Beneath the night sky, Iona's body twisted unnaturally as she moved like a puppet on strings.
Her once-bright red eyes gradually turned pitch-black. Her dazzling golden hair dimmed, slowly becoming dark and deep.
Just as Sylutia thought Iona had completely lost consciousness and become some kind of monster, another invisible pulse of rhythm swept through.
Then Iona's rigid body gradually relaxed. She sank to her knees, and a soft sob rose from the forest. When she lifted her head again, black tear tracks slowly ran from her eyes.
Black-purple veins spread across her body, bit by bit devouring the Blazing Sun within her. Even the Blood Law Aspect Power in her blood was being corrupted and twisted.
A strange sensation washed over Iona, and her consciousness returned.
She felt as if her body had been completely replaced. The fatigue, aches, and exhaustion that had been weighing on her all vanished. Then she noticed the shadow on the ground.
It was her shadow beneath the moonlight. Though it was only a shadow, it felt strangely familiar—and somehow exhausted and wounded.
Her body had become light as air. She gripped her sword again and leaped with ease, almost instantaneously appearing behind Sylutia.
She had become this strong? A surge of joy swept away her confusion. She immediately remembered tonight's goal and fixed her gaze on the lantern at Sylutia's waist.
She had no idea what had changed in her after the Eclipse of the Black Sun ritual. But if she wanted to deal with the side effects, she had to go to the Secret Forest. It held the legacies of many schools, and knowledge of all kinds was easy to access there. Only by going there could she continue along the path of a Transcendent.
The path of the Blazing Sun she