Unsettled (Part 2)

"Why? Could it really... have been a dream?"

The dazed tremor in her mind became harder and harder to suppress as time passed. A spellcaster's precise grasp of time instead became the sound of blood flowing from a slit wrist, dripping onto the Heart Lake one drop at a time, allowing ripples of death to spread.

Snake Tongue floated numbly amid the clouds. The vitality she had expected was nowhere to be found, and the spiritual core that had only just begun to recover showed obvious signs of weakness.

It was like an exhausted long-distance runner whose stamina had been completely drained. If they kept running in a half-dead state, they might still endure on the strength of habit. But once they rested for a moment and let that breath out, it would be difficult to rouse themselves again.

That was Snake Tongue's situation now. She had become increasingly dependent on that vitality to sustain her. She could no longer imagine what would happen if she lost that stream of vitality, that hope, once more.

"Idiot. I'm such an idiot!

"I should have made my attitude clear to that person sooner. Instead, I wasted such a wonderful opportunity on meaningless probing.

"Missed opportunities may be missed forever!"

Countless thoughts rose and vanished in Snake Tongue's consciousness. Each seemed capable of turning into a viper, biting away at her will and injecting venom.

If—if she had another chance, Snake Tongue swore she would not hesitate. She would beg that powerhouse for mercy, even if she had to crawl like a dog!

But would there truly be another chance?

A gale howled through the high skies. Her spiritual body flickered in and out, liable to disperse into the clouds at any moment, barely retaining its shape. Snake Tongue's consciousness gradually blurred as