"You will pay the price for what you did today. Innocents will surely die because of you!"
The water ghost continued its curse. The Whisper Element affected Shade through the ice spike piercing his body, and the balance of elements within him was on the verge of collapse.
He could imagine the Drowning Order's retaliation for what they had done today:
"I don't care. The lives and deaths of strangers have nothing to do with me!"
The Outlander would never let a few words sway his emotions.
"Those waiting for your help will surely fall into even worse predicaments and suffer terrible misfortune!"
The water ghost pushed the ice spike deeper. Unable to brace himself against the ground with both feet, Shade was at a disadvantage in the water, the other side's home field.
He could imagine John, the boy by the trash cans behind the Green Lake Inn, eventually dying like most wandering children without Shade's support:
"I don't care. Other people's needs have nothing to do with me."
Compared to the boy's life and death, his own life was clearly more important. He would never hesitate over such a trivial matter.
"Those who love you will never see you return. Those you love will weep for the rest of their lives!"
The ice spike had completely pierced through Shade's back. He could feel that his heart had frozen, and so had his blood vessels, but such a trivial matter had no effect at all on the Stone Heart.
In his daze, he actually felt that he understood Haila Osenfott, understood the feelings of the Stone Heart's previous owner. That cold heart corresponded to the revived life of a woman without emotion. Shade now understood the indifference she had always hidden behind that black veil:
"I don't care. Those