Page 191 of Light Leech

No answer.

I hadn’t expected one, but I still had to try.

“Kim!”

Still no answer.

A fix triggered. My mind felt light as if a thick fog had rolled in and continued to cloud everything until I lost consciousness.

I awoke sometime later, still having no idea if any of this would end. Why hadn’t they extracted my Bite, just as they had done for Ralia?

“Because I am not the same as Dokkaebi.”

Zhu? You’re here?

“As always.”

I—

“I know your pain.”

I forget that you lost a brother today too, in a way. Were you close to Sha?

“In life, yes.”

Right,. The whole posing as him thing.

“As long as I have been a Gui. It pains me to realize that I knew the illusion more than the man himself. I’m rather split on the matter. I thought I knew Sha during our Western journey and the three kingdoms, but that was a fraction of the time we spent together. Your relationship with Ali prior to his betrayal might provide some insight to how I feel.”

That was nothing compared to what you are experiencing.

“The pain of betrayal is the same. My wound may have cut deeper into my past, but it is the same suffering.”

Yours just has more baggage.

“I’m sorry, Zhu. I really am.”

I am sorry for Ralia.

“Thank you.”

I know my words do nothing to heal your wounds, but I hope they are a sufficient salve for now.

It’s nice to have someone to talk to. I remember back when I saw you lurking in the shadows and thought you would be my end. Look at us now. Why did you only appear then and not when I first received my Bite?

“We were dormant until Deleon chose to awaken us. We were always there to help power the implants, but it was not until Sun joined with Devóne that we could make ourselves seen.”

Was Tevon bound to a Journeyman, too?

“No. It was just the four of us bound to you, Ralia, Devóne, and Abbas. Tevon had a Gui, though I know nothing more. Akna’s is an example of Gui not bound to us.”

Keiro probably did, too.

“His memory still pains you.”

Yeah, I don’t want to talk about that right now.

“I understand after such a recent loss, but you will have to confront his story eventually. That enigma of a man has much that needs revealing.”