Chapter 68: Rift Mission Completed
Drey frowned at Ethan as though he genuinely could not understand why Ethan was suddenly so determined to guide him.
"I don’t need Guiding."
Ethan stared at him in disbelief. "And I’m telling you that you do."
"I feel fine."
"You just fought that thing after already leaving the previous Rift mission because you were on the verge of going berserk, and somehow you’re standing here telling me you don’t need Guiding?"
Drey glanced down at himself before looking back at Ethan. "Normally, after a fight like this, I would have already started feeling the effects of spiritual instability. I should be experiencing the usual symptoms by now, but I’m not. My spiritual energy is stable."
"That doesn’t mean you don’t need it."
"Then what does it mean?"
"I don’t know yet."
Drey’s expression immediately turned unimpressed.
Ethan clenched his teeth. "Look, I’m not asking you to trust me blindly. I have a reason for saying this, but I can’t exactly stand here and explain everything while that thing is trying to tear us apart."
Drey glanced toward the creature that was currently battling Zane and the other Sentinels.
"And you believe Guiding me will help?"
"Yes."
"How?"
"I’ll tell you when this is over."
"That sounds suspicious."
"It is not suspicious! Just let me guide you!"
Drey continued staring at him, and Ethan could feel his patience disappearing by the second.
"Drey, you need to let me do this. Whether you feel unstable or not, something is clearly different about your body in this Rift, and I need to know what it is before we make another mistake."
Drey’s expression changed slightly at that.
For the first time, the amusement disappeared from his face, replaced by a brief flicker of consideration as his gaze moved toward the battlefield again. The creature was still fighting, but there was something different about its movements now, something that Ethan had been watching carefully ever since he discovered what happened during their previous Guiding session. The more spiritual energy the creature released, the more violently Drey’s body seemed to react to the surrounding energy, even though Drey himself insisted that he felt perfectly fine.
After a brief silence, he finally sighed.
"Fine."
Ethan immediately reached for his hand.
This is the last time.
He silently promised himself as his fingers closed around Drey’s palm.
After this, I am never Guiding this bastard again.
The Guiding connection activated almost immediately.
Ethan’s consciousness slipped into the familiar flow of spiritual energy, and the moment he connected with Drey, his eyes widened.
It was happening again.
Drey’s body had begun drawing in the spiritual energy surrounding them.
At first, it was subtle, almost like the air around them had simply become heavier, but within seconds Ethan could clearly feel the difference. The enormous amount of energy within the Rift was being pulled toward Drey, both the corrupted Miasma and the excess purified spiritual energy mixing together before being separated inside his body.
Ethan could almost feel the distinction happening within the Guiding connection.
The corrupted energy was being caught within Drey’s body, while the cleaner, more refined spiritual energy continued moving through the connection.
Ethan’s breath caught when the first wave entered his body.
Then another followed.
And another.
The purified spiritual energy travelled through him and descended directly into his mental sea.
It really works.
Just as he had suspected.
But then Ethan felt something else.
The creature roared. But this time it’s enormous body suddenly staggered.
Zane’s attack struck its side, and for the first time, the wound did not immediately heal.
Zane’s eyes narrowed.
"It’s weakening."
Riley struck the creature and the injury remained.
The creature released another furious roar and attempted to draw more spiritual energy toward itself. However nothing happened.
Its body trembled.
The surrounding Rift reacted weakly, but the energy it had previously commanded no longer responded to it in the same way.
The creature attempted to create more monsters from the ground. Something began forming beneath the surface but the next second it collapsed before it could fully emerge. The creature had lost control.
Ethan’s eyes widened.
It’s working.
The energy it had been using to strengthen itself and regenerate its injuries was being drawn away through Drey and purified before entering Ethan’s mental sea.
Without that energy, the creature was rapidly losing its strength.
The realization sent a rush of excitement through Ethan, but that excitement lasted only a few seconds before another wave of energy slammed into his mental sea.
His smile faltered.
The energy was coming faster now.
His mental sea expanded under the pressure, spiritual energy churning violently inside it as though it were struggling to contain everything that was being poured into it.
Ethan swallowed hard.
Okay.
This was more than he had expected.
Much more.
Still, he couldn’t stop.
Not yet.
Then the creature’s enormous eye suddenly turned toward Ethan.
It understood.
The creature had finally figured out where its power was going.
It abandoned the Sentinels fighting around it and charged straight toward Ethan.
Zane immediately noticed.
"Ethan!"
