Spirit Pact Hundred Scenes Record

Chapter 30 Resonance in Desperate Circumstances

Time loses its meaning in the underground caves.

Karen leaned against the cold rock, holding Xiguang in her arms, her consciousness oscillating between lucidity and drowsiness. A dull ache throbbed from the fracture in her right leg, and each breath pulled at her broken ribs, like needles piercing her lungs. Blood loss, cold, pain, and ever-accumulating exhaustion were slowly eroding her will.

But he can't sleep.

The glowing moss on the cave ceiling provided a faint but consistent light, allowing him to see his surroundings for about ten meters. The lake remained calm, with the babbling of the underground river flowing from the fissures as the only background noise. Everything seemed peaceful, even serene—if one ignored the unsettling aura emanating from the depths of the fissures.

Xiguang was still unconscious. The cub's breathing was shallow, its golden fur clinging damply to its thin body, barely warm. Every few minutes, Karen would check Xiguang's breathing with the back of her hand to make sure it was still alive. The remaining light spirit energy within the cub would occasionally flicker weakly, like a candle in the wind, but it never went out.

Karen knew that Xiguang was using his last instincts to sustain his life. As high-level spiritual beings, the Lightwing Lions were far more resilient than humans, but they were just as vulnerable as cubs. Xiguang had been constantly injured and exhausted since he fled the cult's pursuit, and in the labyrinth, he had even overdrawn his strength to save her. It was a miracle that he was still alive.

"Hang in there..." Karen murmured softly, gently brushing the downy hair around Xiguang's ear with her still-functioning left hand. "We'll get out...we definitely will..."

He didn't know if he was comforting Xiguang or encouraging himself.

To stay alert, Karen began to take stock of her available supplies. Everything in her backpack was soaked, but the dwarven craftsmanship was truly excellent at waterproofing—the compressed rations, wrapped in oil paper, were soggy but still edible; the fresh water in her canteen was uncontaminated; the dagger and rope were intact; the crossbow bolts were rusty, but the arrowheads were still fairly sharp; her biggest worry was the shockwave mine, the runes on its surface blurred by the water, and she wondered if it could still be activated.

Then there's the medicine. There's only a small packet of hemostatic herbs from the ancient trees of the Emerald Forest, half of which has already been used to bandage the fracture in her right leg. The remaining amount isn't even enough to treat Xi Guang's wound.

Karen sighed and rearranged his backpack. He needed food, water, medicine, and a way out. He looked at the fissure from which the underground river flowed, then at the exit fissure on the other side of the lake, and finally his gaze returned to the small, distant well at the top of the cave.

Climbing up was impossible. The forty-meter-high vertical well wall was as smooth as a mirror, offering no foothold whatsoever. Even if he had all four limbs intact, it would be impossible, let alone in his current state of a broken right leg and fractured ribs.

His only hope was to find an exit along the underground river. The flowing water would eventually reach the surface, or at least a larger space. But the ancient, hungry aura emanating from the depths of the fissure instinctively sensed danger. The fear emanating from Xiguang in his unconscious state confirmed this—something there frightened even a cub of the Lightwing Lion.

Karen closed her eyes, tried to concentrate, and activated her spiritual vision.

A sharp pain exploded in his temples. Injury, exhaustion, and depleted energy had made his spiritual veins as fragile as a dried-up riverbed. His vision was filled with only blurry patches of color and distorted lines, and he could barely make out the flow of spiritual energy around him: the lake water contained a faint water-attribute spiritual energy, the moss emitted a soft wood-attribute spiritual energy, and the crystal clusters on the cave ceiling were settled with a thin layer of earth-attribute spiritual energy.

Everything is normal, except...

Except for the deep fissures where the underground river flows out.

There lay a chaotic darkness. It wasn't that there was no psychic energy, but rather that the energy was too dense, too chaotic, like a pot of boiling, viscous liquid of various colors mixed together. Deeper still, at the center of that chaos, was a vast, slowly pulsating entity. Karen couldn't discern its form, only sense its "age"—an ancient, chilling presence, as if it had slumbered there since the very beginning of this world.

And it is awakening.

