Transcending Dreams

B2 - Chapter 106

William didnt have the chance to look at his health, but with the alerts he saw, it was safe to assume he had around a third left.

It would be ideal if he could take some Vitality Restoration Pills to restore it before attempting this, but the corrupted avatar would never allow that to happen.

He pushed away the depressing thought of his impending doom. There could have been things that he had done differently, and maybe it might have been better to take his chances in trusting the corrupted avatars word at the start.

But he didnt.

William warily scanned the three treasures to see if he could glean any from them. It had been so long since he had dared to even look at them, afraid that the treasures would somehow be found out if he did.

The treasures were parts of the massive giantMagmaheart Goliaththat Sophia had installed in the Shard as the caretaker of the realm stone.

A small, palm-sized puddle of gold liquidthe blood. A charred cube as tall as he was, with a rough, pitted surfacethe skin. A crystal ball half a foot wide, glowing a deep red with wisps of bright orange appearing occasionallythe eyes.

Williams brief scan didnt tell him much. He wished he could bring them all out at once, but again, the corrupted avatar would likely kill him before he could. He barely had enough control over his Qi in his weakened state to bring out one, let alone three.

The gold liquid was tossed as a choice. He felt it was more likely to be for healing instead of damage. However, he could certainly see the liquid acting like lava due to where it originated.

The latter was the obvious choice between the charred cube and the crystal ball. The cube clearly represented the skin of the Magmaheart Goliath. It might have been good for defense, but he couldnt see how it would help with taking down the corrupted avatar.

William sensed that two seconds had passed. Too long. She would be getting suspicious.

He let go of his fear and wrapped his Qi around the crystal ball. Unlike when he did this to move it into the spatial stone, the crystal ball reacted.

The red glow retreated to reveal a burning orange sclera and a vertical, elongated, black oval pupil spanning the side facing him. It was staring straight at him unblinkingly.

William could feel the faint presence of the creature it once wasthe same beast that he had killed to escape the Shard. He thought for a moment that he had just welcomed another issue right when he couldnt afford it.

Thankfully, the eye dimmed before returning to its docile statea crystal ball that glowed red.

He let out a mental sigh that was a combination of relief and happiness. The treasure didnt seem to be against him. Since it had some level of sentience, hopefully, it would recognize what Corrupted Sophia was.

William remembered how much the Magmaheart Goliath hated abominations and those that worked against Sophia. He prayed that the corrupted avatar qualified to earn its hatred.

He pulled the crystal ball out of the spatial stone, and it landed on his chest.

Corrupted Sophia chuckled above him. I wondered why you were suddenly willing to negotiate. I must say Im disappointed. What is this supposed to be?

William was disappointed, too. He blankly stared at the night sky, the dark clouds no longer blocking the moon. He supposed this wasnt too bad of a sight to have before he died.

The bodys ready, Shitous voice called from the ruined estate. Looked like the rock spirit and Kae were unaffected by the destruction caused by him throwing Corrupted Sophia into it.

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You put up a valiant effort, but its time to conclude this, Corrupted Sophia bent down to peer at the crystal ball. And you are truly filled with artifacts beyond your means. If you were able to use this, you would have likely been able to succeed. What does it do?

No idea, William had a dead tone. He didnt care to bother with speaking to his soon-to-be killer, especially to give information.

Hm, Corrupted Sophia shrugged and picked up the crystal ball. Itll be put to good use once I regain some of my cultivation.

He had a slight hope that the corrupted avatar touching the crystal ball would have caused it to react, but all that brought him was more disappointment.

William grimaced when she covered his forehead with her palm. Taking out the crystal ball had sapped him of so much energy that he couldnt even fight back.

Your body will be preserved, and your soul will not be erased, Corrupted Sophia comforted. I hope you are not as obstinate in your next life.

He tensed when he sensed her Qi pressing into him, suppressing his thoughts and dimming his vision. She was going to suffocate his consciousness until he was just an empty shell.

Abomination.

Williams mind was slowly emerging from his muddy state, but even then, it was hard not to hear the booming voice filled with disgust.

Your existence is blasphemous to the Empress.

He blinked away the blurriness to see Corrupted Sophia standing unnaturally straight. A burning orange-sclera eye floated in front of her. It looked like she was frozen and unable to move, even to look away from the eye.

William didnt have time to celebrate before the oval pupil focused on him.

This exceeds the requirements for implantation. Do you still wish to use the abomination as the sacrifice?

Requirements for what? Whats being implanted? He blurted out, eying the rage on Corrupted Sophias face.

Silence was his answer. The eye kept staring at him, waiting. It looked like he would have to make another choice with little knowledge.

However, it wasnt as if there was a choice other than this.

The eye was saying that Corrupted Sophia was to be the sacrifice, and he had been determined to make her die with him.

This was close enough. Hopefully, whatever was going to be implanted wouldnt be disastrous.

How long can you hold her in place? William tried another question. He hoped to recover some stamina and pull the Vitality Restorations Pills out of the ring.

Choose now. Do you wish to use the abomination as the sacrifice?

William frowned, assuming that was the eye giving him the answer indirectly. He didnt think he could risk waiting too long even if it wasn't.

He glanced at Corrupted Sophia for hopefully the last time. If looks would kill, he would be dead twenty times over.

Yes.

A tether sprung into existence between the eye and the corrupted avatar. William recognized this. It was precisely the same as the tether that formed between Princess Jin and the Seedling in the Shard.

The eye would use Corrupted Sophias life force to power whatever it was implanting.

William was still on his back, still unable to move, and unable to use the Stamina Elixirs that Kae had given at the start.

He could do nothing but stare when the eye turned back to him and started to glow a bright gold. The tether of light between the eye and Corrupted Sofia increased in intensity to match the glow.

William gasped when a tether formed between him and the eye, this one gold. It didnt feel like it was doing anything to him, but he knew it was only a matter of time.

He came to the obvious conclusion that whatever was being implanted would be coming from Corrupted Sophia.

The gold tether expanded, slowly covering more and more of his body until all he could see was gold. It wasnt harsh to look at, more muted and natural, but it still terrified him of what was to come.

William didnt have to wait long to find out.

It started as pinpricks on his feet, slowly expanding until it covered his entire body. It wasnt painful, just beyond uncomfortable.

Coring.

The word itself installed terror. For good reason.

William opened his mouth to scream soundlessly. It felt like something was drilling through his insidesnerves, blood vessels, organseverything. He could feel something replacing whatever was cored out.

This was a good thing. A great thing. Probably.

He had gone through intense moments of pain before, and this wasnt even the worst. The Heavenly Punishment that Corrupted Sophia had called down was worse by multiple orders of magnitude.

Losing his mind then was acceptable since William had thought he would die. This coring was the opposite.

He was benefitting.

William clenched his teeth and crushed the pain as much as he could before putting all his focus on the changes happening inside him.

Extracting.

The pain spiked, and the world went black.