Reynard fell to the ground, grabbing his chest. He feared the worst—a crack of his Inner Athanor.
But instead, he saw that it was his frozen mana shattering. After the first crack, more followed with increasing speed, until all the mana shattered into dust… Shining like snow silvery dust!
Reynard had never seen a calcination result like this. His mana had gone through a transformation much more drastic than he ever put it through while using the Threefold Transformation refinement technique.
He could already feel the mana fueling his aura again and putting strength into his frozen body. Reynard felt warmer. So much warmer…
"Beloved! Reynard, get up! Don't you dare die!"
He opened his closed eyes, shaking off bits of rime from his eyelashes. In a flash, Reynard realized that he was lying on Marien's shoulder, while she was hugging him close to her body.
It was her warmth he felt.
'When did I fall? Uh… I think I lost consciousness for a few seconds here without noticing.'
