Chapter 106: Lumi Was Unconscious!

"Lumi?"

Ethan called out to his spiritual companion, expecting the usual cheerful response that always came whenever he called her name.

"Lumi!"

Nothing.

There was no excited little yip, no playful movement, not even the faintest response through their spiritual connection.

Ethan’s expression immediately changed.

Something was wrong.

His heart tightened as he quickly entered his Mental Sea. The moment he arrived, his eyes widened.

Lumi was there.

But she wasn’t moving.

The tiny silvery-white fox was curled up on the ground, her usually bright body looking noticeably dimmer. Her huge ears were lowered, her fluffy tail was lying motionless beside her, and there wasn’t even the slightest sign that she had noticed his arrival.

"Lumi?"

Ethan rushed over and carefully picked her up.

She remained completely unresponsive.

Panic immediately seized him.

"Lumi! Hey, wake up."

Nothing.

His heart began pounding harder as he gently shook her.

What the hell happened?

She had been fine before the guiding. Well... as fine as she could be after helping him fight through that horrifying Mental Sea. She had been moving, attacking, protecting him, and using an enormous amount of spiritual energy right alongside him.

Could that be the reason?

Ethan’s mind immediately went back to Aster’s book.

There was only one person who had given him information about spiritual companions in the first place.

Aster.

More specifically, Aster’s book.

He immediately thought of his dungeon where he had kept the book and without wasting another second, he carefully picked Lumi up and held her against his chest before leaving his Mental Sea and appearing inside his dungeon with her.

He immediately rushed toward the place where he had stored Aster’s book, grabbed it, and quickly opened it. His fingers flew across the pages as he searched for the section concerning spiritual companions.

Finally, he found it.

Ethan began reading.

According to Aster’s notes, spiritual companions were deeply connected to their hosts. Their connection wasn’t limited to spiritual energy alone; they were linked to their host mentally, physically, and spiritually. Because of that connection, anything that placed an excessive burden on the host could also affect the spiritual companion.

Ethan’s eyes moved faster across the page.

If a host expended a massive amount of spiritual energy during a battle or a guiding session, the spiritual companion could experience the effects as well. The symptoms could range from dizziness and temporary weakness to a significant loss of spiritual energy, unconsciousness, and, in more serious cases, severe spiritual damage.

Ethan swallowed.

And then he reached the next part.

If the spiritual companion had also participated in the battle and expended a massive amount of its own spiritual energy, the burden placed upon it could effectively be doubled.

Ethan’s face went pale.

"Oh..."

His eyes immediately dropped to Lumi.

So that was it.

She hadn’t merely been affected by his exhaustion.

She had been fighting alongside him.

She had used her own energy to pull Xavier out of that abyss, maintained the protective barrier, fought against the corrupted Mental Sea, and synchronized her energy with his while he was pouring out nearly everything he had.

No wonder she was unconscious.

The more Ethan read, the heavier the dread inside his chest became.

If he had known this would be the side effect of what happened, he would never have guided that unappreciative man in the first place.

He had nearly exhausted himself saving Xavier, and now Lumi was suffering because of it too.

"Damn it..."

Ethan carefully stroked Lumi’s head.

"I should’ve known."

But there was no use regretting what had already happened. The only way forward was to find a solution.

Ethan quickly continued reading, searching for anything that could help revive an unconscious spiritual companion.

Eventually, he found something.

Since a spiritual companion was connected to its host mentally, physically, and spiritually, its condition was closely influenced by the condition of the host. If the host was severely exhausted, the companion could remain unconscious until the host recovered enough energy to support their connection again.

However, before taking further measures, Aster’s notes recommended checking the spiritual companion’s energy reserves and replenishing them with suitable spiritual energy or nourishment.

Ethan slowly looked up from the book and immediately thought back to how exhausted he had felt after the Guidance session.

At the time, he had simply assumed it was normal.

He had been exhausted after dealing with Xavier’s terrifying Mental Sea, but perhaps what he had considered ordinary fatigue had been something much more serious.

And if he had been that exhausted, then Lumi...

He didn’t dwell to much on that again, knowing if he managed to recover then Lumi would be fine.

Ethan’s eyes immediately landed on the waterfall inside his dungeon. He didn’t hesitate.

He carried Lumi with him as he approached the waterfall, drank deeply from the refreshing water, then carefully settled himself inside it.

The moment the water surrounded his body, a soothing sensation spread through him.

His aching muscles gradually relaxed. The unbearable heaviness in his head began fading. Even the spiritual exhaustion that had been weighing down his entire body slowly started to disappear.

Ethan closed his eyes and before he knew it, the sleep he had been desperately trying to force himself into earlier finally overwhelmed him.

Ethan fell asleep right there inside the waterfall.

He didn’t know how long he had been asleep when a familiar sound suddenly reached his ears.

"Yip-yip!"

Ethan’s eyes immediately snapped open. For one second, he simply stared. Then relief flooded through him.

"Lumi!"

The tiny fox was sitting beside him, looking perfectly fine.

Her huge ears were standing upright again, her silvery-white fur had regained its usual glow, and her bright eyes were full of life.

Ethan nearly laughed from relief.

"Oh, thank goodness."

He carefully reached out and touched her soft head, stroking her fur while examining her from head to tail.

She was fine.

Lumi was completely fine.

And as Ethan slowly moved his body, he realized something else.

He felt fine too.

No, not just fine.

He felt incredibly energized.

The exhaustion that had nearly crushed him earlier was gone. His body felt unbelievably energized, his mind was clear, and even his spiritual energy seemed to have recovered far more than he expected.

He slowly climbed out of the waterfall, water dripping from his clothes as he looked down at Lumi.

"Looks like we’re both back to normal."

Lumi chirped happily. But the next second, Lumi suddenly stopped.

She looked up at him. Then her little stomach made a very noticeable rumbling sound.

"What was that sound supposed to mean?"

Lumi looked up at him with those big, bright eyes before making the sound again, this time accompanied by a small movement of her head.

Ethan blinked.

Was she...

Hungry?

That was the only explanation he could think of.

After everything that had happened, Lumi had expended a huge amount of spiritual energy, and now that she had recovered, perhaps her body was demanding food.

"Are you hungry?"

Lumi’s ears immediately perked up.

Ethan narrowed his eyes.

"Seriously?"

The little fox let out another eager yip, and Ethan finally understood what she wanted.

He thought for a second, trying to figure out what he could possibly feed her, when Lumi suddenly moved toward Aster’s book.

Ethan instantly froze. "Wait."

Lumi opened her tiny mouth.

Ethan’s eyes widened with both fear and surprise.

"...You’re not seriously going to—"

And before he could finish the question, Lumi swallowed the book whole.