Chapter 83: Ch 83. Boiling Technique

Selena stopped a few steps away from that spot.

In the middle of the backyard, a large stone vessel had been placed atop an ancient carved circle. Its shape resembled a fairly large bathtub, but its interior was filled with a clear liquid that looked nothing like ordinary water.

On its surface, a golden flame burned steadily, but it was quite different from other flames because it burned without producing any smoke.

The flame also didn’t seem to blaze like a normal fire. Instead, it looked calm, almost like a cluster of dancing flowers of light on the liquid’s surface.

Selena slowly took a few steps closer. Strangely, she didn’t feel even the slightest bit of heat. That made her realize this sacred fire truly wasn’t the kind that could burn, leaving her somewhat amazed.

"Is this really sacred fire?" she asked, looking at Dorven, who had already nodded.

"Yes," the man replied as he walked toward her. "This fire isn’t hot, and it doesn’t go out easily. That’s why I was able to ask them to retrieve it from the source of the sacred fire in the Northern region."

Selena smiled softly, then nodded in understanding before reaching out her hand. As her fingertips neared the fire, she felt no heat. Instead, a gentle, warm sensation spread across her skin.

"Hmm..." Selena furrowed her brow.

She could feel the incredibly pure energy emanating from the flame. In fact, the power within her body as an Extinction Healer seemed to respond to the flame’s presence.

The mysterious voice that usually echoed in her head remained silent. There were no protests or anything of the sort, even though Selena didn’t want to perform the primary healing—that is, make love with Dorven. After all, it was that voice that had said making love was the only method of major healing.

But that wasn’t entirely true—proof of that was that Dorven had actually discovered a new method, one even recorded in the Lion Clan’s ancient tome.

This made Selena even more certain that this object wasn’t as dangerous as it seemed. In fact, according to history, some of the Lion Clan’s ancestors had already been successfully healed through this treatment.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Selena asked, looking back at Dorven, wanting to make sure one last time.

"Yes, I’ve made up my mind," Dorven said as he took off his outer cloak and handed it to one of the servants standing a good distance away from them. "I won’t blame you if this fails."

"And if it works?"

Dorven smiled faintly as he answered confidently. "Then I’ll owe you for finding a way to heal me without making you do something you don’t want to do."

Selena fell silent. For some reason, that simple answer made her chest feel a little strange.

This man was indeed different from what she had imagined.

In the past, Dorven was one of the men who had terrified the owner of this body. A Lion King who had once looked at Selena with hatred and had even approved her death sentence.

Yet the man standing before her now had chosen to find another way simply because he knew Selena was reluctant to sleep with him.

"You don’t owe me anything," Selena said finally. "If this method really works, I’ll benefit from it too."

"In that case, let’s just consider it a win-win."

Dorven walked toward the stone chamber. Before entering, he paused for a moment and turned around.

"Selena."

"Yes?" Selena replied, glancing at him quickly.

"If I start to feel like I can’t handle it, I’ll leave," Dorven said bluntly, and Selena nodded in response.

"Don’t push yourself. I’ll monitor your condition from here and see if the treatment is working perfectly or not. I have a medical perspective as an Extinction Healer, so I’ll be able to track your progress," he said, making Dorven smile.

After reassuring himself once more, the man stepped inside. The moment his body touched the clear liquid, the sacred flame—which had previously been dancing calmly—suddenly stirred.

Whoosh!

Golden flames immediately surged up, enveloping Dorven’s body. Selena instinctively stood up straighter at the sight of the blaze, her concern rising unconsciously.

"Dorven!"

"I’m fine," Dorven replied, his voice still calm. "I don’t feel any pain from the flames."

Selena let out a heavy sigh as she watched him closely.

Indeed, there were no signs that Dorven’s body was burning. However, a few seconds later, Dorven’s expression changed.

Beads of sweat began to form on his forehead, the veins in his neck slowly bulged, and both his hands clenched tightly at his sides.

"How does it feel?" Selena asked as she approached him, but she didn’t touch him at all so as not to interfere with the healing process.

"It’s starting to hurt," Dorven replied honestly, causing Selena to fall silent with worry.

Realizing this, Dorven lifted his face and gave a small laugh. "But it’s not bad enough that I have to get out yet," he said reassuringly.

