Omega Manual chapter 73

Keep Moving Forward

At night, they set up a tent on a relatively flat slope halfway up the mountain.

Shelley found that Irey was right. When truly in the snow-covered mountains of a no-man’s-land, the human brain found it hard to think of anything else.

When the body’s fatigue reached a certain limit, the limited brain cells could only focus on the immediate tasks: where to step next, how far to the next rest stop.

The mountain scenery would distance one from all the hustle and bustle of the world. Those once incredibly important thoughts would become meaningless under the towering peaks, pale snow, and distant stars.

Here, everything was quiet, vast, and empty.

The mountains made no comment on anything; they simply stood there, welcoming the sunrise and sunset, the stars scattered across the sky for billions of years.

They were part of the earth, accepting all the small beings’ evaluations and reverence, nurturing or obliterating them indiscriminately.

The night sky was unbelievably beautiful, unlike anything on earth.

The stars filled the transparent night, each one shining clearly as if one could reach out and scoop a handful from the Milky Way.

Lying on the ground, Shelley gazed at the sky, momentarily unsure if he was in reality or just dreaming a very long dream.

Irey came over at some point and lay down beside him, the snow rustling as it was imprinted with another human shape.

“I’ve never seen such a beautiful starry sky,” Shelley murmured, tracing the Milky Way’s path with a finger in the night sky. “So clear, so clean… it feels like another world.”

“That’s why they speak of the River of Souls,” Irey said, resting his arm under his head, following Shelley’s gaze. “When people die, they turn into stars in the sky, flowing into the Forgetting River, drifting along the Milky Way to another world. I didn’t believe it before, but seeing it now, it seems it might be true.”

“If it’s true,” Shelley said, “your mother and sister are watching us from there.”

“Your mother too,” Irey said.

Then they both fell silent, not speaking for a while.

After a moment, Shelley chuckled softly, the sound particularly clear in the serene night.

“No,” he said. “Stars are just distant planets, like the things that crashed on Earth five years ago, just stones and sand. People don’t turn into stones.”

“How do you know?” Irey turned to look at him. “You’ve never been a stone, only a person.”

Shelley blinked, unable to think of any argument to refute Irey’s nonsensical view. He gave up. “If I could, I’d still want to be a bird in my next life.”

Irey agreed. “Being a bird is nice. Not only can you fly, but you can poop everywhere. Every day, you randomly choose a victim. White poop on black clothes, black poop on white clothes. They want to catch you but can’t, and you fly away in a flash.”

Shelley laughed so hard he shook. “What’s wrong with you?”

Irey laughed along for a while.

When the laughter subsided, Shelley turned to look at him. “What about you?”

“Me?” Irey said. “For me, I’d still want you to be a human, just as you are now.”

He clearly misunderstood, but Shelley was stunned, a complex emotion stirring deep in his chest.

He met Irey’s eyes, which were deep and clear, like dusted-off gems against the backdrop of countless stars.

He felt like he should say something, but now, it seemed nothing needed to be said.

Under the vast sky and stars, all words lost their meaning.

So, Shelley propped himself up and kissed Irey deeply and passionately.

The high-altitude environment was far from ideal, cold and low in oxygen. Shelley only fell into a half-asleep state after 2 a.m., but after a short while, he was startled awake by a loud noise from the tent.

Opening his eyes, he saw the tent shaking violently in the gale, the poles almost bending to their limits. In the next second, the fragile poles snapped with a crisp sound, and the tent fabric almost slammed onto his face.

His mind went blank for two seconds before he suddenly realized a storm had hit.

Before setting out, the boat captain had said the weather would be fine for the next few days, yet they were unlucky enough to be caught in a sudden snowstorm on what was supposed to be a clear night.

As he struggled desperately within the torn tent fabric, a strong hand pulled him out, while another hand grabbed their gear and backpacks.

Almost instantly, the flimsy tent was blown away like a kite, disappearing from their sight.

