The small serpents of crimson and amber left the turtle's body and began their dance towards Blanc's chest.
As they touched his chest, they became pulsing, following Blanc's heartbeat, their colors getting stronger as they dove deeper into him.
And soon they found his heart and stopped their dance.
As the dance stopped, the Mark appeared on the side of Blanc's neck.
The outline of a whole turtle, the White Mark of the Turtle, stood there proudly.
He felt vigor swimming through his body, a life essence so pure that his body felt lighter after tasting it.
Two decades were added to his lifespan.
The harvest of Raw Vita concluded successfully.
But before he opened his eyes, he felt as if he were the turtle itself.
He stared at the water, seeing terrifying beasts climb out of the water one by one.
He felt terrified, but they stood between him and the water he needed to escape.
So, he did what he thought best, and his inside his shell, hoping for the danger to pass.
Blanc opened his eyes slowly, his mind returning to the surface of the normal world, and he looked around.
Celine and Miyanna were looking over them as he, Kael, and Lune were harvesting.
"You're back, my love?" Celine asked, "Kael and Lune just began."
"Yeah," Blanc nodded, getting to his feet, but a sharp pain in his heart made him fall back to the ground.
"Hubby!" Miyanna ran towards him, panic surging in her heart as she saw Blanc grab his chest.
The pain was sharp as if something was cutting at his heart.
He felt something hard forming inside his heart, pushing the walls of his heart slightly as it formed.
He groaned, tears leaving his eyes from the pain.
But he wasn't sad, a smile appeared on his and Celine's faces.
"Ahaha," Blanc laughed, "It hurts like a bitch."
"What's wrong with you? Are you okay?" Miyanna muttered, not sure what was happening.
"He's fine, sister, more than fine actually," Celine giggled, "Congratulations on your first Bloodshard fragment, my love."
"What the fuck is that?" Miyanna asked.
"Thanks," Blanc exhaled, the pain slowly subsiding. "Don't worry, my love, I will explain everything when we're done with all this."
"Promise me you are really fine," Miyanna muttered, her bronze eyes staring into his own, worry painted on his face.
"I promise you, my love, I am more than fine," Blanc replied, before kissing her and calming her down.
"Okay…" Miyanna whispered.
"Now," Blanc muttered as he got to his feet, "Feel free to start your own harvests, I'll protect you all."
"Thank you, my love," Celine smiled warmly at him before kneeling before her two kills and placing her hand on one of the turtle's chests.
"I'll start too, then," Miyanna said to Blanc as she knelt beside her own turtles, placing her right on one of them, her mind going below the surface of the world.
"I'll wait for your return," Blanc replied in a whisper as he watched, wondering how deep the cave system went and how many turtles were there.
They concluded their harvests, with each of them having two turtles harvested and a light gray Mark on the side of their necks.
They slowly prepared to move deeper inside.
"The feeling is incredible," Celine muttered as she moved her left hand's fingers slowly, "I feel amazing."
"Yeah, I feel younger in a weird way," Miyanna muttered.
"Not younger," Blanc shook his head, "But you will remain young for a lot longer than usual."
"What do you mean?" Miyanna asked.
"This lifespan we received from the turtles' Raw Vita won't stop us from aging, but the signs of aging won't begin appearing normally until this extra lifespan runs out," Blanc began his explanation. "For example, Kael and Lune have harvested two turtles, but they will still grow to become adults. However, their bodies won't start showing signs of getting old until well over sixty years old, meaning their normal lifespan has increased to around a hundred and fifty years. And this is only from two turtles. Think of each turtle as pushing those two numbers by another twenty years with each kill, and then you will understand why wars happened in the past over them."
"That's scary and amazing at the same time," Miyanna muttered as she processed what her husband explained.
"Indeed so," Blanc chuckled, "But now it's time to move on deeper inside. I think we should take some of the turtles and lay them as we walk to create a path back for us to follow when we return."
"Great idea," Celine replied, grabbing the two turtles she had killed.
"Let's move on, then," Blanc replied, picking two turtles and taking the lead forward outside the cavern they were in as they entered a long, dark corridor.
It didn't take long for them to find another cavern on the left side of the corridor.
As they placed the last turtle corpse on the ground, Blanc took a look inside, and inside stood another five turtles, each of them big enough for them to kill.
