Chapter 509: A Christmas Goodbye [Part 2]

A Christmas Goodbye [Part 2]

Nothing could.

No matter how convincing the illusion was, they could never replace the people she had lost.

But perhaps...

Perhaps they could make the pain a little easier to bear.

Maybe this single moment of happiness would be enough to carry her through the next thousand years.

That was enough for Niva.

It had to be.

She slowly rose to her feet and looked at her family.

For a moment, she couldn’t bring herself to move. She simply stood there, staring at the three familiar faces before her, afraid that even the slightest movement might make them disappear.

Then she took a step forward.

Another.

Her pace quickened.

And before she could think twice, Niva rushed forward and threw her arms around them.

Her mother.

Her father.

Her little sister.

She hugged them as tightly as she could, holding on to them with a desperation she had never felt before.

Her fingers curled into their clothes. She buried her face against them, and the tears she had been holding back finally spilled over.

She couldn’t stop them anymore.

These weren’t the quiet, restrained tears of someone trying to keep herself together. Nor were they the silent tears she had shed moments ago.

This time, Niva cried like the little girl she had once been.

All those years of loneliness came pouring out.

The pain of living in another world. The fear she had endured. The countless battles she had fought. The happiness of finally returning home, followed by the heartbreak of having to leave again.

Everything she had buried deep inside came rushing back at once.

She had endured so much.

She had lost so much.

And for all her strength, for all the things she had overcome, there was still a part of her that simply wanted to come home and be with her family.

Just like before.

Niva tightened her embrace.

She didn’t want to let go.

Not yet.

Perhaps she was being selfish. Perhaps she should have accepted that this reunion couldn’t last forever.

But for once, she didn’t care.

She wanted to hold them a little longer.

Just a little longer.

Her mother gently raised a hand and began wiping the tears from Niva’s face.

"What’s this? Is my son actually crying?"

Her voice carried that same familiar teasing warmth.

Niva’s heart clenched.

She closed her eyes, pressing her face against her mother’s shoulder.

That voice...

It was exactly the same.

Even now, her mother was still teasing her.

Just like she always had.

"I don’t really understand what’s going on here," her mother continued, gently stroking her hair. "But whatever it is, you can tell us anything. You know that, right?"

Niva couldn’t answer.

She only nodded, her shoulders trembling as she struggled to hold back another wave of tears.

Her father reached over and gently patted her head.

It was such a simple gesture.

Something he had probably done countless times before.

Yet that single touch nearly broke her all over again.

Niva remembered those hands. The warmth of his palm. The quiet reassurance he had always given her without needing to say much.

Even now, he didn’t ask her to stop crying.

He simply stood beside her and let her cry.

Her little sister, meanwhile, had wrapped her arms around Niva’s waist and was holding on just as tightly.

"My Big bro isn’t a crybaby!"

Niva froze for a second.

Then, despite the tears streaming down her face, a broken laugh escaped her.

Of course.

Of course, that was what her little sister would say.

Even at a time like this, she still had to defend her big brother’s pride.

Niva reached down and gently rubbed her little sister’s head.

"Yeah... I’m not a crybaby."

Her voice cracked halfway through.

That only made her laugh harder, though the tears continued to fall.

For a brief moment, she could almost forget everything.

The other world.

The battles.

The losses.

All the years she had spent moving forward despite the emptiness in her heart.

For this one moment, she wasn’t someone who had crossed worlds or fought against a devil.

She wasn’t someone who had endured countless hardships.

She was simply Niva.

A daughter standing beside her parents.

An older sibling being teased by her little sister.

Someone who had finally been allowed to come home.

"So, son, what is it you want to tell us?"

Her father’s calm voice broke through the moment.

Niva slowly lifted her head.

He was looking at her with the same gentle expression she remembered so well.

There was no impatience in his eyes. No demand for an immediate answer.

He was simply waiting.

Waiting for her to speak when she was ready.

Niva stared at him.

Warmth spread through her chest, mingling with a sadness so deep that she could barely breathe.

She felt relieved.

She felt happy.

She felt guilty.

And beneath it all, there was a quiet ache that refused to go away.

She had so much she wanted to tell them.

So many things she wished she could share.

She wanted to tell her mother about everything she had experienced. She wanted to hear her father’s advice one more time. She wanted to spend an ordinary day with her little sister, listening to her endless chatter and pretending to be annoyed by it.

