When Ethan lost consciousness, he was certain it was over. At the last possible second, he had seen the lightning sphere—so close, yet not quite within the event horizon of the seed vortex. The vortex's gravity was already pulling stray, fragmented runes from its surface, but his Soul Power was spent, and the meager energy reserves in his body were utterly depleted. In that final moment, the sphere rebounded with violent force.
And then, he saw it. From the deepest recesses of his Energy Core, a faint, wispy strand of yellow light emerged. It was as thin and fragile as a single hair.
The moment it appeared, the rampaging lightning sphere shuddered.
Then, everything went black.
…
He had no idea how much time had passed before sensation slowly returned. The first thing he registered was a sweet, floral scent filling his nose.
"Ethan… Ethan, you're awake?!"
A woman sitting beside him jolted as she saw his finger twitch.
