Eight days to the disintegration of the soul.
" Mmm... and that's life. " A sigh filled with positive vibrations left Ramiel's cracked lips.
Taking advantage of a pleasant moment of solitude, he plunged into the pale blue liquid.
Crackle
Crackle
His ears hummed, and the sulfurous frost crackled inside his bones. He could feel the atoms of the refined water penetrating and nourishing every cell in his body.
Ramiel wouldn't give up his lake for anything in the world. It wasn't an option. He would cut the world in two to protect this mystical place if he had to.
All he lacked for the fullness of joy was a glass of ice-cold whiskey.
At first, they didn't get along very well, but with the passing of time, he began to appreciate the lake's charm.
The pale blue surface of the water shimmered with a cascade of colors as if millions of gemstones were scattering focused beams of light. This was due to the mana particles floating freely in the air. Each of them acted as a torch, gently encompassing every corner of the cave with radiance.
Ramiel could stare at the shimmering water mirror for hours. It reminded him of a black amethyst that glittered in the gentle glow of light.
As the dungeon grew, so did the abyss. In addition to unlocking new territories, old ones were experiencing subtle transformation and development.
Chlup
Ramiel emerged, and to his eyes, a familiar scenery appeared.
Lilies flowers surrounded him. Their blue petals, covered with a subtle quilt of glistening frost, flocked to the man like moths to light. Not a second passed, and a tight circle formed around him, guarding him better than the agents of the government security agency.
Not even dust particles could penetrate it. Any intruder who entered the security zone was instantly transformed into a sculpture of solid ice.
Suddenly, the tight circle parted, paving the way for its queen. In the middle of the sea of Lila the Ice Touch, a tiny rose made entirely of crystal clear ice appeared.
The other flowers bowed their petals before her, showing deep-rooted respect. Ramiela couldn't shake the feeling that he was dealing with something more than a simple ice spirit.
For some time, a thought had been bothering him. Why did a being that should be free and unfettered crave his attention so much? No matter how much he thought about it, nothing sensible came to mind.
Before the rose, accompanied by Faithful's legion of frosty soldiers, came into contact with Ramiel, he remembered Avi's words.
" You mustn't touch it! If you do, the elements you wield will taint her pure as a tear. "
As it turned out recently, the fairy was wrong. Physical contact didn't carry any negative consequences, it was quite the opposite.
Ramiel sat comfortably on a stone bench he had created underwater. It was similar to the seats that a Jacuzzi is equipped with. Unlike the throne he hated, his creation was very comfortable.
His right hand reached out to the ice flower, inviting it to come closer.
The rose, moved by the gentleman's attitude, slowly moved toward Ramiel. Its stems, fragile as broken glass, subtly brushed the man's extended fingertips.
Along with the touch, Ramiel's chaotic nature calmed down, and his mind put in order the thoughts raging like a storm.
A crisp yet pleasant breeze swept through his body. Under its influence, his senses sharpened, and the mana rushing at breakneck speed slowed down.
Before Ramiel knew it, subtle stalks had entangled themselves between his fingers, clinging tightly to them.
He and the ice spirit that slept deeply inside the mythical rose formed an intimate bond. It wasn't on the same level as Avi or Sarron, but it still existed.
The flower's petals moved merrily, spreading out a bit of the mystery-shrouded core.
A negligible amount of Ramiel's mana moved toward the slowly blooming flower.
Their relationship was a strange one. Ramiel was providing the spirit with the mana it needed to grow, and he was receiving... well, that's what. He felt it was something good, something without which he would have fallen long ago, but no matter how long he thought about it, he couldn't say what it was.
The solution to the tormenting riddle was closer than he could have expected. After all, it's darkest under the lantern.
All he had to do was look into his soul. If Ramiel had been able to do so, he would have seen how some of the microscopic cracks had spontaneously sealed themselves back into a perfect whole.
It wasn't wrong to say that he had survived this long, thanks to a little help from the ice spirit. Although, in this way, it could repay Ramiel for the meal.
" Ssss. " Sarron's quiet hiss reminded the man why he had come here.
Some time ago, he had promised the little snake to help him shed his skin. To be exact, this took place before the fatal fight with the dark grizzly.
Since then, Sarron faithfully waited for his bond until it awoke from its endless slumber. All the while, he felt the discomfort of flaky skin, coupled with an irritating itch.
Despite feeling bad, he didn't let anyone take care of him. Even Caera, whom he adored more than life itself, had to be careful during daily caresses to avoid damaging the dead skin. This usually ended with a warning suck.
Sarron was only so forgiving towards the shy elfess. He applied a double standard to her. She was his goddess, whom he worshiped above all else.
For example, Avi, who wanted to try her luck, ended up tragically. To this day, she has nightmares from inside the stomach of a cruel snake. The attempt to devour her alive forever left a mark on the psychic's psyche.
Ramiel felt touched by Sarron's devotion. Faithful, the snake waited for the fulfillment of his promise.
At the same time, the man had a guilty conscience. Considering the bond between them, he had paid far too little attention to Sauron.
