Elsewhere, a black sedan drove along a quiet highway.
Sullen was at the wheel. Leon sat beside her.
They'd trained all day. Leon was worn out, but she was pleased. His progress had been obvious. Faster reactions. Better control.
The road was empty. The night was still.
Then the sky cracked.
RUMBLE!
Before either of them could react—
Black lightning fell.
It struck straight to Leon.
BANG!
The car jolted hard. The steering wheel tore sideways in Sullen's hands, tires shrieking as the sedan swerved out of control.
"Leon—!"
The guardrail shattered.
The car vanished into the ravine.
A second later—
BOOM!
Fire flashed through the trees.
Then silence.
---
Smoke billowed upward through the trees, thick and dark.
Metal groaned.
BANG!
The car door was ripped open as Sullen hauled Leon's body free. His clothes were scorched, skin burned in jagged patterns where the lightning had struck.
She was mostly unharmed, save for a few cuts and bruises.
Leon wasn't.
She laid him carefully on the ground and pressed her fingers to his neck.
A pulse.
Weak. Fading.
Relief washed over her, followed immediately by fear.
Without hesitation, Sullen placed both hands over his chest. A soft green light spread from her palms, wrapping around Leon's body like a living veil.
His breathing hitched.
Sullen's expression hardened. She could feel his heartbeat slipping further away.
"Leon, stay with me," she said under her breath. "Don't you dare die from something like this."
She poured more of her restorative power into him, ignoring the strain creeping into her own body.
He was too young.
She wouldn't let him go.
---
Back at the villa, Lucas and Garran were mid-conversation.
"I swear," Lucas said, rubbing his neck, "it feels like I could drain a dozen high-grade mana crystals without breaking a sweat—"
He stopped.
A brilliant light flared from the third floor.
Garran turned sharply. "What's that?"
"Sofia," Lucas said immediately. "She's in that room."
They rushed upstairs.
The moment they stepped inside, both froze.
A woman stood beside the bed.
She looked… unreal.
Her form was faintly translucent, like moonlight given shape, yet every feature was flawless. Her presence filled the room without weight, without pressure, just quiet authority.
Lucas stared.
Athena.
He'd known she was beautiful from the story.
He hadn't expected this.
"Well?" Athena said lightly. "My spectral form is complete. What do you think?"
Lucas snapped out of it. "Looks like perfection."
She smiled faintly. "Absorbing energy from another plane wasn't comfortable, but it worked."
Her gaze shifted.
She frowned.
"…Something's wrong."
Lucas raised an eyebrow. "With Sofia?"
"No," Athena said slowly, turning back to him. "With you."
She stepped closer. "I can't sense any mana from your body."
Lucas shrugged. "That's because I shattered my mana core earlier. It rebuilt itself. But the cost was my cultivation. It's gone."
Silence.
"…What?" Athena stared at him. "You're joking."
"I'm not."
She scanned him again, more carefully this time.
There was no active mana flow.
And yet—
"…You do have a core," she said quietly. "That shouldn't be possible."
"It's the Grand Astral Method," Lucas replied. "It requires a broken core to activate. It worked. My core rebuilt itself differently."
Athena exhaled sharply. "Even in higher realms, restoring a destroyed core is considered impossible."
"And now?" Lucas continued. "I need your help."
Her eyes narrowed. "With what?"
"In your current form," Lucas said evenly, "you can extract a soul without killing the body. Correct?"
Athena raised a brow. "How do you know that?"
"Not important," Lucas replied as he grabbed the jade, already turning. "Come with me."
"Where?"
"The Abyssal Dominion."
"What are you planning to do, negotiate?"
Lucas smiled faintly. "No. This time, we threaten."
He stepped out.
"Uncle Garran," he added. "You're coming too."
Garran nodded without hesitation.
---
Deep in the ravine, the chaos finally settled.
Sullen eased back only when she felt Leon's condition stop slipping. His breathing evened out, shallow but stable.
But the relief didn't last.
Something was wrong.
She closed her eyes, focusing inward, tracing the flow of mana through his body.
And her heart dropped.
His mana core was damaged.
Not destroyed, but cracked badly, like a fractured spine. It was still there, but unstable. Broken enough that it would never heal on its own.
Sullen opened her eyes slowly.
Minutes passed.
Leon's body twitched.
A low groan escaped his throat.
His eyelids fluttered, then opened halfway.
"Ms… Sullen…?" His voice was hoarse, barely more than a whisper.
Relief crossed her face. "You're awake."
Leon tried to move, and immediately sucked in a sharp breath.
Pain tore through his chest.
It wasn't surface pain. It was deeper. Wrong. Like something inside him had been twisted out of place.
"What… happened?" he asked, teeth clenched.
"You were struck by lightning," she said softly. "The car went off the road. You survived."
Leon stared up at the sky between the trees. His body felt heavy. Empty. Every breath felt incomplete, like something essential was missing.
"…Something's wrong," he said quietly. "I can feel it."
Sullen didn't answer right away.
Then she exhaled.
"Your mana core was injured," she said. "I can't repair it."
Leon turned his head sharply, pain flashing across his face. "Injured… how bad?"
She met his eyes. "Bad enough that it won't recover on its own."
Silence followed.
Leon clenched his fists, nails digging into his palms as a dull ache spread through his chest. Panic crept in, slow and cold.
"Then… what do I do?" he asked.
"There may be one option," Sullen said carefully.
Leon looked at her. "What?"
"The Abyssal Dominion," she replied. "They use forbidden restoration methods. It's dangerous. Unstable. But it might work."
Leon closed his eyes.
Pain pulsed through him with every heartbeat.
Then he opened them again, jaw set.
"…Then let's go."