Kain’s body convulsed as a painful struggled cough forced black blood out of his mouth. The corners of his mouth began to stain dark black due to the amount he had coughed out.
But amidst this tornt, a new presence began to seep inside him, a warmth—subtle at first, like a flicker of fire in the cold void.
It spread.
Ophelia’s eidra.
Golden and pure, it flowed into him, weaving through his veins that monts go pulsed with painful corruption.
Inside, the warmth battled the suffocating dark void, driving it back inch by inch.
The two forces now raged within him—light against shadow, purity against decay, warmth against cold.
Her eidra did not simply push—it burned, searing away the corrupted filth as it tried to burrow deeper within Kain.
Ophelia’s eyes clenched even tighter.
She focused, her palms glowing brighter with every breath as she rembered Amaron’s voice, his lessons etched into her mind.
"Even rot can be undone if one’s eidra, especially yours, were to burn and purify it away."
She envisioned her eidra, like strands of golden thread that wrapped through Kain’s body—like sunlight through the chaotic storm—each thread igniting the corruption, turning it into ash.
Her eidra was truly special.
The sacred fla of the Seraphim’s holy knights, the sa light that they use to cast down even the most corrupted of beast.
The sa light born from Aurevian, the god of light, a privial, one of the first who birthed eidra—or so the Seraphim deed him.
And now, that sa divine force flowed through Ophelia’s hands, trying desperately to save Kain whose life hung by a thread.
The warmth that radiated within Kain spread throughout his body, driving out the last of the corrupted eidra.
Slowly, the color of amber from his eidra returned, filling the void left by the dark energy.
His breath steadied, dark blood no longer spilling from his eyes, mouth, and ears—his body now unconscious, but stable.
And most importantly,
Safe.
*Sigh
Ophelia released a deep sigh of relief, her hand retracting from Kain’s chest.
"He’s okay now... I’ll need to check up on him every now and then just to be sure."
The tension of the group began to vanish as soon as she spoke those words—relief washed over their faces.
But Jinn was different.
He stepped back, his grip tight on his sword as his eyes remained fixed on Kain, his mind racing.
"I should’ve been stronger..."Jinn spoke out, muttering, but the anger and frustration behind them was palpable.
His other fist clenched, his thoughts consud with the image of Kain, his friend, writhing in pain, the corrupted blood spilling from his mouth.
"I shouldn’t have hesitated. I could’ve finished the beast faster."
Then, the bitter mory of Nevi’s death resurfaced, as if it was a wound that never healed.
She had died when she was following Jinn through the streets of Leran, and in that mont, fear bit him.
What if Kain had died too?
"What If I couldn’t save him? What if Biyo wasn’t there?" Jinn thought, his heart pounding in his chest.
Orin placed her hand gently on Jinn’s shoulder, her touch firm.
"It’s fine, Jinn. You’ve done everything you could." she said, shifting her gaze towards Kain, sleeping soundly.
"Let’s be thankful that Kain is fine now."
Jinn’s gaze pierced Orin, his eyes filled with anger and regret.
"What if Kain had died?’ he asked, the weight of the question heavy.
"I can’t let one of my family die again."
He sighed as he stood slowly, brushing away Orin’s hand subtly.
"I must be stronger than what I am now." he muttered to himself.
"Without strength, I can never protect those who I hold dear."
Without another word, he sheathed his sword
*Shack!
as he walked away slowly,
"Well... that was awkward." Verhedyn’s gaze lingered on Jinn as he walked off, his eyes narrowing slightly.
Orin watched Jinn’s figure as he walked away, her thoughts distant.
She then glanced down at her hands, and for a mont, they trembled at the thought of Nevi—before she clenched them into fists.
She had realized that Jinn had carried the weight of the thought that he was the cause of Nevi’s death, and this ti, Kain ca close.
Silence wrapped the area until a sharp snarl pierced the air,
*Scccccraaatch!
Followed by the sound of claws scraping against bark.
It was Garan.
He descended from the trees with a rough motion, landing heavy near the group.
His eyes looked at Kain’s unconscious body, lingering for a brief mont, before shifting towards the others.
In cue, Biyo erged from the trees, his axes securely strapped on both of his sides—his steps making resounding thuds as he made his way toward the group.
Garan’s eyes t Biyo’s as he spoke.
"There’s a group of slaves closing on us," he snarled, his voice low and commanding.
"How many?" asked Hector promptly.
"About thirty," Garan replied, looking at Hector, before shifting towards Jinn in the distance, seemingly alone in his thoughts.
"I say we use this chance to et with the other slaves!" a voice chid in, making the others look at the source.
It was Verkaryon.
His figure appeared from the darkness as he erged from the trees.
"Where have you gone?" Biyo asked promptly.
"I was lost as soon as all of you scattered, I simply followed the noise—and here I am!" Vekaryon promptly replied, his tone relaxed and casual.
His eyes then shifted towards Jinn before continuing.
"What’s our little Jinn doing over there all alone?"
"None of your business." Orin replied quickly, her eyes looking at Jinn.
"Best to leave him alone for now."
*Cough!
Verkaryon coughed as he changed the topic.
"Anyways, what do all of you think? We should et with the other slaves!" his eyes shifting on Kain’s unconscious fra.
"We could use that opportunity to focus on recovering that boy over there!"
Vox humd, before leaning towards Ophelia’s ears.
"We should take his recomndation, but we should be wary of these slaves, we won’t know if they’re hostile or not."
Ophelia paused for a brief mont to think, before looking up at Verkaryon.
"Fine, let’s et with these slaves."
Garan snarled.
"Bah!! We could’ve just killed them ourselves and stolen their supplies for our own!"
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