The intensive care ward was filled with the heavy scent of mixed herbs.
Lin En sat by his mother Susan’s bedside, carefully holding her withered, icy hand.
The once warm palm was now only a fragile, heart-wrenching shell.
His mother’s gray hair, like dried grass, spilled over the pillow. Each faint, almost imperceptible breath seemed to consume the last flickers of her life.
Lin En took a deep breath, his fingertips gathering a small, pure milky-white light.
Zzz…
A subtle sound of energy dissipating rang clearly in his mind.
The Pure Holy Light pierced precisely like a burning silver needle into the micro-tumor-like Withering Fever Spore Colonies clinging to her flesh. In his spiritual vision, the spores touched by the Holy Light quickly dimmed, disintegrated, and turned to nothingness.
Effective! Just like every attempt before.
However, as the Holy Light tried to penetrate deeper, into the spore colonies rooted like tendrils at the source of his mother’s life, the familiar sense of powerlessness surged forth again.
The deep spore colonies were as stubborn as stone. The Holy Light could purify the threats on the surface but could not shake their wild grip on the core of life, nor fill the ever-draining hourglass of vitality.
His mother’s breathing did not strengthen under the light; her ashen face remained haunting.
Lin En slowly withdrew the Holy Light, the radiance fading from his fingertips.
“Mom.”
He leaned down, his voice low and resolute.
“Wait for me to return. I will find the Hall of Life and bring hope back. I swear it.”
Lynn Viel stood quietly on the other side of the bed, her small frame wrapped in the Academy’s beginner’s mage robe, looking especially frail.
She gazed at her brother’s weary profile, then at their mother’s lifeless face, pressing her lips tightly to keep the tears from falling.
Deep within her sea of consciousness, the newborn Crystal Core stirred, emitting a gentle wave of pure spiritual energy.
Lin En stood up, walked to Wei’er, and bent down to meet her eyes.
He reached out and ruffled her soft hair.
“Wei’er, I’ll be gone for a while.”
His voice was gentle, yet carried an unyielding determination.
“Take care of Mom for me.”
Wei’er’s eyes turned red in an instant, tears shimmering as she fought them back with a hard sniff.
She lifted her small face, nodding forcefully.
Her voice trembled but was exceptionally clear.
“Mm! Wei’er understands! Wei’er will stay in the Emerald Court, listen to Grandpa Morton and the teachers, learn well, and protect herself. She’ll come see Mom every day!”
She reached out and gripped Lin En’s sleeve tightly, as if trying to pass all her strength to him.
“Brother, you must be careful! Wei’er… Wei’er feels… the forest you’re going to is very… very scary, and there are terrifying things inside… but… but there’s also something… special and warm deep within?”
Lin En’s heart quivered.
Ever since forming her Crystal Core, Wei’er’s senses had become incredibly sharp. She could easily sense everything around her. This time, the sensation pointed straight to his destination.
“You’re amazing, Wei’er. Your sense is getting sharper.”
He pointed to his temple and chest.
“I have this (Crystal Core), this (Honeycomb Bulwark), and Teacher Elvin’s teachings. I promise you, I’ll come back safe and bring the way to save Mom!”
He let go of Wei’er and took out a tiny, intricately woven hexagram talisman made of ordinary metal wire, with a minuscule Magic Crystal Shard imbued with Lin En’s faint spiritual mark at its center.
He gently placed the talisman in Wei’er’s palm.
“Keep it. If you miss me, or if you run into trouble you can’t handle, squeeze it tightly. I’ll know.”
Wei’er clutched the little talisman tightly in her hand and nodded firmly.
***
On the edge of Fran Magic Martial Academy, beneath a towering black Sentinel Tower.
Lin En had changed into a set of dark gray traveling clothes suitable for long journeys. The fabric was tough, with thin, dark metal plates at critical points, combining protection and flexibility.
A half-worn leather backpack was slung over his shoulder, containing compressed rations, purification potions, healing potions provided by Morton, and an Ancient Hide Map.
Morton’s tall figure stood in the tower’s shadow, gray-white beard fluttering in the morning breeze. His deep gaze stretched past Lin En into the distance.
Morton drew back his gaze, turned to Lin En, and handed him an inconspicuous, cold black metal talisman. The surface was unadorned, marked only by a hairline crack running through it, as if it could shatter at any moment.
“Take it.”
Morton’s voice was low and heavy, bearing the weight of years.
“If… I’m saying if, you encounter danger on a level beyond your comprehension of the rules, or… become trapped by an ancient Forbidden Law you cannot break, crush it.”
He paused, his sharp eyes locking onto Lin En’s.
“It can force open a fleeting gap, buying you a sliver of time—a chance that may change fate. At the same time,”
He lowered his voice further, heavy with the weight of entrusting life and death.
“I’ll know what happened to you, and where.”
A chill ran through Lin En as he accepted the cold black talisman with both hands.
It felt heavy in his grip, filled with a complex and stable magical structure. It was more than just cold runes—it was as if an elder had painstakingly woven a shield, stroke by stroke, with his finest skill and utmost care.
Morton looked again toward the Endless Forest shrouded in mist, his gaze distant.
“Remember Elvin’s words. Stay alive and use your strength. The Laws of the Forest are the primal face of life—survival of the fittest, far more direct and cruel than human magic. The Hall of Life…”
He sighed, a hint of uncertainty in his voice.
“It’s a legend passed down for thousands of years, shrouded in mist. But it’s also your mother Susan’s only Hope’s Light.”
He raised his hand and clapped Lin En’s shoulder with solid force.
“Take care. Come back alive.”
Lin En straightened his back, and to this Vice Dean who was both mentor and father figure, he bowed deeply in the most formal Mage’s Salute.
“Thank you, Teacher. I entrust Wei’er and Mother to you.”
He finished the salute and took one last look at the depths of the Academy.
Beyond the spires of the magic towers, he could faintly see an area surrounded by ancient trees, radiating a tranquil magical aura—the Emerald Court.
Wei’er was there.
A subtle tenderness flashed in his eyes, quickly replaced by unwavering resolve.
He turned to face the vast green sea that had swallowed countless legends and lives, hesitated no longer.
He stepped onto the stone stairs leading to the Watchtower Path beneath the Sentinel Tower, his stride steady and powerful.
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