"The Vita is good to us," Blanc muttered as he entered the room, sword at the ready, with everyone else following closely behind, ready to add yet another two decades to their lifespan.
And in less than ten minutes, they left that cavern, reentering the corridor, with five new turtle corpses in hand, and the Marks on their necks being a darker shade of gray than when they entered.
"Poor Blood Certa would cry his eyes out if he saw us," Blanc laughed, as he placed the turtle he was carrying on the floor.
"You really hate him, don't you?" Celine giggled, walking over the turtle Blanc had placed down.
"The blood in my veins requires I hate him, my love," Blanc replied, as he looked for another cavern to enter.
"Then I hate him too," Miyanna said proudly.
"Good," Blanc laughed, "Let's hope the Metamorphs get their act together and create problems for the fool. Ah, another cavern, with, let's see… huh?"
"What's wrong, Brother?" Kael asked.
"There are over fifteen turtles inside," Blanc whispered, not believing his eyes.
"Have we struck gold?" Miyanna wondered.
"Not gold, sister," Celine shook her head, as she played with the sword in her hand, "A whole mine."
"Let's not wait too much and have the Vita change her mind," Blanc laughed at the comparison while entering the cavern, sword in hand, "But be careful at your Marks, if it gets black, stop harvesting more, understood?"
All knew the risks of not listening to Blanc's words when it came to harvesting.
They were more than aware of what overharvesting could mean for them.
So, with that in mind, they started sniffing out the lives of the turtles in quick succession, with each of them agreeing to harvest three turtles.
By the end of their third harvest, all agreed that the Vita was really smiling upon them today since none of their Marks got black.
Kael and Lune's Marks now had a dark shade of gray, while all three adults still had a light shade of gray on their Marks.
"We each have six turtles harvested," Blanc muttered, "What luck…"
"True," Celine nodded, "Well over a century of increased lifespan."
"Thank the Vita," whispered Kael, happy to know his death won't come too soon.
"I wonder if Father and Mothers have turtle Marks," Lune thought out loud.
"Most likely," Blanc nodded, "Most Noble Bloods buy them."
"I am happy if we get to live all this extra time all together," Lune giggled.
But Blanc could only show a sad smile at her words as he said, "So do I, Little Flower."
"But, Brother," Kael spoke, wishing to change the subject, "Our Marks will get black soon, right?"
"I think so," Blanc agreed, "Two more and I think that would be your limit."
"A hundred and sixty years added to the usual hundred," Kael calculated, but stopped when Celine spoke.
"This is only from Raw Vita, Kael. If you keep harvesting and develop a Bloodshard, you will be able to harvest a True Vita, which usually increases one's lifespan," she explained.
"So, I'll live a minimum of three centuries?" Kael asked, more to himself than others.
"Yes, Little Kael, that's right," Blanc smiled, "Plenty of time to read as many books as you want, maybe even write a few."
"That…" Kael muttered, thinking for a while, "That doesn't sound too bad."
Blanc laughed, hearing Kael get more motivated from his words, "Then, let's make sure we find the rest of the turtles you two need, hm?"
"Y-yeah," Kael stuttered, clearly embarrassed.
"Are you crying, Kael?" Lune asked.
"Nonsense," Kael replied defensively, "You are the one crying."
"No, I'm not. But you definitely are," Lune ran out of the cavern, giggling, followed by an embarrassed and angry Kael.
"Yep," Miyanna sighed, looking at the two, "I really do want a child."
"I'll give you plenty," Blanc chuckled as he grabbed some turtles from the ground, "But let's finish this first."
"Oh my," Celine said, surprised, "What did I miss?"
"As an apology for me jumping into the river," Blanc replied.
"And what do I get?" Celine asked.
"Is that jealousy coming from Celine?" Miyanna muttered sarcastically.
"I'm up for negotiations," Blanc replied as they exited the cavern and followed after Lune and Kael.
"A mistake to think you can defeat me in negotiations, my love," Celine giggled as she walked beside Blanc and Miyanna, "But I will take you up on that offer."
"It seems we have centuries at our leisure to do whatever, so don't go easy on me," Blanc laughed as they walked through the corridor, to wherever it led them.