Chapter 131: The in between
"I think you’ll find that answer soon enough," he replied cryptically.
Yuki’s stomach tightened. She studied his face, searching for some hint of what he meant, but the man had already picked up the glass of juice he had abandoned earlier. He took a slow sip, completely at ease, as though he hadn’t just turned her entire understanding of reality upside down. Then, almost casually, he lowered the glass.
"I’m glad you rejected them," he said quietly.
Yuki’s eyes narrowed. "Why?" she asked suspiciously.
His unusual purple eyes settled on hers.
"If you hadn’t rejected them, I don’t think we would have had this opportunity either," he answered, his voice strangely gentle.
Yuki went still. The kitchen suddenly felt colder.
"What opportunity?" she asked tensely.
The man didn’t answer immediately. His gaze drifted towards the enormous windows, towards the endless meadow glowing beneath the unmoving twilight. For a moment, he looked distant, as though he were watching something far beyond what Yuki could see. Then he turned back to her.
"For your soul to be here," he said quietly.
Yuki’s breath caught. "My soul?"
The man nodded. Yuki stared at him. A horrible thought immediately took shape in her mind.
"Am I really dead?" she whispered fearfully. The question came out so softly that it almost disappeared beneath the faint clinking of utensils in the kitchen.
The man blinked at her before shaking his head. "Not yet," he answered calmly.
Yuki’s eyes widened. "Not yet?" she repeated, her voice rising with alarm. "What does that mean?"
"You are not dead, Miyuki," he assured her patiently. "But you aren’t exactly awake either."
Yuki stared at him. The man leaned back slightly against the counter, folding his arms.
"Time doesn’t flow here the way it does in the living world," he explained, his tone becoming more serious. "That’s why the sky remains suspended between day and night. This place exists at the boundary between the living and the dead. Some call it the In-Between. Others call it the Everdusk Realm."
Yuki’s mouth slowly parted. "The Everdusk Realm," she repeated under her breath.
The man nodded.
"So..." Yuki’s voice faltered. She stared towards the glowing meadow beyond the window. "I’m in a coma?"
"Yes," he answered simply.
Yuki’s head snapped back towards him.
"You’re in a coma," he repeated, this time more gently. "Your body is still in the living world, but a part of your soul has crossed into this realm."
Yuki’s heart pounded. She looked down at her hands. They appeared perfectly normal. She could feel the smooth surface of the counter beneath her fingers. She could feel the soft stool beneath her. She could even taste the sweetness of the mango still lingering on her tongue.
"How can this feel so real?" she whispered.
"It is real," he replied calmly. "Just not in the way you’re used to."
Yuki swallowed. The man’s expression became more thoughtful.
"Your bonds were unusually strong despite how little time you had known them, and none of them had been completed," he explained. "That alone would have made the rejection dangerous. The fact that they are Alphas with Lycan royal blood running through their veins only made the bond stronger."
Yuki’s fingers tightened around the edge of the counter. His voice dropped.
"If the second one hadn’t taken some of the backlash from you, your wolf might have died."
Yuki’s heart stopped.
"What?" she blurted.
The man’s expression remained solemn.
"You heard me," he affirmed.
Fear seized her chest. Yuki immediately thought of the moment Kieran had walked away from her. The way Killian had suddenly realised something was wrong. The way Kieran’s wolf had begun to fade. Her hand flew to her chest.
"Is that why I can’t feel my wolf?" she asked desperately.
The man shook his head. Yuki stared at him.
"Then why can’t I feel her?" she asked, puzzled. Her brows pulled together.
"Because only the human part of your soul crosses into this realm," he explained gently. "Your wolf remains with your body."
Yuki fell silent. The information settled heavily inside her. Her wolf wasn’t gone. She wasn’t dead. She was still somewhere in the living world, waiting for her. Yuki closed her eyes for a moment. Relief washed through her so suddenly that her shoulders sagged.
"She’s alive," she whispered.
"Yes," the man confirmed softly.
Yuki opened her eyes again. "How long have I been here?" she asked.
The man hesitated. Yuki frowned.
"I don’t know," he admitted.
Her eyebrows drew together. "How can you not know?"
"It’s difficult to measure time here," he explained, gesturing towards the window. "There is no sunrise. No sunset. No true day or night. Everything remains suspended in the same moment."
Yuki glanced towards the meadow. The sky was still exactly as she remembered it. The same fading light. The same stars. The same glowing flowers. A chill crept over her skin. She turned back to him.
"Then why are you here?" she asked slowly. "Are you in a coma too?"
The man smiled. It was a gentle smile this time, but he still didn’t answer. Instead, he tilted his head slightly.
"You wanted to know about your parents, didn’t you?" he mentioned, changing the topic.
Yuki stared at him. There it was again. Another question avoided. She almost pressed him, but something in his expression stopped her. So she hesitated before nodding.
"Yes," she admitted quietly. "Please. Can you tell me about them?" Her voice softened. "My sister never talks about them. I don’t even know their names."
The confession left a hollow feeling in her chest. She knew so little about the people who had given her life that sometimes it felt as though they were nothing more than shadows in someone else’s story.
"If I didn’t look so much like Aevia, I might have thought she wasn’t really my sister," Yuki admitted bitterly.
The man’s expression softened.
"Then I suppose I can tell you a few things."
Yuki’s heart immediately began beating faster.
"Really?"
"Yes."