Chapter 1363: One Soul in Each Hand

Ethan watched in silence.

The energy sphere in his hand faded without him noticing.

The floating stone began to change color.

Its original gray-white surface receded as crimson seeped outward from within. Before long, not a trace of gray-white remained.

Thump.

The bloodred stone gave a faint beat.

Thump.

The second was stronger.

Suspended in midair, it now resembled a beautiful heart.

Then Ethan noticed the stones around them shifting.

He stopped watching, scooped up Auri, grabbed Idra, and rushed back toward the passage they had entered through.

Smaller stones closed in from every direction.

They piled together ahead and behind, sealing the passage before Ethan could reach the exit. Then they continued pressing inward, driving the three of them into a corner.

Idra broke free of Ethan’s grip and returned to her small dragon form.

She opened her jaws and breathed dragonfire down the passage. Blazing flames engulfed the stones ahead, melting the closest gray-white rocks.

But the molten stone never reached the ground.

It dissolved into energy and flowed back into the surrounding walls. New stones immediately grew in their place and resumed closing in.

Auri shut her eyes and pressed both hands to her chest.

A strange green light shone between her fingers.

Several branches sprouted from her back and burrowed between two massive stones. They continued to thicken, forcing the stones apart until a narrow gap opened between them.

The rocks kept pushing inward.

Cracks spread across the branches, and Auri’s arms began to tremble.

"Daddy! Hurry!"

She gritted her teeth, struggling to hold the exit open.

"I can’t hold it much longer!"

Ethan saw white light shining through the gap behind him. Auri had already pushed it as far as she could.

He wrapped one arm around her and pulled Idra close with the other. Instead of looking for somewhere to land, he turned his back to the opening and jumped.

A leap of faith.

The three of them squeezed through the narrow exit and escaped the stone giant, only to plummet from high above the forest.

Idra’s dragon wings snapped open. She beat them desperately, trying to support Ethan and Auri, but the weight of all three of them was far beyond what she could carry in her current form.

Their fall slowed only slightly.

Auri reached down with one small hand and sent the last of her Fairy energy into the gray-white forest below. Green light sank into the earth, and a verdant branch burst from the ground, growing rapidly toward them.

The branch split into several limbs in midair and caught Ethan firmly across the back.

For a moment, the three of them stopped falling.

Then Auri’s energy ran out completely. The light vanished from her fingers, cutting off the power flowing into the branch.

Without Fairy energy to sustain it, the green leaves quickly curled. The branch began withering from the tip, and the limbs supporting them sagged before snapping in the middle.

Ethan tightened his hold on both girls and fell again, his back facing the ground.

The earth rushed closer.

Just before impact, something soft curled around his waist. The world spun halfway around, and instead of slamming into hard ground, Ethan landed amid something soft and fluffy.

On Seraphina’s back, Ataneya let out a quiet breath and wiped the sweat from her forehead.

One of her fox tails carried Ethan and the girls up from just above the ground and set them on Seraphina’s back.

"Good thing I made it."

Ataneya looked down at Ethan, still cradled in her tail.

"Another second and you would’ve been in trouble."

Ethan opened his eyes. Only after seeing the familiar faces around him did he relax his arms.

Auri was still sheltered against his chest, while Idra clung to his hand and tried to pull him upright. He was about to tell everyone he was fine when the barrier surrounding them shook violently.

Boom!

A heavy impact crashed down from above.

Andona hovered over the group, releasing a steady stream of Divine Power from both hands. Golden energy flowed into the barrier, sealing the cracks spreading across its surface.

Outside, the stone giant had gone completely berserk.

Its remaining fist hammered down again and again. Each blow caved the golden barrier inward, sending the impact rippling through the light and flattening broad swaths of the nearby gray-white forest.

The giant’s eyes had turned entirely bloodred.

The sight immediately reminded Ethan of the beating stone at the center of the mountain—and of Kravik dissolving into bloodred liquid and willingly merging with it.

The bird had sacrificed everything.

And in return, the stone giant had been reborn.

Ataneya’s twelve tails shot through the barrier, attacking the giant from different directions. Seraphina lowered her dragon head and spread her wings, preparing to charge it head-on.

The stone giant stood its ground.

It planted its remaining hand against the earth, channeling red energy into the soil. Countless rocks answered its call, bursting from beneath the forest one after another.

Some flew toward Seraphina and Ataneya’s tails. The rest gathered around the giant’s damaged shoulder and began rebuilding the arm that had been torn away.

Then the stone giant bent down and buried its entire torso in the earth.

The ground heaved violently.

When it rose again, every trace of its injuries was gone. The stone giant stood fully restored, raising both thick arms and pounding its chest.

Boom! Boom!

The dull impacts rolled through the forest.

Its bloodred eyes remained fixed on the group.

Seraphina had already closed the distance. She raised a dragon claw and brought it down on the giant’s head.

A mass of rocks converged between them, forming a thick stone shield. Her claw smashed through the outer layer on contact, but more rocks continuously filled the gap from behind.

The stone giant slammed its fists together in front of its chest, then charged at the fox tails blocking its path.

The ever-thickening shield held Seraphina back.

Every strike of her claws easily destroyed another layer, but fresh stones immediately rose from underground. The shattered rocks also began circling her dragon body, closing in from all sides until they formed an enormous stone shell around her.

The giant ignored her and kept charging.

Just before it reached Ataneya’s twelve tails, it bent its legs and launched its massive body off the ground.

It cleared the blockade of fox tails and flew straight toward the golden barrier protecting the group.

Ataneya’s tails paused for half a beat before reversing direction and racing after it.

Too late.

The stone giant crashed down from above, both feet slamming into the top of the barrier. The golden dome buckled inward, forcing Andona lower with it.

The giant raised both fists and repeatedly hammered the same spot.

Countless tiny stones rose from the forest and fitted themselves tightly over its body, forming a layer of solid stone armor. More rocks hovered around it, blocking the pursuing fox tails.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The golden barrier shook harder with every blow.

At last, a hairline opening appeared beneath the giant’s fists.

The weakness lasted only an instant.

But countless grains of stone already coated the giant’s knuckles. When its fist came down again, those tiny particles slipped through the opening and entered the barrier.

Andona quickly repaired the damage.

The stone grains that had gotten inside, however, remained there.

Everyone was still looking up at the giant and the fox tails wrapping around its body. No one noticed the extra gray-white particles scattered around their feet.

Besides, the stones were so small.

What harm could they possibly do?

On the other side of the barrier, the stone shell imprisoning Seraphina suddenly shook violently.

Her claws hammered against it from within, bulging the surface and spreading cracks through the rock. Then her enormous tail swept sideways.

The entire shell exploded outward.