Just as Sabrina was losing consciousness, she felt a familiar Qi enveloping her. The energy was somewhat warm, and brought with it a feeling that could only be described as being with family on a Sunday afternoon. It was peace of mind in the form of Qi.

Little by little, she felt the darkness receding. When she could move her body again, she took a few steps back. The orb of darkness was now similar to a vortex, causing ruptures in the air.

"Do you think a little trick like that will help at all?"

Unlike before, she didn't let the words terrify her. She kept her composure and tried to think about what to do. Should she attack? her Darkness Qi would only strengthen the Vortex in front of her, no?

As she worked out a plan, however, she felt the hot energy weaken. With her heart tight with worry, she decided to act, there was no time. Not when Dante could be in danger. And worse, because of her.

Concentrating all the Qi that was still available in her body, she again wrapped her hands in layers of shadow. This time, the connection of the shadow limbs coming out of her hair and her hands was so strong that it was like steel cables.

She jumped, quickly covering the space between herself and her opponent. When she got close enough, she attacked with both hands, commanding the shadows to move forward.

When her Qi connected with the vortex, she immediately felt it. The reaction between the two energies made the air feel heavy, highlighting the power that was involved. Just like the first time, she tried to connect to the Qi, feeling the energy flowing through her meridians. This time, however, she was not alone.

That would have to be enough.

Little by little, her limbs of darkness pierced everything in front of her. When she reached the deep layers of the orb of darkness, however, she was terrified. What worried her the most was happening. Her Qi was joining with the other. At this rate, only the demon would gain ground.

In the hour of despair, she again felt a twinge of Qi, the kind that put her at ease, calmed her. This time, she felt something else too. In an insight, she looked deeply into her Qi.

There, she found hope.

All that energy was being sucked up by the demon because it had the same foundation as his. Only revenge would not be enough for her to continue with the reigns of her mind and body. Something more would be needed.

Trying everything, she began to think about how different her life was now. Friends, who could believe it? That shy girl with difficulty in communicating now had real friends.

Dante, Rim, Hector and most recently Isaac... she knew she could count on all of them. Of course, they had secrets too, just like her.

As she thought about this, Sabrina's Qi began to undergo a small change. The vortex in front of her was no longer absorbing her energy.

Instinctively, she thought of her family. There was one particular afternoon marked in her memory, where everyone was happily drinking tea and eating their favorite meal. She could smell the aroma of the tea, the voice of her parents.

Just like the other times, the feeling of revenge rose up, threatening to break the progress Sabrina had made.

With effort she managed to suppress the temptation. She focused on the good parts of the memory. Then she expanded to other events. Birthdays, family gatherings… She had always been raised with a lot of love.

Tears fell from her eyes like a waterfall. Determined, Sabrina knew what she had to do. She no longer wanted power only for revenge, but also to protect her friends. To not let anyone else she cared about suffer.

"You have no place here anymore! I'm not alone anymore, enough of this!"

Feeling her own voice echoing through the dark surroundings, the cultivator realized that a strong flame rose above her head.

In harmony with her attacks, the flame seemed to couple into her body, molding two limbs on her back. Looking back, Sabrina saw that there were two Qi-formed wings, pointed like bat wings.

Soon the Qi began to blend with the sky, turning the shadows blue. Feeling stronger than ever, she attacked with all her might.

This time, the demon didn't resist. Sabrina's hands, bathed in blue flames and shadows, pierced her enemy.

As the darkness dissipated, Sabrina saw that the core was no longer there. She felt her core pulsing with the surrounding energies, solidifying her new wings. It wasn't long before the world of darkness began to crumble.

In the blink of an eye, Sabrina was back in the normal world. The weight and warmth of the skin that was in contact with hers left no doubt. A brief feeling in her core was enough. She had succeeded.

With the greatest care in the world, she picked up Dante's body and placed it on the floor. The boy's hands didn't give way at first, instinctively trying to hold her again, in a protective tone.

In an act that only the gods would know, she let him. Just a little. In those arms, she felt protected. Before she might be caught, Sabrina used some of her Qi and put Dante comfortably on the floor.

She got up and went away to pick up some things. The least she could do was to take good care of the one who had taken care of her.

Tears were still rolling down her eyelids. For the first time in a long time, she was not alone.

She would not let this end so soon.

-- 

Dante awoke startled. Before he could realize it, he was circulating Qi at full power in his meridians, ready to finish off that damn demon.

"Hoa, easy there, cowboy."

Looking to the voice direction, he saw that he was safe and calmed down. He was lying on a mattress in the common room, with Rim nearby, fiddling with some of her trinkets.

"Sorry, the last thing I remember was that I was trying to help Sabrina, and we weren't doing well at all..."

