Mira's team returned first. They had stored water in jars made of frozen ice, while the others had gathered dry branches.
They placed everything near the cave wall before looking at us.
"What's going on here?" Mira asked, her voice carrying concern.
Eron looked between Elara and me with the same worried expression.
Caelrion and Luna, however, sounded more suspicious.
"Why?" Caelrion asked.
"And why without us?" Luna added.
Elara answered calmly.
"He tried to escape."
Everyone froze.
"What?" Mira asked.
"Isn't he unconscious?"
Elara shook her head.
"He was using Soul Energy. Trying to send a message to someone. I paralyzed him before he could finish."
The group exchanged uneasy glances.
"Proof?" Caelrion said.
The word felt heavy.
We trusted each other—but Ryn's presence had created tension between all of us. No one wanted to accuse anyone openly, but everyone had become more vigilant.
I looked at them.
"When you searched him earlier… what did he have?"
"A sword," Eron replied.
"Only a sword."
I slowly held up the diary.
Everyone stared.
"What…?" Eron said in disbelief.
"How did that get here?"
"Can you show the message?" Mira asked.
"Elara?"
Elara opened the diary.
The pages were empty.
Both messages had vanished.
Confusion spread instantly.
"What is this supposed to prove?" Luna asked.
Caelrion's eyes narrowed.
"Or maybe you two were trying to kill him," he said slowly. "And now you're claiming he tried to escape."
"Are you accusing us of lying?" I asked.
"No," Luna replied. "But it looks suspicious."
I sighed and looked directly at Caelrion.
"You're a prince."
"You should have royal education."
"And artifact knowledge."
I lifted the diary slightly.
"Or are you pretending not to recognize this book?"
Caelrion frowned.
"I know what it is."
"Those diaries only work within a limited distance. We teleported a few moment ago. The master must can't be nearby."
I smirked.
"I'm sure this is the original."
"Unlike the copies your kingdoms hoard."
He crossed his arms.
"Even so."
I laughed lightly.
"Even so… you still wouldn't survive one attack from him."
For a moment everyone was silent.
Then Mira burst out laughing.
Soon everyone joined in.
"Stop it," Caelrion groaned.
While the teasing continued, we arranged the branches and started a small campfire.
The dead wolves were cleaned and cooked over the flames.
Eron handled most of it since he actually knew how to cook meat in the wild.
The smell of roasted wolf meat slowly filled the cave.
We teased Elara while eating.
"So," Mira said mischievously.
"You found yourself a house husband."
Eron nearly choked on his food.
Everyone laughed again.
After eating for a while, I turned to Elara.
"I have a question."
She raised an eyebrow.
"If spirits can use Soul Energy while they're young… wouldn't that kill them?"
"I mean—if someone only had a lifespan of twelve years… wouldn't training with Soul Energy drain it?"
Elara chuckled softly.
"You're forgetting something."
"You're talking about humans."
"We're spirits."
"Our average lifespan exceeds fifteen hundred years."
Everyone froze.
"What?" Mira said.
Aeldir leaned forward.
"Then how old are your elders? Your grandparents?"
Elara thought for a moment.
"My grandfather is around twenty-three hundred years old."
The cave exploded into shocked voices.
Everyone started talking at once.
Less eating.
More staring.
Finally I asked the obvious question.
"Then… how old are you?"
She looked away.
"Does it matter?"
"Yes," Mira said immediately.
Eron nodded.
"We want to know too."
Soon everyone joined in.
Elara looked embarrassed.
"I'm the youngest in my family."
"That doesn't answer the question," Caelrion said.
She sighed.
"Fine."
"I'm two hundred and twenty years old."
Silence filled the cave.
Then Caelrion spoke.
"That's older than both my grandparents combined."
Elara lifted her chin proudly.
"It's nature's rule. What can I do?"
Mira laughed.
"Nature's unfair, Eron."
"She could be older than your mother."
Aeldir smirked.
"If she hadn't engaged with Eron…"
"She could adopt him."
Everyone burst into laughter again.
The cave echoed with their voices.
The fire crackled softly, casting long shadows across the stone walls.
