The sensation of boiling water trickling down my skin is almost soothing compared to the searing hot waves of energy that begin to enter my chest next.

I can sense the nerves and anticipation from the people watching around me, but out of anyone, I'm the most calm one here. Even without the fact that we all desperately need a power-up, I would have attempted this bond myself if there was only one stone.

My intuition on energy signatures is pretty refined from past battles. Despite throwing myself into dangerous situations, I know when something is actively trying to kill me or not.

These stones, in particular, feel as if they're reaching out with immense and overwhelming power. They may be dangerous, but they don't have the intent to harm anyone without good reason.

As the energy seeps into my chest, it feels like molten rock is soaking in through my skin deep into my heart, then pumping out and spreading through my veins. My blood feels as if it's boiling, and my bones and joints heat up like hot stones in the sun, cooking me from the inside out.

To say there is an instantaneous overwhelming feeling of agony that reaches every corner of my body is putting things lightly.

A shockwave of truly overpowering energy ripples through me, but at the same time, it carries an aura that feels invigorating while it injects itself into my mana pools.

Hundreds of thousands of MP instantly enter my bloodstream, filling the pathways in my arms and legs with the hot red light that slowly oozes out from the crystal's core.

I think about activating my Plunderer skill as well as Self-Regeneration to ease the violent nature of the absorption process, but I decide against it to simulate how it would be for my teammates. This isn't just for me; I'm trying to make sure the process is safe for those who follow my lead as well.

The blazing hot energy completely fills my body. Boiling mana flows through my veins, and my pathways are filled to the brim. Easily over a million MP has made its way into my body, but there's still so much more to go.

Barely a second has passed, but one thing concerns me...

Although the pain is harsh, overall it's bearable. The damage being done to my insides and skin will be repaired with ease, either through Abby's restoration on the spot or my Self Regeneration after the fact. These sensations don't bother me. The crux of my concerns is that the red energy entering my mana pool is not leaving at all.

In the Essence shards and fragments I absorbed previously, the moment the absorption process began, mana was expelled from my body as it was used up. This is how the mana control refinement process works.

The more mana processed through one's system, the more open and able it becomes at processing and wielding it in the future.

This energy I'm taking in is not leaving my body; it's just continuously pouring into my mana pathways.

The rate at which it flows from the ruby-red gemstone increases, and the searing pain envelops every surface of my body, inside and out.

The Soulstone's energy covers my line of sight as my absorption rate fails to keep up with the rate at which the energy is being expelled from the stone.

I'm completely covered in a red aura from head to toe.

I attempt to look around through the thick, smoke-like, energy-dense fog that encapsulates me, but everything shifts from red to white in an instant.

Completely white...

Blank...

The desert is gone.

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Abby is gone.

All of my other teammates are gone.

The only thing left is the blood-red gem in my hands and the powerful aura that flows out of it like an ocean's raging current.

This makes no sense...

My surroundings are invisible, even though my eyes are open. Every direction I point my gaze turns out to just be white. The pain from the heat becomes so intense that there's nothing else I can think about but the non-existent flames that surround me.

My body feels as if it were burned to ash in an instant as the fiery red aura engulfs me.

I can't hear anything. I can't feel anything. Worst of all, I can't see anything but white.

This is worse than the darkness of the Abyss. At least when everything is dark, one can hope for light; but in the presence of blinding light that blocks everything out, what more could I hope to see?

I'm left in a state of shock.

I can't tell if this is reality or my eyes playing tricks on me.

My mind is still intact, and my perception of the space around me flows normally, but there's nothing to take in. All I can do is think.

This isn't the experience I expected to go through at all...

Before I become used to the illusion of the white void, a pair of black eyes appears, soaked in the same crimson aura that engulfed me.

They're enormous and exude pure power. As they appear, wisps of dark red and black energy fill the empty bright void and creep forward. A Hydra's head materializes around its eyes, and the most intense wave of intimidation I've ever felt hits my very soul.

It's not filled with killing intent. It's more of a show of dominance.

The sudden profound sensation vibrates through me, allowing my mind to comprehend the presence of my body once again. Its mana ripples through me, amplifying the output of the millions of MP coursing through my energy pathways. With such a deep and intrusive wave, even the depths of my soul link with Ember are touched.

The sensation allows me to feel two paper-thin connections to both my real body in its hibernation state and Ember hundreds of kilometers away, even deep within a dungeon. It's like a silver shimmering spider's silk thread of a substance not quite made of mana, but powered by it. The thread is only visible to me in this exact mental state.

I've never physically seen our bond, but now that I have... I may be able to tap into this feeling again in the future.

However, despite my momentary dose of clarity, I'm still paralyzed with what I can only describe as fear. The head of a Blood-Red Hydra towers over me and continues to pulse with dark red light.

Every wave that hits me invigorates the mana inside me back to its original state, making the searing hot boiling sensation return greater and greater with every pulse. This makes my skin and energy pathways hotter by the second.

What felt like slow-moving molten rock before now feels like fiery eruptions coursing through my veins, threatening to rip my body apart from the inside.

I can't move.

It's like I'm chained to an invisible wall, just watching the events unfold before me.

The constant waves of the Hydra's magic push my mind into a numbed state, but I don't give in. As I bear the pain and stare straight at the unwavering beast before me, I slip further and further from reality.

I can't tell if it's been seconds, minutes, or hours.

Everything starts to blur as the eyes of the Hydra creep closer. I see six more heads behind it with twelve more glowing red eyes staring deep into my soul as my vision starts to fade. It looks like they all want to say something. Their mouths hint at opening, but they never do.

All I do know is I have to hold on. My jaw is clenched, and all my muscles are tight, but the pressure of the energy waves that hit me over and over holds me down in this illusion of a spiritual prison.

It's taking every ounce of my willpower to stay conscious.

I can't even attempt to use my mana control or other powers to fight back. The thought of exerting any force other than keeping my eyes open feels like a death wish.

Closing my eyes seems like an even worse option.

The seven heads just watch as I'm filled with the remaining wisps of red aura from the main monster above me.

Its head begins to turn lighter and lighter as more energy spills out. As the red aura that leaks, it takes the Hydra's pigment with it, making it fade closer and closer to match the white color of the void.

As it fades, the Hydra bows its head. The waves of its energy cease.

At the same moment, my feet feel as if they've been splashed with cool water.

The sensation travels up my calves and to my knees, then around my thighs and all the way up my back to trickle down my arms into my fingertips.

The layers of molten hot mana that flow through my veins are covered by this new energy, cooling the Hydra's power to lukewarm.

Once the cold energy reaches my neck and seeps into my mind, I receive a refreshing boost of power, allowing me to move and think freely once again.

I look down to see the waves of green light that cover my body, intertwining with the red aura and rejuvenating my charred skin and fractured bones. Abby's skill is bringing me back to the real world.

The eyes of the monster in my mental prison fade completely into the whiteness, and only six heads remain, watching from far behind.

I take a deep gasp of fresh air, and my awareness of the calm nighttime desert comes back into full view. The white void is gone...

The gem in my palms has completely dissolved into grey dust. The eyes of everyone around me are wide open in awe.