Chapter 68: The two siblings choice
She was alive.
More importantly, she was recovering.
That was enough for now.
Cole finally stood up and prepared to leave the room.
He still had something else to deal with.
The Summers siblings.
Thinking about Jessica and Ethan, Cole’s expression became slightly solemn.
They knew too much.
They knew about his transformation, his strange abilities, his connection to the bloodline, and now they had witnessed the impossible recovery of Trisha.
Cole didn’t necessarily believe that the siblings would betray him.
But trust was one thing.
Safety was another.
He would never feel completely comfortable knowing that people carrying so many of his secrets were freely moving around outside.
With that thought, Cole stepped out of the room.
It was time to meet the Summers siblings.
And this time...
He needed to deal with those two properly.
In another room, Cole finally met with Jessica and Ethan, and after a brief exchange, he brought up the matter he had been putting off.
Jessica remained quietly attentive, but Ethan’s expression immediately changed the moment he heard what Cole intended.
"What do you mean I would also need to consume the potion?"
His voice rose sharply, disbelief and irritation mixing together as he stared at Cole.
"Do you really think I’m stupid? My sister is the one suffering from this condition, not me. How would me consuming the potion have anything to do with curing her?"
Ethan’s brows furrowed deeply as suspicion filled his eyes.
"Are you trying to scheme against me or something?!"
Hearing Ethan’s outburst, Cole’s expression darkened slightly.
He was starting to get tired of this guy.
Every time they talked, Ethan seemed to find another reason to make things troublesome. Cole had already explained enough, yet this fellow still acted as though Cole was deliberately trying to trick him.
But regardless of what Ethan said, Cole had already made his decision.
He was going to give Ethan the Bloodline Potion.
Not because Ethan particularly deserved it.
And certainly not because Cole enjoyed dealing with his endless questions.
Rather, Cole would only feel truly at ease once Ethan had undergone the same transformation.
As long as Ethan remained outside with knowledge of his secrets, there would always be a variable Cole couldn’t completely control.
Cole waited until Ethan’s anger had subsided slightly before speaking in an indifferent tone.
"Hmm... so you want your sister to continue suffering forever?"
The words were simple, but they immediately struck Ethan’s weakest point.
"Are you trying to blackmail me?!"
Ethan’s face reddened as he glared at Cole.
His fists tightened at his sides, while his instincts screamed that there was something wrong with the way Cole had phrased those words.
Yet...
He couldn’t completely refute him.
After all, Ethan had personally witnessed Trisha’s transformation.
Not long ago, she had been lying on the verge of death, her body so badly damaged that even Ethan had believed she might not survive.
Now she was alive.
Not merely alive, either.
She had recovered to a degree that Ethan couldn’t explain through ordinary means.
That meant Cole might genuinely possess the ability to cure his sister’s condition.
And if Jessica missed that opportunity simply because Ethan refused to cooperate...
The thought alone made Ethan’s chest tighten.
What if this was truly the only chance?
What if refusing now meant watching his sister suffer for the rest of her life?
Ethan’s fists clenched even tighter.
Countless excuses and arguments appeared in his mind.
He could refuse.
He could demand another method.
He could question Cole until he revealed everything.
Yet every time he tried to form the words, something stopped him.
His sister’s face kept appearing in his mind.
In the end, Ethan remained silent.
Cole watched the conflict playing across his face.
A faint smile slowly appeared at the corners of his lips.
This guy is already in the bag.
It took Ethan and Jessica an entire week to gather all the ingredients, and even after they had finally collected everything, another full day passed before Cole finished refining both potions.
Cole’s speed was frighteningly efficient.
His success rate in potion refinement was already exceptionally high, and with the A.I. Chip constantly analyzing the proportions, temperature, mana fluctuations, and countless other variables during the process, his chance of failure had been reduced to almost nothing.
Now, inside the secrecy of the Summer Fairy hideout, two small glass bottles rested quietly on the table.
The liquid within them shimmered with a strange glow, occasionally giving off faint ripples of energy that caused the surrounding air to tremble almost imperceptibly.
