Journey to Become the Zenith

A Promise Beyond Life [Part -2]

Still kneeling before her mother’s cold body, Clara slowly lowered her forehead until it touched the cold wooden floor.

"I’m sorry..."

"...I’m so... so.... sorry..."

"...for being such a worthless daughter..."

Her voice cracked with every word.

For many years...

She had convinced herself that her mother no longer cared.

She had resented her silence.

Resented her empty gaze.

Resented the woman who seemed to have abandoned her family.

Yet now...

She finally knew the truth.

Her mother had never abandoned them.

She had been trapped.

Unable to speak.

Unable to move.

Unable to even comfort her own children.

A wave of guilt crashed into Clara’s heart.

Tears fell endlessly onto the floor.

"I’m sorry..."

"I should’ve realized..."

"I should’ve noticed..."

"I kept blaming you..."

"I was the one who failed you..."

As memories surfaced one after another, Clara remembered her mother’s gentle smile from years ago...

The warm dinners they shared.

The way her mother laughed whenever Father teased her.

The peaceful home that no longer existed.

Then...

A warm breeze brushed against her cheek.

A gentle voice, softer than the spring wind, whispered beside her ear.

"It’s alright... my little one."

"Be strong..."

"I’ve never blamed you."

"I love you."

Clara’s entire body froze.

Her breathing stopped.

Slowly...

Almost afraid to look...

She raised her head.

Her mother’s body still lay peacefully upon the floor.

Yet standing beside it was a faint translucent woman.

Her figure shimmered like moonlight dancing across a quiet lake.

She looked exactly as Clara remembered.

Kind eyes.

A gentle smile.

The same warmth that had comforted her countless times as a child.

"...Mom...?"

Her trembling voice barely escaped her lips.

The translucent woman smiled.

"Yes..."

"It’s me."

Clara stumbled forward before collapsing to her knees once again.

Fresh tears streamed down her face.

"Mom..."

"I’m sorry..."

"I’m so sorry..."

"I said horrible things to you..."

"I hated you..."

"I thought you abandoned us..."

The translucent woman slowly knelt before her daughter.

Although her hands could no longer truly touch the living, she gently reached toward Clara’s face.

"You don’t need to apologize."

"The one who should apologize..."

"...is me."

"I couldn’t protect you."

"I couldn’t protect your sisters."

"I couldn’t even tell you how much I loved you."

Clara shook her head violently.

"No!"

"It was me!"

"I should’ve noticed something was wrong!"

"You suffered all those years..."

"And I never realized it..."

The woman smiled sadly.

"The curse never allowed me."

"I could hear your voice."

"I heard every word you spoke."

"I saw you crying beside my bed."

"I wanted to answer."

"I wanted to hug you."

"But no matter how hard I struggled..."

"...my body would never listen."

Clara covered her mouth as another sob escaped.

"Mom..."

The woman looked lovingly at her daughter.

"When I was still young..."

"My grandmother passed down an ancient spiritual art to me."

"It is called the Final Farewell Art."

"It isn’t a technique that revives the dead."

"It simply allows the soul to remain for a few moments after death."

"Just long enough..."

"...to say goodbye to those we love."

"I prayed I would never need to use it."

"But today..."

"I’m grateful I learned it."

Clara wiped away her tears.

"So..."

"You were waiting for me?"

Her mother nodded.

"I couldn’t leave."

"Not without telling my daughter..."

"...that I have always loved her."

Clara could no longer hold herself back.

She reached forward.

Even knowing she couldn’t truly embrace her mother...

She tried anyway.

The translucent woman smiled through tear-filled eyes.

"My little girl..."

"You’ve become so strong."

Before Clara could speak again, the woman slowly turned her gaze toward Victor.

For the first time...

She truly looked at him.

Her warm smile deepened.

"So..."

"You’re Victor."

Victor met her eyes calmly and gave a respectful nod.

"I am."

"My name is Victor."

The woman chuckled softly.

"So this is the young man my daughter kept talking about."

Clara blinked.

"...What?"

Her mother laughed gently.

"Even while trapped inside that endless dream..."

"I could still faintly hear voices from outside."

"Whenever you returned home..."

"You always mentioned someone."

"An arrogant man."

"A troublesome man."

"A man who somehow always made you angry."

"But every time you spoke about him..."

"...your eyes shone."

Clara’s face instantly turned bright red.

"M-Mother!"

"I-I never—"

"You misunderstood!"

"I wasn’t talking about him like that!"

She hurriedly waved both hands in panic while stealing an embarrassed glance at Victor.

Victor simply stood there with his usual calm smile, pretending not to notice.

The woman laughed once more.

"I may have been trapped..."

"But I’m still your mother."

"I know my daughter better than anyone."

Clara lowered her head, too embarrassed to argue anymore.

A peaceful silence settled over the room.

Then Victor quietly noticed something.

The edges of the woman’s body had begun dissolving into tiny particles of light.

Her soul...

...was dispersing.

He wasn’t surprised.

A soul lingering after death wasn’t impossible.

Even in his previous life, he had witnessed countless techniques involving spirits and souls.

What interested him wasn’t the existence of the soul itself...

But the method she had used.

A soul-retention art...

Simple... yet elegant.

Whoever created it understood spiritual laws rather well.

The woman also noticed herself fading.

She smiled peacefully.

"It seems..."

"My time is almost over."

Clara’s heart tightened.

"No..."

"No..."

"Please don’t leave..."

The woman gently shook her head.

"My journey has already ended."

"It is time."

Victor suddenly spoke.

"It doesn’t have to end here."

Both women looked toward him.

His expression remained calm.

"There is another option."

The mother blinked.

"...Another option?"

Victor nodded.

"I possess a spiritual technique."

"It cannot revive the dead."

"It cannot create a new body."

"But it can preserve a soul before it completely disperses."

Silence filled the room.

Clara looked at him in disbelief.

"You..."

"You can really do that?"

"I can."

"But I won’t hide its price."

The woman quietly listened.

Victor continued.

"If I perform the technique..."

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