Consciousness swayed like a broken sailboat on a sea of pain and void. Raine was the first to struggle out of the deep unconsciousness, each breath tearing through his body like lacerations. His internal energy circulation felt like a garden violently ravaged—chaotic and devastated. The glow of his Life Seed flickered weakly, like a candle in the wind. His draconic bloodline slumbered. Only his crystalline right arm sent sharp pangs of ice and stabbing pain—the heavy burden of containing too much alien energy.
He suddenly opened his eyes. Absolute darkness triggered instant alertness. His right eye's faint-light vision activated automatically, outlining the narrow stone crevice and another curled-up figure beside him.
Liyana.
Memories surged like a tidal wave—the final battle at the observation station, the terrifying black-armored grave guardian, Liyana's frenzied sacrifice, and his own reckless energy extraction and guidance…
Raine forced his aching body upright to check her condition. Her breathing was still weak but steadier than before; the gray and dark-red pallor of her face had faded, leaving only post-injury paleness. Yet her internal energies remained chaotic and fragile, her core severely damaged, like embers about to die out.
Raine let out a slight sigh of relief—the most dangerous moment had passed. He attempted to channel a fraction of his Life Seed energy for self-repair, only to find it extremely difficult, draining, and barely effective. The previous outburst and her rescue had nearly exhausted him completely.
At that moment, an intense, instinctive craving struck him like a venomous snake biting his nerves—not a hunger of the stomach, but a profound energy deficiency! His body, especially his crystalline right arm, was ravenous for energy. Without replenishment, even the most basic life functions would become impossible.
The craving distorted his perception. In the darkness, he seemed to "smell" the faint energy currents deep in the soil, to "hear" the slow growth of corrupted plants outside the crevice…
No! He could not lose control!
Raine gritted his teeth, digging his nails into his palms, using the pain to resist the seductive whispers of corruption. He knew that if he began absorbing those tainted external energies, he would fall into irredeemable ruin.
His gaze fell on the unconscious Liyana, and an uncontrollable thought flashed—those residual Life Withering forces within her, though faint, were pure and… "tempting."
The thought sent a chill down his spine and filled him with self-loathing. He shook his head violently, driving it away.
He had to find a safe source of energy!
He painfully moved to the sealed entrance, pressing his ear against the rock, focusing on the sounds outside. Aside from the wind and occasional strange insect cries, there was absolute silence. The grave guardian didn't seem to have pursued them, but that was no cause for relief.
Carefully, he pried open a small gap. A stench of corruption, even stronger and more nauseating than before, rushed in! Outside was still the cursed forest, but the energy in the air seemed more active and… hungry.
Through the gap, the sight made his heart sink.
Not far away, a streambed that should have been dry was now flowing with a viscous, dark purple, glowing liquid—a highly concentrated corrupted stream! On both sides of the stream, plants that had once been merely mutated were now growing wildly, twisted into grotesque shapes, moving as if alive, preying on the airborne corrupted spores and small creatures. Further ahead, some vague shadows lurked among the trees, radiating a dangerous aura.
This place was even more dangerous than when they had entered! The influence of the Red Moon seemed to be intensifying.
Raine retreated to the stone gap, his mood heavy to the extreme. Going out to search for safe food and clean water would be suicide; staying here meant slowly waiting for death.
His gaze fell again on Liyana's pale face. He couldn't let her die here.
The craving struck again, fiercer than before. The sharp pain in his crystalline right arm had transformed into a burning, stabbing ache, as if the energy within was starting to eat away at the arm itself.
In this desperate situation, a suppressed, primal thought resurfaced—his untested "Withering" ability.
What if… he could, just like when he stripped the alien energy from Liyana, precisely extract only the most essential life energy from the corrupted plants outside, without absorbing the corruption itself…
The idea was insane and audacious. The chance of success might not even be one in ten thousand. If he failed and the corrupted energy took hold, he would become a monster beyond redemption.
But there was no other choice.
He took a deep breath, his gaze resolute. Once again, he pressed his hand against the cold rock wall, but this time, his target was a patch of dark purple moss deep in the crevice, surviving on faint ley lines and corrupted spores, its mutation not too severe.
He closed his eyes, focusing all his will on the Life Seed mark on his left chest, activating the instincts of "drawing" and "discerning." His consciousness extended like the finest tendrils, slowly reaching toward the moss.
The process was even more difficult than stripping energy from Liyana's body. The external energy was more chaotic, full of temptation and traps. His conscious tendrils were repeatedly nearly assimilated by the corrupted energy, and only his strong will allowed him to retract them each time.
After countless failures, his mental strength drained like water spilling through a broken dam. Just as he was about to collapse from exhaustion, his "tendril" finally managed to latch onto a thread of energy—not corrupted, but the core, minuscule life essence of the moss, twisted and hidden by its mutation!
"Extract…" he silently mouthed, with extreme caution and a prayer in his heart.
