Chapter 568: Recuperation
Selene stopped midway when she properly saw her condition.
The Ice Belle looked terrible.
Her aura was unstable, flickering unevenly around her body. Cuts marked her arms and shoulders while faint blood stains remained visible across parts of her clothes. Even breathing seemed slightly difficult for her now.
It was obvious she had gone through a monstrous battle after they separated.
Nyx’s eyes narrowed slightly as she sensed the lingering terrifying energy around her. “What happened?”
The Ice Belle ignored the question pletely.
Her gaze swept across them immediately.
“Xavier.”
Just his name.
But the urgency in her voice was enough.
Lira quickly nodded. “Henrietta brought him back safely.”
For the first time since arriving, the tension in the Ice Belle’s expression eased slightly.
“Take me to him,” she said immediately.
The girls wasted no time.
They quickly led her through the palace halls toward the inner chambers while servants and guards moved out of the way instinctively. The atmosphere throughout the palace had changed pletely from the earlier celebrations.
The joy of reclaiming Lechia had faded.
Now the palace carried only tension and concern after learning Lucas had been captured and tortured in Rus.
As they moved through the corridors, the Ice Belle remained silent the entire time. Her footsteps were steady despite the exhaustion threatening to drag her down, but the girls could tell she was forcing herself to remain standing.
Even Nyx quietly glanced at her several times.
Whatever battle the Ice Belle had fought after Henrietta escaped with Lucas…
It had clearly been terrifying.
They finally reached the chamber.
The doors opened.
Warm healing light spilled outward immediately.
Inside the room, Lucas lay unconscious upon a large bed while healing formations glowed softly around him. Jennifer stood beside him with both hands radiating restorative energy, while the Empress maintained another healing array beneath the bed itself, ancient runes pulsing faintly with power.
The moment the Ice Belle saw him, she stopped walking.
Her eyes remained fixed on Lucas silently.
Most of the wounds across his body had already begun healing thanks to the bined efforts of the two powerful women, but traces of what he endured still remained visible.
The bruises.
The lash marks.
The damage around his neck from the restraining ring.
Even unconscious, he looked exhausted beyond words.
Jennifer looked up first upon sensing their arrival. “He’s stable now.”
The Ice Belle slowly approached the bedside.
Her gaze carefully examined Lucas from head to toe as if confirming for herself that he was truly alive and recovering.
The Empress finally spoke calmly from beside the healing formation. “Henrietta brought him back in time.”
The Ice Belle gave a small nod but said nothing.
Selene quietly moved closer to the bed as well, her eyes lingering painfully on Lucas’s condition.
“Will he recover fully?” Lira asked softly.
Jennifer nodded reassuringly. “Yes. His body is already responding very well to the healing.”
Relief spread through the room immediately.
The Ice Belle finally exhaled softly.
A subtle release of tension.
Then suddenly…Her body swayed slightly.
Henrietta quickly stepped forward and steadied her before she could lose balance.
“You exhausted yourself too much,” Henrietta said quietly.
The Ice Belle remained silent for a moment before finally lowering herself into a nearby chair.
Now that Lucas was safe…
The strain she had been ignoring finally began catching up fully to her.
The Ice Belle sat quietly on the chair beside the bed, her breathing gradually being more uneven now that the urgency keeping her upright had faded.
The others could feel it clearly.
She had pushed herself far beyond her limits.
Even the air around her fluctuated faintly, unstable traces of ice and wind energy escaping unintentionally from her exhausted body before fading into the room.
Henrietta remained beside her for a moment, watching carefully. “Your energy flow is unstable.”
The Ice Belle closed her eyes briefly. “I know.”
The Empress studied her silently.
Unlike the others, she could sense something deeper within the Ice Belle’s current state. The exhaustion wasn’t merely physical depletion. Her meridians themselves had been heavily strained from forcefully controlling power beyond what her present cultivation could safely sustain.
Especially that final attack.
Even the lingering residue of it still remained in the atmosphere around her.
Jennifer spoke quietly while continuing Lucas’s treatment. “She shouldn’t try circulating her own energy too aggressively right now.”
The Empress gave a slight nod.
The healing formation beneath the bed remained active on its own now, stabilized enough for Jennifer to maintain temporarily alone. The Empress slowly walked toward the Ice Belle while the others instinctively stepped aside.
The Ice Belle looked up slightly as the Empress stopped in front of her.
“You exhausted your celestial reserves recklessly,” the Empress said calmly.
It wasn’t criticism.
Just fact.
The Ice Belle didn’t deny it.
“There wasn’t time,” she answered quietly.
The Empress observed her for another second before finally extending her hand.
“Relax your resistance.”
The Ice Belle understood immediately.
She gave a small nod and slowly allowed her aura to settle.
The Empress placed her palm gently against the Ice Belle’s upper chest just beneath her collarbone.
Then celestial energy surged.
A powerful stream of pure refined energy flowed directly from the Empress into the Ice Belle’s body in immense quantities. The room itself brightened faintly as the transfer began, dense waves of celestial energy circulating visibly around both women.
The girls watching nearby were stunned immediately.
The amount being transferred was enormous.
But unlike ordinary cultivators, the Ice Belle could actually withstand it.
Her body absorbed the ining celestial energy rapidly, stabilizing the chaotic flow within her meridians almost immediately. The pale exhaustion on her face eased slightly while the unstable currents around her body gradually calmed.
Cold mist drifted gently around her again.
Controlled this time.
The Empress continued channeling more energy without hesitation.
Her own mastery over celestial power allowed her to regulate the transfer perfectly, ensuring the overwhelming energy nourished rather than damaged the Ice Belle’s exhausted body.
The Ice Belle’s eyes widened faintly after several moments.
The amount being given was immense even by celestial standards.
“You’re giving too much,” she said quietly.
The Empress remained calm. “You burned through too much.”
Another surge entered her.
The Ice Belle could physically feel her depleted reserves rapidly replenishing while the strain inside her meridians eased little by little. Even the lingering instability left behind from the tornado technique began calming under the restorative celestial energy.
Selene and the others watched silently.
They could sense how unnatural this entire exchange was.
Very few people in existence could safely transfer celestial energy at this level.
Even fewer could receive this much directly without their bodies collapsing from overload.
Yet the two women handled it almost effortlessly.
Eventually, after several minutes, the Empress finally withdrew her hand slowly.
The room dimmed slightly as the transfer ended.
The Ice Belle exhaled deeply.
Her condition had improved visibly now. Not fully recovered, not even close, but stable enough that she no longer looked on the verge of collapsing.
The Empress returned calmly toward Lucas afterward while speaking without turning back.
“You should rest now.”
The Ice Belle glanced toward Lucas lying unconscious on the bed.
Then quietly answered, “After he wakes up.”
The Empress said nothing further.
But Selene noticed the faintest trace of understanding in her eyes before she resumed helping Jennifer stabilize Lucas’s recovery.
User Comments
0 comments from readers