Crossing the Bridge

"!!!"

Once a wave of foreign soul energy suddenly entered her Soul Hall Domain, Hana, who was in the state of a trance from extreme concentration to thin her Soul Power to a trickle, was roused awake. Her gaze sharpened.

A Soul Predator?! Right now?!

Her first thought was automatically directed towards guarding her unstable Soul Hall Domain. Her Soul Hall Domain had never been wholly healed since the appearance of the mysterious bridge that connected her to her beloved. But she refused to eliminate the bridge even after Kuro's exhortation.

Hana flew towards the foreign particles in her avatar form, intending to eliminate the invaders immediately. It was not the first time, after all.

"!!!"

This! These are Arash's Soul Energy!

Hana had vaguely felt it before beyond the bridge. She didn't know how and why, but she could sense Arash's familiar 'scent' and presence that was unique only to him within the invading foreign energy wave. Besides that, the energy wave didn't carry negative intentions; instead, they were warm and fluffy, just like how it usually feels when being romantically embraced by her husband during the weekends while secretly watching anime together. 

All of her vigilance evaporated immediately. 

Her heart was helplessly fluttering with butterflies, like how it always did when her husband was nearby, teasing her with his eyes.

A split-second decision.

Instead of attacking the foreign energy, Hana opened her arms, removed her defenses, and wholeheartedly accepted the blue energy wave. 

Her Soul Slaves went into a panic frenzy! 

The one with the strongest resistance was, of course, Kuro, who had been observing warily from the beginning. She used her absolute power to control them from interfering, and her hair moved by itself to her surprise. Her voluminous hair billowed out aggressively and stretched far and wide, entangling all her Soul Slaves, forcing them to stay still. 

Ahh, it turned out her hair had some autonomous function too. 

Hana blinked her eyes multiple times and decided not to think too much. She just realized that was why it was billowing extravagantly even without the presence of a breeze within the Domain space. 

There was really... A lot of hair. 

So much that it seemed unending. 

Even Hana felt disturbed looking at how her own hair behaved; they were like gangsters strangling her adorable kids! 

Calm down. This is an order.

Hana's telepathic voice washed over the Soul Hall Domain authoritatively, visibly calming everyone within. She even unknowingly enforced a Soul Decree with her order. They needed to stop struggling for their own safety. She wasn't sure what her hair could do to them. 

The invading foreign energy slowly absorbed parts of her avatar; mainly her fingers, a lock of hair, and a very small part of her right cheek, turning them bluish. Hana just accepted them all.

Hana closed her eyes, intoxicated with this strange yet familiar feeling. 

This was definitely Arash.

It felt like Arash was there beside her, lacing his fingers with her like he used to, gently stroking her cheek amorously. It was so intimate and felt very real. She blushed bashfully. 

Arash's Soul Energy had merged with her and became part of her, yet they still retained their properties since Hana did not actively absorb the energy to make it her own. She wanted to savor his presence as long as she could. 

Unfortunately, it was just a fleeting moment, making her throat dry and her heart ached for him. 

The bluish imprints slowly faded after a few minutes, together with the blissful ethereal touch. 

Instead, her current highly sensitive senses could catch something out of the ordinary.

..Ay...

..A... you... me...

..Can you... ?

..Hear me... ?

Hana "!!!"

Hana could finally hear Arash's voice! 

It sounded so distant and broke apart horribly as if the signal was very poor. But, it was truly her beloved's voice. She was positive!

Hana's mind whirled rapidly as the aunty desperately exerted the energy of a highest-powered blender to crush onions to a fine paste! 

What can she do to improve the reception?!

Hana looked towards the bridge. 

If Arash's will could come over, she could definitely cross over to the other side safely. Yes, that must be it!

Determined, she sent a gentle wave of Soul Energy. This time, she planned to bring herself together with the Soul Energy over the bridge. 

Kuro shouted agitatedly, Mommy, no! Please listen! You will die! 

He struggled frantically to release himself from his Mistress' bondage, but alas, to no avail. Hana had gripped him especially hard to stop him from even moving an inch. The others couldn't even move a muscle.

Hana turned to Kuro, Trust me, Sweetie. Mommy will never harm you or the others. 

Hana resolutely barraged through the bridge as she brought her avatar over. The bridge lit up in rainbow colors at every step she moved.

Until she reached the single-file bricks.

As hard as she pushed herself, she simply couldn't move forward anymore. The single-file bricks were like a stopgap for her avatar to move to the other side of the bridge. 

Hana was so frustrated that she shed tears full of deep-seated grievances. She tried again and again without relenting. 

Come on! Come on! Just a bit will do!

She was sooooo close!

