Where… where am I?" he whispers, his voice a mere whisper.
With shaky legs, he stands up and his way out of the hospital stumbles. He has no idea how he arrived there, but something inside him compels him to go back home. Through foggy streets, far-off horns, and faces he cannot recognize, he makes his way back.
As he approaches his house and stands in front of the familiar door, a chilling silence envelops him. Just then, within, his family is getting a phone call from the hospital.
"Yes… the coma patient… he's gone?! What do you mean gone?!" a frantic voice rings out.
And before they can even respond, Xiao Tian comes in through the door.
Time stands still.
Everyone stands frozen, looking at him. Then, suddenly, as if they have come out of a long nightmare, they run towards him. His elder brother holds him close, tears flowing from his eyes. His sister wails uncontrollably. His aunt keeps repeating, "You're alive… you're alive…"
"We missed you so much," his second brother says with shaking lips. "Everything's been falling apart since you fell into coma. We never stopped praying, hoping you'd wake up.
Xiao Tian smiles forced, but it does not seem quite right. He looks around the room.
"Where's Mom? And Dad?" he says softly, barely daring to hear the reply.
There is a thick silence.
His second brother breathes deeply, tears welling once more. "Xiao… when you were in coma for twenty years… things changed. It was difficult… the hospital bills were so high, we couldn't manage. Loans accumulated… we sold nearly everything to keep you alive. Dad did his best… but one day when he was coming back from the bank—he was involved in a car accident. He didn't survive."
Xiao Tian's breath stops. He blankly stares.
"And… Mom… she couldn't handle it. After losing Dad… after seeing you like that every single day… she collapsed. She's… no longer the same now. She's mentally deranged now… she doesn't recognize anyone."
His second brother dissolves, crying bitterly. But before he could go on, the youngest brother erupts in anger.
Why are you spilling all of this to him?! The guy who can't even remember us?! The one who left us the minute he woke up?! He's no good! Worthless! Useless! Cursed soul for no good!!"
Before he can utter any more, the second brother goes around and punches him sharply across the face. The whole room is reduced to shocked silence.
Xiao Tian, shaken and quiet, walks silently toward his mother's room. He opens the door.
The room is dimly lit. In the corner, his mother sits, rocking back and forth, holding an old photo frame, whispering something to herself.
"Soon… my son will return. My husband said he'd bring him back. Then we'll all play together again…"
Xiao Tian's knees grow weak. He walks closer, slowly kneeling before her.
"Mom… I'm here. I'm your son. It's me… Xiao Tian…"
She recoils.
"No! You're lying! My son will come with his father. You're a stranger! Someone help! There's a stranger impersonating my son!"
Her screams cut through his heart. Every word a knife.
Xiao Tian backs away, out of breath, his eyes misting over with tears. His chest constricts, and the load of all it—the years stolen, the lives destroyed—overwhelms him from within. He crumples onto the floor, shattered, his soul shuddering with intolerable agony.
Then a booming voice speaks in his head. Hangfang's voice.
"I told you… returning to your past life would only bring pain, loss, and sorrow. This suffering… it's more than you could ever bear. The time has come. Return now."
Xiao Tian glances one final time at his fractured family. His face streaked with tears firms up. He whispers:
"Forgive me… I couldn't save you."
And in that moment, a blinding light bursts out of his body. His body starts to break apart into shimmering pieces. His family stands, stunned, as he disintegrates into thin air.
"Please… forgive me," he screams again. "Because of me, you suffered… please… I'm sorry…"
And then—silence. The light disappears. He is no more.
The scene changes.
Xiao Tian opens his eyes once more—not as himself, but again in Hangfang's body. He is kneeling, shattered and weeping, looking at the ground.
Glancing up at Hangfang, his voice shakes, "Why? Why did you pick me?! Why destroy my life for your cause?"
He shakes Hangfang's shoulders, shaking with anger and sorrow.
You exploited me… wrecked my life… brought only death to my family! I curse you! I pray… I pray that you endure the same agony that I did. I pray that your loved ones perish before your eyes. I pray that you live alone, shattered, as I do now!"
Hangfang regards him with a cold, expressionless face. Then he speaks quietly in return:
A lovely wish… but, alas, dear Xiao Tian… all my loved ones are already dead