"Let me show you what your little charm forgot to block."
I raised my hand and pressed my palm against her head.
"Resonance Drain."
The moment I said it, I felt it hit — like something inside her cracked open and started pouring into me.
What I felt was not pain, not warmth, but a strange pull.
Like someone tied a thread between us — one thin line pulling life from her to me. I could feel it — that slow, steady pull, the flow of her life crawling along that thread, moving into me bit by bit.
It started faint, almost gentle. Like a bit of warmth creeping under my skin.
I could feel it sliding into me, slow at first, then faster — like her breath, her fear, her heartbeat were being poured through my veins.
It spread everywhere, crawling up my chest, filling every hollow place inside me that I didn't even know was empty.
Each pulse hit me deeper, rolling through my chest like a second heartbeat that wasn't mine.
I could feel her fading with every throb — her rhythm slipping away, feeding into me, until it was her heart beating inside my chest instead of hers.
Her warmth became mine. Her heart too.
For a moment, I couldn't tell whose heartbeat I was feeling anymore.
It just blended together, one sound, one breath, one fading and one growing.
I looked down — the veins on my arm were glowing faint gray, crawling like smoke under my skin.
I heard something crack — soft, brittle, like shattering of glass into pieces.
Her little golden charm.
I couldn't help but laugh.
Not loud, just… quiet, slipping out on its own.
Like her so-called 'gift' finally showed what it really was — nothing.
It shattered with her pride, with that smug grin she always wore like armor.
Now there was nothing left but silence, and the last bit of life leaking out of her eyes.
I watched the light drain from her eyes — slow, weak — and yeah, that's when she finally got it.
There was no rage left in me, no pity either.
Just that calm, still feeling that comes when something ends exactly the way it should.
I exhaled through my teeth, my lips curling.
"So that's what it feels like," I muttered. "To trade a soul for breath."
But then I felt it — deep inside my chest.
The pulse of seed.
It stirred, slow at first, then stronger, like it had just found something new to feed on.
A second life… digging its roots through me, wrapping around my heart, whispering that this was right.
You feel it too, don't you, Shen Yan?
Every life you take makes you whole.
It didn't sound like anyone else.
It felt like me.
Like my own thoughts were twisting, starting to agree with what I did.
That this was right.
That this was how it's supposed to be.
I didn't fight it. Why would I?
I didn't answer. I didn't need to.
The satisfaction I felt — after giving those bastards their answer, the ones who thought I was nothing but a worm in their eyes — was enough.
Why argue with myself when we both wanted the same thing?
Right?
[ Seed Growth : +1 ]
I heard him before I even turned.
His voice shook so bad I thought his tongue might trip over itself.
"You… what did you just do… that was her— you— how did you— how can you use their skill?"
Panic's easy to hear — that short, messy kind of breath, like they can't get enough air.
I turned my head a little.
Wen Zhihao was there, pointing at the ground where Lin used to be, his hand shaking so hard I thought he'd stab himself.
"That can't be real! That was Resonance Drain! That's the Echo Wraith's ability— that's impossible!"
His words kept tumbling out, messy and breathless.
I could see it in his face — disbelief first, then fear trying to crawl out of his throat but choking halfway.
He looked at me like I'd just rewritten the rules of the world in front of him, and he was still waiting for someone to tell him it was a trick.
His eyes kept darting, his breath stuttering. It almost made me laugh.
I let out a small breath, maybe a sigh, maybe not.
"Oh right… you're still here."
I looked at my hand, still tingling where Lin's life had flowed in.
"I lost myself for a second there. That quiet after her heart stopped… it felt nice."
My lips twitched.
"Almost made me forget there was another piece of trash still breathing."
My heart twitched with something… I don't even know what to call it.
When I saw his pupils shrink, I felt it inside me — that chill crawling up again.
First him… then someone else… then another… and someday the whole damn world will look at me the same way — eyes shrinking, throats locking up, afraid to even speak.
Just like he was now.
I could hear his breath — short, wet, trembling — the kind that breaks between the ribs when fear settles in too deep.
His eyes met mine once, then dropped fast.
Yeah… he finally understood.
That blank look — that silent, helpless kind — it always comes when they realize it's already too late.
I'd only seen it a few times before, but it always felt the same.
I took a step forward, slow, letting the dirt crunch under my feet.
"Don't look so scared," I said, almost gentle.
"You'll see her again soon."
I walked toward him, slow, step by step.
He tried to crawl back, but his arms wouldn't move. Not from pain — from fear.
Not because he was hurt — because he was scared.
I could see it in the way his fingers twitched, like even the thought of touching me burned.
I heard something inside my head, slow and broken — like the words were fighting to come out.
Take it… slow…
Feel it… breathe with it…
Let the fear… sink in…