Chapter 362: Fight for the body
"Sorry can’t fix anything. I am stuck here, constantly trying to hide from spirits who don’t know that souls aren’t here to be eaten by the likes of them."
"How long have you been here?" Belle asked curiously.
"Three years," the soul said bitterly. "I have been here for a good three years but have no access to the better part of the world because I am not qualified to be in it. I was a princess before I died, but these reapers treat me like nothing and put me here instead of behind the Gates of Peace."
"Gate of Peace?" Belle’s curiosity increased at those words as she knew little to nothing about this other world, and the soul went on to explain to her what that was.
Just like in the living world, where people lived in different places according to their status, the souls here were also placed according to where the reapers put them, following the words of the elders who ruled this realm.
The land was divided into parts, and among them, the side that came closest to resembling the living world was known as the Gate of Peace. Only the kindest and purest of souls were allowed to pass behind that gate. If you were not qualified, you were cast into this place, where everything remained dark and still, and souls withered away the longer they stayed, consumed by misery.
Only the fortunate souls who had lived righteously, according to the judgment of the elders, were allowed to pass beyond the gate.
"Many times I go there but get pulled back here without even having a glimpse of what lay behind the beautiful gold gate. The Watchers called me a miserable soul," the soul added, and Belle, who had been cautious of the woman, slowed down her steps as she asked,
"What behavior in the living world disqualified someone to this side of the land after death?"
If this soul wasn’t qualified to be in the good part because she had done something to get herself here, Belle would rather know how bad it was so she could part away now and get herself out of here by looking for other means.
The soul did not even hesitate to reply to her question. "Killing and hurting other people. It used to be my hobby as a princess, but who would have thought it would put me here?" she said, coming to a stop and turning to look at Belle, who had stopped walking.
"I was not a nice person when I was alive, and I am still not that. Nice and I are two different things. And I don’t like it here, where I run away from things wanting to eat my soul."
Belle didn’t like where the conversation was turning and knew this soul had not helped her out of goodwill, but had another motive for it, especially when she had confessed to her face about not being a nice person.
"Thank you for your help, Norah. I will be on my way now," Belle said as she began to walk backwards, not trusting the soul enough to turn her back and walk away.
"Not so fast. I have helped you, now it is your turn to help me. It’s a give-and-take world. Since you have the scent of a living person and still bleed, your body must be in a sleeping state, waiting for your soul to return," Norah said as she began to walk toward Belle, who was inching backwards already. "We don’t have to fight or draw things out. I followed your scent while I was passing by, many will soon come after you as well."
"Thank you for the warning, I will heed it and go away," Belle said, trying to keep calm but she didn’t stop walking backwards, already knowing what the soul was hinting at.
"I don’t care if they eat you up and make you their dinner. I just need the pass into your body, not to use you as a meal. Stop moving away, and it will be easier," the soul said, as if Belle were stupid enough to stop and let her get what she wanted simply because she said so.
Dying a stupid death like hers, when her life had been wonderful and she had been living in grace and glory, was not something anyone wanted to leave behind. And Norah would never let something that could give her access to that good life slip away. This living girl was stupid to bring herself in here, but her stupidity would be Norah’s key to live again.
Sensing the soul’s true intentions, Belle immediately realized she couldn’t waste time chatting or trying to act polite with someone who wanted to steal her body. She turned on her heels and intended to run, but the sharp pain in her injured foot made that impossible the moment she put weight on it.
She could only manage a desperate limp-run, her steps uneven and painfully slow. It didn’t take her far, as Norah was quick to catch up. The soul moved like the wind itself, unhindered, the advantage of being without flesh or bone to weigh her down. In the blink of an eye, she appeared right in front of Belle, who gasped in shock at the suddenness of her movement.
"You can’t run from me, living girl. This is my world, and you can’t get away without giving me a pass into your body," she said, her cold hands coming to hold Belle around her neck.
Belle was genuinely curious as to how the soul could go into her body when she herself couldn’t seem to wake up, but then she wouldn’t let herself stay long enough for that curiosity to be piqued. She twisted her body and moved her hands, shoving the soul’s cold grasp away from her neck, catching Norah by surprise as a jolt of pain shot to her hand.
Norah grimaced in pain and in surprise, because to her knowledge, only the reapers could hurt a dead person and make them feel pain. But this mere girl caused her pain. She quickly recovered from the shock and slipped away from Belle’s grip like liquid.
"What the hell are you?" asked the soul in wonderment, which she quickly waved away. "Forget it, I will have your body regardless of what you are."
"I won’t let you have it," Belle challenged, facing the soul who was beaming.
"Let’s see how you can stop me then," the soul said.
She waved her hand across them, causing Belle, who was watching, to wonder what she was doing.
Suddenly, creepers like twigs began to crawl from the ground, snaking out with unnatural speed. Before she could even move, they wrapped around her legs, then her arms, binding her in place.
Belle gasped and struggled, but in no time she was pulled down to the ground. The sharp creepers coiled around every one of her limbs, tightening as they dug into her skin. She could feel the sting and scrape of each thorn as they reddened her flesh, making her powerless.
Her breath came quick and ragged, her heart hammering in her chest as she noticed how quickly her strength was being overtaken by the soul.
"Another advantage of being dead, living girl," said the soul as she walked towards Belle, her tone triumphant. "The dead can control things here if they are smart enough to protect their souls from turning into spirits or from withering. You can’t stop me now from having your body, can you?"
Belle shook her head desperately, her body straining against the thorny binds. The creepers had even locked around her mouth, silencing her cries of anger and protest. The only parts of her face left visible were her eyes and nose.
Belle didn’t want to give away her body. She didn’t even want to be here when Rohan and her son were in the other world. What if this soul took her body and her husband never knew?
"Poor girl, don’t look so sad. The reapers will soon notice you. I hope you have a very miserable life here after I am gone. And thank you for the body." Saying this, the soul moved like air and floated, before going through Belle’s body like water, using her as a passage to her body in the other world.
Immediately the soul disappeared into her, Belle felt light like wind, lost, like an empty void.