The sensation was instant and overwhelming.
A cold that wasn't unpleasant but vital, like the deep waters of an ancient lake, began to flow through Cairen's veins and body.
It was a fluid and dense energy. The water element in its purest form, intertwining with his very being, with his meridians, yet still distancing itself from his dantian made from the fallen affinity.
Instead, it sought another place to focus. Cairen felt a sudden mental clarity, as if he had plunged into a lake of icy serenity.
The emotions stirred by recent events calmed as the cold energy spread.
Every cell in Cairen's body seemed to rejuvenate, absorbing that essence with a hunger he never knew he possessed.
And amidst the whirlpool of this newly acquired energy, the connection with Princess Ling exploded in his perception.
Before, it had been a faint thread, due to sensing her awakened lineage. But now, it was a thick, pulsating rope, as if it had tied their souls together.
He could feel the storm of energy within her, intertwining with her lineage at that moment.
On the other side, Ling was not adapting perfectly. Her body seemed to be succumbing to an incompatible energy.
Her body, now in a monstrous yet beautiful form of bony plates and spikes, trembled uncontrollably.
Her eyes were completely golden, spinning without focus, and a guttural noise, somewhere between a groan and a growl, escaped her lips.
She seemed lost in the influx of the elements, in the fury of the energies of water and wood.
Until suddenly, she raised her head to the sky and opened her arms in a gesture of pure agony and ecstasy. A scream echoed, not of pain, but of release.
Suddenly, the lake seemed to respond.
The thick, serpentine roots of the inverted trees on the sides twisted violently.
They broke through the spiritual barrier of the water's surface with a dry crack, bursting toward the skies like tentacles.
Instead of attacking Ling, the roots actually bowed before her, wrapping around her arms and torso with surprising gentleness. The green energy battling within her against the blue energy of water prevailed.
Then, the wood energy flowed in a closed cycle, from the roots to her and from her back to the roots. Stabilizing her and simultaneously healing her internal injuries.
The madness in her eyes faded as her lineage calmed. The silver light in her gaze was replaced by sharp awareness.
Cairen watched, his own breath caught.
It was then that the water energy, now firmly anchored in him, seemed to respond to a phenomenon similar to Ling's.
It vibrated within his body, a deep pulse.
And then, beneath his feet, the crystal-clear lake began to swirl.
An intense whirlpool formed, centered around Cairen. The waters, once still, now danced for him.
It didn't seem destructive, it was merely a symbol of the mastery his body had attained over that element.
Two poles of power emerged above the lake, a living forest of wood embodied in Ling and a vast, obedient ocean within Cairen.
The voice that then rose from the altar was no longer a whispered command in their minds but a clear, melodic sound that filled the entire space.
"You have proven yourselves worthy… but you are incompatible with my full inheritance."
A form began to materialize above the lake.
It was a woman of ethereal beauty, made of greenish-blue light, with elongated features and eyes that seemed to hold the wisdom of ages.
Her hair floated like algae in a calm lake. Her robes were woven of mist and reflections of water.
"I am Sela. The last spark of intent of the one who once sealed the abomination within this coffin," said the silhouette of the woman, her voice heavy and unmistakably sorrowful.
"Each of you possesses only one affinity. You, young man, with the clarity and purification of water. The girl, with the relentless growth and vitality of wood."
She paused, her gaze alternating between Cairen and Ling, who watched her in confusion, though with a cold lucidity.
"Therefore, I will share with you what you can withstand. But there is a condition."
"Fifty years. Return to this exact place within fifty years to reinforce the seal that keeps this prison intact. If you refuse…" At that moment, the woman's eyes gleamed with a severe light.
"Your bodies and souls, already nourished by my inheritance, will be completely drained to feed the seal for a few more centuries. That, or instant death for both of you now. Choose."
Cairen felt a weight forming in his chest, trying to piece things together. The brutal selection, the carnage, it wasn't merely about finding an heir to the inheritance but also about using the dead as fuel.
The compatible ones would then serve as guardians of a prison, not heirs of a legacy. He looked at Ling, whose expression was impenetrable.
"What is sealed here?" Cairen asked, his voice steadier than he expected, given the situation.