Outside, the night wind brushed through the tall grass fields.
But then I felt something change.
A disturbance.
The mana in the air suddenly felt unstable.
Seraphine noticed it at the same time.
Our eyes met.
Then we both looked in the same direction.
Ryn van Asterin.
His body was trembling violently.
Both hands were pressed against his head as if he were trying to crush his own thoughts.
Or force something out of his mind.
The others noticed our gaze and turned toward him.
Seraphine's expression suddenly changed.
"Wait…"
"Something's wrong."
Her eyes focused on his chest.
"His devil core hasn't stabilized yet."
The air in the cave grew heavy.
"Both cores are leaking," she said quietly.
"Mana and devil mana."
A wave of pressure spread through the cave.
Caelrion staggered first.
Luna dropped to her knees coughing violently.
Mira covered her mouth—but still vomited onto the cave floor.
Eron followed seconds later.
His eyes turned red as his body struggled against the corrupted mana.
The smell of meat, smoke, and twisted mana filled the cave.
Elara, Seraphine, and I were the only ones still standing.
Elara looked at Ryn with concern.
"At this rate…"
"His mana will drain completely."
"And he might die."
Everyone grew tense.
"Does anyone know a mana drainage spell?" she asked quickly.
I spoke.
"If his mana is leaking… shouldn't we supply him instead?"
She shook her head immediately.
"If all his mana escapes, he might survive."
"But we won't."
She glanced at Seraphine.
"Only she has a devil blessing."
"The rest of you will have your mana corrupted by devil mana."
"What's your plan then?" I asked.
"If we can filter the unstable mana out…"
"I can reconstruct his mana flow using Soul Energy."
I frowned.
"Are you sure?"
She nodded.
"Seraphine, create a barrier."
Seraphine immediately raised her hand.
Dark energy spread around us like a thin dome.
I stepped forward.
"Leave it to me."
My eyes began to glow faintly.
"Clover…"
"Hear my command."
For a moment nothing happened.
Then the air outside the cave trembled.
Something pierced through the night sky at incredible speed.
A small book shot through the cave entrance and stopped in front of me before gently landing in my hand.
The PLANT MAGIC Clover
I never carried it with me.
It remained inside the Elven Kingdom.
But as long as we were on the same planet…
It could answer my call.
I opened the book slowly.
But the real blessing wasn't the book.
It was my eyes.
The Cosmic Eyes.
They allowed me to see mana flow with absolute precision.
With them, I could guide the spell like a surgeon guiding a blade.
"For the flower to bloom…"
"And for the field to grow…"
"Suck the mana of the rebel…"
"And those unworthy of it."
A thin root grew beside Ryn's body.
It slid through his skin like a needle.
Inside his body, the root split into dozens of smaller strands.
Not plant.
Not flesh.
Artifact-formed nerves.
They spread through his body until they connected directly to his mana cores.
"What are you doing?!" Aeldir shouted.
"Trust me," I said calmly.
Then the root began draining the unstable mana.
Slowly…
The violent aura faded.
Ryn's body became pale but stable.
The trembling lessened.
I withdrew the root.
But before Elara could step forward—
Something else happened.
A massive aura erupted from Ryn's body.
His Soul Energy.
Dark shadows gathered around him.
Elara suddenly froze.
"That… amount of Soul Energy…"
Her voice trembled.
"Even I don't possess reserves like that."
The shadows deepened.
Then something beautiful appeared.
White butterflies.
Pale like fragments of moonlight.
They emerged from the darkness and covered Ryn's entire body.
One by one they dissolved into his skin.
When the last butterfly vanished—
The cave fell silent.
Ryn's breathing became calm.
His body finally relaxed.
The violent mana disturbance disappeared completely.
Elara stared at him.
Her expression filled with disbelief.
"…This isn't possible."
Her voice sounded almost frightened.
"Ryn…"
"What exactly are you?"
She whispered slowly.
"Are you even human anymore?"
{A/N , sorry for being late as my final exams are coming it's hard to edit chapter for a time being chapter would increase to 7-10 days but if chapter isn't that important it would be release in less and after 2 months it would get back again to routine 1 chapter per 3 days}