Time seemed to stretch as Lidien watched the Rift's Core produce dust slowly floating into the corner of the ancient room.

Lidien, with the help of Incite of Blood, could efficiently use the blood remaining in his brain to process information, making him think rapidly.

His eyes glanced at the Starry Skies as he slowly raised his left arm towards it, while putting his right hand inches away from the Rift's Core.

Then...

He felt his right hand slowly getting sucked by the Rift's Core, though it was weak.

Lidien steadied his foot on the ground while actively adding pressure to his right hand not to accidentally touch the Rift's Core, for one wrong touch would surely let him meet the God of Death again.

And when he felt the suction was stable, Lidien instinctively opened himself... not literally, but the Sparkline all over his body.

A cold and chilling sensation ran through his body as he could feel the spiritual essence run through from his left arm being sucked by the Rift's Core.

Lidien saw it, the Rift's Core producing a liquified verve, not the Verve Stone...

Yet, before he could smile in triumph,

a shout echoed in his mind, sharp with a panic he'd never heard from the Monarch before.

'Now, Lidien! The bridge is formed! Enter the Dreamflow now or it will collapse!'

Lidien continued the mantra while slowly turning his verve to flow the blood stably and normally...

Till the Starry Skies materialized completely and the Crimson Shard and the ocean of verve solidified.

Then, he looked at the end of his right hand...

The Rift's Core suspended and purifying essence the way his Crimson Shard works.

However, inside it weren't memories... but a small World of Desert Sand with an Ancient Castle in the Middle basking in the sun-like light... The Rift of the Leaden Blood.

Lidien slumped face first and felt the ocean of verve being slowly absorbed by his ethereal body, refreshing him.

Though it was only spiritually, at least he could rest his mind inside and not think of the outside world for a while.

The Monarch of Blood materialized before him and said,

"You successfully stored the Rift's Core inside your Dreamflow... and pulling it out is just reversing the procedure..."

The Monarch of Blood then smirked.

"However, don't let the Rift manifest itself in your Dreamflow..."

Lidien raised his head and sat watching the Monarch.

"Why? Is it because of the flawed rules inside it?"

The Monarch of Blood shook his head slowly, then turned around and watched the starry skies, smiling.

"Like the God of Death said, Ascend... Lidien... so that you will know the secret of this world, that even I didn't know."

Then with a snap of his finger, Lidien was pulled out of the Dreamflow.

As he opened his eyes, there was no Dark Mist present... even the corpse of the Skinless Leopard was gone, surely inside the Rift stored in his Dreamflow.

Yet, after finally escaping the Rift of the Leaden Blood, he still hadn't escaped the Bone Orchards.

Lidien watched the night sky, as the moonlight was either blocked by the dark clouds or the gnarled branches of the towering trees.

"I need to be fast so that I can get some sleep."

There was no time for stealth or fight. His only chance was raw, desperate speed. He had to make it to the caravan before his body gave out completely.

Activating his Blood Form and Incite of Blood to their limit, Lidien ran, disregarding those magical beasts chasing and blocking his path.

A few days passed... Lidien saw the remains of those who hadn't survived the magical beast hordes that attacked the caravan, almost a hundred dead slaves and scattered bodies of soldiers, mingled with corpses of the beasts.

Some of them were atop the trees being eaten by beasts, while some were in the roots, being crawled over by insects.

Lidien ran fast... though the continuous usage of his ability made his Sparkline feel like it was heating up, he didn't dare relax, like last time when he deactivated his Demonic Transformation and an enemy exploited his status, which almost cost him his life.

He lost all sense of time, his world narrowing to the burning in his lungs and the flash of trees.

When the dense mist and canopy finally began to thin, and the first rays of sunlight touched a clearing ahead, he saw it... the caravan.

Lidien slowed his pace, fixed his clothes while deactivating his Blood Form and Incite of Blood, and went toward his carriage.

Then, as his feet rustled the short grasses, Alva's ears perked up before staring at Lidien with her big round eyes.

She immediately rushed toward Lidien and bowed her head.

"Welcome back, Master."

***

Days passed slowly... it had been almost three days since Lidien fell asleep and hadn't woken up...

Thanks to Mad Dog's and Alva's leadership, they successfully escaped the Bone Orchards with few casualties.

Though some of the slaves died, the wagons they were moving were still complete.

From thousands of slaves, almost a hundred died, while from the ten thousand soldiers, almost a thousand died...

It wasn't because they couldn't fight the beasts... it was just that the beast horde was never-ending, added to the toll of protecting the slaves and keeping the wagons safe.

Then...

Before the third day ended, Lidien woke from his long slumber...

He felt his body weakened, so that every small movement he made produced a cracking sound from his bones.

And, as his eyes scanned around his carriage bedroom, he saw Alva holding a wet, damp cloth, slowly rubbing his foot with it.

"Good evening, Master."

Lidien removed his foot from her hands and immediately sat straight at the edge of the bed before he noticed he was naked.

Sighing, he stood, disregarding Alva's gaze. She didn't look away, her expression one of pure, unflinching duty, as if tending to a naked master was no different from polishing her claws.

Then he wore his sleeping clothes hanging on a nail at the side of the carriage wall.

"How long was I asleep, Alva?"

Alva stood and bowed before saying.

"Three days, Master."

Lidien tapped his forehead, using the carriage wall as a guide toward the table placed outside his room before sitting.

He rested his chin on his hand, staring outside while tapping the table with a soft repetition.

"Report, Alva. Tell me the status."

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