After trying so many times without success, Hana finally conceded and sighed sadly.

Let's just try sending a small part of me over. She contemplated while looking at her own hair. Although a lot of it was busily locking down the kids in her Soul Hall Domain, she still had a lot more spared. They swam around behind her like soft organza (1). 

After several tries, Hana successfully sent over her will through a tiny lock of hair together with her Soul Energy; just enough to pass over the single-file brick. She simply couldn't send any more than that due to the bridge's low capacity to accommodate her.

The lock of hair brought her will to enter a darkened and cramped area with a single faint light source; a weakly glowing bluish ball of light at the very center.

Can you hear me, Ayang?

Finally, Hana could hear Arash's voice clearly. 

However, it was still extremely soft, like a mere whisper. Hana had to really concentrate and focus to finally understand what Arash had patiently tried to ask her so many times. The glowing bluish ball of light expanded and contracted rhythmically following the words she heard.

I can. I can, Ayang. 

Hana shed tears of joy. 

...

Arash was overwhelmed with happiness by the appearance of his wife within his Soul Core. However, at present, he had run out of Soul Energy. To push his Soul Energy over the Bellflower Bridge, he expended every single drop of Soul Energy he had.

It was just a multi-colored trail of light, but her presence was unmistakable. This time the arriving SPE had a will of its own as it moved curiously around the Soul space.

Success!

Yeah, we succeeded. His wife's gentle voice resounded like a soft whisper over his ears. Her lovely melodic voice sounded like she was truly moved to tears. There were even some sniffles in between. 

Arash's heart warmed with that thought. He waited for his beautiful wife's emotions to stabilize patiently, a satisfied smile lingered over his lips. She was always like this, emotional with every little thing. It was very cute and endearing. 

Because she was only like this with him alone. A soft, needy kitten.

Arash couldn't help but pamper his precious wife every single time, giving her whatever she wanted. Even when she was angry, she was so adorable. The many grueling hours of struggle were really worth it. This kind of effort was nothing alien to him; he had been struggling all his life to make her his.

A few precious moments passed by. 

Finally, he could feel that his wife's sniffles reduced and her breathing evened out.

By the way, Ayang, you sounded very far. I think you need to send over more of your Soul Energy. Do add your will together just like before. His wife immediately pointed out the main problem with their communication succinctly, albeit sounding a little bashful. 

Arash's hypothesis had been right. Their unbalanced telepathy-like communication between them was caused by him all along.

But why did his wife sound a little shy out of nowhere? 

What was that about? 

Arash brushed that thought away. He was just so exhausted. Moving enough Soul Energy over the bridge surprisingly needed more SPE than he could readily generate. 

I'm out of juice, Ayang. Give me a moment to take a breather. I expended every bit of SPE I had to cross over. Need some time to regenerate a little more SPE. Once done, your wish is my command, Sweetheart. Arash promised. He too, wished to make their communication clearer.

Let me help you, Ayang. Accept everything and don't repel me out, kay. Just a little service huhuhu.

Arash heard his wife chuckle coquettishly; it swept over him like a fine sprinkle of refreshing rain. He tilted his head to the suspicious request. The SPE wave made two rounds around his Soul Core and immediately dived in, dyeing him a glowing rainbow.

...

..

.

Arash was shocked beyond compare. 

The mixture of soul energy with will was really something else; his heart ached deeply with the familiar sensation. 

He had been on the receiving end of Hana's SPE for months, but this was the first time it felt like this. For a man who had gone months without his wife's love by his side, the burden was very real. 

This feeling...

As if he had been showered with loving light-feathered kisses. 

A gentle touch full of longing.

It felt so intimate.

His heart started to beat erratically. It was so loud even to his ears.

The moment they merged, Arash could taste how deep Hana's longing for him. Her feelings for him had never diminished. Contrary to that, it was overwhelmingly intense, obsessively so; like a raging full-powered furnace. He could finally understand his wife a little; Hana had been using her unshaken feelings for him as fuel to survive without giving up.

Arash was beyond words. He silently savored his wife's presence before the rainbow tinge disappeared from his soul core, replenishing his own Soul Energy.

A helpless sigh followed by a laugh broke the awkward silence between them.

You.. So cheeky. Should've told me. My heart was not prepared for this.

A silvery peel of sweet laughter resounded in Arash's mind.

Sweet revenge. You did it first to me, Ayang. It's unbearable.

Neither of them ever expected that exchanging Soul Energy filled with their will would have such an effect. It was actually a pleasant surprise; in a way, a gift to them to nurse their longing for each other. 

Like this, they spent their time together discussing how to improve their link to each other harmoniously; with some flirting in between, of course.

...