A sensation of extreme, subtle coolness flowed from his fingertips into his body! He had succeeded! Though it was only a tiny thread, finer than a hair, it was extraordinarily pure, completely uncontaminated!
This precious sliver of energy was quickly absorbed by his drained body, alleviating even a fraction of the terrible thirst!
Raine collapsed to the ground, gasping as if he had just survived a life-and-death battle, utterly exhausted. Yet this tiny success brought enormous hope!
He rested for a moment, regaining a small fraction of his mental strength, and tried again. This time, he was slightly more practiced, but it remained extremely difficult, with a pitifully low success rate. After a full hour, he had drawn less than five strands of core life energy—just enough to suppress his body's collapse, far from enough to restore his strength.
He looked at his left hand, trembling slightly from repeated attempts, and then at the unconscious Liyana. She could not replenish her energy on her own; her injuries would only worsen.
An even more difficult choice lay before him.
He silently moved to Liyana's side and extended a finger, lightly touching the center of her brow. This time, his target was the remaining "withered" energy within her—her own, dormant because of her unconscious state.
This was not plundering, but… borrowing. He needed this kindred energy as a "guide" and "catalyst."
The process demanded the utmost caution. He carefully drew out a thread of Liyana's withered energy, combining it with his Life Seed energy. Something remarkable happened—the two energies did not repel each other. Instead, they intertwined like yin and yang, enhancing one another, forming a more dynamic, more discerning, and more efficient mixed energy for "drawing" and "discerning"!
With this new energy, he pressed his hand against the rock wall once more.
The efficiency increased several times over! Though still arduous, the success rate of drawing core life energy from the external plants greatly improved, and the speed also picked up considerably.
Most of the energy he drew was used to maintain his own vital signs and slowly repair his injuries, while a small portion was once again, extremely slowly and gently, infused into Liyana through contact, nourishing her exhausted essence.
It was a long and grueling process. He was like a traveler in a desert searching for dew—each successful draw came with enormous mental strain and the constant risk of failure. Sweat soaked him and dried, dried and soaked again; his consciousness blurred repeatedly from overexertion, only to be forced back by sheer will.
Time lost all meaning. Perhaps a day, perhaps two.
During this period, Liyana briefly awoke once, her eyes dazed and weak. She seemed to sense the foreign, gentle energy flowing through her body, and saw Raine's extremely exhausted yet utterly focused profile. She said nothing, only summoning her remaining strength to lightly grip the fingers he had pressed against the rock—now slightly damaged from constant drawing—before sinking back into unconsciousness.
That faint touch, however, was like a warm current, giving Raine, on the verge of his limit, an indescribable support.
Just as Raine felt he was about to reach his absolute limit, his mental strength nearly exhausted, a turning point emerged.
Perhaps it was due to the repeated high-frequency, precise "withered" draws, or perhaps because of the interaction and resonance between their energies—but his understanding and control of his own ability had reached a new level.
He no longer needed to send his consciousness entirely outside his body to painstakingly "search" and "capture." He discovered that he could "resonate" more efficiently—by emitting an extremely subtle, specific vibration through his Life Seed, he could directly "attract" the surrounding core life energy that hadn't been fully corrupted, like a magnet pulling iron filings!
Although the energy drawn in was still weak and required immediate purification and absorption (mainly relying on the mixed energy properties formed by his Life Seed and Liyana's thread of power), the efficiency increased by more than tenfold! The mental strain consumed was drastically reduced!
He had finally escaped the brink of starvation!
With a relatively stable energy supply, the two of them began to recover at a slow but visible pace.
The energy circulation within Raine's body gradually reestablished itself. Though fragile, it was no longer water without a source. The alien energy sealed inside his crystal right arm was gradually drawn out bit by bit, slowly transformed or reinforced with the newfound, stronger control.
Liyana's complexion became increasingly healthy, her breathing grew stronger, and she occasionally murmured faintly even in her unconscious state.
After another successful energy draw, Raine leaned against the rock wall, feeling the long-missed, faint but real flow of power within him, and exhaled deeply.
He looked at Liyana, still asleep beside him, and at the hand that still clutched his fingers, his eyes complicated.
They had survived. In this hopeless, corrupted land, relying on each other and this dangerous, strange power.
But new problems immediately arose—what next?
Return to Ashfall Town? The Tombkeeper might still be tracking them, and the town could offer no protection; it might even face utter destruction. Venture deeper into the forest? That would be walking into a trap. Stay here? Clearly not a long-term solution.
The "Cradle" trap Liyana had mentioned before, γ's warnings, the "sacred artifact" spoken of by the Tombkeeper… all pointed to a deeper mystery and far greater danger.
He lowered his gaze to his body, which contained multiple powers—both a lifeline and a potential source of ruin.
The path seemed to narrow to only one choice.
He had to actively uncover the truth and find the origin of all this. To survive—and also… to protect the "Withered Healer" beside him, who was willing to risk her life for him.
He gently squeezed Liyana's hand, a determined light flashing in his eyes.
The time for evasion was over. It was time to face the storm head-on.