Wordlessly, Nael lifted his hand over her broken, poisoned body. His slender fingers traced the air, sketching invisible patterns.
[Poison Extraction]
Abruptly, a viscous, vile substance—dark green streaked with black—oozed from Elowen's skin. It was as if the venom, furious, was torn free and shaped into a living orb in Nael's grasp.
Murmurs rippled through the room.
"This isn't possible!" a man cried from the rear, his voice thick with disbelief.
"That venom…" Aunt Yang Mei said, her eyes wide. "No one has been able to stop it since ancient times. Not even the best healing methods could handle it…"
But Nael's face remained impassive, emotionless as he held the venom orb. With a flick, he cast it aside, and it crumbled to dust, scattering like ashes on the breeze.
"Even if this helps, she's already disfigured. Nothing can restore what she's lost," Yang Mei said, her voice heavy with sorrow.
Rising with the serene poise of an executioner, Nael lifted his hand once more. This time, a golden light burst forth from his fingertips.
[Purification]
A radiant golden water, gleaming like the sun at its zenith, flowed from Nael's palm. The light enveloped Elowen, weaving her into a shimmering cocoon. The transformation unfolded in a moment that felt eternal, though it spanned a mere five minutes. As the brilliance began to fade, those present stood in awe: Elowen was restored, her skin flawless, her beauty breathtaking, as if time itself had wound backward. She appeared younger than twenty—a sight striking enough to hush even the most hardened skeptics.
A murmur rippled through the hall, but it was Xia Xiang, ever pragmatic, who sought to reclaim order.
—"This may look like a miracle, but she won't live past half a day. Without a treasure to extend her life, her vitality will drain swiftly, restored body or not."
Nael paid her words no heed. He stepped closer to Elowen, bending toward her with a gentle grace. His lips drew near her forehead, and for a fleeting second, her heart raced. Her body quivered, caught between exhaustion and anticipation; Elowen's eyes fluttered shut, bracing for a kiss that hinted at intimacy.
But the kiss she awaited never came. Instead, she felt the soft, damp brush of his lips against her brow. The warmth of the gesture soon gave way to a piercing chill that coursed down her spine, as Nael whispered with an almost hypnotic authority:
["I grant you a thousand more years of life."]
A whitish-green energy flowed from Nael into Elowen, seeping into her like living water that renewed her very essence. She gasped, overwhelmed—not just by the return of vitality, but by something greater, a force teetering on the edge of eternity.
The room's astonishment hung thick in the air. Even Xia Xiang, ever quick with a retort, stood speechless, her jaw slack with wonder.
Reinvigorated, bathed in an energy she'd never known, Elowen struggled to rise. Her eyes sparkled with emotion and the faint glimmer of hope as she reached toward Nael.
—"Nael… I…"—she began, but before her words could take shape, Nael struck without pause. His kick was deliberate—not harsh enough to wound deeply, but firm enough to send her tumbling awkwardly to the floor, unconscious.
He turned to face the onlookers, his icy gaze mirroring the chill of an endless winter.
—"Don't touch me when it suits you."—His voice sliced through the air, resolute, before he walked away. His footsteps echoed across the hall, the closing door's thud the only trace of his departure.
The silence that followed pressed down like a heavy shroud, the air too thick to breathe. Whispers soon stirred—some grappling to make sense of what they'd witnessed, others simply stunned.
—"What was that?"—someone muttered, disbelief threading their voice.
—"Who… what is he? Could he be some new kind of sage?"—another ventured, fear and confusion tangling in their tone.
But Nael was already far gone, not sparing a backward glance. To him, this was but a fleeting spark, a trivial flicker in the vast expanse of his existence.
After his exit, the hall sank into an oppressive stillness, as though every mote of air bore an unseen weight. Eyes darted restlessly between the door he'd vanished through and Elowen's motionless form, now faintly aglow with a mysterious light—a lingering mark of Nael's cold touch.
