They reached out a trembling hand toward her.
"You can stop it. Not through purification, but through assimilation."
Ling Yu's eyes narrowed slightly. "Assimilation?"
"You must let your curse consume it," said the spirit. "Let your darkness devour the corruption until it becomes part of you. The Tree will endure, and I will be freed."
Ling Yu stared at them. "That sounds like a death sentence for me."
The spirit's lips curved faintly, a sad, wistful smile.
"Perhaps. But you are not an ordinary being, are you?"
They lifted a hand, and a faint glow surrounded her. Her sigil, the golden-emerald mark the Elves had given her, lit up on the back of her hand.
"This mark was not given to the weak. You have been chosen because your soul already dances between light and shadow. You are balance incarnate."
The words resonated deep within her, and she could feel the mark pulse in response, as though agreeing.