With a smile, Rim put aside whatever she was doing and turned to Dante. "Don't worry, the day was a success! That girl's oversoul comes across as... unfair. And her Qi, on top of that."

A big smile adorned Dante's face. He was happy just that they didn't die, even more so for the success in Sabrina's breakthrough! Realization came over him. Looking at Rim, he remembered that she had also attempted the breakthrough. Could it be that she hadn't succeeded and Dante was making her remember? Rim was the type who never showed her feelings much.

"Don't look at me like that, silly. I made it too, don't worry. Look at that," Rim said, as she stood up.

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Dante felt Qi emanating from her. The metal energy had a gray coloration, making the air seem to be full of steam.

From the hand that Rim had extended, layers of metal began to appear, until her arms were completely wrapped around it. Not stopping there, the metal continued, encasing her almost like a cocoon.

"Pretty cool, huh?"

Dante shook his head, incredulous. "Rim, that's wonderful! You were already an expert at fighting from afar, now you'll be able to attack up close as well. Nothing short of amazing!"

With a hand gesture that was covertly intended to mitigate some of the embarrassment of the compliment, Rim shrugged and walked away.

Eager to see Sabrina, Dante stood up quickly. At least he tried to, until he felt the tingling in his stomach.

He hadn't woken up injured in so long that for a few seconds he thought he had lost his new kind of Qi. Desperate, he looked down at his body and analyzed the flow of Qi.

Bandages covered the areas where the demon had pierced him with Sabrina's hands. Analyzing his meridians, he saw that his Qi could not reach that region. It was as if the skin around him was corroded.

Carefully, he stood up, testing his body as he took his first steps. Finding an angle that wasn't so agonizing to walk at, he walked carefully out of the room.

"Hey, Dante. My disciple is now also a demon exterminator, how proud," Isaac said, more agitated than usual. It seems that Dante wasn't the only one who was happy about the advancement of the two girls.

"I don't know if demon slayer would be a good title. I don't even remember what happened."

"You saved me, that what happened," Sabrina said, as she came toward Dante.

Before he could react, she took a pill and handed it to him. "Take this, it will make you better faster. It seems that your Qi can't heal the new injuries. I offered to extract the Qi of the shadows from there, but Isaac insisted it would be good training for your body."

Dante looked at Isaac, who shrugged.

"What can I do? I'm sure you would do the same in my place. A chance to deal with one of your newly discovered weaknesses, what better thing would you want?"

Dante couldn't help but agree with his master's words. Shadows were the first kind of Qi that could hurt Dante for real. It was of no harm that he practiced while it was possible. Looking again at Sabrina, with curiosity in his eyes, he said "And your oversoul, did everything go well?"

Sabrina barely appeared to be the same from Dante's memory. He knew she was not herself during what happened, but it was all very strange. Now, in front of him was a gentle girl, with big, black eyes, totally different from those before.

"You mean that?" she said, smiling. Her hair began to vibrate, Qi almost coming out through the strands. Dante saw that there were now a few blue streaks amidst the black sea. Little by little, the Qi was forming two objects on Sabrina's back. Dante realized that the two shapes were like bat wings, sharp at the ends and long.

"Wow, that's the coolest oversoul I've ever seen!" he said excitedly. Feeling a slight twinge in his shoulder, he looked over and saw Rim looking at him angrily. "No offense, Rim, but I doubt mine will be any cooler than being able to fly around."

Despite his new powers, it wasn't long before Rim's cheeks were blushing. It seemed that some imperfections were not cured with mere advancement in cultivation.

"Okay, my disciples, I hate to interrupt but I'm afraid we need to leave soon. Let's get everything organized and make Dante comfortable," Isaac said as he made his way to the common room.

As they walked back, Dante took the opportunity to ask. "Where is Hector, by the way? I haven't seen him since I woke up."

Rim shrugged. "He said he had some insight as he watched me move on to gold. He ran out in desperation saying he needed to meditate. Soon he'll be back."

Thinking about it, Dante remembered what had happened while trying to help Sabrina. He had for the first time communicated with his monster core without being in full cultivation. He would have to meditate on the meaning of that later. He was still curious about Hector’s oversoul.

Soon after the girls were ready, Isaac called Dante into their usual training room. Dante got a surprise when he entered the room. In place of that usual small environment, there was now a large space with torches reminiscent of the training place in the castle.

"This will be your new temporary home. It will cost ten thousand extermination points every two weeks, so don't take too long to start," Isaac said as he looked around the room.

Dante couldn't help but feel afraid of what was to come. So far, he had made progress with the help of the others. Now, for the first time in a while, he would be alone.