The creature moved with frightening speed but Zane intercepted it before it could reach them, his weapon crashing into its body and forcing it backward.
"Keep Guiding!" Zane ordered.
Ethan didn’t need to be told twice.
He continued.
But the amount of purified spiritual energy entering his mental sea was becoming overwhelming.
His head began pounding.
His chest tightened as wave after wave of energy poured into him.
Too much.
His mental sea was already overflowing.
Yet the energy continued coming.
Ethan’s fingers trembled around Drey’s hand as he fought to maintain the connection.
His vision blurred for a moment and he almost lost his concentration.
His breathing became increasingly uneven as he tried to suppress the pressure building inside him, but every time he thought the flow might finally slow down, another stream of purified energy entered his body.
It was almost like standing beneath a waterfall and trying to drink every drop.
But he couldn’t stop not when the creature was weakening and the others were depending on him.
So he endured.
Another massive wave entered his mental sea.
The creature screamed as Zane and the other Sentinels attacked it from multiple directions.
Its movements became slower and more cracks began spreading across its body.
It tried once more to control the Rift but still nothing happened. The creature had finally been cut off from the source of energy it had been exploiting.
Zane moved forward and the other Sentinels followed.
Their combined attacks tore through the creature’s weakened body, and this time, the injuries remained.
The creature staggered backward, desperately trying to recover, but there was nothing left for it to draw from.
Its claws slammed into the ground as it attempted to force more energy toward itself.
Nothing happened. Then another attack struck its chest.
The creature released a deafening roar, but even that roar sounded weaker than before.
Ethan gritted his teeth as another wave entered him.
His knees almost buckled.
Just hold on.
He didn’t know how much longer his mental sea could withstand this.
He had wanted spiritual energy.
He had wanted enough to rank up.
He had wanted a way to cultivate without putting himself in danger.
But now that he was actually getting what he wanted, Ethan was beginning to wonder whether he had been a little too greedy.
His entire body felt heavy at this point and his fingertips were beginning to go numb.
Even his thoughts felt slower.
Still, he refused to break the connection.
If he stopped now, everything would be wasted.
The creature let out another desperate roar and lunged forward.
Zane blocked it head-on.
The impact sent spiritual energy exploding through the battlefield.
Riley immediately moved to Zane’s side, striking at the creature’s exposed flank, while Adrien attacked from the opposite direction.
Runt and his Guide worked together to keep the monster from interfering, their attacks preventing the creature from reaching Ethan and Drey.
The battle had become a desperate struggle between the creature trying to survive and the small group determined to bring it down.
And slowly, painfully, the creature was losing.
The darkness surrounding its core became thinner and thinner.
Zane tightened his grip on his weapon and shouted.
"Now!"
The other Sentinels immediately obeyed followed.
The creature let out one final, deafening roar before Zane’s attack pierced through its exposed core.
Its body froze. Then the creature shattered.
The dark fragments dissolved into the air, and the overwhelming presence that had filled the Rift finally disappeared.
Ethan slowly realized that they had succeeded.
His mental sea was still trembling violently from the amount of energy it had absorbed, but the battle was over.
They had actually defeated it.
Ethan finally released Drey’s hand and ended the Guiding connection.
He took a shaky breath. The sudden absence of the Guiding connection made his body sway slightly.
For a moment, he simply stood there, trying to convince himself that he was still capable of standing.
His mental sea was packed with spiritual energy. More than he had ever managed to gather before.
His theory had actually worked.
The thought should have made him ecstatic. Instead, his body felt as though it had been completely drained. His head was still pounding, and the world around him seemed strangely distant.
"Ethan!"
Runt suddenly rushed toward him.
Before Ethan could react, Runt grabbed him in a tight hug.
"You did it! You really did it!"
Ethan blinked, still trying to process everything as he looked around at the others.
Zane was standing a short distance away, his weapon lowered now that the battle was finally over.
Riley was catching her breath, while Adrien was checking the surrounding area and making sure there were no remaining monsters waiting to attack.
Drey remained nearby, his gaze fixed on Ethan with an unreadable expression.
Runt’s Guide was also standing close, clearly relieved that everyone had survived.
A tired smile slowly appeared on Ethan’s face.
"Yeah..."
His voice was barely above a breath.
"I did."
The world suddenly tilted and the faces around him blurred.
His smile disappeared as his legs gave out beneath him.
"Wait..."
Runt’s expression changed instantly.
"Ethan!"
The last thing Ethan heard was Runt shouting his name before everything went black.