Foreboding Storm - Chapter 128

Crown Prince Lail and Princess Qamari, showered with a sudden rush of elemental energy trembled imperceptibly. Their consciousness faded and they entered a semi-conscious state where they could perceive the elementals entering their bodies, but had no means of controlling or stopping it.

The black-white light swirled around their motionless figures and streamed into their body and settled in their Realm Heart. Their hair floated and their skin shed at an alarming rate. Black sticky substance flowed out from their seven orifices and mixed with the silver water, as more elemental energy passed through their pores and orifices.

At a speed visible to the naked eye, the two’s red skin regrew and mended itself before falling apart again. This grilling process of shedding and mending continued for more than a thousand breaths of time before the endless stream of black-white energy slowed down.

As the new skin began re-growing, turbulent waves started in the two’s Realm Hearts. The stagnant Level 3 Elemental Drawing energy compressed and condensed into the smallest size possible under the onslaught of the black-white light.

With a blinding flare, the compressed elemental energy settled in the center of the Realm Heart and started spinning at a constant speed. It released waves of pure elemental energy that washed through their body and seeped into their skin.

At this unexpected moment, under the most unlikely of circumstances, the elemental energy baptism raised their First Stage Elemental Drawing energy to the Secondary stage of Elemental Evolving.

The shed skin fell off and was replaced by a new skin, cleansed thoroughly by the elemental baptism and Secondary Stage Elemental Evolving energy. Sparkly, smooth, and snow-white, Crown Prince Lail and Princess Qamari’s new skin was three times sturdier and tougher than their old, making them appear as if they were reborn.

Their fair complexions gained a rosy and healthy hue, as their internal and physical injures healed, and they fully recovered. With the impurities expelled from their bodies, the elemental energy in the environment freely flowed into their bodies and settled in their Realm Heart, baptizing the compressed ball of energy revolving in the center.

“Hmmm…”

Princess Qamari felt the shattering pain leave her body as a cool stream of energy seeped into her being and soothed away the lingering residue of heat. Her head cleared and she felt as light as a Feathery Moth.

‘Am I dead?’

The disappearance of the unbearable pain and the sudden comfortable feeling made her feel as if she was no longer in the physical realm. Breathing in relief, she let go of all her restrains and sunk into the soothing embrace.

To her life was only a means to an impending end. What mattered wasn’t how long she lived or how young she died.

What mattered was how she lived.

Her conscious was clear, and she lived her every waking moment to the best of her ability, not inflicting injustice on herself nor on others.

Even when her parents had disappeared without reason or rhythm, she never gave up on life, and neither did she stop hoping for their return.

As such, even though she still had many things to accomplish and someone she wanted to meet, she felt no regret or remorse at the end of her life. At most, she only felt a slight sadness at not finding out about her parents’ whereabouts.

As everyone had to die one day, she considered the present ending as her destined death and embraced it with grace.

It was better to die in peace than in pain.

Princess Qamari was lost in her own world, awaiting the impending death she perceived as near, completely unaware of the man peering down at her face in confusion.

Crown Prince Lail opened his eyes the moment he sensed his conscious return. Worried about the woman in his arms, he took her pulse and released the breath he had been holding on discovering it pumping strong and vigorous.

But after waiting for twenty breaths of time, Laila did not wake up. This immediately placed him in a chaotic state of mind as he started wondering if the intense flame had damaged her mind rather than her body.

With furrowed brows and renewed worry, he peered down at her veiled face, uncertain of what to do.

Right at this moment, the Black Serpent uncoiled from them and swam excitedly in the silver lake. It flapped its blue-black wings and tail, glowing with happiness as streams after streams of elemental energy entered its body.

In the next instant, the golden sword in Princess Qamari’s hand disappeared and reappeared in the center of silver, slowing sinking to the bottom of the lake as it absorbed the elemental energy. The Baby Tiger that was hidden in the silver rafter widened its mouth and sucked, creating a powerful suction force that gathered all the elemental energy within its vicinity.

As Princess Qamari did not want to expose the Winged-White Tiger’s existence to anyone, not even to Qaliq, she kept Snow in the silver rafter and roamed around with Skyler in her hand. Therefore, Snow couldn’t leave the rafter without receiving her safe signal.

But that didn’t prevent her from benefiting from the elemental baptism.

With three new powerful additions sharing in the loot, the elemental energy entering Crown Prince Lail and Princess Qamari’s bodies drastically decreased. The barely conscious Princess Qamari immediately sensed this difference, as the cooling stream of energy seeping into her body decreased.

Her heartbeat rose in fear and she clenched onto Crown Prince Lail’s robes, dreading the return of the tormenting pain and heat.

Her actions surprised the Crown Prince who wasn’t expecting the first thing the woman to do upon waking to be to grab his robes.

“Laila…are you feeling better now?” He asked even though he thought so otherwise. If she was okay, she wouldn’t be clinging onto him, right? Her furrowed brows as if she was in extreme pain, only fueled his belief.

Sighing in dejection, he started to think of what other methods to use to help her recover.

Unbeknownst to him, Princess Qamari felt perplexed upon hearing his voice. Although it sounded faint, far away, and was barely discernible, she knew it wasn’t an illusion or dream, as the person she would be thinking of at the last moment of her life wouldn’t be him.

‘Huh? Does this mean I am still alive?’ She internally wondered.

Seeing her not making any other move, Crown Prince Lail felt lost on where to start. Opening his mouth, he was just about to ask her how she felt when a sudden flare of light entered their body. The flare, in black-white radiance, flashed back and forth between their bodies, seemingly balancing their auras as they mixed and intertwined.

Crown Prince Lail felt his body rise off the lake floor with Laila in his arms. Powerful gusts of wind blew as the surging water dragon twirled even faster around them. The black spear returned to his side as the golden sword returned to the woman’s hand.

In a majestic lung, the silver water dragon entered their body as well, leaving them trembling in mid-air. The pure elemental energy revolved around their body, passing through their meridians before settling in their Heart Realms and pounding on the compressed energy.

As if receiving stimulation, the compressed balls rotated even faster and faster before shrinking another size. Their elemental energy level raised from the first level of the Elemental Revolving Stage to the second level of the Elemental Revolving Stage.

Before four breaths of time even passed, the second level of the Elemental Revolving proceeded to the third level of the Elemental Revolving Stage. Within a short period of time, Crown Prince Lail and Princess Qamari leaped from the third level of the Elemental Drawing Stage to the third level Of the Elemental Revolving Stage.

This happened due to various coincidences. When Crown Prince Lail and Princess Qamari entered the Forbidden Zone, they were injured from the spatial transport’s instability. Soon after, they encountered the Hunter’s Guild and barely managed to escape their encirclement.

But their situation was still as perilous as when they were surrounded by the black-clothed men as the Ice Cyclone descended forced them into seeking shelter with great urgency. Immediately after, they entered the belly of the magical foliage, encountering different hurdles that tested their physical endurance.

And before long, they got chased down by the level 1 magical beasts. The combination of the various trials that tested their mental fortitude and stretched their physical capacity to its limit, while forcing them to unrestrainedly pour out their elemental ability, placed them in the optimum condition for a breakthrough.

Thanks to the pure, elemental energy with which they underwent a thorough baptism, all the impurity in their physical bodies and elemental energy was expelled. This allowed them to consecutively advance three minor realms and one major realm in their elemental energy.

Crown Prince Lail threw back his head and screamed in equal measure pain and pleasure.

With a final surge, the silver liquid in the region that was originally the size of a lake, completely disappeared.