Eli looked into the dark void where the devourer's path was supposed to lead to.
The void was nothing but desolate darkness and Eli could feel that there was a hint of resistance from an invisible barrier, making Eli feel subtle fear.
It also made her feel like once she stepped in the void, she would either fall into a bottomless pit or be flicked away by an invisible force as punishment for trespassing into a forbidden zone.
"Don't be afraid, I will be here with you." Leon's soothing voice reached Eli's ears, effectively washing away her fears and doubts.
"Alright…" Readjusting her mind, Eli looked at Leon, indicating that she was ready for the next mission - to open the devourer's path.
Leon led his lady towards the void, firmly holding her hands. He was afraid that he would lose her along the way, so he would occasionally glance back and check if Eli was fine.
Reaching to the point where the resistance for Eli was the heaviest, Leon conjured a mana shield into their bodies.
Immediately, the feeling of being heavily suppressed disappeared, making Eli comfortable even as they stepped on the edge of the river of light.
Without any ounce of hesitation or fear, Leon steps to the void.
Amazingly, Eli noticed how a platform made of light congealed in his feet.
Leon looked at Eli and smiled reassuringly, "Come on.."
Eli followed Leon and stepped into the void, putting her trust on him.
As soon as her feet landed on a seemingly unending abyss, she was amazed by what she saw.
The hampered streams of light followed her footsteps. It was as if the dam hindering the water was finally destroyed with a single step!
She took another step as Leon led her to walk a few steps more beyond the barrier.
Wooooosh!
The more Eli and Leon stepped outside the barrier, the more the fluid light rushed along the path the two were taking.
From tiny little streams of light into a river running wild and free, the devourer's path slowly grew into a river rushing in a direction that seemed boundless and endless!
"Where do the paths lead to??" Marveling at the sight of the three rivers finally opened in her vision, she threw the question that has been bothering her from the moment they entered the realms.
"It is said that the open path's lifelong mission was to discover where the paths lead. Too bad, my grandfather did not live long enough to discover what was at the end of it." Leon shook his head, there was a sense of loss and helplessness in his face as he answered.
"Even I myself was still clueless after reaching the S class for all the paths. Legends say that the paths lead to the very source of mana in Prasinos. Some even believed that whoever reaches the end of the path will have the chance to become as powerful as the guardians.." He continued, wearing a dark face.
Observing Leon's expression, Eli asked, " Is that why the Spectre was obsessed with experimenting in order to find a way to achieve an open path?"
"It is highly probable." Leon answered straightforwardly. His view about this matter carried a heavier weight especially that Eli was also an open path.
"What if our Little Han also carried the same constitution as us?" This thought suddenly appeared on Eli's mind, effectively making her feel a great sense of anxiety.
Leon looked at her obsidian eyes resolutely, "We'll do whatever it takes to make him safe until he is strong enough to defend his own."
The two looked at each other, certain that they were both on the same page about protecting Little Han.
After a short silence, Leon led Eli back to the point where the three paths converge into one.
"There's a certain phenomenon that would happen after opening the three paths and this would be the hardest part for you. Quickly, let's go back to the outside world." Leon gently instructed her.
When Eli opened her eyes, she was surprised to see the abundant specks of mana dancing freely around the two of them. They were like innocent fireflies wandering around their surroundings.
"These are the mana speckles that were ready to enter your body upon successfully opening the three paths. Come closer with me as I guide you how to channel them through your body." Leon knelt directly on the ground, not minding his princely status.
He beckoned Eli to sit cross legged with her back facing him. He then stretched out his hands around her arms, enveloping her upper body.
"Remember that constitution differs in terms of the shape of the mana receptors, while the open paths could freely change its own according to the bearer's will?" He asked her.
"Yes.. Eli answered.
"There's a better way for the open paths to utilize our receptors without jeopardizing our lives in battles because of the interval needed for the receptors to adjust on one shape to another…My grandfather discovered this thing only in his later days. He could only explain this to me in theory and left me to find a way to do it in reality.
The best way was to have our receptors fully assimilate into our bodies. Unlike the devourers which assumes a fibrous pattern, we will completely make the receptors be part of every cell in our bodies.
In this way our entire body will become a single mana receptor, freely channeling mana in a way that fits our needs without that dangerous intervals."
Leon lengthily explained everything to Eli while he proceeded to instruct her step by step on how to do it.
"As you close your eyes, visualize the mana specks you saw to enter your body in a smooth and orderly way. Organize the mana to form like a thin thread, tracing every blood vessel and every muscle of your body…"
Eli followed Leon's instructions step by step. At first, she found it hard to make the mana specks form the way Leon described it but slowly, she was able to form it more finer and thinner.
At the point where Eli couldn't manipulate the mana stably, Leon would use his mana to carefully help her to stabilize the thread.
The process was slow and delicate, the two didn't even mind if there were people around, as they were both focused on letting the mana thread enter into Eli's body properly.
When all the mana needed entered Eli's body, Leon's next instruction rang in her mind, "Now focus on your receptors, let it absorb the mana specs gradually until they are filled. After that, I'll inject a forceful mana in your body to help you stretch the receptors. My grandfather called this process kneading. This portion would be the most painful for you, so hang in there please…"
Leon's voice became anxious, he was unsure if Eli could take the pain of making the receptors flexible enough to assimilate into the body.
"Uhn.. I'm ready…" Eli braced herself. She had no idea how painful the process would be, but she trusted Leon, who was by her side.
"Alright, let's start." Leon closed his eyes and focused on supervising what was happening on Eli's mana stream.
When he saw that Eli was done absorbing the mana thread, he immediately injected his mana and started to force every receptors to stretch inside Eli's body.
"Ngnnn.." Eli groaned in misery as she felt her body being torn into bits and pieces by a million ants.
From the top of her head to her toes, every cell in her body was not spared.
Unbearably torturous!
Those were the two words that invaded Eli's mind when she felt the pain.
"Eli.. please endure… please endure till the end.." Leon knew exactly what kind of pain was oppressing Eli right now. But he could only hug her tight and speak inside her mind in order to let Eli's mind stay sane and stable.
The kneading was especially forceful and slow. The two gritted their teeth and forced themselves to endure till the end.
They eventually lost track of time and had no idea what was about to happen outside.
—
In the darkest of the night, a stealthy raven flew on Empress Carolina's balcony.
It pecked in a certain way that made Empress Carolina understand that it was actually signalling a familiar code.
Opening the glass door with vigilance, she quietly approached the raven and noticed a piece of paper firmly fastened in its claws.
She took it quietly and opened the piece of paper with care.
The contents of the letter seemed to surprise and worry her at the same time. But seeing that the raven was intently looking at her as if it possessed an intelligence akin to humans, she held back all the possible expressions she could possibly leak on her face and body.
She could only let out a helpless sigh in her heart and briefly come back to the bedroom to write a reply;
"I accept the lord's instructions humbly.."
