Chapter 197: Clear Changes

Chapter 197: Chapter 197: Clear Changes

A bolt of lightning came from the other side.

Freya intercepted it.

Silver lightning spread across her body as she absorbed part of the attack and redirected the rest.

Shiro created several ice barriers around Damon.

Snow and Caelia guarded the outer side.

They were being attacked from every direction.

The storm wasn’t simply unstable.

It was resisting them.

At times, it almost seemed intentional.

The corrupted energy would gather in one place, then suddenly lash out at whoever was closest.

The moment they blocked one attack, another would come from somewhere else.

There was no rhythm they could rely on.

So they adapted.

Caelia stopped trying to predict every attack and focused on keeping the group mobile.

Shiro kept creating new platforms whenever the old ones were destroyed.

Snow moved between them, stopping smaller bursts before they could reach the others.

Freya and Sylphie handled the larger elemental currents.

And Damon kept working.

Minutes passed.

Then hours.

No one realized how much time had gone by.

There was no proper place to rest inside the chamber.

They couldn’t simply lower their guard.

The storm could turn violent at any moment.

Yet somehow, their pace didn’t slow.

Damon’s didn’t either.

He had almost stopped noticing the world around him.

His entire attention was on the energy entering his body.

Wind.

Lightning.

Corruption.

Purification.

Return.

Again.

And again.

His Spirit Origin continued refining everything he pulled in.

The more he did it, the faster the process became.

At the beginning, the corrupted Aether had fought him every step of the way.

Now it barely mattered.

The Spirit Origin swallowed it and broke it apart before the corruption could spread.

Damon noticed the difference.

His Spirit Origin had become stronger.

Much stronger.

He had Shiro’s recent evolution to thank for that.

"Good job, Shiro."

Shiro looked toward him briefly.

His blue eyes softened.

Then another lightning strike came down.

Shiro immediately turned back and raised an Ice Wall.

Damon chuckled.

"Yeah, keep working."

The process continued.

The Zone Heart absorbed more and more purified Aether.

Slowly, the storm began to change.

The violent wind wasn’t disappearing and the lightning wasn’t stopping.

But the two elements weren’t fighting as much.

The wind started carrying the lightning instead of colliding with it.

The currents became more organized.

The chamber stopped shaking as often.

Caelia noticed it first.

"It’s calming down."

Damon heard her, but he didn’t answer.

He was still working.

Another hour passed.

Then another.

Finally, a large burst of lightning passed through the chamber without attacking them.

It simply followed the wind around the Heart.

Caelia lowered her hand.

She let out a long breath.

"So this is what it was supposed to look like."

Sylphie slowly folded her wings.

Freya sat down for a moment.

Snow lowered his body.

Even Shiro stopped creating new barriers.

But they still remained alert.

The Zone Heart wasn’t completely stable yet.

Every now and then, a violent current could break away from the normal flow and attack them.

But those attacks were much weaker now.

They could handle them without constantly pushing themselves.

For the first time in a long while, they had room to breathe.

And that was when they noticed Damon more clearly.

He was still standing in front of the Zone Heart.

His movements had become much smoother.

He no longer struggled to draw in the unstable Aether.

It flowed into his body, passed through the White Core, entered the Spirit Origin, and came back purified.

The whole process had become almost natural.

Caelia watched quietly.

"He really got used to it."

Sylphie nodded.

He’s much faster now.

Freya gave a small proud sound.

Shiro simply watched Damon continue.

Damon wasn’t aware of their attention.

He was focused on the Heart.

The change was obvious now.

The dark sphere had begun to brighten slightly.

The strands of lightning inside it were becoming more orderly.

The pale green wind around it was also moving more smoothly.

The Zone Heart was starting to regain control.

And as it recovered, something else happened.

The surrounding storm began cooperating with Damon.

Instead of him forcing the elemental Aether into place, the Heart itself started guiding the energy.

Damon noticed immediately.

"Oh."

He smiled.

"That’s much easier."

The Heart was finally helping him.

That meant he could increase his pace.

So he did.

He continued refining the surrounding Aether and sending it back.

Potion after potion was consumed whenever his reserves became low.

He didn’t waste time.

There was still a lot of work left.

But the worst part was over.

At least for now.

Hours passed again.

Then the hours turned into another day.

Damon barely noticed.

The others took short breaks whenever the storm allowed it, but they never fully relaxed.

They ate.

They drank.

They rested for a little while.

Then they returned to their positions.

Damon did the same.

Whenever his Aether became too low, he drank another potion.

Whenever his body became tired, he slowed down just enough to recover.

Then he continued.

There was no need to rush recklessly anymore.

The Zone Heart was already responding.

It was recovering.

The storm outside would eventually follow.

Another day passed.

The change was impossible to miss now.

The lightning no longer struck randomly.

It followed the wind currents around the Heart.

The violent gusts had also weakened.

The chamber was still dangerous, but it no longer felt like it was trying to tear them apart every second.

Caelia looked around.

"We’ve actually done it."

Damon shook his head.

"Not yet."

She looked at him as he was still working.

"But we’re getting there."

Caelia smiled in response to that.

"Of course you’d say that."

Damon glanced back at her.

"If I stop now, all of this work becomes pointless."

"You could rest."

"I am resting."

Caelia looked at the potion in his hand.

"Drinking potions isn’t resting."

Damon thought about it.

"Then I’ll rest after this."

Caelia sighed.

"That’s exactly what I expected you to say."

Damon smiled and turned back to the Heart, as he resumed his work.