The bone-chilling, viscous black fog constantly eroded Raine’s body and will. Enduring extreme discomfort, he focused all his attention on the Ash Flower before him. He subconsciously activated Rival’s Perspective, his gaze dissecting the writhing, grayish-white form like a scalpel. However, Within Sight, the feedback he received was nothing but chaos and void.
This "flower," composed entirely of Negative Energy, did not belong to the category of physical creatures at all. It possessed no flesh or bones. As newly born Black Tide Embers, it certainly did not have any old injuries to exploit. It was merely a terrifying convergence of Energy, rendering his skill completely useless against it.
"I must think of another way," Raine thought. His heart sank, but without the slightest hesitation, he decisively switched strategies.
Eagle Vision, activate.
The world suddenly slowed down in his eyes. His dynamic vision was instantly elevated, and the Perception Attribute he had recently increased also came into play, further enhancing his visual tracking capabilities. The combination of the two allowed him to discern minute details that even ordinary Professionals would struggle to notice. His gaze firmly locked onto the translucent "flower" that constantly spewed particles of Embers, carefully observing the eerie, black vein-like pathways pulsing within it. Even though the mental wear and tear and the fog’s erosion made his head ache agonizingly, he did not blink once.
This time, he quickly noticed an anomaly.
At the base where the giant petals connected to the grayish-white stem below, the previously evenly distributed black veins would periodically converge rapidly toward a specific point before flowing back out. Every time they converged so quickly, the color of that point would imperceptibly deepen a fraction, as if it were the hub through which the black veins transported Energy. No, perhaps calling it an Energy Core would be more appropriate.
"That’s the spot!" Raine’s pupils shrank slightly. With a twang of the Bowstring, an Arrow had already left the bow, accurately striking the pitch-black Energy Core at the base of the petal.
RIIIP!
A harsh, tearing sound echoed out, like the ripping of thick cotton. The struck base, along with the giant petal above it, twitched violently. Then, like ignited paper, it rapidly turned into scattering Embers starting from the edges, quickly vanishing from sight.
"It worked!"
However, Raine had only rejoiced for a split second before a suffocating scene unfolded. The remaining three petals suddenly accelerated their writhing. The speed at which the Flower Bud spewed Embers noticeably surged. The surrounding black fog churned violently, madly converging toward the missing section like a living creature. In the blink of an eye, the petal that had just been destroyed was completely restored to its original state.
Raine was stunned, quickly realizing that this Ash Flower likely possessed more than one Energy Core. Empowered by Eagle Vision, he swiftly swept his gaze across the other three petals. Sure enough, he discovered a similar core node at the base connection of each petal. These four core nodes formed an eerie Energy circulation system, linked together and supporting one another.
What was worse, this thing was the size of a carriage, with four "petals" distributed around a massive floral receptacle. No matter where he stood, he could only hit one core at a time at most. Furthermore, the center of the Flower Bud was filled with an extremely viscous black fog that formed a powerful obstruction. An Arrow absolutely could not pierce through two petal base cores simultaneously. The only way to completely disintegrate it was to destroy all four Energy Cores at the exact same time.
Raine’s gaze swept over his three teammates beside him, who were still trapped in illusions. He now had only one path left to take. He had to find a way to wake his teammates up.
With this in mind, Raine didn’t hesitate. He dashed over to Kaelin, who was closest to him, and grabbed her arm.
The very instant he made physical contact with Kaelin, a biting chill and a sky full of wind and snow rushed at his face without warning.
He found himself standing in a ruggedly styled Snow City. Ancient blue and red patterns were engraved on the thick stone walls and houses, fading in and out of view amidst the blizzard. On the street ahead, a frail silhouette faintly appeared.
It was a young girl with a burgundy ponytail. Carrying a sword that seemed slightly too large for her, she trudged through the deep snow, her breath turning into white plumes that quickly dissipated in the frigid air.
Raine looked toward the girl, momentarily stunned. Although she looked to be only eleven or twelve years old, her face still carrying an undeniable childishness, the subtle stubbornness between her brows and the resilience that occasionally flashed deep within her emerald-green eyes allowed Raine to instantly recognize her. It was a young Kaelin.
Suddenly, several children of a similar age, dressed in glossy leather coats, dashed out of an alley and blocked her path. Their faces bore a mocking expression unsuited for their age. Judging from their pristine attire, they were obviously from the noble class.
"Look, it’s the ’jinx’, Kaelin!" the leading boy said in a shrill voice. He deliberately shouted, clearly wanting to draw the attention of everyone on the street.
Kaelin’s body instantly stiffened. She pressed her lips tightly together, lowered her head, and tried to silently walk past them.
"Hey! I’m talking to you!" The boy shoved her, forcing her to stumble back a few steps. "My father said you’re the one who killed your own mother!"