The moment he swallowed the core completely, his throat erupted in searing heat, as though he'd consumed molten lava.
He gasped for air, his chest heaving while his face flushed deep red, sweat pouring from his skin.
A pressure, unlike anything he'd ever felt pressed against his entire body, as if his very being was being torn apart from within.
His vision went white as his body convulsed violently. Every nerve ignited with searing pain, as if his very being was being torn apart and reformed at once.
The markings on his body flared to life, blazing with an intensity that consumed the entire pagoda.
The veins beneath his skin began to glow faintly, pulsating with fiery energy. Then the cracks appeared.
At first, they were fine lines on his hands, barely noticeable, but they quickly spread, climbing up his arms like jagged bolts of lightning.
Each crack glowed, radiating a light that seemed to pierce through his flesh. His body felt fragile, brittle, as though the slightest touch might shatter him into a million pieces.
The immense power surging through him was unbearable. It was too much. He collapsed to his knees, his entire body trembling violently.
"It's too much," he gasped.His lips cracked as he tried to laugh, a bitter sound full of despair. "What an ending... Is this a curse? Because I defiled the deity's grave?"
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The cracks deepened, spreading to his chest, his legs, and his neck. His fingers began to fragment, glowing shards breaking away and dissolving into the air like embers in the wind.
His arms followed, shattering piece by piece, as though he were a fragile porcelain doll being ground to dust. His vision blurred, his head heavy as the cracks crept toward his face.
"I've failed," he whispered, his voice barely audible over the rushing sound in his ears. He squeezed his eyes shut, unwilling to witness the end as his body crumbled into nothingness.
Darkness consumed him.
Then, something changed.
A cool breeze brushed gently against his face, soft and soothing. It carried the faint scent of earth and leaves, ruffling his hair and easing the suffocating heat that had consumed him.
A breeze?
His eyes snapped open.
But as soon as it touched him-
A sharp, searing pain exploded in his chest.
His eyes snapped open as he doubled over, blood spraying the ground in front of him.
He coughed violently, his body trembling as the iron taste of blood filled his mouth.
The pain was all too familiar, the same torment he'd endured before when his crippled core rejected energy. Yet, this time, it was different, more focused, concentrated.
He pressed a trembling hand to his chest, panting heavily. The agony still radiated outward, but it wasn't his whole body writhing in rejection. The pain had a center, a singular, burning point. His heart.
He leaned back against a tree, his breathing ragged but slowing. Beneath the pain, he felt something else.
Warmth. It wasn't the comforting kind, but neither was it entirely hostile. It pulsed rhythmically, in perfect time with his heartbeat.
"What... is this?" he murmured, pressing his hand harder against his chest.
The warmth intensified under his fingertips, growing stronger with each beat of his heart. It wasn't just heat. It felt alive, as though something foreign had nestled within him, its presence undeniable.
His brows furrowed as realization struck him like a bolt of lightning. "Could it be... the core?"
The idea sent a shiver down his spine, a mix of fear and hope intertwining within him. The core couldn't settle in a crippled body, that much he knew.
But his heart? Was it possible the core had found a new place to root itself, bypassing the broken path of his spiritual channels?
His thoughts churned as he tried to make sense of the sensation. If the core was truly within his heart, what did that mean for him?
Before he could delve further, a deafening noise shattered the forest's tranquility.
A booming noise echoed through the trees.
His head snapped toward the direction of the commotion. That was no ordinary sound.
"The village," he whispered, his voice barely audible.
He sprang to his feet, ignoring the lingering ache in his chest. His body moved on instinct, his legs carrying him forward before his mind could fully process the decision.
"What's happening back there?" he muttered under his breath, panic rising with each step.