"Are you ready?" Rune asked as he finally joined Grace on the carpet. The two of them were about to begin the second round of search for plants with high percentage of absorbed Shadow Rain.
"I am." Grace answered as she shifted to face him before taking hold of his hands that he offered her the mont he sat down.
Instead of diving straight into the search, Rune turned his attention toward the two other n who were present there, sitting on the couches closest to where he and Grace were sitting on the carpet.
"What about the two of you?"
Grace was unable to stop herself from shaking her head. She, for once, felt bad for Davian and Dr. Kian because she knew exactly what the duo was currently suffering through. Not even twenty-four hours had passed since she started dating all three of these n, and Rune had already taken over the job of testing the patience of the other two.
If she had been worried that she might end up being the reason of their first ever fight because of her lack of dating experience, then she was about to change her mind. Rune might be taking away that prestige from her anyti soon.
But for the ti being, both Davian and Dr. Kian were trying their best to stay calm and handle Rune’s mischievous behavior.
"We have been ready from the very mont we stepped inside your place." Dr. Kian answered when Davian just gave Rune a very unimpressed look in response. Unlike the clear warning on Davian’s gaze, the doctor was way more calm and soft.
Rune just shrugged in response as if to show that he wasn’t bothered at all, and finally returned his attention to Grace. When he found her looking right at him, he asked in a whispered tone as if it could have stopped the other two n from hearing him.
"Are you mad at because I’m teasing them?"
Grace didn’t answer imdiately, and instead watched him in silence for a mont or two. She then glanced at Davian and Dr. Kian and found them looking at her as well while they waited to hear her answer.
A small smile blood on her face as she returned her attention to Rune and then shook her head slightly. "I don’t mind it at all. You can tease them all you want... just don’t co to when they decides to take their revenge."
She didn’t have to look at Davian or Dr. Kian to know that the two of them were very much satisfied with her response. As for Rune, he just imitated her and shook his head. Still, there was a smile playing on his lips as if he found her reply amusing.
Once they were finally done with the talk, Rune imdiately switched on his serious mode and closed his eyes, his hold on her hands tightening as he began to channel his power.
Rune’s breathing evened out as he focused, his power flowing through their connected hands. Grace closed her eyes as well, feeling the subtle hum of his energy intertwine with her own. The warmth of their link spread like ripples in still water, and she heard 2025’s voice in her head.
[Connection established. Beginning the scan now.]
"Good," Grace whispered softly through their shared mind-link. Her voice was barely audible as she got too focused on what was happening behind her closed eyes.
The scene within her mind shifted as Rune’s power guided their shared consciousness across the mountainous terrain of Starship Country. Their vision drifted over dense forests, rocky ridges, and wide-open fields - all covered in heavy layers of snow.
Everywhere they looked, and all the places they passed through, 2025 searched for traces of plants with high absorption percentage of the Shadow Rain.
The first location they scanned was a valley nestled between two mountains. At first, it seed like they would find nothing there, but then the system zood on a cluster of small herbs near a frozen stream.
These plants looked nothing like the three that Grace found previously near the military base. They actually looked pretty dead if Grace had to be honest. But since the system felt sothing, 2025 decided to take a look at the herbs.
[Analyzing...]
Seconds later, 2025’s words confird what Grace had already suspected.
[Confird: the plants does have high percentages of absorbed Shadow Rain. However, they are no longer alive. Cause of death - exposure to the recent Blood Rain.]
Grace exhaled as she felt her worst fear coming to life. Because of the Blood Rain, it seed like they had missed the chance of finding any alive plants with high percentage of Shadow Rain.
But in the back of her head, she couldn’t help but find it weird that not even a single alive plant had been found despite searching across several locations.
"Move on," she told Rune quietly.
She felt his grip on her hands tightening slightly, as if he was silently reassuring her. his energy carried them to the next location within seconds. This ti, it was a dense forest. And the system imdiately picked up traces of mutation.
[Detected: elevated energy levels in plant life. Focusing...]
Their shared vision zood in on a group of ferns glowing faintly with an unusual aura. Grace’s heart leapt, but 2025’s next words brought her crashing back down.
[The energy signature indicates mutation failure. The plants absorbed Shadow Rain but were unable to sustain the transformation. All specins are deceased.]
Grace felt Rune’s energy waver slightly, but before she could speak, he was already pushing onward. The search continued, spanning three more locations across Starship Country. And each ti, the results were the sa - traces of plants that had once absorbed Shadow Rain energy were all dead.
By the ti they reached their fifth location, Grace could feel Rune’s exhaustion through their connection. His breathing had grown heavier, and his energy flow wasn’t as steady as before.
"2025," she called out through the shared mind-link as concern took over her. "How is Rune holding up?"
[Master, Rune’s energy levels are significantly depleted. He is nearing his limit.]
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