"Then let's begin."
Before War could refuse, silvery-white light poured from Wu Heng's fingertips and drilled into War's forehead.
War's body suddenly went rigid. The iron chair creaked, and the chains clattered as though something had yanked them.
His eyes flew wide, wide enough for the bloodshot veins in his eyeballs to show like red spiderwebs. His mouth opened, and a hoarse roar came from his throat.
It did not sound human. It sounded like something being ripped out of the earth, roots and all.
It was not a scream, but the kind of roar forced from the lungs, with the sound crushed as low as possible. He did not want to cry out. He endured it, but failed. It hurt too much. The sound squeezed out through his clenched teeth, like a blade being pulled from between bones.
War's body began to glow.
Starting from his forehead, the silvery-white light spread outward along his skeleton—skull, spine, ribs, arms, legs... every bone was glowing.
The light was not even. It followed the lines of his bones, like a river running through a valley. Wherever it passed, the skin there turned transparent.
War lowered his head.
He saw that the skin on his hands had turned transparent, revealing the bones beneath. The bones glowed, silvery-white like a luminous watch dial. Each finger bone stood out clearly, like glowing branches.
He tried to move a finger. His finger moved, but the bone did not.
The sensation was strange. His hand was making a gesture, yet his bones remained in their original position. He felt as though his hand no longer belonged to him.
Wu Heng's hand did not leave his forehead.
Silvery-white light continued to pour forth, flowing endlessly into War's body like a river.
The light searched within him for War's