A smile tugged at my lips as I stared at the strange sight in front of me. I had seen many dangerous things before, but this… this was something else.
The black fire wasn't like the deathmist I was familiar with. Deathmist ate away at Essence, chewing through it like it was made to destroy. That was already bad enough, but this flame felt even stranger. They were similar in nature, almost like two predators meant to hunt each other. And now, this black fire stood before me, as if daring me to step closer.
Part of me wanted to study it right there, to break it apart and see what laws shaped it. But I held back. That could wait until I reached the lamp—the real source of all this.
I raised my hand and pressed my will outward, then snapped my fingers. A ripple spread through the water, silent but sharp, and the flame clinging to me vanished at once. My vitality rushed through me, knitting flesh back together, and in the blink of an eye my palm was whole again.
