For the first time since arriving at the castle, Cairen woke up alone.
The absence of the silent, silver presence standing by his bed, always faintly unsettling, was a profound relief that made him let out a long sigh.
His body relaxed against the soft sheets.
The routine had settled. Food was brought, he ate, and then he sat down to return to cultivation. A night's rest had erased his exhaustion.
The Embrace of the Deep Ocean technique flowed through him, drawing the dense Qi spread throughout the castle, transforming it into his own Fallen energy within his dantian.
It was slow, methodical work, a constant sensation of progress. He had the feeling he might break through today.
Until, suddenly, a sharp, violent twist in his chest tore him from his cultivation state.
It wasn't physical pain. It was something deeper, a spiritual agony that echoed through the bond linking him to Ling.