It wasn't awakened by their fall, but rather it had already begun the awakening process, and was now simply reaching a critical point. Karen could even vaguely perceive fragments of its consciousness: hunger... a long wait... to feed...

It wants to eat.

He and Xiguang were the only living beings in this cave.

Cold sweat trickled down Karen's forehead. He severed his spiritual vision, gasping for breath, his vision blurring. Just a few seconds of observation had nearly exhausted his remaining energy.

We must leave. We must leave immediately.

He looked at Xiguang, still unconscious in his arms, then at his right leg. The fracture was secured with branches and strips of cloth, but it was only a temporary measure. If he forced it to move, the broken bone could easily puncture a blood vessel or nerve, and then it wouldn't just be a matter of pain.

But if we don't move, we're just waiting to die.

The ancient being was awakening at an accelerating pace. Although Karen had shut down her spiritual vein vision, she could still "feel" the increasing pressure, like a tide overflowing from the depths of the cracks, filling the air of the entire cavern.

He gritted his teeth and used his dagger to cut two wide strips of cloth from his backpack, binding Xiguang tightly to his chest—like a mother carrying a baby in a baby carrier. This freed his hands, and allowed Xiguang to press against his chest, sharing his warmth.

Then, he grabbed a luminous fungus growing from a crack in the rock and pulled hard—

Click.

The fungal stem snapped with a crisp sound. Karen held the glowing end in her hand, using it as a makeshift torch. The light, though faint, was better than complete darkness.

He took a deep breath, braced himself with his hands, and used the strength of his left leg and arm to slowly move himself away from the underground river fissure.

With every inch he moved, excruciating pain shot through his right leg. The branches used to immobilize the fracture rubbed against his flesh, and he could feel warm blood seeping out again. His broken ribs in his chest also protested; each breath felt like swallowing a knife.

But he didn't stop.

One meter. Two meters.

Sweat blurred his vision, dripping onto the golden fur of the cub bathed in the sunlight. The cub seemed to sense his pain, letting out a weak whimper in its unconscious state, its tiny paws unconsciously scratching at his clothes.

Three meters. Four meters.

He moved to the edge of the lake, more than twenty meters away from the fissure in the underground river. The oppressive feeling lessened slightly, but it was still there, like a sword hanging over his head.

Karen leaned against another rock, breathing heavily. The short distance of just a few meters had nearly exhausted him. He looked ahead—to the other end of the cave, where the lake water had flowed out to form a fissure, at least fifty meters away.

Too far.

In his current state, it might take him an hour, or even longer, to climb there. And that ancient being might not give him that much time.

Just when he was about to despair, Xi Guang in his arms suddenly began to tremble violently.

It wasn't a trembling of fear, but rather... a struggle.

The cub's body began to heat up, its golden downy fur moving without wind, emitting a faint but resolute light. Its amber eyes darted rapidly beneath its eyelids, and it emitted intermittent, dreamlike sounds from its throat.

"Dawn?" Karen hurriedly untied the cloth sash on her chest and cradled the cub in her hands. "Are you awake?"

Dawn didn't open its eyes, but its consciousness was reviving. Karen could feel the cub's psionic energy becoming active, like a spark about to be rekindled. Light psionic energy surged from Dawn's body, warm and pure, gently enveloping Karen's injured body.

The pain has lessened.

It's not a cure, but rather the soothing effect of light energy. Like soaking frozen hands and feet in warm water, the warmth penetrates the skin, temporarily numbing the pain nerves and giving the weary mind a moment's respite.

"You...are helping me?" Karen looked at Xiguang, who was still unconscious but instinctively releasing her spiritual energy in her arms, her eyes welling up with tears. "Fool...you were on the verge of death yourself..."

Xiguang did not respond. It was still unconscious, driven entirely by instinct—the instinct to protect its contractor.

The cub's spiritual energy was rapidly depleting. For every second those warm points of light lingered on Karen, the light's own aura weakened. Like a candle, it was burning itself to provide Karen with her last light and warmth.

"Stop!" Karen growled, attempting to sever the psionic transmission using psychic language. "Dawn, stop! You'll die!"

But the psionic connection had already been established, and it was initiated by Dawn. Karen was too weak to interrupt this one-way psionic gift.