Starting today, this will change. - Ramiel thought.
The snake didn't mind. He realized what kind of person Ramiel was and his penchant for running after Asme and Caera's skirts. Asking for attention wasn't his style. A good fight alongside Ramiel was enough for him.
" Sarron, first soak yourself well in water. This will help to get rid of the skin and eliminate the annoying itching. "
" Ssss " (Alright).
Uniquely, Ramiel understood what his bond said. He had recently been practicing snake language with Avi. Although he lacked a lot of perfection, he understood the general sense of the sentence as well as the message. When he took learning the language seriously, he found it surprisingly easy.
Ramiel smiled at the sight of Sarron splashing merrily. The little snake maneuvered with the grace of a ballerina between the Ice Touch Lilies, who flashed an eye at the intruder's antics. If their queen didn't mind, there was no reason to pacify the toying snake.
For at least an hour, he had time to himself. The only thing on his mind was cultivation. Although he enjoyed idly lazing around, he didn't do so. When he lounged idly, he had too much time to think about things that spoiled his mood.
He worried about the women's future... how they would cope in the new world, and whether everything would go according to plan, but most of all, he was furious until the blood was bubbling in his veins.
One thing blatantly stung his eyes. At the very thought of it, his heart was shrouded in a thick and impenetrable darkness, and whispers of madness awoke from the deepest depths of the void.
The thought of smiling Samatha living a happy life with Arthur drove him to the brink of madness. Not being able to satisfy his outwardly boiling need for revenge is beyond his strength.
He couldn't bear the possibility that the people who betrayed him were living life to the fullest while he had to fight for each new day in a fucking dungeon with nothing. For the first two weeks, he slept on the bare ground, dying of cold.
There wasn't even any water here to begin with. If it hadn't been for Asme and Ramiel's basic understanding of the element of ice, he would have died of thirst.
For a man living in the twenty-first century, who had everything from food at every turn to sports cars and VIP events accessed by a narrow circle of people, the sudden drop to the Stone Age was too much...
If it weren't for Avi, Caera, and Asme, he would have lost his mind long ago. Women have become the anchor that holds his sanity against the waves of the greedy tide.
If anyone thinks he has abandoned the idea of revenge, he is sorely mistaken. Ramiel isn't one to let go easily. He will not rest until he takes their lives with his own hands, preferably in the most painful way.
Ramiel dreamed that they begged him to die, dreamed to see the despair in their fading eyes.
Unfortunately, two problems arose in the man's perfect plan. First, he will soon be forever reunited with his dead parents if such an afterlife exists. From what Seraphine says, it doesn't.
Second, she has yet to determine how she will get to Earth. The solution could be the element of space, but will he ever manage to get the right knowledge to travel between worlds?
It was a real mystery.
Ramiel sighed heavily. He focused all his attention on the circulation of mana within himself. His mind became blank, like an Arctic desert with nothing but snow-white snow.
And that was what separated the strongest hunters in the world from the common weed that dreams of becoming a breathtaking flower.
The ability to let go of all emotions and isolate oneself from all unrelated factors is at a premium. On paper, it looks beautiful and transparent. But realistically, it isn't easy to isolate yourself from the outside world and focus on the current battle when you know that somewhere in the world, people close to you are being massacred by monsters. Whenever emotions come into play, making rational decisions isn't easy.
Making sound judgments under time pressure is something most people can only dream of...
It took Ramiel less time than he anticipated to reach the next stage. Creating stable corridors that connected all the vortices together into a single unit was a relatively simple task. It was porridge with milk for someone who had mastered mana control to perfection.
With clearly defined routes, the efficiency of mana whirlpools increased by 20%. Most likely, this was the last improvement he made. For further progress, he will run out of precious time.
" Sarron... "
The white snake obediently responded to Ramiel's call. Before he had time to finish, the small creature appeared beside him.
The man's attention was immediately drawn to the free-floating fragments of the epidermis. It looked ugly and unsightly.
" I will try to be gentle, but it may pinch a little. Try not to bite me," he said. "
" SSS " (I'm not a certain fly who doesn't know what moderation is.)
Ramiel snorted with laughter. Of course, the scathing remark refers to Avi. Sarron didn't get along well with the fairy. In part, this is Ramiel's fault. He scares the snake out of poor Avi, who takes revenge on the reptile.
I have to fix this... - A short thought appeared in the man's head.
Without making Sarron wait any longer, he set to work.
The dead skin came off easily. Thanks to the earlier bathing in the water, they didn't encounter any major problems.
Well, except perhaps for one small incident, through which Ramiel's right hand is decorated with four venom teeth marks. At the very end, he made a mistake and tore a piece of healthy skin off the snake's tail.
Sarron didn't listen to his apology or declaration that it happened by accident.
Being convinced that it was intentional, he sank his pin-sharp teeth into Ramiel's soft hand.
In part, he understood why Avi liked it so much. The sight of the ugly grimace on Ramiel's face was satisfying.