Chapter 148: Setting Sun
Everything was dark. The black filth of the curses roiled in tangible swells, smothering me as though I’d fallen into the darkest depths of the ocean. The paving stones against my back shivered before the onslaught, the protective magic corroding away and leaving the rock so brittle it cracked beneath its own weight.
The curse attacked my soul directly, but the blazing warmth of Adaptive Resistance devoured the endless strands of runes as they came. I could feel a similar strength within Trithe, consuming the curse that afflicted her as well as protecting her from the seventh-circle spell. The clash of the two forces created a cyclonic pressure that stirred our hair and clothes.
With Trithe safely on the road to recovery, the slave crest’s punishment subsided, leaving me alone with the dull ache of the Sunpurge. My mind my own once more, I Soul Cast a Restoration, healing the injuries I sustained from the fall. As my wounds knit together, I struggled to my knees, panting, as the soft light of Life Magic created a small bubble of illumination amid the curse.
When the light fell on Trithe, she groaned and rolled over, her eyelids fluttering as she regained consciousness. Sighing, I reached out and cast another healing spell, bathing her body in verdant radiance. Within seconds, her cheeks regained their healthy color, and she opened her eyes.
Her eyes were pale and hazy, yet slowly sharpened, fixating on my face. "X-Xivyah," she groaned, rubbing her forehead. "Where have you been?"
"I protected you," I muttered duly, staring down at my lap. Why wouldn’t my hands stop shaking you? Why did my heart hurt so much? "I protected you."
She scowled, looking about at the curse, which still veiled us from the rest of the battle. "What are you mumbling about? You could have been quicker, you know. What’s with this darkness, anyway?"
As my tail scraped across the ground, my hands clenched the folds of my dress, the nails nearly slicing through the thin fabric and into my palms. Why was she the one I saved?
"A curse," I nearly spat. She’d only just been freed of one.