The tension-soaked room seemed oblivious to two extraordinary presences. A cat and a serpent, Nael's inseparable companions, defied all known logic. They were neither ordinary beasts nor predictable mystical creatures. Within them pulsed an ancient power, an enigmatic aura that commanded both reverence and dread.
The cat, its fur black as the void between stars, padded silently forward, brushing lightly against Elowen's arm. At nearly the same moment, the serpent—its golden scales shimmering with silvery glints—slithered gracefully to coil discreetly around her ankle. For an instant, the venom still lingering in her veins faltered, as if meeting a greater force, before dissolving into a sacred hush.
Elowen stirred slowly, consciousness creeping back. Her eyes, clouded with confusion, blinked with the urgency of someone clawing their way into a world gone adrift. She pressed a hand to her forehead, faintly sensing the echo of Nael's frigid touch.
—"Where… where is he?"—she murmured, her voice heavy with quiet anguish as her gaze roamed for answers.
—"He's gone,"—Yang Mei replied, her tone laced with restrained sorrow, betraying the doubts now hovering in the air.
Elowen offered no response. She tried to stand, but her body resisted, fragile and weary. Noticing the two creatures nearby, a faint smile curved her lips—a silent acknowledgment.
—"You stayed…"—she whispered, reaching toward the serpent with a fragile hope, as if its touch might unravel hidden truths.
But the serpent darted away with swift, aloof grace, its eyes glinting with a blend of disdain and curiosity that seemed to spill over with ancient secrets. The cat, meanwhile, raised its head, fixing her with a gaze so intense it felt like judgment, peering beyond the surface.
—"Seems they don't like being touched,"—Xia Xiang remarked, arms crossed, her voice dry yet tinged with mystery.—"Not even by you."
Yet beneath their apparent rejection, Elowen sensed something deeper stirring within her. It wasn't mere dismissal; it was a quiet recognition that these majestic, enigmatic beings saw something in her—something beyond the ordinary, something that might one day rewrite fate itself.
Could it be that I am more than I seem? she wondered, tension blending with hope, the air thick with the promise of truths yet unveiled.
Beyond their refusal, Elowen felt a subtle shift—a secret they'd glimpsed within her, too profound for simple affection. A warmth pulsed in her chest, radiating to her fingertips. She closed her eyes for a heartbeat, savoring the moment, when suddenly something awoke inside her.
[Soul of the Celestial Destiny of Beginnings]
From her emerged a unique energy—vibrant yet delicate, a flame that never fades. It was the mark of a pure soul, fated to weave the threads of destiny and mend the world's imbalances. Those who bore it were both gift and burden, seeing past the present into the tangled mysteries of time, yet bound to uphold balance, never bending the future to selfish whims.
The cat and serpent seemed to sense this shift. Their gazes softened, and the cat, with a nearly imperceptible motion, allowed her to draw near again—though always with a wary stillness.
—"So that's it,"—Yang Mei observed, her eyes alight with mingled surprise and insight.—"These beasts aren't ordinary. They must feel something special in you."
—"Or maybe they're just testing my limits,"—Elowen countered, a weary smile flickering as her gaze lingered on the animals' mystic grace.
In an unexpected flash, the cat leaped nimbly into her lap, while the serpent coiled gently around her arm. The room fell into stunned silence, as if every heart paused to witness this subtle marvel.
—"Looks like they've decided to accept her,"—Xia Xiang noted, astonishment coloring her voice.
With tender care, Elowen stroked the cat's head, earning a muted purr in return. The serpent rested calmly, as if imparting an ancestral message. She felt an inexplicable bond, as though these creatures were scattered fragments of a greater riddle—perhaps even echoes of Nael himself.
—"You're as unpredictable as he is…"—she murmured, her voice a soft secret shared with the stillness.
Could it be that in him I find a shadow of what I've lost? she thought, the depth of the moment sinking into her soul.