He could sense that Xiguang's life was rapidly slipping away.

It's like pouring the last bit of water from a pot into the hands of someone who is about to die of thirst.

"No...no..." Karen's voice trembled as he held Xiguang tightly in his arms, trying to block the psionic energy output with his own body, but to no avail. The psionic energy penetrated his clothes and skin, continuously surging into his body.

The pain in my right leg has almost completely disappeared.

Breathing in my chest also became easier.

But his heart felt like it was being gripped tightly by an icy hand, the pain making it hard to breathe.

"Please...stop..." Karen lowered her head, her forehead pressed against Xiguang's cool forehead, and tears finally streamed down her face, dripping onto the cub's golden fur. "I need you to live...we need to live together...please..."

Xi Guang seemed to have heard it.

The cub's psionic output began to weaken, but it didn't stop. It conveyed a vague yet unwavering message: Protect...Karen...survive...

Then, the psionic energy was completely cut off.

The light emanating from Xiguang's body dimmed rapidly, and the last trace of warmth vanished. Its breathing became almost imperceptible, and its heartbeat was so weak it seemed it would stop at any moment.

With its last ounce of strength, it gave all its remaining psychic energy to Karen.

Then, it gave up struggling and sank completely into darkness.

"Dawn...Dawn!" Karen shook the cub's body, but Dawn did not respond. He reached out with trembling hands to check Dawn's breath—there was still a faint breath, but it could stop at any moment.

He looked up at the dark cave.

Look towards the direction of the underground river fissure.

The oppressive atmosphere had intensified to a substantial degree. A stale, musty smell, like a space sealed off for countless years suddenly bursting open, filled the air. Unnatural ripples began to spread across the lake, concentric circles extending from the cracks.

Two lamps lit up in the darkness deep within the crack.

No, it's not a lamp.

It's an eye.

Each one was as big as a washbasin, with cloudy yellow pupils and dark red blood vessels in the whites of their eyes. Their eyes blinked slowly, and viscous liquid dripped from the corners of their eyes, splashing small ripples on the lake's surface.

Then, the second characteristic is: breathing sounds.

Heavy, slow breathing, accompanied by the sludge-laden friction, came from the depths of the crevice. With each inhale, lake water flowed towards the crevice; with each exhale, foul-smelling, damp air gushed out, raising the temperature of the entire cavern by several degrees.

It has fully awakened.

Moreover, it is crawling out.

Karen saw the first limb—a thick, grayish-white tentacle—protruding from the crack and resting on the rocks of the riverbank. The tentacle was covered in suckers, each edged with a ring of fine, tooth-like bony spikes. The tentacle slowly wriggled, pulling more of the body out of the crack.

Then came the second tentacle, the third...

Karen lost count. At least a dozen tentacles emerged from the crack, gripping the riverbank and slowly pulling the enormous body out of the darkness.

He saw its main body—a nearly spherical, fleshy tumor-like body, over five meters in diameter, covered with a thick, rough, grayish-white skin like tree bark. The skin was covered with bumps and wrinkles of varying sizes, and deep in some of the wrinkles, one could see fragments of semi-fossilized bones embedded in the flesh—the remnants of the prey it had devoured over its long years.

Right in the center of the body is that mouth.

It wasn't a clear opening, but rather a ring of inward-rotating, layered sharp teeth. The teeth varied in length; the outermost ring resembled daggers, while the innermost ring was like needles, all gleaming with a dark yellow luster. The mouth slowly opened, revealing a bottomless throat, from which flickered an eerie, dark blue bioluminescence.

This was a monster Karen had never seen in any encyclopedia. It didn't seem to be a product of natural evolution, but rather a failed experiment from some ancient one, or a deformed being left over from an ancient war, mutated in the darkness for thousands of years.

But one thing is clear: it was very hungry.

All its eyes were fixed on Karen, on the Dawn in Karen's arms. The thought of hunger surged like a tangible tide, almost suffocating Karen.

escape?

The fracture in his right leg was temporarily stabilized by Xi Guang's last bit of psionic energy, and the pain was greatly reduced, but the structure was still fragile and could not support fast running. The same was true for the broken ribs in his chest; breathing was smoother, but the bones had not yet healed.