Facing a flame, he shook his head. Now was not the time to be afraid. The others were doing this precisely to protect him. The least he could do was to reach out to them so that they would soon be walking side by side.

"Yes, master. I promise I will do my best," Dante said. He really would. He hadn’t come this far to disappoint his friends.

"Isaac knew this. If there was one thing he didn't doubt, it was his disciple's ability to surprise him Good. I expect nothing less from you."

Isaac signaled for Dante to come over to two chests that were leaning against the wall. "Now that you are approaching gold, I'm afraid we will have to change our type of training. I left these solar fire pills here, so that you can fill your Qi every day. But, I'm afraid that in my absence you will need to evolve by hunting the monsters in the cave. It's also a good time for you to start thinking about Zay's mission."

The conversation with the dragon seemed to have taken place years ago. It was almost unbelievable to think that only a few months ago Dante was lost, having no idea what his new type of Qi was capable of. "You can leave it. I was already planning to start preparing to find the room he indicated. Facing monsters of various Qi types will be a giant bonus, too."

Isaac smiled, excitedly. "I think his plan was just that. Give you kind of an instruction manual, you know. I've added an option in your harvester to contact me in emergencies, but I suggest you use it with caution. When you use it, there's a chance that other cultivators will be able to intercept the signal and take advantage of you being alone here."

Dante nodded, thoughtfully. He would have to be careful not to be found by his enemies. The problem was not only that he couldn't defeat them, but that his place of residence would be fixed, so he couldn't leave any clues for the time being.

Still, he was curious when Isaac mentioned Zay. "When will I see Zay again? I'm afraid I haven't thanked him enough. Without him, I would still be with my old Qi..."

"Don't worry, your evolution is more than enough to thank him for. If you still don't think that's enough, focus on going even further," Isaac said, while placing a hand on Dante's shoulder.

If only the boy knew how rare an audience with Emperor Sapphire was. Just a few seconds would be enough for thousands of cultivators to give away all their belongings, just in search of an insight that would take them further.

For now, it would be good for the boy to remain in ignorance. He was already pushing himself too hard. At this rate, Isaac feared that Dante would collapse if he failed to fulfill the expectations placed on him.

"We should go. I'll see if they've finished packing up and we won't be long. Three new oversouls are going to cause a big commotion in the subsect, so I suggest you proceed with caution at first. Your absence will certainly be noticed and investigated."

As soon as Dante approached the common room, which would now again be available to be rented by another group of cultivators, his heart began to palpitate strongly.

Seeing that everything had worked out with Sabrina and Rim was more than incentive for him to go for gold as well. He could not falter, or he would surely be left behind.

Hector was the first to approach. From the smile on his face, Dante surmised that the insight had paid off.

"I wish you the best, my friend. Luck I wish the monsters, who will surely need it," Hector whispered, encouraging Dante.

Rim approached in the sequence, levitating a metal ball above her hand. "That stays with you. If you need help, you already know," she said, moving closer. Before Dante could react, Rim covered him in a hug. Almost as suddenly as she had started, she pulled away. "Don't you dare die, you hear me? I'm still going to need you as a guinea pig for many experiments with that monstrous regeneration of yours."

As Rim walked away, laughing alone at her own joke, Sabrina slowly moved closer.

The girl looked lost, not knowing where to look. Thinking that she owed Dante at least a goodbye, she pushed herself up and walked quickly.

Before the courage left her, she spread her feet and hugged the boy. His skin was warmer than she remembered. With her heart racing, she dared to stay a few seconds longer in that position. This was the kind of moment that every second would be worth a thousand bars of gold.

"Thank you for everything, really. I couldn't have done it without you. And take care, okay. Just as I couldn't have done it, I don't know if I could do it from here on out. So long, Dante," she murmured, so that only the two of them could hear.

Taking advantage of the last spark of courage that still hung in the air, she finished with a light kiss on his cheek. Feeling hairs that in a few summers would form a beard, her lips took a little too long for what was supposed to be a quick kiss on the cheek.

Dante, of course, didn't complain. At that moment, it would be easier to turn water into wine than to demand that he move.

As soon as he felt the kiss on his cheek and Sabrina leaving, he brought his hand to his face. Whether he was red or not didn't matter. His heart was beating so fast that he could feel his Qi searching for the disease that was affecting him.

"Thanks for everything, guys. I'm sure I won't let you down." That's all he could say, as he waved to everyone.

Isaac gave a nod, with a thoughtful look on his face.

As everyone disappeared over the horizon, Dante turned back to his new training room. If he didn't want to be left behind, there was no time to waste.

In a few months, he would be someone else. Someone way more powerful, and hopefully a gold.