Ori and the Spirits Within: Revitalized

Chapter 19: Aches of the Soul

"H-Hey!" Ku called out. "Are you there?"

...

"I-It... It's ok," Ku spoke, trying to get the lost soul to show themselves. "I-I'm... not angry at you! This whole this i-isn't your fault! I just want to talk! Please?"

...

The owl sighed in mild frustration. She had been searching the forest for a couple minutes by now, looking for the lost soul within her brother's body, but to no avail. He did find a small paw print here and there, supposedly leading towards him, but those prints could have been from any moki as well. But she kept looking nonetheless.

She wondered what was going on through his mind, especially after having learned much of the truth from Seir. Not only was he taken away unjustly from his home world, not only was he then forced to put on a guise in front of Ori's family, but he was also unfairly stripped from all of his memories when Seir knew about it the whole time. His entire life in this world was just... a lie. He was only a pawn, used in an altruistic plan by the golden light of Niwen. He had no purpose here other than that. She couldn't imagine being put in a situation like that, but the soul was just trying his best to resolve this situation, for her and everybody else. She could see the genuine kindness he possessed, going so far in bringing the true Ori back. She liked him, and she didn't want that man to be upset...

Finally, after more walking and calling out for the soul, Ku heard noises coming from behind a few brushes, mostly sniffles. She trotted towards the sad sounds to find the source of the noise, and before she knew it, she found him: The lost soul inhabiting Ori's body, sitting down on a large tree stump, his knees curled up and against his face, his arms wrapped around his legs, his ears and floppy horns drooping downward, all while he cried quietly.

"H... H-Hey...?" Ku called out meekly.

"*sniffle*" The body didn't move.

"I... Mmm..." She silently walked towards the solemn soul.

"St-Stop...!" he muttered, holding a hand out to pause her approach. "J-Just... g-go away... please? I-I know you don't want to see me anymore..."

"No, that's not true," Ku replied, slowly resuming her approach. "I... I know you're in a difficult spot right now, that you feel lost... and alone... but you're not alone."

"..."

"Look... you were lying about who you were and what happened to Ori, but both of those things are Seir's fault, not yours..." Ku continued as she reached the spirit, sitting beside them and turning to face him... as he faced away from her. "You... You just wanted to keep the situation under control, to keep us away from this painful truth. I was upset when you told us, but... I know you just wanted us to be happy. If you told me all of this when we were in Nibel, I... I know I wouldn't be pleased."

"... I know that," he muttered, slowly uncurling his body. "I-I just...! I lost every thought of what I was, and for what? To fail at bringing someone else back to life? He took me away just so I could lie to your face?"

"That failure isn't on you," Ku replied. "You aren't responsible for any of this. You didn't know about that... how could you?"

"*sniffle* I'm... I'm just... nothing now," he muttered, retreating back into despair. "I have nothing. No memories, no purpose, no... no family, no friends, there's... nothing left for me. I don't belong here... I-I don't deserve to live like this..."

"H-Hey, no! No! D-Don't say that!" Ku objected, quickly inching closer to envelop the spirit in one of her wings. "It's not like that. You're doing your best to solve this... and we're thankful for that. We don't... We don't hate you."