Roxy stared at the stone slab. This was a fucking miracle…
The corrupted, sickly grey core of the mana crystal was completely frozen, the necrotic rot entirely suffocated by the hardened crust. Deep within the center, a faint, healthy blue light was slowly returning.
It wasn't a failure. It was a complete, undeniable success.
"How?" Roxy gasped, her green eyes wide as she stepped closer to the workbench, her exhaustion momentarily forgotten. She looked from the crystal to the White Tiger standing beside her. "Syris didn't change the ratio. We didn't add anything else. How did it suddenly react?"
Torian rubbed the back of his neck, looking slightly sheepish for a massive, feral warlord. He held up his left hand. There was a fresh, shallow slice across his thick thumb, a single bead of crimson welling at the surface.