As the tension ebbed, Elowen's gaze drifted to the door Nael had passed through. She knew he'd left more than an absence behind; he'd bestowed an enigma, a cryptic legacy she was resolved to unravel.
Catching her breath, she lifted her head, still trembling, as her eyes adjusted to the reality around her. The hall buzzed with murmurs and shock, but the focus now shifted to her.
Old Yang, his face etched with time and wisdom, broke the silence first.
—"When did he reach the Dominion of the Spiritual Sea?"—he asked, his voice steady yet brimming with disbelief. In that moment, all knew: Nael, with his stunted intellect and childlike mind, had never been famed as a cultivator.
It wasn't long before Yang Chen, ever brash, stepped forward, arms crossed, a smirk of disdain curling his lips.
—"I don't know either. From what I remember, he never had the chance to cultivate anything in that crippled head of his,"—he said, arrogance mingling with a faint bitterness, drawing sharp looks of reproach, especially from Yang Mei, who stared him down.
—"I mean… back then!"—he fumbled to clarify, but the unease had already settled.
Xia Xiang, silent until now, let out a scoff laced with sarcasm, though a tremor betrayed something deeper.
—"Doesn't matter. It'll take him years to match the top geniuses of the Sacred Lands. It might've been a stroke of luck, but that doesn't put him on par with true prodigies."
Yet even as her words rang out, those who truly knew Nael understood he'd never be bound by others' expectations. Time was a triviality to him; the impossible, merely a hurdle he'd always leap.
In this quiet clash, Yang Mei stepped in with the caution born of experience, seeking to douse the rising tension before it flared beyond control.
—"Calm yourselves. Everyone has their own pace, their own path. What matters is the essence we carry, not the rules thrust upon us,"—she said, her serenity a stark contrast to the storm of emotions swirling around.
Caught between the ache of loss and the hope of piercing Nael's mystery, Elowen stood at a crossroads. Every glance, every gesture, was a piece of a puzzle she longed to assemble, her heart open and her spirit restless, even if it meant facing the shadows of the unknown.
—"He doesn't seem rushed. That's the point,"—Elowen said, her gaze sweeping across each face in the room, searching for answers amid the contradictions.—"While we scramble for power and titles, he walks his own road, always a step ahead."
Her words hung in the air, plunging the room into thoughtful silence. Elowen fell quiet, the chill of Nael's lips still lingering on her brow, her chest a tangle of unspoken questions. He was an enigma, a presence that reshaped the very air. Though some bristled with arrogance or doubt, deep down she knew he was far more than he appeared.
Nael's beasts, ever watchful at her side, seemed to feel the spreading tension. The black cat licked its paw with a calm that bordered on defiance, while the golden serpent slithered to a corner, its eyes gleaming with keen focus.
—"Are you all still arguing?"—Elowen murmured, her voice soft but edged with resolve.—"He's not here to hear your opinions. And even if he were, I doubt he'd care."
Her words cut like a blade, silencing the room. Some faces flushed with embarrassment, others with irritation, but none dared reply. Yang Mei broke the quiet with a faint smile.
—"Maybe that's exactly what makes him so… maddening. He doesn't cling to the rules we follow."
Xia Xiang crossed her arms and turned away, her tone dismissive.
—"That doesn't make him invincible. He'll still have to face reality."
Yang Mei, with a quiet defiance, replied:
—"His reality is different, Xiang."
Silence reigned once more, each soul lost in their own reflections, wrestling to decipher the man who'd left chaos and mystery in his wake.
Then little Xue, her eyes wide with childlike wonder and innocent frustration, pierced the heavy mood with a simple, weighty question.
—"Can someone tell me what his secret is for vanishing like that?"—she asked, her voice a blend of curiosity and a longing for answers.
Her guileless words echoed through the hall, a reminder that amid the riddles and strife, there remained room for the purity of wonder—and the hope that one day, the mysteries of the man who tread the shadows of fate might be unveiled.