Ethan's chest tightened.
This power...
It was nearly identical to the pale-white energy Lily left inside him.
Just as he was trying to figure out how to handle the pillar—
That pale energy stirred.
Not at his command.
But in response.
His body jerked—then surged forward, completely out of his control.
In the next instant—
The pillar's energy detonated.
A blinding, icy, savage force flooded straight into him with zero resistance.
Agony hit him again.
Bones felt like they were being torn apart. His flesh—ripped, reshaped, rewritten.
But this time—
He didn't break.
The pain... it was different. Like something had already preemptively filtered or tempered it.
He could bear it.
More than that—he was adapting.
Second by second, the Infernal energy lacing the pillar was being absorbed, stabilized, and gradually fused into his body.
And it wasn't just him.
Auri and Idra began glowing.
That pale-white power surged around both of them, moving like it had found new vessels.
