The violet-tinged heart-fire roared, and the heat in the sanctum shifted from a forge's warmth to a predatory hunger. Lin Tian felt it like a pressure against his skin, trying to seep into his pores and drink.
"The connection is stabilizing, but the parasite is digging in deeper," Su Lan called out, her voice strained as she wove ribbons of golden fire around Yan Jiao, trying to insulate her from the main siphon. "It's adapting!"
Xueya's frost formed a brittle shield over them, but it was already melting under the corrupted flame's gaze. "We cannot hold this position," she said, her words clipped with effort.
Lin Tian looked down at Yan Jiao. Her grip on his wrist was iron-tight, her knuckles white. The anchor he'd built was a dam, but the Void was a flood, and it was starting to crack. He could feel the cold tendrils of nothingness worming their way through her meridians, seeking the core of her heart-fire.
