Chapter 306: Shadowheart Parasite
I’ve fixed the typos, grammar, and awkward phrasing while keeping the structure, tone, and word count essentially intact.
The Red Veil were known as the most ferocious mercenaries in the world, and even after more than a decade out of commission, they remained as dangerous as ever. Within minutes of Aegon’s command, more than a hundred unconscious people were brought to Skyreach.
Looking at their peaceful faces, Kaelis gripped his chest, grimacing. He had dedicated his entire life to Chainbound Sky and its people, so seeing them in pain brought pain to him too.
Still, he was a leader and couldn’t lose his composure in a situation like this, so he took a deep breath and asked, "What is wrong with them? I can’t sense anything, so does that mean the same components have been used?"
"High chance." Elara nodded. "I can’t disclose many details, but the Sylvanna Forests are affected by the World Tree and possess various kinds of effects."
Ignoring them, Aegon used his special eyes to peer deeper into a young man. He wore simple clothes with an apron, likely a chef. There were no signs of harm on his body, nor did Aegon feel anything unusual.
But as he looked closer, he saw a revolting mass of darkness swirling in the man’s chest. His heart grew heavy as he muttered, "Getting it out of their chest without killing them is difficult."
Aegon had collected many professions through his system, but doctor wasn’t one of them, specifically someone who could handle a task like this.
’Shit! I should have signed in somewhere near a doctor.’ He cursed himself inwardly.
"They had two plans," he said. "First is the explosive gas. Second is contamination through touch, or at least that’s what I know for now."
"Let me check." Elara rushed to his side and then crouched near the young man.
As she stretched her arm, it blurred and entered the young man’s chest so easily as if she were cutting through tofu. There was no resistance whatsoever.
’She still has so many things I know nothing of,’ Aegon thought, smiling. ’I can gradually learn more about her because of this relationship.’
"It’s worse than I thought," Elara said grimly. "What we’re dealing with is a Shadowheart Parasite. It feeds on one’s life force and, once disturbed, it takes over the host and spreads itself in a shadow miasma which contains thousands of small Shadowheart Parasites that will do the same."
She paused for a moment before adding, "The worst part is that the Shadowheart actively searches for hosts, as it can reproduce ten thousand times in a single day. So even a casual touch could transmit the parasite."
"You mean..." Aegon’s voice turned low in realization.
She nodded. "Yes. The whole Chainbound Sky might be infected with Shadowheart Parasites. As for how it remained hidden, I don’t think I need to say anything on that."
Indeed, she didn’t have to. Aegon understood her position too, as the Elves were involved in this. The whole Sylvanna was under the World Tree’s blessings, so cutting trees there was practically impossible... unless you were an elf.
That meant some elves had secretly sold things to the Corals, which they were using to conquer Chainbound Sky. And as the princess, she felt responsible for their actions.
"Can you think of any cure?" he asked.
"I can make one, but we have different problems."
She was right. The main problem was that the entirety of Chainbound Sky might already be infested with Shadowheart Parasites. Because of that, they couldn’t take any action recklessly, as it could mean the deaths of thousands of people.
The Vayrins might cease to exist if they pushed the wrong buttons.
Kaelis clenched his jaw, his nails digging into his own palm so deeply that blood dripped onto the floor. Every fiber of his being screamed at him to take some action, to do something to save his people and slaughter his enemies.
But he was helpless.
Elara was also looking down, her mind working rapidly to come up with a solution. She could cure the parasite even within living beings without harming them. That was the power of an Elf. But she wouldn’t be fast enough to do that for the whole of Chainbound Sky.
For once in a long time, she felt weak.
Aegon remained calm as he looked through his arsenal. Over the years, the system had given him so many things that he had lost count, but he remembered all of them. Now, he wondered if any of them could help in this case.
’No... not that one. Oh yeah, it can help, but only temporarily, so can I combine it with that?’
He found many things, but none could actually work properly. Even the best option wouldn’t save everyone, and that wasn’t something he wanted.
As the silence lasted longer than he expected, a glint passed through Aegon’s eyes and his mouth widened in surprise. ’Why didn’t I think of that?’
He hurriedly looked down at his shadow and asked, "Hecte, you have Shadow as your affinity, right?"
[Sort of...]
"So it’s something similar," Aegon muttered before shaking his head. "Doesn’t matter. You can control shadows to an extreme degree, right? Shadowheart Parasites are still beings of Shadow, so what if you could control them?"
[I... I have never done that, Boss. Controlling beings is an entirely different matter than controlling normal shadows.]
"Because of the Soul?" Aegon guessed.
[Indeed. Inanimate shadows are part of the Physical Plane, so they are far easier to control. But a being’s Soul resides in the Sea of Consciousness, and that’s a completely different plane. You should know better than me.]
Aegon grinned. "I know. And that’s why I’m asking you to try it. How do you think the Affinity stuff works? One’s Soul gets tainted by the Conceptual Plane, gaining a connection with aspects of it. That’s how you gain Affinities."
[You mean...]
He nodded in response. "Yup. Their Souls are tainted with Shadow, and you hold far better control over it. Your Soul’s connection with the Concept of Shadows dwarfs theirs."
Smiling at his shadow, he added, "They’re shadows and you control shadows. So I want you to rip them out of every single Vayrin without harming them. Can you do that for me?"
[As you wish, Boss.]