The ghostly figure spoke," Felix, you are the one who I had been waiting for."
"
What do you mean?"
"
You were chosen to be guided by me. When I first met you on the top of that building, you were
fainted, facing upside down. I saw how well you did in climbing the stairs, but don't you think you did a bit too
much?"
Felix hesitated, "No! I think the coach just wanted me to have a balanced shape when I am running the
marathon. It wasn't too much for me to handle."
The ghost soldier thought for a while. His face showed a sign of catastrophe, "Your coach was
possessed by a losing spirit of the Qin Dynasty. Unfortunately, that spirit was the emperor himself. He was cruel
back in the days, ordering people to build the Great Wall for him. People would have to work for eternity until
the Great Wall was finished. Although he became a spirit, he could still intrude into people's bodies and order
them to do ridiculous amount of work, before they finally die."
"
Impossible! He taught me a lot of things and he was a nice guy..." Felix sobbed, unable to accept the
fact.
"
Your coach should be waiting at the finish line. The only way to drag out the spirit within his body
was to be 1st in this race. Can you achieve your goal?"
"
I can try, maybe it would work."
Felix was uncertain about his decision. As an inexperienced marathon runner, being 1st would require a
miracle. The fog were getting thicker by each second, though the walls were still visible, Felix couldn't see his
competitors or magnificent country sides. He wished those sceneries still exist, as the void felt quite lonely and
boring. It was the longest time he had been running. Time seemed to be passing relatively slower than normal,
but Felix wasn't tired in any bit.
"
Lookout!" The ghost soldier exclaimed.
A gust of wind surged using the Great Wall as a passage. Felix tried hard to let his eyes stay open. He
could only watch the ghost soldier being taken away by similar ghosts. Felix feared that they might be the
emperor's troops. He found a tower about 200 meters away, his instinct told him to hide within the base of the
tower. Felix fought over the wind, but the ghosts kept rushing forward. Felix fell instantly while he stumbled on
towards the tower.
Felix hit the floor face down, scrapping against the Great Wall. He stopped right before the stairs which
dropped down to the tower. He rose up again, his faces were filled with blood stains and bruises, while his feet
had paralysed during the slide. Slowly and steadily, Felix tried to move forward for a few steps. He wobbled
sideways, nearly fell onto the wall. His vision turned blurry, with only the sides of the Great Wall left behind.
Through his vision, there was an outline of a mystical figure, similar to the ghost soldier he met a while ago.
Felix used his strength to budge towards it. The ghost floated for a while, and rushed forward bumping into
Felix. After it moved back, a silver watch was held in between his ghostly hands.
"
Stop! That is the watch my coach gave me!" Felix yelled at the unseen.
His body was released from paralysis. He dashed between the white void, as his hands stretched for the
watch. However, the ghost were always ahead, no matter how fast Felix ran. The exhaustion came back to Felix,
he couldn't hold on anymore. Suddenly, the ghost vanished in mid-air, taking the watch with it. He witnessed all
of his training and teaching from the coach shattered along with the watch, he fainted in a world of unknown.
As he woke up, a blast of sunlight shot right in his eyes. He covered his head and gradually stood up.
Cheering noises screamed around him when the judge gave him his gold medal. Felix didn't know how to
respond. He hadn't recognized what was going on when he fainted. Soon after, the ghost soldier came with the
emperor in its transparent hands.
"
Felix, you ran faster than a train at the end of the course. Thank you for making the world safe again."
"
I wasn't realizing how I ran. All I knew was a faint figure took my watch. I got furious when the watch
was stolen. I couldn't afford to lose something that was given to me by my coach on my birthday." He searched
on his wrists, the watch was nowhere to be found.
"
Are you looking for this, Felix?" Out of nowhere, the coach came towards Felix. He was holding a
watch, a particular one owned by Felix.
* * *