Selena furrowed her brow, still anxious as she watched the flames surrounding the pot in which Dorven was being boiled. It wasn’t actually boiling, but the steam was hot enough to be felt given the intensity of the flames.

"If the pain gets worse, don’t try to tough it out. I won’t think you’re weak just because you step out of there," Selena said, monitoring Dorven’s vital signs with a medical gaze.

So far, everything was still safe, and she felt more at ease—especially when Dorven spoke.

"I know," he said, closing his eyes. "That’s exactly why I can stay calm."

Selena didn’t understand what he meant. But before she could ask, a black light suddenly emerged from Dorven’s body.

The light was very faint at first—like smoke seeping from the pores of his skin. But within seconds, the black smoke grew thicker.

Selena’s eyes widened instantly.

"That..." She recognized the energy.

It was the same aura she’d sensed when she examined Dorven’s body.

A curse. Yes, that was the curse Dorven had been suffering from for years! The holy fire was truly drawing the curse out of his body.

Selena quickly moved closer again, wanting to get a clearer look at the smoke. But...

"Don’t move!"

Dorven, who had been lying still, suddenly opened his eyes. "What? Why?"

"The curse is coming out. Your healing process is underway—don’t move around too much."

Dorven remained silent, while Selena watched the black smoke slowly gather around his chest and back.

But something made her feel uneasy. The curse wasn’t just escaping. It was as if he were fighting against holy fire.

The black smoke coalesced into a vague claw-like shape, then clamped down on Dorven’s body from behind.

Dorven snorted in defiance. Both his eyes turned a fiery red.

"Dorven!"

"I’m still conscious."

Selena bit her lip upon hearing that reply, but then her medical eye spotted a weakness in what was happening.

"Don’t fight the curse."

"What?" Dorven looked at her sharply.

"Let the holy fire fight it. If you use your own energy to hold it back, you’ll only make the curse stronger."

Dorven immediately stopped the flow of his energy upon hearing Selena’s words. At the same time, the golden flames surrounding his body grew brighter. The black light that had been gripping his body began to burn away.

Until a faint scream was heard from within the smoke.

Selena froze when she realized it wasn’t Dorven’s voice. The voice sounded like someone screaming from a great distance.

"Who is that?"

Dorven didn’t answer; he was just as confused and had no idea. Selena understood that this wasn’t a simple matter; she stared at the black smoke with a serious expression. Before she finally realized something.

The curse inside Dorven’s body didn’t feel like an ordinary illness. There was something alive inside him.

Something that had been in Dorven’s body far longer than they had thought.

"This isn’t just a curse that robs one of their emotions..." Selena whispered.

"What do you mean?" Dorven asked, turning to look at her in surprise.

Selena didn’t answer right away. She watched as the black smoke grew denser before finally being expelled from Dorven’s body.

For a moment, Selena could make out a face within the smoke. A woman. Her face appeared for only a second before dissolving back into a cloud of black smoke.

Selena fell silent as she realized there was something familiar about that face.

It was very familiar; it was as if Selena had seen it before. But before she could recall it, the holy fire flared up again.

Dorven’s body jerked. "Argh!" his scream made Selena immediately run toward him.

"Dorven, what’s happening?!"

"I’m fine!"

"Don’t lie!"

Selena gripped his shoulders from outside the container. Her healing energy flowed slowly into Dorven’s body.

But this time, something strange happened. As soon as Selena’s energy touched the sacred flame, the golden light immediately grew brighter.

The entire backyard was filled with light. Dorven stared at Selena in surprise.

"You..."

"What?"

"The flame is responding to your energy."

Selena fell silent; she looked at her palm, and it was true. The sacred flame, which had previously only been cleansing the curse, now seemed to have gained extra fuel after her healing energy entered Dorven’s body.

Selena slowly smiled. "In that case, maybe we’ve found a much better treatment method."

Dorven raised an eyebrow. "So you’re going to help me?"

"Of course." Selena looked at him seriously. "But there’s one condition."

"What?"

"Don’t die just yet."

Dorven fell silent for a moment upon hearing that. Then, for the first time since the ritual began, he laughed.

"All right." His smile looked more relaxed. "I’ll do my best."