The world became a tiny pinpoint as Dan focused every inch of concentration on Xiaomei. Dan could, of course, still not see with his eyes. Instead every loose particle of mana that spilled from him focused on Xiaomei and the space around her. It was vastly more potent than simple eyes could have been, and all the more horrifying for it.

Whatever had done this to her, it had been like being hit with a huge, flat piece of iron at speed. The bones of her fingers, hands and feet were practically dust. Bruising had already discoloured her pale skin, her complexion now a strange mixture of purple, black and sheet-white.

The silver lining, faint as it was, had been that Xiaomei had braced herself. The injuries to her extremities was evidence of this, as well as the relatively less destroyed bones in her torso.

Could he do this? Would it even work? It didn’t matter whether Dan thought it would or wouldn’t. He just prayed that he hadn’t lied to Hyun Soon when he told him he could fix her.

“Hey,” Dan turned to Hyun, who was bordering on inconsolable, “you did perfect, Hyun. I need concentration though, can you make sure no one comes in and disturbs me?” It took a moment for Hyun Soon’s eyes to focus. His brow set and his jaw clenched. He nodded and stepped outside.

“Please, Dan. Please.” Hyun didn’t wait to make eye contact with Dan, leaving the room before his tears could begin to fall. There was no real point trying to hide it from him, but Dan didn’t think now would be an appropriate time to mention that. Dan didn’t answer at all, turning all his attention back to Xiaomei and his own mana.

Dan ignited the flow of mana within himself, spurring it into fervour and increasing the power that spun through the mana channels within. He arranged his mana, sequesters some where it needed to be within his own core, gathering the rest to push into Xiaomei’s core. It was going to be different, Dan knew, than it had been with Hyun Soon or Po Daiyu. In those situations, both had been cycling their own mana impressively, so the transfer had been a simple reaction.

With Xiaomei, her mana was as still as her body. Dan would need to push his own mana through to her channels, something he didn’t even know that he was capable of. Doubt was obvious, but a hindrance all the same. Every fibre, particle, every instinct that Dan had needed to be in cohesion with itself.

There was no room for doubt, so Dan removed it. He could obviously do this. It was simple. Just make the mana do what you want. Simple. Sure, it had literally never worked before but… in theory it was simple. That would have to be enough to dispel the doubt.

It worked enough to clear Dan’s mind. With a calm mind he analysed her injuries, sensing that it was important to do so. With a small sense of surprise, Dan realised that the mana was guiding him as much as he was trying to guide it. It was a good surprise though, and Dan let the mana do as it willed.

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

Starting within his core, the mana leapt with energy from each side of it, colliding and splashing. From that central mass of mana, each droplet became a roiling ball of energy itself until his whole core was alight with power. That power travelled from his chest, right below his heart, through his mana channels. First he felt the power bloom in his lungs, each breath expelling fragments of magic. Then it coursed through his limbs like liquid electricity, the speed with which the mana shot through Dan’s limbs and extremities shocking even himself.

The mana continued to flow, continued to speed through his body, but also began to pool in his palms. They began to feel heavy, the mana contained within was filling his hands with both purpose and magical potency. Dan could feel the potential, could feel the mana trying to match what he wanted to have happen. As he had already told himself, there was no room for doubt. So Dan did the only thing he could.

He threw caution to the wind and trusted wholly in his mana.

The small room disappeared and all Dan could see was the mana inside himself. This was a new sensation, but did not disrupt him from what he needed to do. As Dan put his mana-laden palms against Xiaomei’s core, his mana went into overdrive, increasing in fever and pitch to a typhoon of energy, a cataclysm of power within himself. At the same time, he sensed Xiaomei’s mana. It was like a hummingbird’s heartbeat, furiously beating against the encroaching darkness. Even unconsciously, Xiaomei’s mana was fighting alongside every breath. Clawing at her own broken body to keep vital functions working.

Good job, little spark, Dan thought as he latched onto the flickering energy that amounted to Xiaomei’s lifeforce, I’ll take it from here.

Like cupping a candle’s flame against a furious wind, Dan sheltered this spark of power within himself as his own mana flowed to fill the void it sensed within the broken girl’s core. For a horrible, terrifying three seconds, Xiaomei’s breathing stopped. Her mana seemed to shudder within Dan, as though it too was flinching in horror.

Then, Dan felt the drain begin.

Xiaomei gasped, even unconscious her face showed the pain of the large breath. Regardless, Dan was jubilant, he concentrated on the spot where both of their manastreams met. The streams became an open sluice gate. Dan could feel his mana coursing through this portal to Xiaomei’s core and through his connection, could feel it flow further, pushing through her mana channels like a breath of fresh air.

Everywhere his mana touched, it rejuvenated. Starting from his palms, placed on her sternum, the progress was slow. It was not so much exertion that Dan was feeling, but it was as though he was losing body heat. Again, the description was lacking. It was the feeling of a mana drain, and there wasn’t a comparison that would fit.

Ignoring his slowly encroaching discomfort, Dan continued to command his mana. He pushed more and more waves of healing energy, rivers of vitality, everything he could give Xiaomei to right what had wronged her. If it took all he could give, he would give it. “Please, Dan. Please.” Hyun Soon’s words were repeating like a mantra in Dan’s mind.

The damage was vast, however.

The growing frost within Dan’s core was stifling. The air in the room felt thin, as though he had climbed right to the top of a mountain with Park Man-Shik again. Dan began to lose feeling in his fingers. It wasn’t the numbness of cold, but like a void where his digits should have been. A flicker of the void-thing inside Guan Fa Lian came to Dan’s mind, and he banished it alongside the nibbling angst that had crept alongside it.

Despite the feeling of slow progress, there was definitely momentum. Xiaomei’s fractured bones knitted together, piece by piece. Dan urged the process on, driven by instinct and desperation for his friend. Her shoulders found their joints, gently returning to their natural state.

“No!” Dan shouted. His attention was like a scalpel, but enough of his latent mana clung to Hyun Soon. An instinctual yell came from Dan as the other boy began to turn. “It’s working,” Dan gasped, “please stay there.”

Hyun Soon must have done as he was told because the door didn’t open. Without his eyes, Dan wasn’t sure what Xiaomei would look like to the other boy’s eyes. Whatever happened now, the process was locked in and could not be interrupted. The backlash from whatever was happening would shatter both of them. Dan knew it.