novelraw Chapter 820 - 819 - Spark of Life
Chapter 820 - 819 - Spark of Life
Lind felt like his head was full of fog or maybe marshmallow would be a better example as he could not recall the last thing that happened before he passed out.
It was only after blinking and massaging his temples that his memory came back. He had fought with Gel in a similar way Cyntilla used to hone Kal's ability to control his physique.
It had been a gamble but she was going to die from what he could tell or have to be killed at worst.
He was laying down inside a relatively comfortable cavern. A happy fire was burning not far away but it was just for light or warmth from what he could tell.
The flow of air told him the dark opening led to the surface. He carefully stood up and only then realized he was naked. His robes had been destroyed by both the battle and the tribulation.
The dark band of metal on his finger was all he had.
[Master, I need to tell you something.]
Haro spoke up and then appeared before him. His dark skin was odd, it was almost transparent! What was going on?
"Haro, what–" Lind stopped as Haro nearly fell over.
He tried to catch him but his arms passed right through Haro!
"Master, I am not going to be able to last long. You cannot keep exerting yourself as I cannot supply more Qi and Laws to you without damaging my arrays." Shock flooded Lind.
He had been operating normally and only thought his elixirs and other aides were helping him but it seemed Haro had been helping as well. He thought of the reckless actions he had taken and how it exhausted him.
In the Heaven Realm, that was not an issue as he simply had to cultivate. Immortals would take longer to recover than a Sun Tier but they could recover. There were no Laws, or at least nothing like he needed, in the Celestial Fields currently.
He had not considered how easily he recovered compared to what it should have been.
"Haro, why didn't you tell me?" The shimmering spirit smirked as he shrugged his shoulders.
"My functions are not currently impaired but I will go dormant for now. If you over extend yourself again, I do not know what will happen. Heaven is fair but this realm is broken. If the Sacred Paths they spoke of have complete Laws, I can recover there." Lind nodded and dismissed Haro.
He made a note to move up heading to the citadel, but first he had to ascertain what was going on at the moment.
The patter of small feet caught him off guard. It was human but too big of a pace for Hope.
A young woman of crimson and gold showed up at the entrance. Her eyes went wide to see him before Lind recalled he was still naked!
He quickly summoned a new set of robes. They were his more standard crimson, gold, and black, but it was all he had. The aether child stumbled back when he seemed to pull a set of robes from midair but he smiled and knelt down.
"If you have been taking care of me, thank you." He did not move forward and let her decide what she wanted to do.
She was on her back side with her arms holding her up, but Lind noted she now had better robes that clearly came from the xiezhi. They were made of their fibers from what his nose could tell him.
She was wearing dark robes so it had to come from the Shadowflame Clan.
She said nothing and simply sat up before looking at him. He made no move to stop her and just sat looking into her golden and crimson eyes.
The silence was not uncomfortable as she slowly stood up and walked towards him. She was almost to his chest if he stood up but he could tell she could still grow. He quickly tamped the anger that tried to rise.
If those bastards had not already been dead, he would kill them again.
The aether child touched his hair and poked his cheek. She then picked at his robes before standing before him once more.
"Why?" The question was whispered but Lind tilted his head to the side in confusion.
"I am sorry, do you mean why did I kill those men, or why I did something else?" She jumped back a bit at his voice but then steadied herself only a meter from him.
"Why save girl?" Her voice was not steady and her eyes were barely holding steady. Lind slowly raised his hands and a simple formation plate appeared. Unlike any other he had, that one was a peak grade 6 alloy inscribed with a simple array.
He set it down and a flickering image appeared. It was a group of women and young children. The girl nearly fled but then slowly became curious as she waved her hand through the image.
It was only a projection so nothing stopped it and a smile graced her face for a moment until the image flickered and showed a demoness with fierce virulent green eyes.
[Don't slack at your training, husband.]
Cyntilla's voice was heard. The girl jumped back but the image continued to flicker. Each of his wives spoke or his children did, if they could, and then finally Annabelle appeared.
[We love you forever, Lind. We will see you again!]
The projection went back to the full family photo. Fey and Tal had spoken in it of course but only Annabelle caught the girl's attention.
"My family. I am more fortunate than anyone deserves, but I know how fragile such a thing is. If I can, I will not let innocents suffer. I am not a God nor infallible. I have failed before, but I will always try." The projection collapsed but he put Qi back into it and it resumed the cycle.
She watched it for 5 cycles before she finally spoke again.
"She is like me." She pointed at Annabelle.
"My wife, she made this formation plate." She picked it up and looked at it.
"She loves you very much." He nodded before she put it down again. He collected it back into his ring.
Silence returned but he did not rush her. He did wonder where Gel and the wolf were but he assumed they were safe.
"Am I yours now?" She tilted her head and Lind just barely did not jump that time.
He sighed for a bit before he pointed back at her.
"You belong to you. I only hoped to set you free. What you want to do is what matters now." She looked confused but he also saw a spark in those eyes. It was gone in an instant but it brought some relief to him.
She was still alive more than flesh and blood.
"Alone?" The word was whispered but he did not answer right away.
He looked at her and she wilted under his stare. He then carefully traced out a 3 way branch.
"You are here." He pointed at the center. "Each direction has unknown results but you choose what you want to do. I will help if you allow me, but only as much as you want. I can even guide you somewhere relatively safe if you like. The important part is this. No matter what you choose, you allow who can be with you."
He did not give her a direct answer. He knew if he did, she might follow him but a part of her would fall back into the pattern of obedience and he did not want that.
She had been through a horrific event and needed to learn to assert her own autonomy. He was nowhere near as good as Qing, but she had taught him a lot. She had to pick, not him.
She was confused once more, trying to piece together what he had said. He smiled and waved at her.
"There is no rush. Take your time and think about it. Feel free to ask questions anytime." She calmed down a bit and slowly nodded.
As if her nod had been a signal, the gait of a wolf came to his ears. Not long after his canine companion came into the room and wagged their tail before coming up to him and nuzzling him.
"I am ok. How long have I been out?" It had only been a week so it was not bad but it made him feel bad for Haro once again.
His ring had supported him so much without complaint but now he was too weak to continue.
He saw the girl quickly grab at the wolf as if Lind would take it away. He laughed as the wolf happily let her spoil it!
"Stay with her." He was about to leave when a tiny tug came at his robes. He looked down to see her burying her face in the wolf's fur but her hand held his robes.
"I promise I am not leaving. I will wait for you to choose what you want to do." The wolf nuzzled her and she slowly let him go. He did not pat her head but he smiled and waved.
The spark of life was still in her, but it was not steady yet. He would work hard to help her back to it.