Chapter 1272: Guided by History and Fate
Esmeralda reluctantly stirred, resisting the chill and exhaustion's attempts to drag her back into the comforting darkness. Bleary eyes opened, and thoughts resisted being put into a coherent order for a good while. She felt as lost as when she woke up in her next incarnation, her physical form unable to bear the weight of her consciousness. Thankfully, clarity returned much faster. It was the sixth time she’d awoken over the past weeks, and she sensed that it had been her last rest.
She once again felt shocked at the tribulations she'd been forced to endure since hitching her wagon to this ill-fated chaperone. Esmeralda was once known as an irredeemable troublemaker, but she couldn't help but feel like a layman attempting to replicate the feats of a true master. At least it looked like things had stayed stable since she fell asleep last.
The barrier still staved off most of the draconic cold, and what seeped into her shrine was turned rootless enough to become a tool for suppressing her curse. Zac also appeared in stable condition. Esmeralda could feel his current state was similar to that of plant cultivators, thoughts moving at glacial speeds as he stayed attuned to his Heavenly Path.
The calm wouldn't last much longer. She could barely see the surroundings through a dense curtain of lights, and Esmeralda didn't need to calculate Heaven's secrets to know they were just minutes from being sent away.
Esmeralda couldn't stop the cold grip of trepidation from creeping into her heart as the moment of truth drew closer. They'd been quite confident in their theories, that she could gain passage as a contracted beast, and that her age issue had been circumvented through her endless reincarnations.
What if they were wrong?
The seal suppressing the [Timescape Spiral] was only a shell after lending Zac its strength, and they were stuck in a Heaven-forgotten corner of the frontier. She was doomed if the System shut her out. She didn't even have something to barter with those greedy old bastards for another seal, should she somehow reach them in time. It had to work.
Esmeralda urgently covered herself in talismans that could obscure one's presence. She didn't hold much hope in their efficacy, but the familiar arrangement brought some comfort. She gingerly took out the ancient statue, its vibrant blood mark still pulsating. Finally, she roused her drained bloodline to temporarily add unfathomable distances between her soul and any threads of Karma.
The outside was completely consumed by the soul lanterns only moments later, and Esmeralda felt a subtle shift. She didn't dare breathe, move, or think for a good while. Minutes of comforting consistency allayed some of her fears, and she gingerly extended her senses outward. With her guide encased in draconic ice, she needed to ensure he wasn't steering them both down a cliff.