Even if he could run, at his current speed, could he outrun those tentacles?

Even if he reaches the other end of the cave, is the exit crack big enough for him to pass through? And even if he does, is it a path to survival or a dead end?

An unsolvable problem.

But Karen did not hesitate.

He gritted his teeth, bracing himself with his left hand and cautiously testing the ground with his right leg—it was still strong enough, but every step had to be slow and steady. He re-tied the Dawn to his chest, this time securing it tighter to ensure the cub wouldn't fall off during movement.

Then, he began to move toward the crack at the other end of the cave.

He wasn't running; he was dragging his right leg, inching forward step by step.

The tentacle monster seemed unhurried. Its massive body had completely crawled out of the crack, occupying a large area at the underground river's exit. Supported by more than a dozen tentacles, it slowly turned towards Karen, like a giant, deformed spider.

Then, it started moving.

It wasn't a rapid pounce, but a slow, deliberate approach. Its tentacles moved forward alternately, propelling its body across the ground with a nauseating squeak as it rubbed against the rocks. It wasn't fast, but each step covered two or three meters, while Karen could only move less than half a meter per step.

The distance is rapidly decreasing.

Forty meters. Thirty meters.

Karen could smell the stench emanating from the monster and hear a gurgling sound deep in its throat, like it was swallowing saliva. His heart was pounding, and the adrenaline temporarily suppressed the pain, but fear clung to his limbs like cold vines, making every movement incredibly difficult.

Twenty meters.

One of the tentacles suddenly accelerated and lashed out like a whip, heading straight for Karen!

Karen tumbled to the side, the tentacles grazing his back as they slammed into the ground, creating a shallow crater. Gravel stung him as it splattered on his skin. He rolled on the ground, using the strength of his left leg and arm to push himself back up and continue moving forward.

Xi Guang trembled slightly in his arms, but still did not wake up.

Fifteen meters.

Two tentacles attacked simultaneously, one on the left and one on the right, trying to trap him in the middle.

Karen gritted her teeth, drew her dagger from her waist, and stabbed it fiercely at the tentacle on her left! The dagger pierced the thick skin, but only went in an inch before getting stuck—the skin was too thick, and there was mucus to lubricate it, so it couldn't penetrate deeply at all. The tentacle, in pain, swung violently, throwing the dagger and Karen away together.

Karen crashed to the ground, landing chest-first. The pain from his broken ribs was excruciating, and he coughed up blood. The dagger slipped from his grasp and landed several meters away, out of reach.

The tentacle monster emitted a low, mocking gurgle. It wasn't in a hurry to kill its prey, but rather enjoying the chase and toying. Its long slumber had made it hungry, and it also craved entertainment.

ten meters.

Karen was still more than thirty meters away from the exit rift, while the monster was only ten meters away. The tentacles completely blocked all escape routes, leaving only one gap—facing the monster's mouth.

It was trying to force itself into the mouth.

Karen leaned against the rock wall and slowly sat up. He looked down at Dawn in his arms; the cub's breathing was so weak it was almost stopped. He reached out and stroked Dawn's forehead, feeling that it was already cold.

There is no time.

There is no way out.

He looked up at the slowly approaching monster, at its rotating, tooth-filled maw.

Then, he looked down at the dawn.

"I'm sorry..." Karen whispered, "I couldn't protect you..."

He took Xiguang off his chest and held it in his hands. The cub's small body was soft, like a lifeless plush toy.

But just as Karen was about to set Dawn aside and use herself to attract the monster's attention, hoping to buy Dawn a last glimmer of hope—

Xi Guang's right forepaw suddenly twitched.

The cub's eyes slowly opened a crack.

His amber pupils were already dilated, but they still reflected Karen's face. Xiguang looked at him, and with his last bit of strength, raised his front paw and gently placed it on Karen's wrist.

Then, the final thought was conveyed.

It was not fear, it was not sadness.

Rather, it is a gentle yet firm thought, like a farewell yet also a promise:

Together……

live...

Karen burst into tears.

He grasped Xi Guang's forepaws tightly, as if he wanted to transfer all his life force to the cub.

