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Had she tried to follow Evan so Knox killed her? Was it a quick death? Was she hurting for too long? Had she bled out slowly? Every question carved a new wound in his heart, the veins in his chest tied into a painful knot.

Celie and Rhea approached him, looking at his haggard, slightly dazed expression. Rhea sat down beside him while Celie looked away, brows furrowing as if holding back her tears. Mistyhad been dear to her too, a ball of instant comfort wrapped in a coat of soft black fur.

Running a hand down his face, Evan mumbled into his palm. “Why… Why her? She didn’t do anything. She didn’t deserve that. I—I shouldn’t have…”

“It wasn’t your fault. Blaming yourself would only deepen your sorrow,” Rhea stated. “Besides, cats have nine lives.”

Evan’s red-rimmed eyes snapped up. “What…?”

Rhea’s stormy gaze was fixated on the window of the living room. When Evan followed her eyes, his lips slowly parted, letting out a choked breath.

Outside the glass pane of the window, a ball of black smoke bounced eagerly, trying to find an opening to squeeze inside. It was the same ball of spirit that’d been with Evan when he was held captive near the Tomb of Ascension. Upon entering the cave to the underground passage, he had slid the ball of spirit into his pocket. And everything had erupted into chaos after that so he’d completely forgotten about it.

Evan stood up and slowly approached the window. As soon as he opened it, the ball of smoke rushed in and swirled around him excitedly, before nuzzling his face.

It was warm. Familiar.

Closing his eyes, Evan cupped the spirit in trembling hands.

“Misty…” his voice shook. “I’m sorry… Daddy is so sorry. I…I should have protected you. I should’ve done something.”

Celie’s eyes brimmed with unshed tears, even though unable to see the spirit like Evan could. Reluctantly, she turned to Rhea. “Can’t…can’t we put her soul back into another body or something?”

Her brows furrowed in hesitation, still not used to the world of spirits and magic.

Rhea glanced at Celie, then back to Evan who was cradling the spirit. “Reviving the dead is against the laws of nature,” then she tilted her head. “But that cat is not normal.”

“Not…normal?”

“Evan saved her when she was a kitten. He used his spiritual energy to heal her,” Rhea’s brows drew together in disapproval of Evan using his spiritual energy on animals. “Her body retained the energy ever since that day. Every minute she spent alongside him, every bit of spare energy that his body released, for example, while practicing his craft, she absorbed it. Just like how a human transcends beyond mortal form after acquiring divine enlightenment, that cat’s soul became more than a spirit.”

Evan turned around, Misty poking his cheek. “Then what is she?”

Rhea glanced at the ball of spirit. “A spiritual guide.”

“But…spiritual guides are born out of an animal’s love for their human after the pet’s death. You said she absorbed my energy while she wasalive?”

“She could only absorb it but couldn’t use it to transform into a spiritual guide while she was in her animal skin,” Rhea pointed at the ball of spirit on Evan’s shoulder. “Now she can.”

“Isthisher spiritual guide form?”

The ball of spirit was tiny. If anything, Evan had to becomeherguide for the rest of their time together. Not that any part of that bothered him.

Rhea stood up. “No. She passed just the other day. It will be a while before she can take the form of a spiritual guide. It’s because she doesn’t want to leave you that she’s still wandering, unable to move on.”

The ball of spirit hovered before Evan’s face. If he squinted hard enough, he could see two golden eyes blink at him.

“I…have to let her go?”

“You don’t have to. If you wish, you can ask her to stay with you as long as you want. But if you do let her go now, she’ll return to you in the future when you need her the most. Preferably in a form much more efficient than an orb of smoke.”

Evan hesitated, but if he could hold her in a physical form again, nuzzle her soft coat, and see those golden eyes blink at him, he was willing to survive with her memories until she returned.

He pressed the ball of spirit close to his forehead, closing his eyes. “Daddy will wait for you, Misty. I promise. I won’t get another cat. Rue and I will wait for you,” Evan turned towards the window as the ball of spirit bounced reluctantly in his palms. “Come back soon.”

The ball floated off to boop Evan’s nose one last time, before flying away. It rose high into the sky, further and further away then disappeared beyond the clouds.

The commotion in the woods on the night of the fight against Knox didn’t go unnoticed by the townspeople. Fires and flashes of unnatural lighting had illuminated the sky above the grounds of the Old Temple. Some people had wandered close enough to hear growls and shrieks but didn’t have the guts to cross into the restricted area to check it out.