CHAPTER 187 — THE THINGS THAT FEED A REALM
For several long seconds after the distortion, nobody moved.
The summit remained buried beneath a suffocating silence while crimson fractures crawled slowly through the stone beneath their feet. Above them, the constellation flickered faintly against the darkened sky, its light unstable now, as though even the heavens surrounding the mountain had felt the weight of whatever the spirit had nearly spoken aloud.
Leylin's grip loosened first.
Not out of mercy But Out of instincts built from restraint he had no idea he still possessed
The moment the spirit's voice had begun breaking apart beneath that invisible pressure, Leylin himself had felt something surge through the summit around them. Not memory. Not recognition. Something worse. Something vast enough that even now the lingering sensation still pressed faintly against the back of his mind like an echo he could not fully hear.
The spirit staggered slightly the moment Leylin released it.
One hand immediately caught itself against the cracked stone behind it while the other remained pressed tightly against its throat. Beneath the translucent layers of its body, the galaxy-like currents swirling through its form had become unstable, entire streams of crimson light distorting violently beneath spectral flesh before gradually settling again.
Seraphine finally stepped forward.
"What just happened?"
Neither of them answered immediately.
Leylin stood motionless near the center of the summit, the winds pulling softly against the dark hood resting behind his shoulders while his crimson eyes remained fixed on the spirit. The black crystalline texture beneath his skin seemed darker now beneath the mountain light, less glasslike than before, as though something inside him had quietly surfaced during those few moments.
The spirit noticed it immediately.
And looked away just as quickly.
That movement alone did not escape Leylin.
His eyes narrowed slightly.
"You know something."
The spirit remained silent.
Leylin took a slow step forward.
"You came here speaking as though you recognized me. Then you looked at those stars like they should not exist."
The pressure across the summit shifted subtly again, enough for the crimson veins beneath the ground to brighten faintly.
Leylin's voice lowered.
"What are you seeing?"
The spirit still did not answer.
Instead, its gaze drifted past him toward Seraphine.
She had unconsciously placed a hand against her chest moments earlier, her breathing slightly uneven now beneath the lingering pressure from the distortion. Faint strands of silver-blue signature escaped briefly around her fingers before dissolving into the air again.
The spirit's expression changed instantly.
Quickly shifting from Recognition.
And eventually settling on Concern.
"You've begun compression already."
Seraphine frowned.
"...What?"
The spirit stepped away from the stone slowly now, its unstable form gradually stabilizing as it looked directly at her.
"Your signature."
Its voice had become quieter after what happened before.
Careful.
"You're condensing it before your vessel fully stabilized."
Seraphine's eyes narrowed faintly.
"You can tell that just by looking at me?"
The spirit seemed genuinely confused by the question.
"Of course I can."
Its gaze lingered on the faint currents escaping around her body.
"Every circulation is damaging the inner structure of your vessel before repairing itself again."
The summit became quiet.
Seraphine did not answer immediately.
That silence alone was enough.
Leylin looked toward her slowly.
"...You've been injured this whole time?"
"It's not that serious."
"It is."
The spirit interrupted her instantly.
Its tone sharpened for the first time since awakening.
"It is survivable. That is not the same thing."
Seraphine's expression hardened slightly at that.
But she did not deny it.
The spirit looked downward briefly toward the crimson veins spreading beneath the summit stone.
Then toward the distant silver rivers below the mountain.
Then finally..toward Leylin again.
Understanding slowly darkened its expression.
"...I see.
Leylin frowned faintly.
"See what?"
The spirit hesitated.
Not because it lacked answers.
Because it was becoming increasingly careful with them.
Finally it spoke.
"Her vessel should have collapsed weeks ago."
Its gaze moved across the realm surrounding them.
"But this place keeps repairing the damage for her."
Leylin's eyes narrowed.
The spirit looked directly at him now.
"And it seems it has been doing the same thing to everything else forna while now