In midair, Han caught Kikyo's icy hand. It held none of a living person's warmth. The girl wrapped her arms around her.
"Why..." Kikyo murmured. Why had someone jumped after her? Why had it been you...
"Because..." The girl smiled softly. Her silver hair streamed behind her as they plummeted, her green eyes shining in the dark abyss. An even warmer smile graced her lovely face. "Because it's you, Kikyo..."
Below the mist-wreathed cliff lay a lake in the forest. Han and Kikyo floated on its rippling waters.
As they fell from the cliff, Han had sensed the flowing water below. They had landed safely in the lake, unhurt.
Night fell.
Han and Kikyo rested beneath a tree. Kikyo sat with her eyes closed, barely able to move. She did not tell Han that, sustained by the remnants of her soul steeped in bitter resentment, she had already reached her limit. Without a soul, this clay body could no longer move.
From the depths of the dark forest, long creatures with red eyes and pale, bluish-white bodies flew toward Kikyo.
"What are..." Han opened her eyes warily. Watching these creatures she had never seen before, she had already raised her bow.
"Soul Collectors. There's no need to attack." Kikyo reached out to touch the nearest Soul Collector. "These creatures are very weak. Their only purpose seems to be giving dead people like me a chance to keep living."
"Kikyo..." Don't say that... Whenever Kikyo coldly called herself a dead person, Han could not help feeling sad.
"Don't worry about it." Kikyo turned back with a smile. For a moment, she seemed once more like the gentle miko who had saved lives fifty years ago. "Go," Kikyo told the Soul Collectors. They obediently scattered.
"Is there a price for commanding