Syn jolted awake, her heart racing with a sudden start.

As she blinked, trying to focus, her vision seemed off – as if something was missing. Everywhere she looked, there was a peculiar wrongness to her surroundings. She felt deprived of her senses.

The eerie silence made her think she had lost her hearing. She hesitantly snapped her fingers. The crisp sound reassured her that she could hear just fine.

What was it then? She racked her brain but couldn't figure it out; something was missing in the world before her.

Despite this strange sensation, she felt fine. No, more than fine – she felt fantastic! Her body was light as a breeze, and her arm no longer felt injured after—

Syn sprang up from the floor and instantly crouched down, frantically scanning her surroundings with a tight knot rapidly forming in her stomach.

We were fighting Garoth! she thought as her memories came flooding at her.

She hurriedly scanned her surroundings, anxiety tightening within her stomach. Where the...?

Syn's eyes adjusted to the dimness, and she realized she was at the deeper end of the cave. She began to take in the cave's unique features.

Shimmering, hexagonal crystals adorned the walls, casting a kaleidoscope of colors that filled the space with an ethereal glow. The sight was captivating, but she felt an inexplicable sense of caution and refrained from touching the mesmerizing minerals.

There was no trace of Garoth or Nyk from his low vantage point. All she could see was a robed skeletal figure lying in the center of the chamber, drawing her attention.

She approached the figure with curiosity, noticing the pristine white robes it wore, adorned with swirling blue stripes that seemed to move and glowed dimly.

A vague sense of familiarity nagged her, but she couldn't quite put her finger on why.

Thoughts of Nyk consumed her. Scanning the area, she found him lying unconscious on the floor on the other side of where she had been resting.

Relief washed over her. He was still here. Heart pounding, she stealthily approached him and checked for any signs of life.

"Nyk... Nyk, can you hear me?" she whispered, her voice trembling with worry.

There was no response. He was out cold, but she could see him steadily breathing. She sighed, relieved that he was still alive.

As she glanced before her, she noticed that the wall that had separated this cave from the rest of it had disintegrated.

Anxiety gnawed at her as she realized that they weren't safe. Syn peeked at the exit; dawn was breaking, and Garoth was nowhere to be found.

With Nyk unconscious, she took it upon herself to protect them both.

She carefully stood and approached the exit as stealthily as she could.

Syn's mind raced, trying to piece it all together, but she couldn't shake the nagging feeling that there was something crucial she was missing. Something about the cave, the crystals, and the robed figure felt connected, but she just couldn't put her finger on it.

She exited the cave, senses heightened.

As she exited the cave, she noticed a pool of ooze and a path of blood slowly pouring down the wall of the Dragon's Talon.

What the heck?

She continued scouting her surroundings, making sure there were no predators around—Garoth in particular. As she strained to hear any sign of the monstrous creature, birdsongs in the distance filled the air. The unexpected harmony contrasted sharply with the bloody mess beside her and the devastated landscape.

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She needed to find out what was at the end of this blood trail, and she needed a higher vantage point to scout the area. Still, she hesitated on using mana to scale the pillar.

Despite feeling completely renewed, the memory of losing consciousness still lingered on her. During the fight, she had been so exhausted that at the end, she felt nauseous every time she used her mana, having lost consciousness a few times due to what she assumed was mana starvation.

She tested using her card, and the wind answered without burdening her body. She really felt like a new person.

Her gaze rested on the blood pool and followed it to the top. Prepared for the worst, she steeled herself for what was about to come and jumped, aided by the wind.

With practiced ease and in a few well-controlled jumps, she followed the vertical trail of blood to the top of the pillar, landing at the top of the sea stack.

Her heart skipped a beat as she spotted Garoth's lifeless, mangled half dangling one of the sides of the top, the gruesome sight making her stomach churn.

This was the second Garoth she had seen the previous day. Her mind raced with fear and confusion. If half of Garoth was here, where was the other–more dangerous–half?

Could it still be alive and lurking nearby, ready to attack them?

The sound of birds returned her to the already similar situation at hand. She was standing before the remains of a beast in an apparent repeat of where she had been a few days ago.

Stopping a few inches from the remains, she pondered internally, tempering her hopes, unlike when she had discovered the challenger's body. She already knew the option she sought would be absent; the monster's core was missing.

With a blend of curiosity and caution, her hand neared the lifeless remains, her fingertips hesitantly making contact with its cold, damp body.

> Attempt to consolidate ambient mana into:

> 1. Mana Stone

> 2. Materials

> 3. Nutrients

> 4. Card (Unavailable)

> 5. Absorb

A wave of measured disappointment was rapidly overcome by confusion as she frowned at the choices before her.

Absorb? What the heck is Absorb? At no point had she ever read, heard or encountered an option to Absorb.

Confused, she tried to summon the Status screen, but it was blocked by this mysterious prompt.

It was completely unfamiliar territory. It was best to leave it aside and play it safe. Another Mana Stone would go a long way toward her quest for the Green Card, after all.

But it felt wrong.

After barely escaping death when bonding with the stone in the city and dancing and dodging Garoth's attacks the previous night, playing it safe and slow felt wrong.

Perhaps a bit of daring and less caution was warranted, at least this time—an opportunity to experiment.

Taking a deep breath, she steeled herself to take the plunge, mentally commanding.

> 5. Absorb

The atmosphere snapped instantly with electricity, drawing magical particles from the remains and intensifying.

> Card(s) available to Absorb energy into:

>

> * Wind I (White Quality)

> Absorbing magical energy...

Her eyes widened in surprise as she read the scrolling panel, which continued displaying without waiting for her interaction.

After a moment, a power surge filled her lungs, filling her with pure energy. She could feel how something had changed within her.

> Absorption successful.

> Wind I (White Quality) has leveled up.

> Wind I (Green Quality) generated.

Syn had to check the panel twice, incredulity plain on her face as she gazed at the screen, processing the incredible turn of events.

G-green? H-how in...

Syn couldn't believe her eyes. She stared at the screen, her heart pounding with excitement and disbelief. A sense of power coursed through her veins, making her feel more alive than ever before.

By the gods! I cannot believe this! I need to show it to Nyk! Her mind racing with the newfound possibilities.

With the sun already illuminating the bay, she checked her surroundings. Not a soul was in sight. She squinted, double-checking, but with a smile that simply wouldn't go away.

As she finished turning around, she gazed at Garoth's remains for a second before turning around and jumping down to a nearby rock.

Using her newfound control of the wind to cushion her descent as she bounced sideways, slowing her descent.

As she reached the base of the Dragon's Talon, she dashed toward the cave's entrance and sprinted inside, her heart pounding with anticipation.

"Nyk!" her voice echoing repeatedly as she vaulted in the air, approaching her friend's still form. "Nyk, wake up! You won't believe what just happened!"

There was no response from Nyk, his body still limp and unresponsive. "Nyk!, "Nyk!".

A sudden knot formed on her stomach. "Nyk?"

Extremely worried, she neared her ear to his mouth.

He's still breathing.

Syn shook her head, trying to calm down her fears. No, she couldn't think like that. Nyk was stubborn. He would wake up.

She pushed him, and upon her touch, the entire cave illuminated in a bright glow. Cracking as if it had awoken. Syn looked around, worried.