"I... have recovered?" The disbelief in my voice reflected my astonishment at the success.
"Not just recovered!" Purple Seal looked utterly stunned.
"Yes, human, you have indeed become stronger now," Mosang nodded, his demeanor seasoned and profound.
"Congratulations." It was only at last that Ink Seal slowly spoke, as if he had finally breathed a sigh of relief.
I tried to absorb all the freshness this new body brought me, and just as my mood lifted, Afu spoke up, "Well then, there's only one last step left."
At that moment, Afu's expression was devoid of emotion, unlike the gentle and submissive girl from before; she seemed to exude a sense of sharpness. Both Ink Seal and Purple Seal trembled slightly.
I looked at them in confusion and asked, "What is this last step?"
"Xi Meng, do you know why Sting Lion is willing to follow me, even though I am not a strong person and my Soul Energy is pitifully weak?" Afu sighed.
"Is it because of what you mentioned earlier, 'Overcoming Strength with Weakness'?"
"Yes, binding the strongest with the weakest of the three realms."
"So what exactly are you trying to say?"
"Your body has taken shape, but it still lacks something crucial to control the two extremely powerful inner cores within you."
"What is it?" Seeing Afu and the others' expressions, my heart began to race.
"Alright, I'll be straightforward with you. It's a powerful heart, to act as a separator to stabilize those two inner cores and prevent them from going out of control."
"Where am I supposed to find that heart?!"
"Not an ordinary heart, do you understand?"
"Then whose heart is on the Sting Lion?"
"It's mine."
"Yours? Isn't it true that without a heart, one would die?"
"I was born with three hearts: Pity, Compassion, and Pity. All are filled with great compassion. Since I have three hearts, losing one won't matter."
"Then, then—" I couldn't bring myself to say it. Asking Afu for one of her hearts? That would be too selfish.
"But I'm sorry, I can't give you any heart," Afu said. "Because I've already used two hearts, and this heart is my life."
"Ah... it's nothing. Actually, this request was my rudeness to begin with. Even if you had an extra heart, you couldn't just give it away so casually." I said, looking down to hide my feelings. Yet, I couldn't help but feel a bit regretful. After enduring so much pain until now, to declare failure at the last step was disheartening.
However, Afu clearly didn't have an extra heart. Why did she agree to help me unify my avatars? With this thought, I looked up at her in confusion.
"There are other hearts available," Ink Seal suddenly spoke up.
"Brother—" Purple Seal called out weakly.
"There are," Ink Seal said firmly as he looked at me.
"Have you all thought this through?" Afu asked sadly as she looked at them.
Ink Seal smiled and said, "That heart is the Demonic Heart."
"Demonic Heart?" What is that? I completely couldn't understand what the three of them were talking about.
"The most beautiful thing in the Three Realms is also the most precious."
"Hmph, indeed precious," Mosang said with a hint of sarcasm.
"Xi Meng, close your eyes. It will be over soon," Ink Seal said.
I was taken aback and felt uneasy. "What are you going to do?"
"Just listen. You won't have to wait long."
"No, if you don't explain clearly, I won't do as you say."
It's true that I didn't particularly like the two brothers, but that didn't mean I wanted them to come to any harm, especially because of me.
"Don't you want to see the person in your heart as soon as possible?" Ink Seal asked with a gentle smile, his deep black eyes captivating and intoxicating.
Silver Moon? I thought, wanting to see him soon...
Just as I was missing Silver Moon, my consciousness suddenly faded, and Ink Seal's black eyes seemed to expand and become mesmerizing.
Then, it felt like I had completely fallen asleep.
...
It was like sleep; I had no sense of time. However, this sleep was not peaceful. It felt as if something had left and something else had entered my body. When I finally woke up completely, I found my face was wet. Had I been crying?
Suddenly, my heart tightened, and that intense unease returned!
Could it be that Ink Seal gave me his heart?!
I frantically searched for Ink Seal's figure, not even daring to call out his name, fearing—
"You're awake? It's alright, Xi Meng, don't be afraid. Everything is over."
I turned my head to see Ink Seal. He was still here?!
I excitedly walked towards him, and seeing the unharmed Ink Seal instantly relieved me. It seemed I was becoming more sensitive; I felt like I had made a mistake but chose to ignore the earlier unease.
"Xi Meng, check your body. Is there any change?" Mosang asked.
I smiled and nodded. Ink Seal must have just let me sleep for a bit to regain my energy.
However, slowly, I could no longer smile…
"What’s going on?" My face stiffened.
What was that thing between the two inner pills inside me?
I scanned the faces of everyone around me; they all wore extremely unnatural expressions—Afu, Sting Lion, Little Pink, Mosang, Ink Seal…
"Where is Purple Seal? Where did Purple Seal go?!" I exclaimed in shock!
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