Isaac walked alone, searching for his classmates.
It was their senior high school field trip. Even though he hadn't wanted to come, he had no choice. The person paying for his education had insisted.
He decided he would simply return to the bus and wait there until the others finished. Soon they would all be heading home anyway.
Walking quietly, Isaac kept his eyes on his phone.
Then suddenly—
A car stopped in front of him.
Startled, he froze.
His eyes fixed on the unfamiliar vehicle.
Something deep inside him screamed a warning.
Run.
He quickened his pace, scanning the area anxiously until he spotted their bus nearby.
Relief washed over him.
He climbed inside immediately. The bus was still empty, but the driver allowed him to board.
Isaac walked to the last seat at the back.
He let out a deep sigh and checked the time on his phone.
Then he sensed someone standing in front of him.
He looked up.
The bus driver.
"I–I'm sorry, son," the man said.
Isaac blinked in confusion.
He didn't understand why the driver was apologizing.
The man's hands trembled violently.
Then Isaac saw it.
A gun.
Isaac opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. His body refused to move.
All he could do was stare.
The gunshot shattered the silence.
Isaac's hand instinctively reached for his forehead.
Warm liquid trickled down his fingers.
His hands trembled.
"I'm sorry… I'm sorry… I have to do this for my family. I'm sorry," the driver kept repeating.
Isaac's breathing grew heavier.
Another shot rang out.
This time, it struck his chest.
His phone slipped from his hand and clattered onto the floor.
I didn't even get to say goodbye, he thought as darkness swallowed him.
Even now, Isaac still found himself touching his forehead and chest whenever the memory returned.
He stood inside that same bus.
The place where his life had ended.
What haunted him the most was that his sibling never knew he had died.
His body had been buried somewhere deep in a secluded forest.
Even now, he still wondered—
Why had he been killed?
And who had ordered it?
"You're here after all."
Isaac turned at the familiar voice.
Daniel stood nearby.
Isaac said nothing.
The bus had long since been abandoned. It was no longer used.
When Isaac's blood had been discovered years ago, it hadn't even been cleaned immediately. With no solid evidence against the driver, the man had never been imprisoned.
He had only lost his job.
"Where's Aliya?" Isaac asked.
"I let her have some time alone," Daniel replied with a quiet sigh.
"Is something wrong?" Isaac asked as he stepped down from the bus. Daniel followed him.
Daniel shook his head.
"It seems she can see how we died in our past lives."
Isaac stopped walking.
"She can see it?"
Daniel nodded slowly.
"Did she say anything about your life before?" Isaac asked.
Daniel thought for a moment.
Then he shook his head.
"She only asked how I died. Do you think her ability is awakening?"
"Aliya is… different," Isaac said thoughtfully. "She doesn't remember her entire identity. I don't know why."
Daniel nodded quietly.
"Isaac? Daniel?"
Both of them turned at the sound of a voice.
"Aliya?" Isaac said. "What are you doing here?"
"Oh, I was escorting someone," she replied casually. "It happened nearby… and I saw the two of you."
Isaac nodded.
"I'll leave you two for now."
"Did someone die here before?" Aliya asked quietly.
Isaac looked at her.
Daniel studied her expression carefully.
"Aliya," Daniel said gently. "You need to guide him now."
Isaac walked past them toward the last seat of the bus.
His hand brushed against it softly.
"There was a lot of blood," Aliya murmured.
"A student… and a bus driver…"
Daniel frowned slightly.
He didn't know what she was seeing.
Suddenly she gasped.
"He was buried… in a dense forest."
"Aliya," Isaac called gently.
She jolted as if waking from a trance.
She held her temples, clearly in pain.
"I–I'm sorry," she whispered.
Without another word, she stepped forward and vanished, carrying a rabbit she needed to guide.
Daniel looked at Isaac.
"Watch over her carefully," Isaac said.
Daniel nodded.
Isaac tapped his shoulder before disappearing.
XXXXXX
Moments later, Daniel's consciousness carried him to a massive mansion.
He sighed softly. Entering the place required no effort at all.
"You miss your life, Jayson."
Two voices echoed from the living room.
Daniel recognized them immediately.
"I'm really busy right now," one of the men replied without looking up from his phone.
"Oh, come on," the other laughed. "It's satisfying to watch them suffer. If only Grandpa would allow me."
The first man remained silent.
"By the way, Jay… I don't see Reymark today."
"Oh, he needs time to recover from that wound."
A wound? Daniel thought.
He listened more closely.
"Huh? Was it really that deep? Those bite marks on his right leg?" The man chuckled. "Look at Malchor. He's already back to work."
Daniel immediately recognized Brandon's voice.
Jayson sighed.
"Of course. Reymark needs to be careful now."
"Oh well. No one even knows who the suspect is anyway, right?" Brandon added.
"I don't know," Jayson replied.
"You're a psycho," Brandon said with a grin.
"I need to rest," Brandon added before walking away.
He passed straight through Daniel.
Daniel sighed and slipped through the towering walls of the mansion.
He wandered through the city until he reached a crowded street.
A memory surfaced in his mind—
Someone walking with a limp.
Reymark?
Could he be Isaac's brother?
Daniel paused.
Something caught his attention.
There she was again.
The woman he had seen before.
The one rumored to have surrendered herself to darkness.
She wandered through the crowd dressed in mourning clothes.
Then she looked directly at him.
Daniel froze.
She smiled.
A knowing smile.
Then she disappeared into the shadows.
I should stay away from that vengeful soul, he thought.
He returned to search for his companions.
His brows furrowed when he couldn't find Aliya.
Fear crept into his chest.
What if she had broken their rules again?
Then he met Tiara's gaze.
"If you're looking for Aliya," Tiara said calmly, "I saw her earlier. She escorted someone and seemed lost in thought."
Daniel nodded.
"Thank you, Tiara."
With a simple wave of his hand, he arrived at the place where the rescued animals were kept.
Aliya was there.
She sat quietly, gently stroking a dog.
"So you're here," Daniel said.
She glanced at him, then quickly looked away.
He sat beside her in silence.
They watched the animals running freely.
Happy.
Safe.
Daniel smiled faintly.
"Is there someone you love," Aliya asked softly, "someone you left behind in the human world?"
Daniel blinked in surprise.
He sighed.
"Yes," he said quietly. "My siblings."
Aliya nodded.
Then she stood.
"We should go back now."
Daniel rose as well.
The dog looked at them sadly, as if it didn't want them to leave again.
Aliya gently patted its head and smiled.
Daniel had long avoided remembering who he had been in his former life.
Since the moment he died—
He had refused to look back.