Gleam [Karma Cultivator Isekai] - Chapter 120: Future

A week of travel passed after Chance and Bella set out from the Brackern sect, though little of interest had happened in that time. They’d said little, mostly focusing on travel and cultivation at night.

Even though they’d all survived with their lives, the looming threat of all the cultivators they’d come to make enemies of in the past months still sat at the forefront of their minds. Chance doubted that they were going to be able to take down Vex in the same way – and something told him that even Lin would be far beyond their current abilities to handle if he decided that he wanted to swap sides.

Then there was the matter of Shae. If he was still alive, Chance doubted that he would have just given up on the hunt. Bella shared his feelings of tension, so they had been spending almost all their free time either deep in thought or within the embrace of cultivation.

But, as the Brackern Sect faded into the distance behind them, there was only so long the two of them could remain completely focused. Even though there were still threats looming in the distance, the horizon looked clear.

“It feels like it’s been a bit since it was just the two of us, doesn’t it?” Bella asked after they’d stopped for the day to set up camp.

“We’ve been traveling alone for a week since we left,” Chance pointed out with a laugh. “But yeah, I know what you mean. It feels like a month passed between the last part of the Ancient Realm and dealing with the Brackern Sect, even though it was just a few days.”

“And it’s not like we’ve been doing all that much talking as of late. Walking in a straight line for days on end is surprisingly draining,” Bella said. They were both silent for a few moments. Bella knelt by their unlit campfire and used a piece of flint from their travel packs to light a flame at its base. She leaned back and let out a huff. “Has your cultivation been making good progress?”

“No major changes since we left the sect,” Chance admitted as he sat down next to her, rubbing the back of his neck. The air between them was a little more awkward than usual – and though both of them would have pointed to being tired, that had been a large part of why they’d been talking so little over the last week.

Without the imminent threat of death, Chance’s borderline-confession suddenly felt a lot more embarrassing to bring up, and the state of pure calm that he’d had during the city seemed to evade him when he didn’t have a major threat to contend with.

A breeze rustled through the clearing and the fire sputtered. Chance raised his eyes, letting them roam over their surroundings. It was nothing but grass and scattered, thin trees. That’s all it had been for the past week, and it didn’t show any signs of stopping soon.

They’d just been letting his karma guide them, but Chance was starting to wonder if their months of exile from Gleam would end up running out before they actually reached – well, wherever it was that his karma was taking them.

But, once it does end, and if we survive… what then? Vex will still be hunting us. Lin is still out there, and I don’t even know what Yeo’s dealing with on his end. There’s something wrong with his dad, that’s for sure.

And then there’s me. Do I just keep trying to get stronger, or do I try to go find my parents? Or something else entirely? When I’m allowed back to Gleam, do I even really want to go?

“What are you going to do after all this?” Bella asked, somehow landing on the exact same thing that Chance’s own thoughts were on.

“I was just thinking about that,” Chance admitted. “I’ll be honest. I don’t know. I’ve gone with the flow for so long that thinking about actually intentionally choosing a path is intimidating. Letting my karma just guide me forever is pretty tempting, but I know that’s not the way to do it either. It’s a tool, not a crutch.”

Bella sighed and nodded. “I know the feeling. At least you’ve got some direction though, right? You know you want to eventually find your parents.”

“Yeah.” Chance caught the implication of Bella’s words. “And you don’t?”

“Beyond eventually killing Vex, nothing. That’s probably not a good thing. I’ve just never had the opportunity to even think about life beyond that. We haven’t exactly gotten a lot of slow moments to think as of late. If it isn’t one thing trying to kill us, it’s another.”

“Don’t jinx us.” Chance laughed, and the fire crackled as another breeze blew through the camp. Bella ran a hand through her hair, and Chance was struck with an urge to do the same. He repressed it – until he made good on his promise, it wouldn’t be right. “Well, now’s one of those times.”

“That’s the problem,” Bella muttered, looking at Chance out of the corner of her eyes. “I almost wish it wasn’t. I can’t punch the future. I prefer enemies that I can actually fight against. Even with Vex, I feel like I can actually do something. You know?”

