Soaring 11: I Swear

Foreword:

Art is the soul of humanity. It helps us understand the world and gives us the strength to change it.

—Edward Marie

[Part ① · Resolve]

"Fuyanni?"

Billy couldn't believe it. All kinds of emotions surged through him, and it felt as if he'd ridden a roller coaster with no return trip in just a few short minutes.

"Fuyanni? Fuyanni?"

He repeated the name over and over. Perhaps for a moment, he had crossed the barriers of time and space—

—He thought of how the gunsmith teacher had once bid farewell to General of Tears at Fang Feng, only for them to meet again one day. Perhaps that was how they'd felt: the luck of finding what they'd thought was lost, a farcical reunion that left them laughing and crying. They'd been surprised and angry, resentful and excited, all at once.

"You're not dead. You're not dead?"

Billy Horn straightened up at once, snapping to attention like a spirited young man. His eyes grew brighter and brighter. He was waking from the illusion, struggling to climb out of the mire.

"What are you waiting for, Billy?" Fuyanni shouted.

Billy was still bewildered. "Waiting for what? What do you mean?"

Making sure the fish princess was secure on her shoulder, Fuyanni spread her hands. She could only think that her big brother was terribly slow on the uptake, and even slower to react.

"What are you waiting for? What are you waiting for, Billy Horn? What are you waiting for?!"

"Judas has reached a dead end! What are you waiting for?"

"What are you afraid of? Your Soul's Glory is already emerging from your body!"

"That bastard who'd eat you alive and leave no bones, that vermin who deserved to be hacked to pieces a thousand times over, should've died