Everyone was anxious due to Light showing no signs of improvement; his spasms weakening not because he was resisting, but because he lacked the strength to try. His mana had long been out of control, and his consciousness seemed to have vanished some time ago.
Lara was desperately begging them to help him; his life was hanging by a thin thread of fate, about to snap.
"Only his own power and strength can free him from his current situation" Dominic continued to remind her while the many servants around nodded in agreement. His weakness would never be tolerated, and everyone agreed with the current butler's stance.
Truth be told, for many there, Light should have died some time ago; he continued to show a pitiful display and the low extent of his powers.
His movements were becoming scarce; his soul had long clung to his body as his life faded away, his muscles no longer had strength, and his bones had been broken for a long time. His final spasms were slow, like a fish that had been out of water for over an hour. Fighting for so long only to die on the shore.
Lara tried with all her might to get closer, but she could only manage to crawl toward him, her hand trying to reach him in vain, afraid of being abandoned again as she had been before, her tears streaming down her face, mixing with the blood still on her cheeks and all over the environment.
The movement then ceased; air no longer entered his lungs, his heart finally stopped beating, his eyes, which were already distant, becoming emptier. Dominic was about to sigh, but when he looked more closely… something was wrong. His soul was still clinging to the body, refusing to leave it. This was not impossible for very determined people.
It wasn't uncommon for powerful generals and commanders to die in the midst of battle, yet their souls would not leave their bodies, taking advantage of this fact to continue fighting their final battle, defending their convictions with all their might. No injury would matter anymore from then on; nothing could stop them.
Obviously, they were not immortal soldiers; they simply persisted more than others and refused death. However, death was universal, and regardless of accepting or denying it, it would come for everyone. Once their last fight ended, the soul would be guided to the afterlife.
The problem with Light's situation was that he did not possess such determination. These soldiers, in the midst of war, fought to keep their men, to whom they had been bonded for years, alive, or even their children and wives. Their determination and will came from somewhere; no one resisted death thinking only of themselves, but for others.
Death besieged him, and yet his soul refused to go. The mana began to stabilize in a last-ditch effort, surprising everyone. Gradually, the chaos began to resolve. Light did not have a capable enough body to store this mana; his best decision would be to take what was necessary and release the excess… But of course, that wasn't what Dominic wanted him to do; this choice was still just a common and weak answer. The best answer was…
[Alert: Your vessel cannot withstand so much mana, release it!]
'Shut up, you damn system!'
[Alert…]
'You think I don't understand that this will kill me? Do you think I'm a fool? This damn butler is manipulating the mana and preventing it from leaving my body, forcing its storage!'
'For god's sake, what the hell does this butler want me to do? Lara managed to pass the challenge somehow…' His soul had been out of his body several times, giving him insights into the outside.
'There are two possibilities. The first is that she didn't have to go through the same thing as me, only having to release the excess mana. The second is that she went through the same test but found an alternative for storage.' It didn't make sense for him to consider the first case since it wouldn't save him; regardless of whether it happened or not, he needed to figure out how to replace the classic mana storage.
'When I went through the ritual to fall, Ruari placed a fairy in the middle of my chest, besides drawing several lines and marks. The place where the fairy was placed became a small sphere made of a unique gemstone. The lines served as a channel to direct the mana outward; was that the only way to store and guide mana?' He tried to recall the conversation in more detail.
'No! The channels that guided the mana were underdeveloped and developed more with use and activity; that's what I constantly trained. Storage, in theory, could undergo a similar process and increase over time. The problem is that it was certainly more rigid and inflexible.' He could call upon death, which had long been calling him, and try to tear himself out of there.
'But what if I circulate the excess mana through the channels? This answer would certainly satisfy Dominic, but there's still more possible; I'm sure!'
'Mana channels behave like a common river; they have a source, which is the hard, inflexible core. The water that flows out heads to the sea, which is the exterior. However, this isn't the only place the water goes; it's certainly its natural flow, but we never respect nature. We divert its course to irrigate crops, to power plants, for baths. Most of the water follows the usual circuit, but it can be diverted! And in this case, it's obvious what it has to irrigate and nurture!'
Light began to circulate his energy. He could simply let it run indefinitely along the prepared circuits, but saturation would still cause problems in the long term. The best solution was to create new channels that released mana within his own body, in the muscles and bones. Such an effect would result in a stronger body, something that had already happened on a smaller scale when he advanced.
[Warning…]
[Warning…]
While Light tried to apply his newest discovery, the warnings kept trying to break his concentration. The energy soon began to spread throughout his body, and at specific points, it created new branches overlapping the existing cardiovascular system on a smaller scale, his body beginning to swell slightly.
The light in Light's eyes returned as he realized they were healing him. Dominic could see his resounding success and immediately ordered them to treat him.
[Mana Quality 2 -> 3]
[Mana Control 2 -> 3]
[Mana 120/100]
[You are Overgeared!]
[Aura 42-> 50]
Dominic was talking to the servants when he swore he heard a faint murmur. Trying to figure out where it came from, he looked at Light.
"I swear… I'll… kill you…"
"I expect nothing less from you, my lord."