“Can’t argue with that, but I think you might be looking at the future wrong. Maybe that’s the source of the trouble?”

“What do you mean?” Bella frowned.

Chance’s brow furrowed as he searched for the right words. After a moment, he gave up and just spoke without trying to find the best way to say it. “The future is… just the future, you know? There’s no point worrying about it. You’ll just suffer twice.”

“That’s easy to say when you’re a Karma cultivator,” Bella said with a laugh.

“I can see why you’d think that, but I haven’t always been a Karma cultivator,” Chance pointed out. “Back on Earth, I was just a homeless kid. I basically didn’t have a future with the way things were.”

Turning away from the fire, Bella focused her full attention on him. She pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. “So what did you do then?”

“I kind of just moved along. I didn’t worry too much about the future or what it would hold. That wasn’t in my control. I just did what I could every day. That’s what I try to do now, even though I’ve actually got some real goals.”

“Weren’t you worried?”

Chance shrugged. “I think it would be weird not to worry at all. I don’t think you should let fear rule you either, though. Work to prepare yourself for a future you want, but don’t sacrifice the present for tomorrow.”

“That’s… philosophical,” Bella said with a wry smile. “A quote?”

“From my dad. But what I’m trying to say is I don’t think you need to have a concrete goal in mind. I mean, it’s a great thing to have a goal, but if you don’t, you shouldn’t beat yourself up about it. Just do your best to enjoy the present and take steps so that, once the future does roll around, you’ll be able to meet it.”

Bella didn’t reply immediately. They sat in silence for a few moments, watching the fire crackle before them.

“What if I never figure out what to do? I can’t just sit around doing nothing forever.”

“It’s hardly doing nothing,” Chance replied. “We’ve been helping people. That’s never a waste. Even if all you do is help people, I view that as a life well lived. That’s not to say I don’t have things I want to accomplish other than that, but I’m sure you’ll figure out what you want eventually. You’ve only been out from Vex’s thumb for a few months, Bella. Don’t be so hard on yourself.”

Bella let out a huff, then looked back to Chance. “If that’s the case, why haven’t you said anything about what we talked about in the Brackern sect?”

Chance froze. “What?”

“You said you want to live in the moment, but you promised you’d bring it up again once things calmed down,” Bella said crossly. “And you still haven’t. What’s going on?”

“I – uh…” Chance’s ears reddened and he cleared his throat. “…waiting for the right time?”

“You basically already confessed!” Bella exclaimed. “The least you could do is actually follow up on it. I’ve been waiting for a week, you know.”

“I didn’t want to make things about me when we were talking about your future and stuff,” Chance said sheepishly. “And I’ll admit that it’s kind of embarrassing. I felt a lot bolder then than I do now.”

“We are literally talking about it,” Bella said. “You started things. Finish them – unless you’ve changed your mind?”

“No, definitely not!” Chance said quickly, raising his hands. He mirrored Bella’s huff, then shifted so he was looking straight at her. He steadied himself for a moment.

Bella basically asked me to confess, so that means she likes me back, right? Or am I reading too much into things and does she just want to clear the air? I –

“Chance,” Bella said, her voice dangerous. She watched him through narrow eyes. “Don’t make me ask you again.”

“Fine! I’ve developed romantic feelings toward you,” Chance said quickly, practically forcing the words out before he could stop himself. The temptation to pull on his Essence to give himself courage was strong, but something about fully confessing while using magic as a crutch didn’t feel right. If he was going to do it, then he was going to do it right. “I’m not sure if you feel the same way, but if you do–”

The rest of Chance’s sentence was cut off as Bella leaned forward and pressed her lips to his. His eyes widened and he froze for an instant. Then he sank into the kiss, wrapping his arms around her.

Bella pulled back a second later, just enough so she could arch an eyebrow at him. “There. How’s that for a response? If you hadn’t taken so damn long to ask, then you would have gotten it way earlier.”

“Point taken.” Chance’s heart thumped in his chest like a runaway racehorse. He couldn’t keep a grin from his face. “That’s a pretty damn effective method of encouragement.”

“It is, isn’t it?” Bella asked with a wry smile.

She kissed him again.

And just for a little longer, neither of them thought about what the future held.