Chapter 303 - Jade (3)

"You…" KJ whispered. But how was it possible? The girl he met so many years ago was in her late twenties and much older than him. By now, she should have been well into her forties but to his shock, she did not age at all. She looked hardly a day older than the time KJ had seen her the last time.

"How did you find me?" he demanded. "We've been looking all over for you and yet, we couldn't find you! And now-"

"I'll appear only when the fates want me to appear," she said in a mysterious way. "It seems that the fates wanted me to meet you again."

She sat down beside him, looking at him with a poker face. "You seem to have grown a lot over the years," she commented. "Did you manage to change your fate?"

"Change it?" KJ questioned. "You threw me into a mess which I could never recover from! Mirae suffered a lot in this timeline because of Ash and now Jade is in danger! Nothing changed at all! This was supposed to be my second chance right? Then why am I losing the people I love? First Ash turned out to be a traitor, then Jinhyun left and now Jade…"

He broke off, trying to compose his thoughts. The time travel was supposed to bring him happiness and peace. But all it brought was betrayal and tragedy.

"You have the person you love with you," Cherry pointed out. "You found your sister and you now know who your friends are. The fame and wealth you have gained is much more than you could have ever imagined. You found a family and have managed to beat your enemies on numerous occasions. Did you really lose anything at all?"

KJ let out a sardonic laugh. "We're nowhere close to defeating the Cartel," he sneered. "And Jade is about to...to…"

He shook his head in despair. If anything happened to Jade, he would not be able to forgive himself.

"Save him," he begged. "He's my last link to the life I had left behind. The timeline I only have memories of. He may have the soul of my son, but he's more than that. He's my friend and partner. He gave me solace throughout my loneliness. Please, save him. Bring him back. I know you can!"

KJ was trying to hide his tears but they would not stop falling. Cherry pitied the man but kept her expression unfathomable. 

"I don't have that power," she admitted, her voice heavy with sadness. "I wish I could stop him from disappearing but my hands are tied. He was living on borrowed time and his purpose is now over. The little amount of spirit energy he had was spent on reviving you. It's a miracle that he lasted this long on sheer willpower alone."

Her words came as a heavy blow to KJ. He refused to believe that there was nothing she could do to save Jade.

"No," he said, shaking his head. "You managed to save him! Extracted his soul and put it in this body! I know you can do it again. Extract it and put it elsewhere! Or give him more spirit energy! You have the ability! I know it!"

He was almost yelling at her but he did not care. The times were desperate and he would do anything to keep Jade alive. Even if it meant that he would have to force her. But Cherry only gave him a look full of pity.

"The truth is hard to understand," she said softly. There was a hint of melancholy within her. She, too, wished that KJ would not lose another friend. 

Of all the people she had been assigned to save, KJ and Mirae held a special place in her heart. She had seen them from afar, growing into two strong individuals who made mistakes but learnt from them, emerging out of any crisis with their wits and willpower. Their story was a strange one and their intertwining fates had been nothing but cruel to them. Yet, they did not let their fates rule them and wrote their own destinies. 

But their fates were no longer kind to them. Cherry sensed the impending doom awaiting them and this time the stakes were life and death. She wanted to tell them a lot of things and somehow save them from it. However, even she was a puppet in the hands of the fates which were already pre-written. Which is why she was bound to her duties.

"I can't save him," she admitted ruefully. "Nothing can save him. The kindest thing you could do is to let him go."

"No!" KJ protested. Deep down, he knew that she was telling the truth but he was too stubborn to admit it. He had seen her miracles with his own eyes and there was no way he would give up.

"I know you can save Jade," he repeated adamantly. "You gave him his abilities. You were the one who saved him. Only you can help him."

Cherry sighed. Human beings would always cling to what they perceived as miracles. She was given certain powers but no matter how much she tried to explain it to people, she was not omnipotent nor were her powers infinite. Her abilities were limited in certain cases. Many people wanted her to bring back their loved ones from the dead or heal people on their deathbeds but it was a pipe dream. Nothing in the world could stop death.

"KJ," she began. "If I was that powerful, I would have been able to save Mirae from the previous timeline. But that time, her death was inevitable due to the wrong choices both of you had made. When I gave you the choice to change the timeline, I merely set you towards the right path chosen for you by the fates. You were fated to take that choice. Mirae was not fated to die and hence, she was saved by your decision. Likewise, Jade is not fated to live for long. He is the result of a timeline which has been erased and hence, he would disappear once his job was complete."

She took his palm, trying to make him understand. "He's not fated to stay with you anymore," she said.

KJ sat there, his mind too numb to register the turn of the events. His closest companion would cease to exist and there was nothing he could do for him. Was this really the end of their journey together?

Cherry stood up and began to head towards the exit. Before she left, she turned around and said, "This will be our last meeting, Kwon Jiwon. From here onwards, it's just you and your fate. I can't interfere anymore."

She knew that he barely heard her in that state but she felt a little conflicted. It felt as if she was letting go of a beautiful friendship. The unsaid bond she formed with KJ and Mirae was something she cherished. In her long existence, she never thought that she would end up caring for two people so much but they were a special couple. They defied so many odds that Cherry regretted that she would not be able to accompany them till the end. 

With one last glance, she turned on her heels and walked away, leaving Kwon Jiwon to his fate. 

Don't die, she prayed.

….

He did not know for how long he sat there. Everything passed by him in a slow motion. The doctors and nurses walked past him while desperate pet owners begged them to heal their pets but KJ paid no attention to the people around him. He was lost in his own world, thinking only of Jade.

"KJ…"

He did not know who was calling for his name but in a trance, he turned his head to see Mirae was standing in front of him. The red lady was gone by then but it did not matter to him. His last hope had failed him.

"KJ, Jade is getting worse," she whispered, her voice breaking up. She was trying not to cry in front of him but her tears betrayed her anyway. "I think you should go to him. The doctor advised you to...say…"

She completely broke off and turned around to hide her face. KJ did not reply but stood up and slowly began to walk towards the room where Jade was kept. His hand shook as he slightly pushed open the door.

It was time to see his friend for one last time.