Chapter 80: Guandao
Kenzo was slowly coming back to his senses. His eyes were still closed, but he could already feel the dull aches left behind by the battle he had just survived. The pain was not concentrated in any one place; it was diffuse, everywhere at once, as though his entire body had been battered from within. Every breath pulled painfully at his ribs, and every attempt to move awakened a new source of pain. Yet despite all of that, he was conscious—far more conscious than he would have expected after a fight like that.
Eventually, he opened his eyes. The first thing he saw was a ceiling of spider silk stretched above him, dense and irregular, clinging to the walls like an artificial vault. The light filtering through it gave everything a pale, almost unreal hue. He was still lying down, and the moment he tried to sit upright, his body refused. He settled for propping himself up on one arm, taking a moment to understand where he was. Beside him, Lucian was sleeping deeply. He was no longer wearing his armor, only the clothes he had worn before entering the Fragment, as though the battle had been nothing more than a nightmare. His breathing was steady, his face relaxed, completely different from the terrified expression he had worn only a few hours earlier. A short distance away lay the weapon that had been used to kill Sir James. It rested there in silence, unmoving, but its presence alone was enough to bring the battle back to mind.
Kenzo looked away and focused on what lay ahead. A fire burned quietly nearby. Ophelia and Naty sat beside it, cooking a piece of meat over the flames. The smell was strong, almost aggressive, yet strangely comforting. There was something almost normal about the scene, as though the violence they had just endured had never happened.
Naty was the first to notice that he was awake.
— « You're awake?… We honestly thought you were going to die with all those injuries. You're tougher than you look. »
She gave him a warm, genuine smile despite the exhaustion still visible on her face. Ophelia turned slightly toward him, her expression indifferent, almost neutral.
— « You did good. You didn't get in my way. You should put your armor back into your Orb so it can regenerate. »
Kenzo tried to answer, but the instant he attempted to speak, a violent pain tore through his throat and jaw. He froze and clenched his teeth, deciding it was better not to make things worse. Ophelia noticed immediately.
— « Don't try to talk yet. You heal quickly, but he messed you up pretty badly. »
She tossed him a bag containing something he recognized at once: the heart of the Unstable-rank Messenger of the Mist. Along with it came a makeshift pouch woven from spider silk, filled with water.
— « Get some strength back. »
Naty watched him for a moment before speaking.
— « I really didn't expect the three of you to kill a creature like that spider. Compared to you, I didn't exactly live up to my status… Either way, you earned that heart. As for the Prana Fragment, we gave it to Lucian. He fought well. »
Ophelia nodded faintly before adding in the same detached tone:
— « You were lucky it had only just emerged from its transition. I doubt you would've survived otherwise. »
The moment his name was mentioned, Lucian jolted awake. He blinked several times, still disoriented, then spotted Kenzo beside him. Without thinking, he threw himself at him.
— « Kenzo… are you okay?! »
Unable to speak, Kenzo gently tapped Lucian's back several times, silently asking him to calm down—and to stop squeezing quite so hard. Lucian immediately pulled away once he understood, apologizing under his breath as tears of relief ran down his cheeks.
Kenzo took the Void Creature's heart and ate it without hesitation. The moment he swallowed it, he felt prana spreading through him, warm, dense, almost heavy. Then a voice echoed in his mind.
[Congratulations. You have consumed a Void Creature of this type for the first time: Messenger of the Mist [Infected, Unstable]. Your Heart has become more robust.]
He already knew the creature's name, since Lucian possessed one as an artifact, but now he knew its classification as well. It was an Infected of Unstable rank. Kenzo summoned his Orb and returned his armor to it so it could regenerate, leaving himself bare-chested with only the sacrificial trousers he had been wearing when he first arrived in the Fragment. Only then did he see the bruises and countless injuries covering the body beneath the armor. Lucian, Ophelia, and Naty all looked away, lowering their eyes to give him some privacy. Lucian, who wore a white shirt over a blue T-shirt, removed the shirt and held it out to him.
— « Here. You'll be less cold with this. »
Kenzo accepted it without hesitation.
— « Thanks. »
He then checked his Status.
Status:
Name: Kenzo
Rank: Unconscious
Bodily Awakening: [Serpent+]
Awakened Prana: [2/800]
Heart: Awakened
Corrupted Prana: [119/1000]
Power: None, please ingest a power
Blessings: [Touched by the Unique], [The Lastborn]
Gift: [Chimera+]
Artifacts: [Armor of the Forest Guardians+], [White Fang+], [Sage's Guandao+]
Before entering the Mist, Kenzo had possessed 113 Corrupted Prana. The four Void Creatures they had killed on the way to the treeless region had brought him to 117. A Void Creature at the same stage as him but of a higher rank had therefore given him more than the others.
Now it was time to inspect the new weapon he had received without ever having the chance to properly examine it.
[Sage's Guandao:
Once offered to a kingdom under threat,
Forged from sacred roots to protect without taking life,
Kept from blood and death by the hand of its sworn guardian,
It now seals every soul it reaps, forever imprisoned within.]
Kenzo stared at the description in confusion before turning his attention toward the guandao's blade. He saw nothing unusual. Finding no visible clue as to what the description meant, he decided to stand and loosen his stiff muscles instead. As he rose, he noticed that the cocoon from which the Messenger of the Mist had emerged was still there. Since speaking was still painful, he simply pointed toward it while looking at Naty and Ophelia.
— « What?… Oh, we already checked inside, » Ophelia said. « There's just a stone table covered in ancient engravings. That's probably what allowed the spider to advance to a higher rank. »
— « Only someone from Kar'Thum, the Kingdom of Earth, could help us translate them, » Naty added. « Runes and engravings are their specialty. »
Kenzo nodded and slowly started toward the cocoon. Just before he left, Ophelia calmly added:
— « We put the Deviant Transfigured's body in there too. »