When the projection of the middle-aged man finally dissipated into nothingness, the invisible force draining the old man's vitality vanished along with it. The sensation was immediate. The suffocating pressure gripping his soul loosened, and the numbness eating away at his flesh receded like a retreating tide.
Yet despite being freed, his body remained pitiful.
He looked emaciated to the extreme, his skin clinging tightly to bone, dry and shriveled like a corpse that had been left out under the scorching sun for far too long. Anyone who saw him would think he was already half-dead. And yet, in stark contrast to his ruined body, there was still a brilliant glint burning deep within his eyes. It a stubborn light that refused to be extinguished.
As the dark, grotesque totem embedded in his body shattered and faded away, the old man's expression changed rapidly. Shock surged forth through his heart first. Then clarity followed.