"Together..." he said in a hoarse voice, each word seeming to be squeezed from the depths of his soul, "to live..."

The moment he finished speaking—

Suddenly, a blinding silver light burst forth from his right wrist!

It wasn't the faint glow of the spirit patterns from before; instead, it exploded on my wrist like a small sun! The silver light instantly filled the entire cavern, dispelling all shadows and illuminating all darkness!

In the light, Karen saw that Dawn's body also began to glow—not its own golden light, but a purer, more ancient white light emanating from the depths of its body. That was the primordial spiritual energy deep within the bloodline of the Lightwing Lion, a power inherited from ancient ancestors that could only be activated in life-or-death situations.

Silver and white light converged and intertwined in the air, like two luminous ribbons that tightly connected Karen and Xiguang together.

Karen felt his spiritual veins throbbing wildly, as if countless electric currents were coursing through his body. The previously dried-up river of spiritual energy was instantly filled—no, it overflowed! Spiritual energy washed over every one of his spiritual veins and every acupoint like a flood, bringing both tearing pain and a newfound, intense heat.

The light was also changing. The cub's body floated slightly in the light, its golden fur moving without wind, and a complex golden pattern appeared in the center of its forehead—the bloodline mark of the Lightwing Lion King. The pattern lit up, resonating with the silver spirit runes on Karen's wrist, their frequencies gradually synchronizing.

The tentacle monster let out a terrified roar.

The light made it feel threatened. It stopped playing around, and all its tentacles rose up simultaneously, like a dozen giant spears, stabbing down with all its might towards Karen and Xiguang!

But the light formed a hemispherical shield, enveloping Karen and Xiguang within it. The tentacles struck the shield with a loud, metallic clang, and were violently repelled, leaving charred burn marks on their surface.

Inside the protective shield, Karen and Xiguang's resonance reached its peak.

Fragments of memories that didn't belong to him began to flood Karen's mind—

He saw the boundless clouds of light, the winged lions frolicking in the sea of ​​clouds, the moment the first rays of dawn broke through their shells, the cubs spreading their tender wings of light for the first time, and the magnificent spectacle of the clan's migration that blotted out the sun...

He also witnessed fear—the attack by the black airships, the mother being besieged by the Silver-striped Knights while protecting her cubs, and Dawn being separated from her tribe in the chaos, wandering alone in the forest, wounded and hungry, until she met him…

Meanwhile, Xiguang was also receiving Karen's memories—

The lonely archives, the noisy spiritual vein resonance ritual outside the window, the emptiness on the wrist, the hesitation and determination when discovering the injured cub in the dead of night, the fear and courage when facing the knights of the Order, and every impulse to protect the weak at all costs...

Two souls, two memories, intertwined and merged in the light.

They saw each other's deepest fears, and they also saw each other's brightest courage.

They understood each other's deepest loneliness and felt each other's warmest companionship.

Then, the light began to shrink.

It didn't extinguish, but rather converged inwards, all flowing into Karen's wrist and Xiguang's forehead.

The silver and gold runes simultaneously unleashed their final burst of intense light—

Behind Karen, a pair of illusory wings made entirely of golden light slowly unfolded.

With a wingspan of three meters, each feather was condensed from pure light energy, its edges flowing with silver patterns. The light wings gently flapped, bringing with them warm air currents that dispersed the putrid stench of the cave.

The resonance is complete.

A temporary contract has been established.

Karen felt the surging spiritual energy within him stabilize, forming a perfect cycle with the spiritual energy of the Dawn. His injuries hadn't healed, but the pain was now bearable. His spiritual veins hadn't fully recovered, but they were brimming with new power.

He looked down at Xiguang in his arms.

The cub has reopened its eyes. Its amber pupils have regained their luster, reflecting Karen's face and the illusory image of the wings of light unfurling behind her.

Xi Guang called out softly. Although her voice was still weak, it no longer carried the despair of someone on the verge of death.

It licked Karen's hand.

Karen smiled.

Then, he looked up at the tentacle monster that had temporarily retreated out of fear.

The light wings flapped.

Karen, holding Xiguang, slowly floated up, half a meter off the ground.

"Now," Karen said softly, her voice filled with renewed strength, "it's our turn to fight back."