Chapter Twenty Five
"Ugh!"
The cool stone of the hallway wall was the only thing keeping me upright. My vision blurred, the blue [Ping!] of the system screens flashing like strobes against the darkening edges of my consciousness.
[Ping!]
[Warning: Perfect Equilibrium Attained!]
[The 108 Mana Points have successfully synchronized, achieving a state of absolute equal force. The Vessel Mana Circuit has reached 100% stability.]
[Current Status Of Mana Circuit: High-Tension Compression]
[The flow of Purple Mana is no longer slack, it has tightened like a high-tension cable throughout your entire body. Without a Mana Circle to provide a counter-force, the circuit is now exerting a massive inward pressure, seeking to collapse the physical vessel and return to its original slack state.]
[Requirement: Immediate Neutralization]
[Please form a Mana Circle in 5 minutes to generate outward centrifugal force. This will neutralize the inward tension of the circuit.]
[Countdown: 0:4:59]
[Note: Evolution of the Vessel]
[As the number of Mana Circles increases, the internal tension of the circuit will be systematically neutralized. Each subsequent circle will reduce the tension of the mana rope, allowing the Host to experience a state of Supernatural Lightness and unhindered physical power.]
I know all of this stuff... Can you be quiet for a moment? It's hard to concentrate.
The pain felt like molten lead was being stretched across my veins, starting from my heart and branching out to my fingertips. Every breath felt like inhaling shards of glass.
Why am I being so reckless recently? Is it because it's my first time being so useless?
Damn it... not here...
My knees finally gave out as I slid down the wall, hitting the floor with a dull thud.
I can't go further. I must form the Mana Circle right here. RIGHT NOW.
My body collapsed onto the floor, the cold stone pressing against my back as I laid flat. It felt like I was floating in air yet somehow drowning in pain.
Hahaha. I never knew this pain in past life because I was never reckless. I always calculated all my moves carefully. After all, I just had me. There was no one else.
Ugh... It's all because of this stupid warmth.
[Ping!]
[Didn't Host say he'll prove in this lifetime what you could have achieved if he had just been given all this warmth in past?]
[Don't forget, Host. Everything in world has a price. Every wish... has a cost.]
Haaahh... I thought... Ungh... you were mad?
...
Wow... Leaving me alone even when I'm on verge of death? Is your anger more important than m--Ughhhh!
Another wave of pain rippled through my body as I clenched my teeth so hard I thought they might shatter.
[Ping!]
[Countdown: 0:3:12]
The 108 points had found their equal force, pulling the "rope" of purple mana tight across my mana points, it wasn't slack like before.
It was a high-tension cable, and without a circle to regulate its pressure, it was snapping inward, trying to crush my heart and lungs to return to its original, loose state.
I closed my eyes immediately, making my soul focus on the blue beads of atmospheric mana, pulling them closer to one another to form a necklace then another then another.
"Ungh-ough!"
Blood spilled out my mouth as the pain started to increase on a linear scale but I refused to open my eyes.
If I lose focus now, I'm really going to die.
[Ping!]
[Countdown: 0:0:59]
Focus, Yeun. Focus.
I grabbed the necklaces I had woven, my mental fingers searing as I braided them into a singular, thick rope of azure light.
[Ping!]
[Countdown: 0:0:45]
Faster, Yeun!
I hooked the azure rope around my body bringing it into the attraction range of my circuitry.
Please don't dissipate... Please...
[Ping!]
[Countdown: 0:0:30]
As the azure rope formed a ring around the horizontal axis of my body. I used my consciousness to force it to spin in the opposite direction of the flow of the mana circuit.
[Ping!]
[Countdown: 0:0:15]
Move... Ughhhh...
The centrifugal force began to build. The azure rope became a blur, spinning so fast it formed a shimmering disk of light that sat perpendicular to my spine.
[Ping!]
[Countdown: 0:0:01]
"GAAAHHH!"
My ribs, which had been bending inward under the tension, suddenly snapped back into place.
Crack!
[Ping!]
[Countdown: 0:0:00]
[Time's Up!]
Did I do it?
"Master!"
Ugh... So tired...
---
Ungh... Did I do it?
My eyelids fluttered lightly as the flickering light of fire in fireplace filled my gaze and a needle pricked by brain.
Crackle-Crackle-Pop.
I tried to blink, but my eyelids felt very heavy. I was put in a sitting position with my back already resting against the headboard.
"Master! You're awake!" Kaelen's voice hit me like a physical blow, making me wince as the sound vibrated through my skull like a struck bell.
Though, my body was feeling lighter than before, my head was screaming in pain.
"Wa... water..." I managed to croak. My throat felt like I'd swallowed hot sand.
"Yes, Master! Right away!"
"Softer, Kaelen," I hissed, squeezing my eyes shut. "My head... it's screaming."
A moment later, a cool glass touched my lips as I drank greedily, the water soothing the raw heat in my chest.
"Thank you for the water, Kaelen."
I looked at Kaelen who was standing beside me, his face a mess of relief and something more somber. Tears tracked through the soot on his cheeks.
"Congratulations on awakening your aura, Master. You've truly become a duke in terms of status and power."
My body went still at his statement.
Ah... He saw it.
"Why are you crying, then? Are you not happy your master has finally become competent? You don't have to be a gigolo."
Kaelen wiped his eyes with a shaking hand, looking down at his own calloused palms. "Master no longer needs me to protect him. I was supposed to be your shield... but you've outpaced me now. You've also grown more handsome. All while I have been judging you wrong all these years. Should I just resign?"
Haah... This stupid...
"Shut it," I muttered, though there was no heat in it. "You're still more handsome than me. And, I still haven't given you your pay for all these months."
"I see. Then, I have no choice but to stick to Master's side!" Kaelen pumped his fist in air before going to stoke the fire, the iron poker clinking against the grate.
Clink. Clink. Clink.
But for some reason he kept glancing back at me like a dog, his brow furrowed in a way that made my stomach twist.
"What is it?"
"I'm just confused, Master..."
"About?"
"Why are there no rings around your heart?"