Chapter 4
Early the next morning, Christopher sent a message.
It read: [Come to the Skyline Hotel.]
Just as I replied, I saw the priest walk in, carrying a vivid yellow dress.
"Mr. Grant asked me to bring this to you," he explained.
Then, he made a quick calculation with his fingers, and his face suddenly turned pale.
He said, "If you go there..."
I picked up where he left off.
"So you're saying I'll catch a break when things look hopeless, right?" I asked.
The priest nodded.
I smiled, never having felt so relieved before. I had done a reading for myself this morning, and got the same omen.
"Looks like I really can go home now," I said.
The priest couldn't figure out why I was so confident, but in the end, he just pressed a lucky charm into my hand.
It was exactly the same as the one my mom gave me when I first arrived.
I changed into the dress and showed up at the entrance of the Skyline Hotel, with the lucky charm in my hand.
It turned out that today was the Yeats family's big charity day, and they had Emily out there doing charity work, almost like it was some ritual to bring them good luck.
The lights at the charity gala were so bright they nearly blinded me.
I lingered in the corner, watching Emily beam as she took the stage, introducing the company's charity products.
Just then, a man wearing a baseball cap rushed out of the crowd, clutching a bottle of some unknown liquid, and made a beeline for Emily.
"Emily, you phony philanthropist. The Yeats family never gives a dime to those struggling in the small town," he yelled.
He shouted as he twisted the cap off the bottle.
The whole venue erupted into chaos.
Screams and frantic shoving echoed everywhere.
Emily froze in place, her face pale as a sheet.
I was right next to her.
The system's voice echoed in my mind.
It said, "Host, your body can't handle this pain much longer. You only have ten minutes left."
Suddenly, Christopher shoved me hard toward Emily.
"You can't die anyway, so block for Emmy," he shouted.
I was stunned for a moment, then couldn't help but laugh.
So this was the lifeline both the priest and I saw in our readings.
I didn't struggle. I just stood firm in front of Emily, shielding her.
As the liquid splashed over me, the sharp stench of gasoline hit my nose, followed by the flick of a lighter.
Flames erupted, and a wave of burning agony tore through my body.
I collapsed to the floor, surrounded by screams and the frantic shuffle of feet.
"Put out the fire. Save her," someone yelled.
People tried to help, but the heat and flames drove them back.
Through the flickering flames, I saw Christopher rush onto the stage, holding Emily protectively and urgently checking her for any injuries.
My parents crowded around, too, hovering over Emily, anxiously looking her over and muttering under their breath.
"Emmy, are you okay? You scared us half to death..." Mom said.
"Oh, forget about Sophia. She lost so much blood before and still didn't die. This fire's nothing compared to that..." Dad said.
No one looked at me.
But this time, there was no escaping it. I was really going to die.
The flames devoured everything I could see, and the agony slowly faded into numbness.
I could hear the system's countdown, loud and clear in my ears.
It said, "Five, four, three, two, one...
"Host death confirmed. Soul will now be separated."
My body suddenly felt light. I found myself floating above the ground, looking down in disbelief.
"What's happening? Didn't the system say I could go home?" I asked.
The system's emotionless voice rang out, "Your death has just been hastened. However, your soul will return to your original world at the predetermined moment just as before."
I was at a loss.
"How much longer do I have?" I asked, my voice trembling.
"About two days," the system replied.
The system disappeared again. No matter how much I called out, it never responded.
Suddenly, flames erupted right before my eyes.
An invisible force pulled me out.
I looked down and saw Christopher holding Emily in his arms. The four of them stood there in silence, unable to look away from the raging flames.
The firefighters showed up late.
Once the fire was out, the hall was eerily empty; only blackened debris remained.
Christopher and the others stood there, dumbfounded.
"What happened?" After a quick inspection, one of the firefighters asked. "Is there anything else you need help with?"
Suddenly, Christopher pushed Emily into Dad's arms and rushed into the hall, searching every corner.
His eyes were filled with disbelief.
He rushed over and grabbed the firefighter's arm.
"Where's the girl who was on stage?" he asked anxiously.
The firefighter looked genuinely baffled.
"There was nobody on stage," he replied.
"That can't be. There was definitely a girl in there just now, even if she didn't make it, there should at least be a body left behind. How could she just vanish?" Christopher shouted, his voice shaking with disbelief.
The firefighter's face grew solemn.
"Listen, I get that you're upset, but with a blaze like that, even if someone was inside, there probably wouldn't be anything left," he said, his voice gentle but firm.
He couldn't bring himself to finish the sentence.
Even from above, as a drifting soul, I understood the harsh truth.
Not even bones remained; the fire had wiped everything out, leaving no trace behind.
The system said, "Ding! The target just gained some regret points.
"Host, do you want to switch to a new mission?"
The system suddenly chimed in.
I saw a regret meter pop up above Christopher's head, stuck at 10%. I couldn't help but laugh at myself.
That tiny bit of regret was probably just because he was worried about Emily's health.
It had nothing to do with me anyway.
The system spoke up, calm as ever, "Since you won't be returning for now, and even if you do, it'll only be as a soul; why not seize this last chance for survival?"
Seeing Christopher still insisting to the firefighters, I couldn't help but feel uncertain.
"Host, this mission has no side effects. You just need to watch as everything comes to light..." the system said calmly.
Hearing that, I agreed right away.
"Alright, I agree," I replied.
I was honestly curious how they would react when they found out I was truly dead.