Chapter 180: The Song Of The Shard

There might be another way.

The thought had barely formed when three sharp knocks echoed through the office.

"Mr. Drakhal?" Isabelle’s crisp voice cut through the mystical connection.

The cavern dissolved instantly, crimson light fading as Cyrus snapped back to reality. The egg felt ordinary again in his hands—warm obsidian, nothing more.

Kane stirred on the sofa, silver ears twitching at the sound. His golden eyes fluttered open, immediately searching for the egg.

"Cyrus? What—"

"It’s fine," Cyrus murmured, quickly placing the egg back in its protective case. The wards hummed to life, concealing any trace of draconic energy.

Kane sat up, tails swishing with concern as he noticed Cyrus’s tense posture.

"Sir?" Isabelle’s voice came again, more insistent.

Cyrus straightened his tie and moved to the door, his expression shifting to its usual composed mask. The handle turned under his touch.

Isabelle stood in the doorway, tablet in hand, her ice-blue eyes sharp with urgency.

"The test results are in," she said without preamble.

Kane bolted upright, sleep forgotten as Isabelle’s words registered.

"The Singing Shard essence is stable and biologically compatible with Rina’s current cellular matrix," Isabelle reported, her tone carefully measured.

"The synthetic binding agent appears to have created anchor points that could accept the essence integration."

"That’s incredible," Kane breathed, scrambling off the sofa. His tails swished with barely contained excitement. "We need to start treatment immediately. How much time does she have left?"

Isabelle’s expression remained neutral, but her grip tightened on the tablet. "Hours, not days."

Cyrus moved decisively to his desk, signing authorization codes with swift strokes. "Begin preparations immediately."

"Sir, the risks—"

"Are acceptable," Cyrus cut her off, his crimson eyes flashing.

Kane was already moving toward the door, the dragon egg’s case tucked securely under his arm. "What do you need from us?"

Isabelle fell into step beside them as they left the office.

"Your presence may help stabilize her during the procedure. Half-spirits respond better to familiar energy signatures."

The elevator descended into Veyr Corp’s medical wing, its doors opening to reveal a sterile white corridor.

Blue-white light from spirit runes cast shifting patterns across polished floors as they hurried toward the intensive care unit.

Rina lay motionless beneath translucent sheets, her skin pale as winter moonlight.

The monitors beside her displayed cascading data streams—essence resonance graphs that showed alarming dips and spikes.

"Vitals are dropping," a technician reported, fingers dancing across holographic displays. "Her spirit core is decaying faster than predicted."

Isabelle moved efficiently, her frost-touched presence commanding immediate attention from the medical team.

"Initialize the essence chamber and prepare the stabilization field. I want thermal regulators at negative ten degrees Celsius."

Kane approached the bedside, setting the dragon egg case carefully aside.

His nine silver tails unfurled, foxfire flickering at their tips as his enhanced aura expanded through the room.

The chaotic energy readings on the monitors immediately began to settle.

"Better," Isabelle noted, watching the stabilization with approval.

"Your resonance is creating harmonic interference with the synthetic compounds."

Cyrus stood at the foot of the bed, his dragon presence carefully contained but ready. The air around him shimmered with restrained power.

"Beginning essence infusion," the lead technician announced as a vial of pale green liquid descended from the ceiling apparatus.

Kane’s breath caught in his throat as his mind drifted.

Purple liquid. Restraints biting into his wrists. Elias’s voice...

"Kane." Cyrus’s hand found his shoulder, anchoring him to the present.

Kane shook his head, silver tails bristling as the memory clawed at him.

The lab. The screaming agony of synthetic compounds tore through his spirit core, reshaping him from the inside out.

But this was different. This was healing.

The moment the Singing Shard essence entered Rina’s bloodstream, green-gold light erupted from the IV line.

It spread through her veins like molten sunlight, illuminating her translucent skin from within.

The harsh medical lighting seemed to soften, warming to honey and amber.

The air itself began to hum—a strange resonance that made Kane’s ears twitch. It was music, barely audible, like a lullaby carried on the wind from somewhere impossibly distant. Familiar, though he’d never heard it before.

Rina’s body arched suddenly, her back lifting off the bed.

"She’s seizing!" The technician’s hands flew across the controls.

Kane lurched forward, his memories of convulsing on Elias’s table flooding back. "No, wait—"

"Look," Isabelle commanded, her voice cutting through the panic. Ice-blue eyes tracked the cascading data streams.

"It’s stabilizing. Her spirit signature is realigning!"

The monitors had spiked into chaotic peaks, but even as they watched, the readings began to smooth into steady waves. The frantic beeping slowed to a rhythmic pulse.

Green-gold light continued to flow through Rina’s veins, but gentler now, less violent.

The ethereal music in the air grew stronger, and Kane recognized something in its melody—comfort, like his mother’s voice singing him to sleep centuries ago.

Rina’s breathing deepened. Color returned to her cheeks.

"Essence integration at sixty percent," the technician reported, wonder creeping into his clinical tone.

"Cellular regeneration is accelerating. The synthetic binding compounds are... they’re harmonizing with her natural spirit energy."

Kane’s knees nearly buckled with relief.

His tails swept forward, silver foxfire dancing at their tips as his own enhanced aura resonated with the healing frequencies filling the room.

Cyrus moved closer, his presence a steady warmth at Kane’s back. "The fragments recognize each other," he murmured, crimson eyes reflecting the green-gold light.

Through the gentle humming that filled the air, Rina’s eyelids fluttered.

Suddenly, the monitor’s steady rhythm faltered, beeping weakly before flatlining with a shrill alarm.

Isabelle’s knuckles whitened as she gripped the bed rail, her perpetual composure fracturing like ice under pressure.

"No."

Cyrus’s face became an unreadable mask as the last traces of green-gold light faded into Rina’s motionless form.

Kane stumbled forward, his voice breaking.

"Rina? Rina, please—"

Her fingers twitched once against the pristine white sheets.

Then went completely still.

The ethereal music died, leaving only the monitor’s relentless flatline tone echoing through the sterile room.

Kane’s silver tails trembled as he reached for her hand.