Chapter 174 - The Strongest Witch - Part 2

A big, white-coloured bear appeared, towering over all of us. The bear was taller than all the trees around us, its fur white as snow. Its roar came as strong as the storm, scaring the squirrels and bunnies to their homes. A scratch from its claws, and you will be gone forever. 

We immediately ran when we saw the spirit bear, not even waiting for the little tiger to finish his warning. I gathered all of my remaining strength and ran as if it were the end of the world—which it very well could be if the bear caught me. 

The storm that came quickly turned into a blizzard, the combination of wind and snow made it difficult for me to see what lay ahead. One second I was running on the green grass, and then on the soft pile of snow the next.

All this running I've been doing today made me realize that I might be a better runner than I initially thought. Or perhaps I was forced to be better, as death was right behind me.

Though I didn't have enough time to prepare myself for this, I had enough time to notice that this bear was no ordinary bear. Well, its massive size alone was already unusual, but the fact that it was running on air was even more unusual. The spirit bear, as the tiger said. Is it not a real bear?

I was trying to catch my breath to ask my question, but the little tiger beat me to it. 

"Don't slow down! If the spirit bear touches you, it will immediately take you to the spirit world and there's no return!" Shouted the tiger, burning our spirit even more.

"What do we do?!" Asked Andrew, turning his head a little only to find the bear closer than ever. "AAAHH!! WHAT DO WE DO?!"

"Keep running, you dumb wolf!" Maggie replied with her kind choice of words, clearly stating the obvious. Unfortunately, right after she answered the question, the seemingly unconscious Coco fell out of her hands. "Coco!!"

"Maggie, no!" I shouted to stop her, but she didn't listen and turned back to retrieve Coco, not caring about the little distance left between her and the spirit bear. The spirit bear quickly caught Maggie and Coco with its claws, throwing them straight into its mouth. "MAGGIE!!!"

"Master, hurry!!" The little tiger bit my dress, pulling me to run and hasten my pace. "We have to save ourselves first!"

Though unwilling, what the tiger said was true. I have to save myself before I can help anyone else. Acting rashly in this situation isn't going to get me anywhere—well, it only gets me to the door of death.

That silly Maggie! What is she doing, ignoring the tiger's warning? Is her creation more important than her own life? She acted like she was all that smart and great, but what is this? How are we supposed to get her back from the spirit world? No, rather, can we even do that?

At this rate, I don't even know if we'll ever find the Wishing Tree. There doesn't seem to be an end to all these troubles. First giant fairies, and then the spirit bear. What's next? A flying crocodile?

This crazy bear—how long is it going to keep this up? My legs felt as if they were about to separate themselves from my body, and I don't know how much longer I could last. 

Perhaps God, I suddenly heard a voice in my head.

"Do you want me to help you?" The voice was soothing to the ears, familiar, yet strange at the same time. Where did I hear this voice? "I can help you."

"Did you guys hear that?" I shouted, asking everyone present in the area.

"I did!" Shouted Andrew, but I shouldn't have expected anything from him. "The sound of my heart giving away! I think I'm having a heart attack!" He then proceeded to use the same reason to beg the spirit bear to stop chasing after us.

"They won't be able to hear me," the same voice resonated in my head, sounding too clear despite the storm. "You have to decide for yourself—do you want me to help you?"

"Who are you?" 

"God?"

Wait, is this real? Am I really talking with God? The God who never responds to my prayers?

"I've been busy," the voice said again, and it seemed to hear what I was thinking. "But I haven't forgotten about you. Now, do you want me to help you?"

What is this? Why am I suddenly talking with God? Is it because I'm in a life-or-death situation? But I've been in such situations numerous times, and there hasn't been a single instance where this happened. Am I hallucinating? I don't think I'm religious enough for God to come looking for me.

Decided that there was something in the air that caused me to hallucinate, I ignored the question that came from the voice, believing that it was the result of my desperate pleas.

Despite not knowing where we were going, I kept running, following right behind the two wolves and the tiger. The spirit bear chased after us relentlessly, appearing to want to chase us all the way to the depths of hell.

"Hey, I'm real!" The gentleness that came from the voice soon vanished, replaced by an unhappy tone. "Don't ignore me! I can help you!"

Weird. Why is the voice getting louder? Did I inhale something bad?

"I'm not your hallucination!" said the voice, clearly unhappy with the outcome. If there's one thing I know, it's that a thief will never admit to being a thief. "Okay! Okay! I lied! I'm not God, but I can help you!" Why does it seem like it needs my help more than I need its help?

"Why do you want to help me?"

"Because I can't meddle in human affairs unless you call for me!"

"Who are you?"

"Someone from the spirit world," the sound, which now I recognized as a man's voice, said. "I can help you stop the bear, and also return your friend who got eaten."

Maggie?

"Yes, that Maggie."

Did I say it out loud? Ah, right. He can hear my thoughts. Wait! Why can he hear my thoughts?! That's an invasion of privacy! It's tolerable if he truly is God, but he isn't! Can I even ask for help from someone who has no regard for my privacy? I don't think I should put my trust in just anyone. What if he later asks for my organs in return?

"Why would I ask for your dirty little—"

"Stop getting into my mind!"

"Well, I can't help it!" He replied angrily, and I must have been insane to think his voice sounded good at first. "I was born with that power, okay?!"

Weird. Where did I hear this? The more I listened to his voice, the more familiar it got. I remember there's someone who speaks in this same obnoxious tone... but who is it?

"Geez, I don't have all day!" He said, getting impatient with my dilly-dallying. "Do you want me to help you or not?"

I turned my head around as I ran, only to see the spirit bear, who didn't seem to have any intention of stopping any time soon. My legs were starting to give up, my breath was getting shorter, and I knew that it was not possible for me to keep going for much longer. Although I'm still skeptical, there's no other option besides accepting his help.

I mean, what could be worse than being eaten by a spirit bear and transported to a world teeming with spirits?

"Help me," I said, and as if on cue, the blizzard came to a stop.

The strong wind turned into a gentle breeze, and the cold snow melted under the warm sunlight in an instant. The bear's roaring stopped, and the adrenaline rush I felt in my chest gradually subsided. I turned around, and I was left stunned.

The bear, who had been chasing us so viciously before, was now rolling on the ground, smiling and giggling like a puppy. There was no more sight of the wild, ferocious bear from before, and all that was left was a picture of a pet and its owner.

A man with long red hair stood under the sunlight, his hair gently swaying in the breeze. His hair grew to the length of his waist, and it was as bright as fire. He smelled like the burning sun, the kind of smell you get after being outside all day. And there he stood beside the bear, playing with it gleefully as he rubbed its belly.

He then turned around, and a pair of amber eyes immediately caught mine, staring boringly into my green ones. It was only then that I realized who he was.

He was the man in my dream.

"Took you long enough," he smirked.