Jessica picked up her bottle and stared at it through her deep blue, ocean-like eyes.
For a long moment, she simply watched the liquid swirling inside.
"I can’t believe I’m actually doing this..."
Ethan’s voice came from beside her.
His fingers were wrapped tightly around his own bottle, yet his hand couldn’t stop trembling. A strange sense of foreboding had been growing inside him ever since Cole had explained what they needed to do.
Every instinct in his body was telling him that drinking this thing was a terrible idea.
Unfortunately...
He had already come too far to turn back.
If he walked away now, Ethan had a feeling he would never again be able to look his sister directly in the eyes.
What if this really was the opportunity they had been waiting for?
What if Jessica could finally escape the curse that had tormented her for so long?
He gritted his teeth.
Fine...
Across from the siblings stood Cole and Trisha.
Cole’s expression remained calm as he picked up the two bottles and handed them to the siblings one after another.
"Drink them."
Ethan stared at the potion in his hand.
His throat moved slightly as he swallowed.
For several seconds, he simply stood there, staring at the glowing liquid as though it were some poisonous substance.
Then he clenched his teeth, closed his eyes, and gulped the entire potion down in one go.
The liquid slid down his throat.
Jessica followed shortly afterward, calmly swallowing her potion without making any unnecessary movements.
Cole watched the two siblings consume the potions.
A faint, almost imperceptible sense of relief passed through his heart.
The most dangerous part had begun.
Yet he didn’t allow that emotion to appear on his face.
Instead, he immediately sat down and began guiding the two siblings through the process of absorbing the potion.
"Calm your minds. Don’t resist the energy."
His voice remained steady.
"Follow my guidance and allow the bloodline to merge with your bodies."
...
Pain.
That was the first thing Ethan felt.
An indescribable, scorching pain suddenly erupted from within his body.
His eyes snapped wide open.
It felt as though he hadn’t swallowed a potion at all.
It felt as though he had gulped down molten magma.
The terrifying heat spread through his throat and plunged directly into his stomach before rapidly exploding outward.
His blood seemed to boil.
His muscles tightened.
His bones trembled violently beneath the pressure.
The sensation became so intense that Ethan felt as though something was squeezing his entire skeleton from the inside, compressing his ribs until they creaked beneath the unbearable force.
"Ah...!"
A strangled sound escaped his throat.
His body began trembling uncontrollably as sweat instantly covered his forehead.
The world around him gradually became hazy.
His vision blurred.
His consciousness seemed to sink into an endless ocean of heat.
Then, through that thick fog, Cole’s voice reached him.
"Calm down and follow my guidance if you don’t want to die."
Ethan’s eyes suddenly widened.
Even while suffering such unbearable pain, his temper immediately flared.
"Bastard, I knew it! It was one of your schemes—"
His voice broke apart halfway through the sentence.
The next moment, the overwhelming energy surging through his body swallowed his consciousness.
His thoughts became sluggish.
His tongue refused to move.
Even forming a complete sentence became impossible.
Ethan could only grit his teeth and endure the terrifying transformation taking place within his body.
Compared to Ethan, Jessica’s reaction was considerably calmer.
She sat quietly with her eyes closed, her breathing steady despite the terrifying energy flowing through her body.
At first glance, it almost looked as though she wasn’t experiencing any pain at all.
But that wasn’t the truth.
Her calmness came from somewhere else.
Years of suffering had forced Jessica to develop an extraordinary tolerance toward pain. The agony currently tearing through her body was severe enough to make an ordinary person collapse instantly, yet Jessica had already endured countless episodes of torment caused by her condition.
She knew how to endure.
She knew how to remain still when every nerve in her body screamed at her to move.
And so, while Ethan struggled violently against the transformation, Jessica remained seated in silence, allowing Cole’s guidance to lead the terrifying energy deeper into her body.
This torture lasted for two whole days, when the transformation was finally complete. Even though the pain had faded both of them were too tired to speak even a single word.