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I felt the viscous liquid fill my mouth, bringing a burning sensation with it. It tasted so divine that I felt lightheaded, almost euphoric.

"Guide it through your veins, direct it towards your heart," I heard a voice call out in the background.

It sounded like Rowena, but I couldn't focus on that.

Instead, I followed her instructions—or at least tried to—guiding the white liquid through my veins toward my heart.

The searing sensation grew more intense, making my entire body burn.

It was the perfect balance: keeping me from falling into a stupor while just barely allowing me enough control to channel the blood.

I could almost visualize the thick, white liquid flowing through my veins, drawing ever closer to my still, dead heart.

"Begin gathering the essence," another voice spoke just as I was on the verge of losing myself to the pain.

I held on, seeing everyone in the room lift their hands. White mist began to flow from their hands, gathering at the center of the hall. My family joined them, their hands raised, releasing the same ethereal, mist-like essence, which seemed both material and yet somehow illusory.

When the white blood reached my heart, an agonizing pain spread through my chest as it struggled to expand, trying to absorb the blood.

I felt as though something might burst from within me, my entire body breaking.

Red cracks appeared across my exposed face and beneath my clothes, which now felt like they were on fire, charring and smoldering.

Above us, the essence gathered into a glowing sphere, illuminating the hall like a miniature moon, brighter than any light I had seen in my two lives combined.

It began to move, guided by everyone's efforts, each person channeling their energy to maintain its stability, making it appear almost like a tangible moon.

Slowly, the sphere descended towards me, its light soothing the red cracks spreading through my body, calming the lava-like blood that seemed ready to erupt as my still heart struggled to beat.

Just when I thought I couldn't take it any longer, the glowing sphere touched my skin, and then burst into a cloud of white smoke, enveloping me completely.

The smoke was quickly absorbed through the cracks in my body, my clothes disintegrating into ash as the silver mist filled the red lines in my flesh.

The essence flowed through my veins towards my heart, fueling it.

When my heart absorbed the smoke, it was like a key turning in a lock—an attempt to start the engine. A single beat sent more cracks along my body, each new fissure adding to the cycle.

"The rate of consumption is too high—everyone, increase the output! Provide the purest essence you can, do not hold back!" Rowena's voice sounded calm, but I could sense the underlying tension and urgency.

The smoke thickened as more people channeled their energy towards me, forming a cocoon that hid my naked body from view.

As it was absorbed, my heart began to beat.

Each beat brought new cracks to the surface, and I fluctuated between feeling as though my body was hotter than molten lava and then colder than an arctic glacier.

It was a seemingly endless cycle, the process feeling like it could go on forever.

I heard the sounds of people around me straining under the effort, a sign that they were nearing their limits.

At the same time, the once-thick white mist began to thin, and the delicate balance keeping the cracks in check broke.

The red fissures began to spread faster, the danger escalating once more.

Just as I felt myself approaching the breaking point, the moonlight poured into the hall, converging around me, enveloping me, and restoring balance to the process.

What felt like an eternity passed as my heartbeats gradually grew regular, and the number of cracks on my body lessened.

The moon's rays merged with my body, supporting my heart until it finally stabilized.

Slowly, the moonlight began to recede, and the purest silver liquid—more refined than anything I had felt before—flowed through me, gradually replacing the remaining traces of red.

My entire body glowed with a silver hue, filling me with an overwhelming sense of peace.

I didn't know how long I remained in that state before the glow began to fracture.

BANG!

A loud explosion of silver light erupted from within me, the brilliance almost blinding, the force knocking everyone back—everyone except for the man and the woman standing on the raised platform, and a few of the older attendees.

The blast lit up the entire forest, making the castle shine like a lighthouse in the distance.

"Praise the moon we enforced the shield beforehand, or this flare could have invited trouble," someone murmured, their voice ringing in my ears.

Then there was silence, and only one sound filled the room.

"Lub-dub... lub-dub..."

The steady rhythm of my heartbeat, signifying the birth of something magnificent.