Shelley slipped in the thick snow on the ground and was immediately caught by Irey. In the snowstorm, they could only see a few steps ahead, and the wind howled in their ears, painfully beating their eardrums, making it impossible to hear anything clearly.

“Move!” Irey shouted at him with all his might, “Keep moving forward!”

After saying this, Irey tightly grabbed his hand and began to take one step at a time against the storm.

In such sudden and harsh weather, their only choice was to keep moving forward.

Without a tent, there was no way back.

Their heavy mountaineering gear ensured they wouldn’t be blown away by the snowstorm, but only by moving could they possibly maintain their body heat in such extreme conditions. As long as they walked out of the wind tunnel, the storm would disappear, and they could survive to reach the top.

They could only go forward; they had to go forward.

The deep night in the snowy mountains was as terrifying as death itself. The bone-chilling wind pounded every corner of their bodies from all directions. As soon as their limbs or fingers stopped moving, they would instantly become numb like ice, losing all sensation.

Body heat rapidly dissipated in the storm, making each step increasingly difficult. Shelley’s mind went blank, and his muscles trembled uncontrollably. He could even feel the presence of death lingering around him.

At any moment, it could pierce his skin and take his heart.

He had no strength left to speak; every bit of his energy was focused on gripping the rope and taking the next step.

Each step was more exhausting than the last, and gradually, only one thought remained in his blank mind—an instinctive fear gripped his every nerve.

Would he die here?

Would he and Irey both die in this place?

Shelley had thought that after enduring prolonged dull pain, he would no longer fear death.

He had come here to die, not even hoping to die on the mountain. He thought he might only reach the foot of the mountain or die in a place where the mountain couldn’t even be seen. When he thought of this, his heart was as calm as still water.

So why was he so afraid now?

Looking at the tall figure of the Alpha in front of him, Shelley suddenly understood in a flash of clarity.

Yes, it was because Irey was with him now.

He didn’t want the journey to end here so abruptly, nor did he want Irey to die in vain after enduring so much pain and effort.

His life, which had been as light as a feather and insignificant, had become the most precious and heavy treasure in Irey’s hand.

It made him reluctant to abandon it, unwilling to neglect it.

But the world never bends to anyone’s will. Just when he wanted to live the most, he was faced with death.

Shelley’s steps grew heavier, severe tinnitus rang in his ears, and he gradually lost feeling in his limbs.

His vision narrowed, and he could no longer see the rope in front of him. Breathing became increasingly difficult.

At that moment, something suddenly gripped his hand tightly and pulled him hard.

It was Irey Halton.

Shelley saw his lips moving non-stop. He struggled to make out the words, and after a while, Irey’s voice seemed to float from a great distance into his ears.

“… Move! Keep moving forward, don’t stop!” Irey grabbed his arm, clenched his hand, and dragged him back from the brink of numbness, roaring, “Neither of us will die here! Do you hear me? Both of us, we’ll climb to the top together, absolutely won’t die here!”

Irey’s voice was like a blow to the head, jolting Shelley out of his chaotic despair.

They wouldn’t die. How could they die so easily in a place like this?

He and Irey had come so far together, endured so much pain.

Nothing had defeated them, not even death had separated them.

He and Irey could not die in a place like this.

In an instant, Shelley found a burst of strength, tightly gripping Irey’s hand and taking a big step forward, coming to his side.

Irey took out a heat pack from his clothes and tucked it into Shelley’s chest, then removed his scarf and wrapped it around Shelley’s neck.

“Irey Halton!” Shelley shouted with all his might, “I love you!”

“I know!” Irey shouted back, pulling his hand forward, “Keep moving! Don’t stop!”

“I want to live!” Shelley yelled.

The snowstorm was so fierce that Shelley couldn’t see Irey’s expression under his goggles, but he clearly paused and then breathed a bit more heavily.

Whether it was an illusion or not, for a moment, Shelley seemed to see a trace of wetness on his cheek.

“Alright!” Irey roared, pulling him forward with force, “Then let’s live together! Move forward!”