Spirit Soul

"I am aware of my situation...let's just walk a little bit…"

Trying not to flinch, Kyle began to slowly tread ahead.

Nevertheless, he held back from using his Nurture ability again.

His mind was anxious and the bloody fight had made him feel even more so.

According to his experience, using his Nurture ability for such a prolonged period would surely be an overkill.

There was something he feared by using his ability continuously in small portions.

'What will happen if I continue to walk as long as I have enough vigor? Will I die due to the aftereffects of my body's exhaustion, or bleed heavily in my sleep?'

Worried that his assumptions and his rotten luck would make matters worse, he slowed a little.

Because of that thought, he decided to advance further only until his body allowed him to move.

Even if this was likely to happen in less than 20 minutes, sacrificing his life needlessly was not something Kyle wanted to achieve in this lifetime!

Hence, they slowly headed in the opposite direction of the village while avoiding the small groups of beasts that rushed past them.

Unfortunately, as predicted, every step he took drained Kyle of his energy and caused him immeasurable pain.

It was barely 10 minutes before his feet gave up and he was unable to take another step.

His sight was already blurred and his mind was void of any thoughts, blank like an empty sheet.

During the last few minutes, the only thing he had focused on was to find a good spot to rest.

If that was not essential for his survival in the woods, Kyle might have collapsed on the ground already.

However, to his dismay, the surroundings were unsuitable to hide and rest.

There was an abundance of greenery and trees all around him, but not a single one was suitable for Kyle to climb on it.

Owing to his injuries, he couldn't climb on most of the trees that had a dense network of branches or were very tall for him to jump to.

It was only when Selene noticed that he was forcing himself to exceed his limitations that she got a sudden idea.

Kyle was unable to move a lot. As such, Selene could easily hold him by his shoulders to make him stand still.

He only looked at her in confusion, not knowing what she wanted to do.

Only a moment later, she stood in front of him before taking the large backpack he was still wearing from him.

There was nothing inside, so she could start working on it quickly.

Putting on the backpack, Selene used the buckles to clumsily strap Kyle on her back.

Kyle was squeezed between her and the backpack.

Using the backpack as a support to carry him on her back could work to some extent.

She hoped it would be enough for her to climb the tree right in front of them.

Thus, without wasting time she gave Kyle a reassuring glance before turning around.

Using the black steel dagger to hack into the tree trunk and push herself up, she began climbing the tree.

Meanwhile, Kyle, whose eyes were already drooping, gave in to the exhaustion and finally lost his consciousness.

Selene felt his warm blood running down her clothes and could only force herself to ignore the emotions that surfaced within her.

Every single cell in her body wanted her to abandon the task at hand and tend to Kyle but she managed to stop herself from panicking.

Willing herself to keep going, she aimed to reach the wide branch before she would take a look at Kyle's injuries.

Once she had climbed up the branch, her calmness crumbled and she broke into tears that streamed down her cheeks.

With trembling hands, she loosened the backpack, while holding Kyle with the other hand that had held the dagger before.

Kyle had barely been able to use the entire amount of stored energy in the Nurture ability before he fainted.

If not for his ability that was no less than a miracle, he would have probably died.

Fortunately, the energy coursing through his veins prevented him from dying in the next few hours.

But, there was a difference between barely clinging to life and being truly alive.

Sadly, his condition was the former- he was weak and extremely exhausted.

She could see that his clothes were soaked in sweat and blood.

As Selene touched his forehead, she sensed that his body was on fire and his expressions were that of immense pain.

Without the recuperation serum or the anti-inflammation paste, he might have already died, but it was unknown whether Kyle would survive just because of the temporary first-aid.

He looked pale due to the blood loss and seemed to be on death's door.

Selene had never learned how to tend someone's wounds and had no idea what she was supposed to do right now.

They had only a few things in their spatial pouch, but without mana, it was impossible for her to access it.

This was another disadvantage of owning a simple spatial pouch.

Trying to rack her brains, she came up with an idea that seemed ordinary but would give her immense pain.

However, the pain was the least she feared right now!

If she had to endure torturous pain to save Kyle, she would do it!

He was her savior and the only person who had accepted her for who she was.

Kyle was more important to her than anyone else, and she didn't want to lose him!

**

While he was unconscious, his entire past life had flashed before his eyes.

Kyle had lived through the good and bad memories once again, only to regain his consciousness after an unknown amount of time had passed.

A few rays of sunlight were peeking through the dense foliage and shone on his pale face.

The bright light dazzled him as he opened his eyes.

His body was still weak, and the injuries he had sustained still hurt, but he felt much better than before.

Taking a deep breath, Kyle felt even better as vigor seemed to flow straight into him.

As he stretched his body, his hands touched something right next to him.

Turning his head, he could see that Selene was sleeping, yet, the moment he saw her, Kyle's eyes widened involuntarily.

Her clothes were smeared with dirt and dried blood, dying them red and brown.

Her hair was matted but what worried him the most was that she was shivering in her sleep.

It was only then that Kyle noticed the Emerald Fox who yelped at Selene.

