Immediately afterward, Iver extended his left hand.
It was elegant and slow, as though he were inviting a dance partner.
The veins bulged on his left arm. His flushed arm steamed visibly in the winter night.
As the nearly transparent Moonlight Butterfly left the moonlight, the layers of butterfly projections in the room dissipated as well.
The butterfly circled Iver's left hand once, then landed directly on his fingertip.
Iver felt a slight pain in his middle finger.
It had probably bitten him.
Then the Light Attribute mana in his body began rapidly draining—only stopping after nearly fifteen units of mana had been consumed.
It seemed to sense that Iver belonged to the Dedication Path, and thus accepted him.
The butterfly flew behind Iver and pressed itself tightly against his back. It stretched from his lower back to his abdomen, covering almost exactly the area not shielded by his ribs. It was incredibly thin, so once it adhered to Iver's skin, there was no visible bulge. Since Iver's skin was also fair enough, only someone looking carefully could make out a curved seam resembling a "mold line."
A refreshing, icy smoothness like Jade Stone, accompanied by needle-like, bone-piercing pain, traveled from the spine behind him.
It gulped down Iver's boiling, scorching blood—the amount was enough to drain a normal person to death. But for Iver, who currently had an excess of Blood Energy, it was just enough to lower his blood pressure.
Iver's skin gradually returned to its normal color, while his bulging muscles and veins slowly deflated.
Once it had drunk its fill, clear bloodstains appeared across the parts of Iver's abdomen and lower back covered by Sister Sasha's skin. They looked like shackles, or perhaps thorns. They were proof that he had yet to pass the trial, and