There were so many things she had taken for granted when she was alive.

Now, she would have given anything to experience them again.

Yet she knew that wasn’t possible.

Not anymore.

Niva looked at the three people standing before her.

She still couldn’t understand how this was happening.

How could her soul recreate them so perfectly?

Their faces, their voices, their expressions...

Even the little things they did felt right.

Her mother’s familiar teasing. Her father’s gentle patience. Her little sister’s stubborn insistence that her big brother wasn’t a crybaby.

And somehow, they were saying things Niva hadn’t expected.

Things that felt so natural, so familiar, that she almost forgot to question them.

Was this really her soul creating an illusion?

Was she simply seeing what she wanted to see?

Or was there something more to it?

She didn’t know.

And perhaps she never would.

Maybe this wasn’t real.

Maybe these were nothing more than echoes of the people she had loved, brought to life by her own longing.

But even if that were true...

What did it matter?

For once, Niva didn’t need an explanation.

She didn’t need to understand the laws governing her soul or figure out how such a thing could be possible.

She didn’t need to prove that the people before her were real.

She just wanted to be with them.

Even if it was only for a little while.

Even if she would have to say goodbye all over again.

That was enough.

Niva slowly loosened her embrace.

Her hands lingered against their clothes before finally falling away.

She took a small step back and looked at each of them in turn.

Her mother.

Her father.

Her little sister.

She tried to memorize everything.

The way her mother smiled at her. The quiet strength in her father’s eyes. The innocent stubbornness on her little sister’s face.

She wanted to remember these expressions for as long as she lived.

If she had to spend the next thousand years carrying this memory, then she would.

She would hold on to it.

Just as she had held on to the memories of them all this time.

Her vision blurred again.

Niva wiped her cheeks, but the tears kept coming.

She let out a shaky breath and tried to smile.

It wasn’t easy.

Her lips trembled, and her throat felt painfully tight.

Still, she forced herself to speak.

"I just wanted to say..."

Her voice faltered.

She swallowed and tried again.

"Thanks. Thank you for everything..."

She paused.

There was so much more she wanted to say. So much that those few words could never hope to express.

Thank you for raising me.

Thank you for loving me.

Thank you for giving me memories worth holding on to, even when everything else in my life had fallen apart.

Thank you for being my family.

And... I’m sorry.

I’m sorry I couldn’t stay longer.

I’m sorry I have to leave again.

I’m sorry that, even now, I can’t bring you back with me.

But most of all...

Thank you.

Niva’s lips quivered as she looked at them one last time.

"And goodbye..."

Her voice grew softer.

"I love you all."

The words were simple.

Yet they carried everything she had kept locked inside her heart for so long.

For a moment, nobody spoke.

Then her family smiled at her.

Her mother gave her that familiar, affectionate smile. Her father looked at her with quiet pride. Her little sister beamed at her, as though there were nothing in the world to worry about.

It was a warm, peaceful sight.

One Niva wished she could keep forever.

But the moment had come to an end.

Their figures began to fade.

Slowly, gently, they became less distinct, as though they were being swallowed by the light around them.

Niva stood perfectly still.

She didn’t reach out to stop them.

She didn’t beg them to stay.

She had already said what she needed to say.

And perhaps, for the first time, she was ready to let them go.

Her mother’s smile was the last thing she saw before the light swallowed her figure.

Then her father disappeared.

Finally, her little sister faded away.

And just like that, they were gone.

Niva remained where she was.

Her arms hung loosely at her sides.

For several seconds, she couldn’t move. She simply stared at the empty space before her, waiting for something she knew wouldn’t happen.

The silence felt strange.

A moment ago, she had been surrounded by warmth.

Now, there was nothing.

But the emptiness wasn’t quite the same as before.

The pain was still there, of course.

She knew it would never completely disappear.

Yet somewhere beneath that pain, something else had settled into her heart.

A little warmth.

A little peace.

Perhaps that was all she could ask for.

Niva drew a shaky breath and wiped the remaining tears from her cheeks.

Then—

"What the hell?! Why is there coal in my pocket?!"

Niva blinked.

The sudden shout cut through the quiet like a stone thrown into still water.

She slowly turned her head.

A short distance away, one of the other incarnations was frantically digging through his pockets, his expression twisted in disbelief.

