The rain poured down relentlessly as the carriage drove through the darkness. Its wheels sank deep into the muddy ground while the two horses pulling it struggled forward through the curtain of rain that made the road nearly invisible.
Inside the carriage, Elinor bent down to open a drawer beneath the seat and pulled out a bundle of cloth. "You should change your clothes first," she handed the bundle to Charles. "What you're wearing is wet and smells terrible. You might get sick."
Charles accepted the bundle with his still-trembling hands. "Thank you."
He slowly removed his wet clothes, each movement triggering pain from his wounds. He gritted his teeth, trying not to groan. Elinor turned away to give him privacy while changing.
When he removed his shirt, burn marks from hot irons and bruises were clearly visible on his skin. He picked up the new shirt, which was softer and warmer, but putting it on proved difficult with his injured fingers.
"Do you want me to help?" Elinor asked without turning around.
"It's fine," Charles declined, enduring the pain as he slowly changed each piece of clothing.
Once dressed, he reached into the pockets of his old clothes to retrieve the Soulstone, money pouch, and book. Charles noticed that despite being soaked, the book showed no damage whatsoever, making him wonder what material it was made of. He placed these items beside him.
He rolled up his wet clothes into a bundle and set them in a corner. The smell of blood and sewage still clung to him, even after changing.
"All done," he announced.
Elinor turned back. "Let's treat your wounds now."
She reached into the drawer again, retrieving a medicine bottle and bandages. "I'll help dress your wounds."
She carefully cleaned Charles's finger wounds. Each time the clean cloth touched his injuries, Charles had to clench his teeth to suppress a cry.
The carriage emerged from the dense forest onto an open road leading to a bridge over a large river. Lightning flashed, revealing a stone bridge spanning the wide waters.
Suddenly, Elinor's hands, which were wrapping bandages, froze. She turned to look out the rear window of the carriage.
"Someone's following us," she whispered. "City Guards, riding very fast."
Charles tried to look out, but couldn't see the group at all.
"This is bad," Elinor turned to look ahead. "There's a patrol checkpoint ahead as well."
Charles looked in the direction she was watching but still couldn't see the checkpoint she mentioned. He guessed that Elinor must be an Ascendant.
"What should we do?" Charles asked tensely. "If we stop, those behind will catch up. But if we try to run the checkpoint..."
Charles looked around, his mind racing in the dire situation. "Where are we?"
"On the stone bridge crossing the main river," Elinor answered, her eyes still fixed on the pursuing soldiers.
Charles's eyes flashed with inspiration as he thought of the most dangerous method, which might be their only escape in this situation. "I'll jump into the river."
"What?!" Elinor exclaimed. "That's suicide! With the current this strong..."
"There's no other choice," Charles cut her off. "Do you have anything waterproof to store things in?"
"Wait, we should think of another plan..."
"There's no time!" Charles urged. "Hurry!"
Elinor hesitated briefly before bending down to search the drawer, pulling out a medium-sized wooden barrel. "Here... but it's too risky."
Charles didn't waste time. He quickly removed the shirt he had just changed into, knowing it would become heavy and drag him down when wet. "Open the barrel, please."
Elinor followed his instructions, removing the barrel's lid. Charles quickly rolled up his shirt and placed it inside, followed by the Soulstone, money pouch, and book.
"Do you have any body-adjustment drug and the final part of the soul crystallization ritual?" he asked urgently.
Elinor nodded, taking out a piece of paper. "The Brigadier prepared it already." She hesitated before producing a small glass vial. "The body-adjustment drug..."
"I'll repay you later," Charles took the vial and quickly placed it in the barrel along with the paper. "Thank you very much. Please seal the lid tightly."
Elinor secured the barrel lid firmly. Charles opened the carriage door. "Drive closer to the edge of the bridge!" he shouted to the driver.
"If I survive and get the chance, I'll definitely replace the body-adjustment drug with a new vial," he said in farewell.
"Be careful," Elinor whispered. "And good luck."
Charles clutched the wooden barrel tightly before leaping over the bridge railing into the darkness, with the thick curtain of rain concealing his action. No one saw the figure plunging into the river below except those in the carriage.
In the pitch-black night, the icy water violently struck his body. The cold penetrated to his bones.
