madman, not even having time to apologize when he bumped into people.
"Where... where are you..."
Su Yu's heart hammered against his ribs, each beat accompanied by the sound of the ticking countdown.
That sound was louder and more grating than Eden's singing.
[15:15]
The countdown continued its merciless descent.
Where was she?
Su Yu felt as if a giant hand was crushing his heart, every breath carrying the taste of blood.
That fool... that fool who always took all the blame upon herself!
She had just promised to live a good life, she had just said the popcorn was sweet...
"Su Yu, she's not in the east section."
"Haven't seen her in the west section either."
Kevin and Mei's anxious voices came through the phone.
Su Yu stopped, gasping for air, his lungs feeling like they were on fire and the taste of rust filling his throat.
Sweat trickled down from his forehead into his eyes, stinging sharply.
Around him were the wildly cheering crowds; in his ears, Eden's moving song.
In this world filled with light and heat, with happiness and joy.
He was the only one searching for a ghost that didn't belong here at all.
He was the only one trying to catch that soul... about to fall back into the abyss.
Where would she go?
Su Yu stopped moving.
Someone who wants to escape, who wants to disappear, where would they go?
She wouldn't go to a crowded place, because she's afraid of hurting others.
She wouldn't go to an enclosed space, because she fears that feeling of suffocation.
She would go somewhere... far away from everyone, far away from 'disaster.'
Su Yu's gaze swept over the sea of purple light, toward the highest point of the arena.
The maintenance passageway. It was far from the crowd, dark, and quiet...
It was also the place closest to the sky and farthest from the ground.
Su Yu's pupils contracted violently.
He saw her.
In the highest, unlit corner, a small, white figure was leaning precariously against the railing.
In the darkness, she looked so lonely, so conspicuous.
[10:30]
"Found her..."
Su Yu ground the words out through clenched teeth.
Without a moment's hesitation, he turned and sprinted towards the stairs leading to the top floor.
Wait for me.
Kiana, you just wait for me!
——————————
The wind on the top floor was strong, carrying the tsunami-like roar of the tens of thousands below, like a grand storm.
Su Yu shoved open a heavy fire door. The rusty hinges let out a piercing 'creak,' but it was instantly drowned out by Eden's soaring voice.
He gasped for breath, a burning sensation searing his lungs as if they were on fire. Sweat slid down his cheeks and dripped onto the floor.
His gaze frantically searched the dim rooftop, finally locking onto the small white shape in the corner.
Kiana wasn't standing at the edge.
She was just quietly waiting for time to pass, waiting for herself to dissipate soundlessly, like a bubble that had never existed.
Even in death, she didn't want to dirty this clean ground, didn't want to cause even the slightest trouble for anyone here.
She was curled up between two massive exhaust fans, arms wrapped tightly around her knees, her face buried in her arms.
Her thin shoulders trembled violently with suppressed sobs, like a stray cat abandoned by the world, waiting to die in the cold wind.
The world below was a blaze of glory, countless light sticks forming a sea of stars, and Eden's voice sang of love and reunion.
But this celebration belonged to Kevin, to Mei, to this world so peaceful it could make one weep.
It did not belong to the ghost from the ruins.
The countdown on the System panel ticked down like a death knell.
[00:03]
[00:02]
[00:01]
The familiar feeling of suffocation, as if her body was being drained bit by bit, arrived right on schedule.
Kiana didn't even look up. She just waited.
Waited for herself to be silently erased by this world's firewall, like a bug in the data that had never existed.
However, the very instant the counter hit zero—
A warm presence abruptly broke into her perception.
It wasn't an ethereal illusion, but the real, tangible body heat of a person, smelling of sweat.
Her dissipating body felt as if it were being forcefully yanked back by an invisible hand. The sensations that had been draining away came rushing back like a tide.
The wind became sharp again, her knees felt solid again, and her heart began to beat powerfully once more.
Kiana snapped her head up.
What met her eyes was Su Yu's flushed face.
____
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