Chapter 58: Violet Salvation
Ravi stumbled through the trees, each step heavier than the last. His breath tore raggedly from his chest, blood dripping in dark trails across the roots and grass. Every nerve in his body screamed as the burst-eye mark burned hotter, veins around it glowing faintly like molten cracks in stone. His grip on the bone-blade shook, slick with sweat and blood.
Seventeen wolves still circled him. Their snarls throbbed like war drums in the silence, their twisted tentacles slicing the air. Crimson saliva dripped from their jaws, hissing as it struck the ground. The forest itself seemed to warp under their presence, every shadow pulsing with malice.
Ravi staggered against a tree, his vision fracturing into chaos—roses of blood blooming in the branches, shadowy silhouettes twitching in the fog, the real and unreal blending into each other.
The nearest wolf lunged. Ravi tried to raise his sword, but he was too slow, and weak right now—
—but the beast never reached him.
A violet arc of fire carved through the air, cleaving its body in two. The flames clung hungrily to its corpse, devouring it until nothing but ash remained.
The remaining wolves froze, then howled in unison, the forest echoing with their rage.
From the shadows, a figure stepped forward. Tall, graceful, wrapped in flowing red-and-black silk. Crimson-and-white hair spilled down her back like liquid fire, and her masked face tilted toward Ravi. Her blood-red eyes glowed against the gloom, calm yet commanding.
"Toia … " Ravi croaked, half-believing it a hallucination.
A faint smile curved her lips beneath the mask. "Finally, I found you. You look terrible, Ravi." Her hand lifted, wreathed in violet flame. "Step aside. I'll handle this."
The wolves howled and charged.
Toia moved like a storm given shape. Violet fire blossomed at her heels, trailing roses of flame with each step. A wave of her hand unleashed a torrent of blazing light, engulfing three wolves at once. Their corrupted flesh shrieked as it melted, bones collapsing into cinders.
One beast leapt from behind, tentacles striking for her throat. Without turning, Toia snapped her fingers. Violet spikes erupted from the ground, skewering it mid-air.
Ravi staggered forward, forcing his trembling body upright as he raised his sword. "No—I can still fight!" His voice was hoarse, but his eyes burned with stubborn fire.
Toia glanced back, irritation flickering in her eyes. "Idiot. You're barely standing. Look at yourself, you need to rest or you want me to cripple you!?"
Ravi thought for a while and finally allowed himself to rest after some hesitation. He let his back slide against the tree and sat, chest heaving heavily, though his grip on the sword never loosened as he didn't let his guard down.
The princess smiled faintly as her flames consumed another wave of wolves. The air thickened with the stench of scorched fur. She moved like a dancer in firelight, every motion precise, graceful, lethal. She didn't let a single wolf came close to Ravi.
With a final sweeping gesture, violet fire surged beneath the ground. The remaining beasts shrieked as it erupted beneath their feet. Toia snapped her fingers—and the flames solidified into crystalline violet ice. - only silence remained, broken by Ravi's harsh gasps.
The mark on his neck writhed and convulsed violently, black veins crawling like living roots across his skin. He clutched at it, biting back a scream.
Toia knelt beside him, her crimson eyes softening.
"Stay away ... Toia." His voice cracked, but not desperate. "I'll only bring you trouble. I don't even know if you're real anymore. My own mind—it's playing tricks on me."
Without hesitation, she pulled off her glove. From her pocket, she drew a small crystal, shimmering with purple light, and indigo chains coiling inside like living things. Ravi recognized it instantly—an Essence Stone—but its type was unlike any he had ever seen.
Violet fire seeped from her skin into the stone. The indigo chains within writhed, hissing as they unfurled into the air. With a whip-crack, they lashed around Ravi, binding him in radiant light.
Ravi couldn't help but gasped. The searing torment through his body dulled. His pain ebbed, as though anchored by something steady, something soothing. For the first time in hours, he could breathe without knives stabbing his chest.
"It took me everything to find you here," Toia whispered, her voice sharp but trembling with hidden emotion. "Do you think I'd let you die or suffer now? Not while I still draw breath."
Ravi's eyelids fluttered. Exhaustion weighed too heavy, pulling him into darkness. But before it claimed him fully, he let his head rest against the tree and murmured, weak but clear:
"Al-hamdu li-lah … and thank you Toia."
Then silence engulfed everything.