Mystic Eyes: My Eyes Steal the Laws of Cultivation

Chapter 381 - 382

Then it began.

Kyrian felt an invisible force penetrate his back.

It was not like a needle entering flesh. It was more like something was separating his spine from his vertebrae, layer by layer.

Even so...

There was no pain.

On the contrary.

The sensation was strange. Numbing.

As though his body had been anesthetized by the Spirit’s energy. Kyrian could feel what was happening, every vertebra being detached, every connection being severed, but he could not feel the pain that should have accompanied such a procedure.

Slowly...

Very slowly...

His spinal column began to be removed.

Kyrian could feel it. Every vertebra is separating from the next. Every disc is being disconnected. Every nerve is being detached one by one.

But he felt no pain.

The orange mantle supported his entire body. It kept his nerves functioning. It kept his organs alive. It kept his consciousness stable, alert, aware, and present.

The spiritual spine created by the Spirit temporarily replaced his real spine as it was removed. It was the only reason Kyrian was still alive, the only reason his body had not collapsed.

’My spine is floating behind me,’ Kyrian thought, the realization strangely distant.

’That shouldn’t be possible.’

Then the final vertebra was removed.

Kyrian’s entire spinal column slowly emerged from his back, floating in the air before him.

Covered in blood. Dripping.

Kyrian immediately felt an absurd weakness strike his body, a sensation of physical emptiness.

His vision darkened for an instant. The edges of his perception blurred, as though the world itself were drifting away.

His body felt hollow. Incomplete. As though it could collapse at any second, as though nothing remained to hold his upper and lower halves together.

But the orange mantle immediately intensified.

The Spirit’s Qi penetrated deeper into his body, supporting his organs, muscles, and remaining bones. Kyrian felt the spiritual spine pulse; it functioned, keeping his body upright, maintaining his posture.

The spiritual spine behind him shone brightly.

Keeping him alive.

Then the Spirit slowly raised the Heaven Bone.

The pressure released by the crystalline spine became terrifying.

It was not merely heat. It was not merely Qi.

It was presence. The presence of the Law of Fire.

Even the space around it seemed distorted. Kyrian could see the lines of the air bending, the light warping around the Heaven Bone.

"Prepare yourself, child."

The Spirit’s voice grew heavy, laden with warning, laden with concern.

"Your true pain begins now."

The Spirit’s flaming eyes narrowed, locking onto Kyrian’s.

"This will be the greatest pain of your life."

"Do not faint."

"If you lose consciousness... you will die."

Kyrian slowly clenched his teeth. His jaw tightened with the effort of maintaining his composure.

Sweat streamed down his face, not from the heat, but from anticipation.

Even so, he nodded.

Once. Firmly.

The Spirit moved the Heaven Bone.

The crystalline spine slowly approached Kyrian’s back. Every centimeter it advanced increased the pressure in the environment. The air grew heavier. The heat is more intense.

And the instant it touched his body...

’BOOOOOOOOM!’

A monstrous explosion of heat erupted from the spine.

It was not a controlled burst; it was a violent, uncontrollable eruption, as though the Heaven Bone itself were resisting the implantation.

The altar floor cracked instantly. Deep fissures spread through the stone around Kyrian, radiating outward like giant spiderwebs.

The magma below surged into colossal waves, so high that Kyrian feared they might reach where he sat.

Kyrian’s body was nearly incinerated that very instant.

His skin, the skin that had already endured the heat of the Inner Area, that had already survived the dragon’s breath, began to burn. Small blisters formed across his arms, chest, and face.

But the Spirit reacted immediately.

The orange mantle surrounding Kyrian became dozens of times denser. It was no longer a mantle. It was armor, a shell, a second skin of energy that completely enveloped him.

The Spirit maintained absolute control over the Heaven Bone as it forced it into Kyrian’s body. Its flaming hands guided the crystalline spine centimeter by centimeter, vertebra by vertebra.

Even so...

"GHAAAAAAAHHHHH!!"

Kyrian screamed.

A brutal scream. A scream that did not come from his throat alone, but from every part of his body, every bone, every muscle, every cell.

The pain was absurd.

Each vertebra of the Heaven Bone slowly penetrated his back, replacing the temporary spiritual spine created by the Spirit. There was no anesthesia now. No numbness.

There was only pain.

The heat was so intense that it felt as though his organs were melting from the inside out. Kyrian could feel his lungs burning, his heart racing, and his stomach contracting.

His nerves seemed to be burning alive, not the nerves of his skin, but the deeper nerves, those connecting his organs to his brain.

Each vertebra that locked into place sent a shockwave through his body. A wave of fire that raced up to his skull and down to his feet.

Kyrian trembled uncontrollably. His muscles contracted without command, his fingers curled into fists, his teeth ground together so hard that he feared they might shatter.

Even so, the Spirit continued.

Vertebra by vertebra.

Slowly.

With extreme care.

The Heaven Bone settled within Kyrian’s body.

As though it were growing roots.

Pure fire Qi spread violently throughout his entire body, directly through his flesh, his bones, and his blood.

Kyrian felt the energy coursing through every inch of his being. Burning. Purifying. Transforming.

Then the final vertebra entered.

The Spirit immediately stepped back several paces.

Its flaming hands dropped to its sides, and its breathing, if a being made of fire could breathe, became heavy.

Flaming sweat streamed from its translucent body. Tiny droplets of liquid fire rolled down its forehead, arms, and chest.

Even it seemed exhausted.

"The first part... is over."

Its voice emerged heavy and hoarse. Even the energy surrounding the Spirit seemed to diminish slightly.

"Now everything depends solely on you."

It looked at Kyrian with an expression that mixed hope and concern.

"Your will."

"Your fate."

Then the Spirit withdrew the orange mantle.

Instantly...

"AAAAAAARRRGHHHHHHH!!"

Kyrian screamed so loudly that the entire dome trembled.

The stone walls vibrated. The magma below rippled violently. Even the runes on the altar flickered, as though the formation itself were being affected by the scream.

His body arched violently, his back bending at an impossible angle.

The pain...

Was indescribable.

Kyrian felt everything burning.

Every bone. Every vein. Every drop of blood. Every muscle. Every strand of hair.

Everything felt as though it had been thrown into a divine furnace.

The heat no longer came from outside. It came from within. The Heaven Bone was merging with his body, and the energy released by that fusion was so intense that Kyrian felt as though his own blood were boiling.

Kyrian nearly lost consciousness at that very moment.

Darkness called to him. The relief of fainting seemed tempting, an escape from the pain, a refuge from the agony.

His body trembled uncontrollably. Spasms ran through his muscles, causing his arms to slam against the stone floor and his legs to kick at the air.

’I’m going to die.’