As the frigid moon rose high in the sky Far North Ice Cavern, the Three-Source Resonance Device was finally completed. A Ya channeled the last wisp of the Ice Soul Flower Spirit's primordial light into the device's core. The Symbiotic Fiber -woven mesh glowed with a faint purple light, connecting the spacetime rift, the Black Ice Giant, and the device into a triangle—according to the Memory Crystal Stele, at this moment, all that was needed was for Loran to inject the key light and for Lei Lin to activate the spirit core power, for the three to merge into a "conversion field" that balanced the turbid energy.
"I'll stabilize the turbid energy flow at the edge of the rift first." Lei Lin transformed into human form, his black hair plastered to his cheeks by the cold wind. He walked to the giant's side, the Golden Crystal Power in his palm transforming into chains that wrapped around the giant's ice-crystal-covered arm. "Your spirit core fluctuations are already very weak. Follow my rhythm to guide your energy; don't push yourself." The giant's black fire eyes trembled slightly, the golden patterns beneath the ice crystals resonating with the golden chains. His hoarse voice held a barely perceptible tremor. "Remember... if the resonance gets out of control, immediately sever my spirit core connection."
Loran stood before the device, the blue light from her fingertips echoing the spiritual energy emanating from the distant Ice Soul Flower Valley. A Mu, Origin Key in hand, stood guard beside her, his ice and New Sprout Sword Ice-Fire Entwining Pattern set to "ice primary, fire secondary," ready to freeze any overflowing turbid energy. A Shi lay sprawled on the crystal rune notebook, pen hovering above the "energy threshold" mark, cold sweat dripping from his chin—he had just noticed the faint supplementary text inscribed in the corner of the crystal tablet. "The unification of the three sources requires a 'contract anchor point,' and the anchor point holder's spiritual core will be bound to the rift for eternity."
"Let's begin." Loran took a deep breath and pressed the key onto the core of the device. Pale blue light instantly spread along the Symbiotic Fiber, converging with Lei Lin's Golden Crystal Power at the giant's chest, forming a golden-blue interwoven pillar of light that shot straight into the rift. The dark purple rift contracted violently, and the distorted light patterns at its edges gradually became regular. The primordial turbid energy, like tamed water, flowed into the device along the pillar of light—everything went as smoothly as recorded on the crystal tablet, until the giant suddenly let out a muffled groan.
"Oh no!" A Shi suddenly roared and lunged at the device, "The crystal tablet forgot to record! The anchor point is the giant's spirit core!"
Before the words were finished, a deep crack suddenly appeared on the giant's ice-crystal-covered chest, and a fragment of a pale golden spirit core floated out from the crack, actually drilling deeper into the fissure along the beam of light. His black-fire eyes twitched violently, and his voice was mixed with the crisp sound of shattering ice crystals, "The contract from a thousand years ago... with the guardian's spirit core as the 'stabilizing force,' the fusion of the three sources is merely the key to awakening the contract." Loran tried to pull the key back, but found that the device was already firmly attached to her fingertips, and blue light spread along her veins to her arm, "The key holder... will inherit my position and become the new anchor."
Suddenly, a blinding black light erupted from the rift, instantly collapsing the balance of the three-source resonance. A Ya's Symbiotic Fiber network began to burn, its pale purple glow swallowed by the black light; A Mu swung his sword to sever the approaching turbid energy tentacles, but the Ice-Fire Entwining Pattern were scorched due to the energy backlash; Lei Lin gripped the giant's arm tightly, frantically pouring in Golden Crystal Power, but could only watch helplessly as the giant's spirit core fragments dissipated at an accelerated pace—even more bizarrely, the light patterns around the rift suddenly projected clear "memory projections," not cold images, but tangible emotional illusions.
Loran's fingertips were the first to fall into the illusion. She stood in the Ice Spirit Clan's laboratory from a thousand years ago, before whom the young guardian knelt before the elder, holding a crystal similar to the Origin Key: "The mess caused by the experiment should be cleaned up by me." The elder trembled as he pressed a golden rune onto Loran's chest. "This is the ' Spirit Core Contract,' allowing you to coexist with the rift, but you will slowly lose your mind, becoming a puppet that only knows suppression." The guardian smiled as he pressed the rune into his skin, "It's better than letting the turbid energy devour the entire Northern Region." In the illusion, the moment he turned around, Loran suddenly noticed the pendant hanging around his neck—exactly the same as Lei Lin's golden crystal pendant.