As Raqin made his way back toward the Bone Lighthouse, silence followed in his wake.
The cultivators who had witnessed his display of aura farming could not hide their astonishment. To them, what they had seen bordered on the miraculous. Some stared openly, while others lowered their heads, unwilling to meet the gaze of someone who seemed destined for greatness.
When he finally reached the shore, his Martial Spirit dissolved into streams of light and returned to his body. At the same time, the silver nanites coating his skin broke apart into countless particles before reforming into a simple bracelet around his wrist.
Carrying the injured girl in his arms, he approached the two old men waiting nearby.
Jekyll took one look at her and sighed.
"What a pity."
Raqin frowned.
"What do you mean?"
Hyde stepped forward and examined her more carefully.
"Her foundation is ruined. Completely. Her dantian has suffered catastrophic damage." He shook his head. "Even if she survives, she will never cultivate again. As for this trial..." He glanced toward the sea of flesh. "She has no chance."
Raqin remained silent.
"System, run a full diagnostic."
---
**/Initiating Scan Protocol.../**
**/Host, vital signs remain stable./**
**/Dantian severely damaged./**
**/Estimated remaining lifespan: fifteen years before structural collapse of the dantian begins affecting the nervous system and consciousness./**
---
Raqin's expression darkened.
"Any solutions?"
Before the system could respond, another voice echoed within his mind.
His Martial Spirit.
"You can save her."
Raqin's eyes narrowed.
"How?"
"Tether her Life Core to yours."
"That sounds too simple."
The spirit chuckled.
"Because there's a price."
"What price?"
"If your lives become linked, your destinies become one."
The voice grew serious.
"If you die, she dies."
"If she dies, you die."
Raqin nearly stumbled.
For the first time, he truly hesitated.
A stranger.
Someone he had known for less than a day.
Was it worth risking his own future?
The Martial Spirit burst into laughter.
"My Sovereign, why do you fear death so much? There will come a day when Death itself trembles before your throne."
Raqin ignored the grandiose declaration and focused on the system notification that had finally appeared.
---
**/Alternative solution available./**
**/Nanite reconstruction can restore dantian functionality and allow future cultivation./**
**/Life expectancy will remain unchanged./**
---
"What if I tether her Life Core to mine and repair her dantian?"
**/Solution viable./**
**/Warning: risks significantly outweigh benefits./**
Raqin shrugged.
"Then we'll do both."
The system fell silent.
Even it seemed unsure whether its host was courageous or insane.
Raqin extended his hand. A single nanite detached from his bracelet.
Then he finally looked properly at the girl.
Her face was pale from exhaustion, yet there was a quiet beauty hidden beneath the dirt and dried blood. Delicate features. Clear eyes. The kind of beauty that seemed fragile enough to shatter.
"What is your name?"
The girl lowered her head nervously.
"M-Meenah."
"Meenah?"
She nodded.
"Alright."
A small smile appeared on Raqin's face.
"I'm Raqin."
He pointed toward the two old men.
"The grumpy one is Jekyll."
Jekyll snorted.
"And the self-righteous one is Hyde."
Hyde immediately protested.
"Self-righteous?"
"Very."
For the first time since they had met, Meenah smiled.
Raqin continued.
"From now on, you'll stay with us. I won't mistreat you."
He glanced at the two old men.
"And neither will they."
The old men exchanged helpless looks.
When had this become their responsibility?
Raqin then lowered his voice.
"Can I trust you both?"
The question surprised them.
"Based on nothing more than our shared humanity... can I trust you?"
The two old men looked at one another.
For a brief moment, memories passed silently between them.
Years of loss.
Years of struggle.
Years of watching humanity slowly lose ground.
Finally, Hyde laughed.
"Kid, this old fool and I were once mortal enemies."
Jekyll rolled his eyes.
"And yet here we are."
Hyde nodded.
"We lost everything together."
"We'll probably die together too."
His gaze became firm.
"But if there's a chance for humanity to survive..."
"We won't turn our backs on it."
Jekyll sighed.
"Ignore his heroic speech."
Then he looked directly at Raqin.
"What do you need?"
"I can remove the restrictions placed on your cultivation."
The old men froze.
The atmosphere instantly changed.
"What?"
"You heard me."
Jekyll's eyes widened.
"You can really do that?"
"Yes."
"How?"
"You'll have to swear allegiance to me."
Silence.
Then Hyde blinked.
"That's it?"
"That's it."
The old men burst into laughter.
Even timid Meenah nodded enthusiastically.
Raqin smiled.
"Good."
The nanite hovering above his palm split into three.
Each piece floated into their hands.
