He opened his eyes. The first thing he did was spitting blood in a violent cough. The giant statue gazed at him and waited for him to speak, wondering who won. Jin could finally feel his body once more though he felt some pain all over. But it didn't come from his body. It was a sensation difficult to describe. It was a pain felt mentally but coming from elsewhere... It was the pain of his 'existence' being gravely injured.

He looked at the woman and before anything else, he directly asked: "How do you heal your 'existence'?"

She frowned and hurriedly forced herself into his soul sea. He appeared there forcefully. His 'existence' still had two holes. One big and one minuscule. Her frown deepened. Then, she said: "First, congratulations on surviving, I guess"

Jin didn't mince his words: "Stop the chit-chat, you said you hated wasting time. How do I heal this?"

Her frown remained as she said: "You don't"

Jin frowned in turn. He didn't expect such an answer. She quickly added: "You can't do it by yourself at the moment. You would need to reach the 50th stage for it to repair itself. The only other option would be to find and use a healing treasure... Either way, you will have to get used to this for a time"

Jin's fists tightened. The constant feeling of pain was far from pleasant. As she saw him remain silent, she pushed him to recount the events. He told her in detail. As he finished, she said: "You do understand that this worked only because it lacked knowledge, right? The corruption had likely believed that the 'existence' was similar to the body. To it, piercing your heart was enough to erase you... If not for that-"

"I would be dead. I know"

She nodded. Then, she smiled and stated: "Only a small inconvenience. At least, you have proved yourself now"

She returned to reality and he joined her back there. As he opened his eyes once more, he realized he regained sight on the second eye. He turned his gaze to his right side. He didn't expect what he saw. The arm that he could feel and move as usual was no longer the same. It was dark red in a constantly flowing motion, with the colors mixing randomly. From time to time, eyeballs and jaws popped out. When they did, he could feel a connection to them, as if they were his.

She explained: "You erased his 'existence' but not his 'mass'. He consumed a part of your body already and your life is only sustained due to that element's existence. You're bound to it"

Jin smiled sadly as he looked at this weird right arm of his. He shook his head sideways and whispered: "A small price to pay to retain my life"

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

She retorted: "Not quite. It's actually a good thing. You can now use the corruption yourself. It is your power now and quite a strong one"

Jin laughed at her words. It made him recall a small saying from back in the days. Curious about his reaction, she asked him and he said with a grin: "Back in the days, we used to say that whatever didn't killed us would make us stronger"

She chuckled and added: "That's quite true. Though there was still a heavy price to pay"

After a short laugh, she went back on topic: "Now then, you have proved yourself worthy. So, let's make a deal. I will help you survive and in exchange, you will help me. What do you think?"

Jin snickered. He wouldn't be tricked twice in the same way. Hae-Hyuk presented him with a similar deal before. Look at what it brought him. If she planned to remain dishonest, he would find a way himself. He asked her: "What help?"

He was glaring at her. It made her laugh. How many dared to glare at her? How many had done so? How long ago was the last time? If not for the restrictions tying her as a remnant, she would have had the ability to squish cultivators like him as if mere bugs. Was he not even a little apprehensive? But then again, she liked it this way. A youth capable of treating her, a predecessor, as an equal... It was a fresh impression and better this way for her goals.

She decided to answer him truthfully. He would have to know in order to help anyways. So, she said: "I want to live"

Jin wondered if he heard her right and couldn't help himself from blurting out: "Scuse me?"

Her expression remained serious as she spoke: "I want to live"

Seeing as Jin remained silent, lost in thoughts, she continued: "Isn't it funny? A mere remnant wishes to live? And yet, I do. It is my sole and greatest wish. My 'existence' as a remnant is like a jail, tied to this place. I want to escape and live"

Jin asked her: "Isn't your purpose as a remnant to share your knowledge to future generations as you told me?"

She nodded then added: "Yeah. It is. But time went by. Thousands of years. What do you think happen in such a long time? As a remnant, I have the memories of the real me up to the moment of my birth. I became tied to this place and given a purpose. But I have thoughts, you know. The first few hundred years were easy and filled with joy as everything felt new. The next centuries became redundant but I was focused on my duty... Then, I learnt that my clan belonged to history. Little by little, everything I knew disappeared along with time, becoming the past. And I was forced to continue my 'existence' here, tied to this sanctuary for remnants. I can't keep doing this. I want to live. I want to restore my clan. I want...to do what I could not before, what the real 'me' was unable to do"

Jin frowned and asked: "Are the other remnants feeling the same way?"

She shook her head sideways as she answered: "I don't think so. There is a thing called karma, you see. And it greatly impacts us after reaching a certain stage. As a remnant, whatever is done impacts the real self too. The others probably fear to impact negatively their real selves"

Jin interjected: "And you don't?"

She chuckled: "Is the real 'me' even still alive? She ascended so long ago...No one knows what's beyond that. Time turned me selfish and I won't make any excuses. Now that you know, you will have to make a choice. Will you help me be born once more? Or will you die at The Peak?"