Qi Si did not remember how long he had lain amid the ice and snow. Perhaps it had only been one night; perhaps it had been half a century. But that no longer mattered.
He felt cold—so, so cold. Piercing frost seeped through flesh and skin, invaded his marrow, as if it could freeze even his soul. His thoughts, too, had formed a thick layer of frost, growing sluggish and dull.
The ghosts that had attacked him had been lured away by Lin Chen, but the wounds they left ran deep. Blood gushed out, carrying away his vitality and warmth. The instant it left his body, it fell cold and still, turning into scarlet ice shards that blanketed his surface, unknowingly building a golden-red tomb around him.
All strength drained from Qi Si's body like mist. Even when he struggled with all he had, his limbs could only lift weakly a few inches before crashing heavily back onto the ice.
His vision dimmed by degrees, and his consciousness hovered on the edge of unconsciousness. His body could not move; even if he knew how to clear the Instance, he could not carry it out himself.
Qi Si thought aimlessly that, in his current state, if no one else intervened, he would likely be able to do nothing but lie there and wait for death.
Lin Chen had left forever, leaving him alone. No one would be coming to lend him a hand—or to be used by him—any time soon.
Nearly all the Soul Leaves had dimmed. Every soul he had controlled through [Insomnia Pathogen] and [Beast Arena] had been offered to the Altar. Just as The Rules had stated, he had been left with Lin Chen as his sole believer then; now, no one believed in him.
Qi Si thought