Charles struggled to swim to the surface, but the strong current swept his body downstream. His unhealed wounds sent unbearable pain throughout his body. His nail-less fingers could barely cut through the water.
The wooden barrel he clung to helped keep him from sinking to the river bottom, but swimming to shore proved extremely difficult. His body, weakened from torture, had little strength left.
He tried to struggle toward the shore, but the current kept carrying him farther downstream. Suddenly, his leg violently struck a rock underwater. The sound of breaking bone was audible even amid the flowing water.
The new injury nearly made him release the barrel, but survival instinct made him grit his teeth through the pain, still holding tightly to it.
The current carried him farther and farther, every movement a struggle, but he refused to give up, continuing to attempt to swim toward the shore.
After being swept a great distance, he finally spotted a potential landing point where large tree roots extended into the water. Charles gathered his remaining strength and tried to swim toward them.
His cold, weakened hand reached out, attempting to grasp the roots several times before finally catching hold. He slowly pulled himself out of the water.
Once ashore, Charles limped along the riverbank, dragging the heavy wooden barrel with great difficulty.
Eventually, he came upon an old, dilapidated storage shed with rotting wooden walls full of holes, but it was better than staying in the open. Charles hobbled inside, careful not to make any noise.
He collapsed in a dark corner, leaning against the damp wooden wall, not daring to light a fire for fear of drawing attention.
Charles carefully set down the barrel, his hands trembling as he opened the lid. He reached in to retrieve the paper and Soulstone. Fortunately, the rain had stopped, and the moon shone brightly in the sky, providing enough light to see the objects in his hand.
He unfolded the paper to read the final steps of the soul crystallization ritual. Taking the short knife he had taken from the guard, he cut his palm. Fresh blood flowed out, which he dripped onto the clear Soulstone. Inside, he could still see the brain-like matter full of moving mouths and teeth. He recited the ancient language written on the paper.
When the blood touched the crystal, it changed from colorless to deep red. Charles quickly took the body-adjustment drug vial, uncorked it, and drank it all at once. The bitter taste spread through his mouth.
He raised the Soulstone and aimed it at his own heart. But when the pointed end pierced his skin, severe pain coursed throughout his body. His muscles contracted in resistance, and despite pushing with all his might, it wouldn't penetrate to his heart.
Charles's face began to contort, his skin moving unnaturally. The body-adjustment drug was taking effect, causing him to mutate away from his human form.
But if he couldn't embed the crystal into his heart in time, the transformation would be incomplete. His body would mutate into a horrific creature, losing human form forever.
His increasingly blurry eyes scanned the surroundings until he saw a large tree nearby. Charles gathered his remaining strength, using his uninjured leg to propel himself toward the tree, the pointed crystal pressed against his chest.
The sound of breaking bone echoed as his body slammed into the trunk. The impact finally drove the crystal into his heart. Charles collapsed to the ground.
As soon as the crystal embedded itself, it contracted into his heart. He felt as if another being was trying to take over his mind, as if Christopher's sealed spirit was fighting to seize control of his body.
At the same time, the body-adjustment drug continued to take effect, painfully transforming his body. Bones twisted with cracking sounds, muscles convulsed, and skin moved as if snakes were slithering beneath it.
Charles had to fight both pains simultaneously—resisting the entity trying to possess him and enduring the agony of bodily transformation. Now he had no one to help him, no sedative from the special unit, only his own strength and determination.
He knew that if he lost this battle, he would lose himself forever, becoming something he couldn't even comprehend, an identity he did not desire.
Time passed slowly but seemed eternal. His vision began to change. His distorted body gradually returned to human form. The world around him transformed as if in a nightmare.
The moon in the sky changed into an enormous brain with twisted nerve tendrils hanging down. Thousands of mouths filled with strange, rolling eyeballs and hundreds of writhing tongues gazed down at him from above. The starless sky turned blood-red, like a cloth soaked in blood.
Yet amid this horror, Charles felt the power becoming his own. The second stage of elevation... was complete.
Exhaustion crashed over him like a heavy stone. His eyelids slowly closed, but before consciousness faded, his lost memories surfaced. Images of past events he had longed for gradually appeared, enough to know who he was, where he came from, and why he was here.
"Ah... so that's it," he murmured softly before his eyes closed.
In the night, no light shone. There was only the cool breeze blowing after the rain across the damp grass.