Chapter 557
Xia Er's understanding of the other realm was only slightly deeper than that of an average extraordinary being. The only connection she could still rely on was the Pure White Knight...
Perhaps she could try reaching out to it, hoping to learn more about Sadana from its words.
“Let’s take care of the body,” Xia Er said, rubbing her temples, which throbbed with dizziness. “Maintain the perimeter seal; I need to do something…”
“Xia Er.”
Aivina interrupted her, concern etched on her face.
Xia Er turned to see Aivina and Adele looking at her with worried eyes.
“You should rest, Xia Er…” Aivina’s voice trembled, tinged with a hint of pleading.
“I… I think it’s better if you rest first… Let me and Aivina help you heal…” Adele said softly, her gaze lowered as she looked at Xia Er.
From their expressions, Xia Er sensed something was off.
She turned to Tara, who was supporting her, and in the reflection of Tara’s pure eyes, she saw her own condition.
Her eyeballs were completely covered in dense blood spots, giving them a dark red hue. Blood trickled down from her eyes, nearly obscuring the lower half of her face.
Xia Er instinctively licked her lips, tasting the metallic tang of blood.
Strangely, she felt no pain; it was just that the voices in her mind grew more chaotic, and her vision became increasingly blurred.
This was normal; the new murmurs in her mind were a result of encountering hostile beings from the other realm, while the blurred vision was due to the soul connection that had injured her eyes.
Xia Er raised her hand, intending to steady herself against the table, but instead, she found herself tumbling to the ground in a dizzying fall. Yet, in the next moment, her vision cleared, and her hand halted before it could reach the table.
Xia Er paused for a moment.
She tentatively raised her hand, trying to shield her eyes, but the next second, darkness enveloped her.
This wasn’t her own vision; it was the vision of precognition.
She tried closing her eyes, but the blurry images remained.
Under her control, her vision began to rise, allowing her to look down at her surroundings.
Her eyes had vanished...
“Haah…”
Xia Er let out a breath.
It was fine; her only requirement for the simulated body was to stay alive.
After all, any damage sustained in the simulation, as long as it didn’t involve the other realm or her mind, wouldn’t carry over to reality.
At that moment, Aivina looked at Xia Er, whose eyes were vacant, and felt a pang of pain in her heart.
She took a small step forward, raising her hand to wave in front of Xia Er’s eyes, but there was no reaction; Xia Er couldn’t even focus on her fingers.
“Xia Er… you can’t see?” Aivina asked, her voice trembling.
“It’s fine…” Xia Er replied, intending to reassure Aivina.
“This is far from fine…”
Aivina’s eyes were reddening; she regretted agreeing to help Xia Er. She should have pretended she didn’t possess the ability of a “Soul Walker” and deliberately failed.
The side effects Xia Er was experiencing were completely unexpected for Aivina. The soul link shouldn’t have resulted in such consequences, and any mental backlash directed at Xia Er had been halted by Aivina before it could take effect.
Even Tara, who usually believed in Xia Er’s every decision, couldn’t help but want to persuade her to stop harming her own body.
“...Alright.” Xia Er nodded, choosing not to say more.
The matter of contacting the Pure White Knight could be postponed a bit... After all, she intended to stay in this simulation for a full 24 hours, allowing them to check her body for any issues, to avoid collapsing before even reaching that mark.
Percy stayed behind to clean up the body, while Aivina and Adele supported Xia Er as they stepped outside. Tara followed closely behind, just as she had when she served as Xia Er’s maid.
The four of them climbed into a carriage and returned to Adele’s home.
Adele’s house had undergone significant renovations, equipped with ample medical instruments and potions, making it the most convenient place for healing.
Niya hadn’t come with Aivina to find Xia Er. After the “Soul Walker” manifestation ritual was completed, Niya’s mental state had undergone a tremendous change, and she was now in a period of quiet recovery.
Though she wouldn’t be able to break through any new barriers, her current mental condition ensured that Niya could live a bit longer.
When the carriage stopped at Adele’s doorstep, Xia Er, supported by her friends, lay down on Adele’s bed.
There were no experimental beds in the lab, so Adele had offered her own.
As soon as she lay down, Xia Er caught a whiff of a faint minty fragrance... It was clear that Adele truly loved this scent.
“Don’t move.”
“Lady Xia Er, water.”
“That’s my cup….”
Aivina firmly pressed Xia Er down, tucking her in with a blanket, while Tara carefully handed her a cup of water, feeding it to her gently. Adele busied herself, searching for reagents and tools.
Xia Er observed the girls bustling around the room from the perspective of her precognitive vision, feeling a warmth in her heart mixed with guilt.
They didn’t know this was a simulation; they believed this was Xia Er’s one and only life, and they were worried for her, working hard on her behalf.
The words “This is all a dream; I won’t die” lingered on the tip of her tongue but wouldn’t come out.
Perhaps apart from Tara, the other two wouldn’t believe her.
Adele conducted a thorough examination of Xia Er’s eyes and body, while Aivina worked on healing her spirit.
However, after the detailed check, both Adele and Aivina wore puzzled expressions.
“Her body… is fine, very healthy…” Adele looked at Aivina, her tone hesitant, as if she was beginning to doubt her own judgment.
Aivina, listening to Adele’s diagnosis, was filled with questions as well.
Though Xia Er’s spirit was somewhat weak and slightly tainted, there was no major issue... The minor contamination was even less severe than the murmurs of a first-tier extraordinary being.
But why couldn’t Xia Er’s eyes recover?
“What’s wrong?” Noticing the strange expressions on Adele and Aivina’s faces, Xia Er turned to them and asked.
“I didn’t find any problems…” Aivina shook her head.
“Me neither…” Adele pursed her lips and said, “After cleaning the blood from her eyes, there were no wounds or signs of extraordinary influence…”
Listening to their words, Xia Er fell into thought.
The last image she saw was that indescribable entity resembling Sadana, tearing apart those light orbs and lunging toward her.
That image froze at the moment before it collided with her… Could it be that the proximity was too close, and the system, or her own body, feared she wouldn’t be able to withstand such a direct gaze, shutting down that part of her eye function?
Or had Sadana already inflicted substantial harm on her the moment it lunged?
The latter possibility seemed more plausible...
“I told you I’m fine; there’s no need to worry… It just looked scary,” Xia Er propped herself up, smiling as she said, “And I’m not completely blind; I’ve already regained quite a bit of vision…”
Xia Er focused her precognitive vision on the front, simulating it to be visible, and looked toward Aivina.
“Really?” Aivina asked.
“Really,” Xia Er nodded.
“What’s this number?” Aivina raised her hand, her index finger only halfway up before curling into a strange gesture.
“Uh…” Xia Er tentatively replied, “Zero point five? What’s with that weird gesture…”
At that, Aivina finally believed that Xia Er’s vision had indeed returned.
“Can I go back now?” Xia Er asked cautiously.
“No,” Aivina shook her head, asking, “Is it urgent? Is it a matter of life and death?”
“Well, not really…” Xia Er shook her head.
In reality, Sadana might take action, as beings from the other realm wouldn’t be affected by the simulation.
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