"What the hell is this?!"

Another voice immediately joined in.

"Why did I get coal?!"

"Who put this in my clothes?!"

"Wait a minute..."

Someone suddenly fell silent.

Then, in a tone filled with growing horror, he asked, "Don’t tell me this has something to do with that Christmas story!"

For a brief moment, nobody answered.

Then the entire soul realm erupted.

"What?!"

"You’re telling me this is actually real?!"

"Who the hell is Santa?!"

"Why am I getting punished?! What did I even do?!"

"Hey! Check your other pocket! Maybe there’s something else!"

"There’s nothing else! It’s just more coal!"

Niva stared at the chaos unfolding before her.

The sudden change was so ridiculous that she almost forgot she had been crying moments ago.

Almost every incarnation seemed to have discovered a piece of coal stuffed into one of their pockets.

Some were turning their clothes inside out. Others were checking every pocket they could find. A few had already started accusing one another of pulling some kind of prank.

The soul realm, which had been peaceful only moments ago, had descended into complete madness.

Niva watched them with a blank expression.

What...?

What was going on?

And why was everyone so upset about coal?

She was still trying to make sense of the situation when she felt something strange against her own pocket.

Niva lowered her gaze.

Something was inside.

She slipped her hand into the pocket and felt around until her fingers brushed against a small piece of paper.

"Hm?"

Curiosity finally overcame her confusion.

She pulled it out.

It was a neatly folded note.

Niva turned it over, examining it for a moment before carefully unfolding it.

There were a few lines written inside.

She began to read.

Dear Noel,

I know it’s a bit late since it took a while to locate your soul from the vast dimensions. But I hope you enjoyed my gift for you. Merry Christmas to you.

From Santa

Niva froze.

She stared at the note.

Then she read it again.

And again.

Her expression gradually changed as the meaning of the words sank in.

Santa.

The strange being they had been discussing earlier.

The legendary figure who supposedly traveled around the world, delivering presents to children at Christmas.

That Santa.

Niva slowly lowered the letter and looked around.

The other incarnations were still losing their minds over the coal in their pockets.

One was loudly demanding an explanation.

Another was swearing that he had been a good person and didn’t deserve this.

Someone else was apparently trying to figure out whether Santa could be challenged to a fight.

Niva looked back at the letter.

Then she remembered what had just happened.

Her family.

Their smiles.

The warmth of their embrace.

The chance to say goodbye properly.

She glanced at the note again.

A small smile appeared on her face.

"Ah..."

A soft laugh escaped her lips.

She tried to suppress it, but that only made her shoulders tremble.

The laughter grew louder.

Before long, she couldn’t hold it back anymore.

Tears gathered in her eyes once again, blurring the words on the paper.

But this time, she wasn’t crying because her heart was breaking.

She was laughing.

Really laughing.

After everything that had happened, after all the emotions she had just experienced, this was how it ended.

A Christmas present.

From Santa.

Who had apparently traveled across countless dimensions just to find her soul.

And, judging by the chaos around her, had decided that coal was the perfect gift for everyone else.

Niva covered her mouth with one hand, but it was useless.

Another laugh slipped out.

Then another.

She looked at the letter one final time, her eyes shining with tears.

"Merry Christmas, huh?"

She shook her head, still laughing.

Somewhere in the distance, another incarnation shouted something about hunting Santa down.

The uproar only grew louder.

Niva couldn’t help herself.

She laughed until her stomach hurt, tears rolling down her cheeks as she clutched the little note against her chest.

For once, the tears didn’t hurt.

And for once, the memories of her family didn’t feel quite so heavy.

She had been given a chance to see them again.

To hold them.

To tell them the words she had carried in her heart for so long.

Even if it had only been an illusion, the happiness she had felt was real to her.

And she would treasure it.

As for the mysterious Santa who had somehow managed to locate her soul across countless dimensions...

Well, Niva had no idea what to think of him.

But she had to admit one thing.

He certainly knew how to make an entrance.

And apparently, he knew how to ruin everyone else’s day, too.

MERRY CHRISTMAS! ??

And yes, dear readers, Christmas is still two months away! But starting now, I’ll be posting a special Christmas Chapter on the 25th of every month until December.

So consider this an early Christmas surprise!

Hope you enjoy it, and I’ll see you in the next Chapter!