"What exactly is this thing?" Hyde asked.
"You'll see."
Before their eyes, the nanites melted into their skin like drops of mercury disappearing into water.
---
"System, assimilation progress?"
**/Estimated completion time:/**
**/Jekyll: Two hours./**
**/Hyde: Two hours./**
**/Meenah: Six hours due to extensive dantian damage./**
---
Raqin relayed the information.
"Six hours?" Meenah whispered.
"Your injuries are severe."
Seeing her worried expression, he added,
"But you'll be fine."
The reassurance caused her shoulders to relax slightly.
Jekyll suddenly spoke.
"Kid... tell us more."
Raqin spent the next few minutes explaining nanites.
The more he explained, the wider their eyes became.
"They can optimize cultivation techniques?"
"Yes."
"They can modify techniques to suit our constitutions?"
"Yes."
"They can awaken the same power that helped you break into the Fourth Mortal Realm?"
Raqin nodded.
"Eventually."
The old men's breathing became uneven.
To cultivators, this sounded less like a treasure and more like a miracle.
"Don't get excited yet," Raqin said. "Let the assimilation finish first."
The old men immediately sat down and began circulating their foundation techniques.
Meenah sat quietly between them.
For a moment, they almost resembled a family.
Raqin turned his attention back toward the trial grounds.
The sea of hollow flesh stretched endlessly beneath the crimson sky.
Only a handful of people had reached the Bone Lighthouse.
Thousands remained behind.
His gaze drifted upward.
The moon was almost completely red.
A sigh escaped his lips.
"They're doomed."
Then something caught his attention.
One of the flesh entities.
Within its grotesque body, he noticed a strange parasite-like structure.
It resembled his nanites.
The thing was constantly adapting, restructuring, and evolving.
Raqin narrowed his eyes.
"Did Veyrath reach the same conclusions about biotechnology centuries ago?"
The thought sent a chill down his spine.
Then the moon became completely crimson.
A Blood Moon.
The First Trial had ended.
And immediately, the nightmare began.
The flesh entities turned.
Their countless eyes locked onto the remaining participants.
Then they attacked.
Screams erupted across the shoreline.
Cultivators ran in every direction.
Some jumped into the sea in desperation.
But the sea itself had transformed.
Bloody steam rose from its surface.
The smell of decay and poison saturated the air.
Those who entered vanished almost instantly.
Others were dragged apart by the creatures.
Blood painted the shore.
Bones cracked.
Screams became silence.
Everyone watching from the Bone Lighthouse stood frozen.
Even the ruthless and cunning among them felt their blood run cold.
No one had imagined the creatures could leave the sea.
No one had imagined failure meant death.
By the time the slaughter ended, not a single participant remained alive.
Only silence.
Then Veyrath's projection appeared.
His smile seemed wider than before.
"Congratulations."
"Those of you still breathing may proceed to the Second Trial."
"Climb the lighthouse."
The projection vanished.
No one celebrated.
No one spoke.
They simply obeyed.
The Bone Lighthouse rose toward the heavens like the spine of a dead god.
When they finally reached the summit, they found only a single door.
One by one, participants entered.
The leader of the Mollock Syndicate went first.
The moment he crossed the threshold, he vanished.
The door closed.
Then reopened.
The next person entered.
The process continued until only Raqin's group remained.
Jekyll stepped through.
Then Hyde.
Then Meenah.
Finally, Raqin entered.
Darkness swallowed him.
The world shifted.
When his vision returned, he found himself standing upon a vast plane of fossilized flesh.
The ground resembled petrified muscle and ancient bone fused together over countless ages.
Far in the distance stood an enormous Gothic cathedral.
It stretched beyond the horizon.
Its walls were built entirely from rotten flesh and gigantic eyes.
Thousands of eyes.
Millions, perhaps.
Blinking.
Watching.
Waiting.
Every step toward the cathedral felt like walking deeper into a living nightmare.
Some of the eyes followed them.
Others whispered unintelligible words.
The air itself seemed to breathe.
Then Veyrath appeared once more.
His laughter echoed through the endless wasteland.
"Welcome..."
The gigantic cathedral doors slowly opened.
Beyond them lay absolute darkness.
Not mere absence of light.
Something deeper.
Something alive.
Something hungry.
The darkness writhed like a sea of shadows waiting to consume them.
Veyrath's smile widened.
"The Second Trial is simple."
His voice echoed like thunder.
"Reach the Central Throne."
The darkness behind him pulsed.
"And do so..."
"...without losing your sanity."
The projection erupted into manic laughter before disappearing.
The doors remained open.
Waiting.
Like the mouth of an ancient beast inviting them inside.