His Spirit Soul seemed to have grown up quite a bit, reaching a height of more than 13 centimeters.

However, Kyle couldn't focus on the Emerald Fox because something seemed to be wrong with Selene.

Using his arms to push himself up into a sitting position took him a while.

Thus, he got up after a minute of balancing himself on the branch.

Every single movement was painful but at least, now blood didn't gush out of his wound whenever he moved.

When he observed the wound, it looked like it had stopped bleeding for quite some time.

That was reassuring yet strange to think how it had been possible, but he could look at it later.

Lifting one arm he brushed his fingers lightly against Selene's arm, who flinched at the contact.

A moment later, she woke up, startled and, with eerily cold eyes.

Her hand had automatically grasped the ranked black steel dagger, and she was just a step away from attacking whoever had neared her.

Her survival instincts had kicked in and she was ready to unsheath it to defend and kill.

However, when she noticed that it was Kyle, her hands went limp.

The dagger fell on the branch and her eyes grew moist as she began to cry.

Snot ran down her nose, but Selene couldn't care less of how she looked right now.

Wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. she said in an unsteady voice.

"You are finally awake!!"

In the end, Selene was unable to suppress her emotions and her hands went around Kyle to embrace him tightly.

Her entire body was trembling and Kyle could immediately tell that the reason for this was not just joy or relief.

It was obvious that lots of things must have happened while he was unconscious.

As such he hugged Selene back, trying to reassure her that he was awake and that everything was fine now.

At that moment, events of an entire week flashed through his mind.

They had been transmitted by the Emerald Fox that was an independent part of himself.

Because of that it was not severely affected by his comatose state, but a clear indicator that he was alive!

Kyle couldn't explain the connection he had with the Emerald Fox.

It was also difficult for him to determine what made them into one entity and what kind of things separated them.

Despite the interest Kyle had in finding out more about this weird connection, he was prevented from mulling further over it.

Right now, he was being flooded by the memories his Spirit Soul was transmitting to him.

Apparently, Selene had tried to absorb mana, which had worked in the beginning.

It was enough for her to access the spatial pouch to search for something to help Kyle.

Unfortunately, there hadn't been anything she could make use of.

Worried about his deteriorating condition, Selene didn't want to sit idle and helplessly watch Kyle suffer.

Because of that, she had ignored her own state that had worsened since she had begun to annex mana.

Other than the spatial pouch which proved to be of no real use, Selene could only think of one thing that might help Kyle!

When they were on the run, he seemed to continuously invigorate himself through some sort of ability.

It didn't take her long to realize that it was the same ability he had used to start healing her.

Selene recalled the way Kyle had grasped something every single time a living being near him had died.

In her desperation, Selene's mind had begun to work faster and accurately.

This allowed her to comprehend that it might be possible for Kyle to somehow heal himself.

However, she was oblivious to what she could do and racked her brains to think of something as the Emerald Fox detached itself from Kyle's body.

His Spirit Soul was sentient and aware of Kyle's situation.

If Kyle were to die, it would cease to exist too.

As such, both the Emerald Fox and Selene had begun to do the simplest thing they could do in order to help Kyle; they hunted and devoured souls!

Being one existence with Kyle, seemed to be truly advantageous to the Emerald Fox in the current situation.

It could devour the detached souls of deceased beasts not only to nurture itself but also to store the soul particles within it.

Apparently, one week had passed since Selene and the Emerald fox had started to hunt.

Every single time the two had killed a beast, the Emerald Fox absorbed and converted it into energy for Kyle.

Then they would return to transfer the soul force to Kyle in an effort to help him recuperate.

Kyle's body had instinctively digested the energy to heal himself.

At the same time, the Emerald Fox had activated the Nurture ability to invigorate Kyle!

Selene had been astonished about this sudden twist, and she was slowly trying to understand the bond between the Emerald Fox and Kyle.

Because of the memories of the entire week in which he was in a comatose state, Kyle couldn't help but feel grateful to Selene and the Emerald Fox.

He was astonished that his little Spirit Soul could utilize the Nurture ability.

But considering that both of them were the exact same entity, it shouldn't have been so surprising.

In the end, the Emerald fox was the means to save his life, while Selene was the reason that it had been possible.

She had mercilessly killed every beast around her, without another thought.

Irrespective of whether they had a higher cultivation base, old or still younglings, her dagger had sliced through the prey she had hunted.

For the entire week, Selene had nothing on her mind except Kyle and his survival.

She had ignored the pain within her, and the numerous injuries she had sustained.

Kyle hadn't noticed that, until the memories of her being injured flashed through his mind, one after another.

Concerned about her well-being, he held her by the shoulders to look at her.

Kyle smiled gently at her before he lifted his hand to softly touch her cheek.

A moment later, he used the accumulated soul force his body hadn't instinctively used to exert the Nurture ability.

His hand that was touching Selene began to glow as a multitude of hues were unveiled.

Without hesitation, he invigorated Selene.

As his ability began to do its work, the pain of her tormenting condition caused by the two activated cultivation veins within her body subsided.