She chanted the healing mantra in a steady voice. The silver light that had been weak moments ago now burst brilliantly from both her palms, surging into the dark-race youth's body like a river finding its mouth.
"Take it. Please, accept my magic. Don't reject it," Lysandra murmured anxiously when she sensed a slight resistance from the dark energy inside the young man's body.
Two opposing energies—the pure light of life and the dense aura of darkness—met within the young man's veins. His body convulsed again. His brows drew together as he endured the pain caused by the collision of magic.
"I know it hurts. Hold on. You can get through this," Lysandra continued speaking, trying to calm him. "Father always said dark energy could never merge with the energy of life. He said we were destined to destroy each other. Please, prove that Father was wrong. Please..."
As if responding to the Goddess's desperate plea, the resistance from the dark energy inside the young man's body suddenly weakened. It did not break apart. Instead, it seemed to 'welcome' Lysandra's silver light, allowing it to enter and stitch together the gaping wounds in his internal organs.
"Good... keep it up," Lysandra panted, her breath growing labored. Channeling this much magic directly was tremendously draining on her divine power, especially after she had been exhausted by the earlier attack from the shadow spirits. But she didn't care. She continued pumping energy into him without stopping.
The skin around the wound in the young man's chest slowly began to close. The black blood that had been flowing endlessly now congealed and dried. The deathly pallor in his face gradually faded.
Lysandra smiled wearily. Her vision began to swim.
"It worked," she whispered in relief. "You're going to live. And I... I'm not a murderer."
However, just as Lysandra prepared to pull her hand away because the wound was nearly completely closed, the temperature around them suddenly skyrocketed.
"Huh? What is this?" Lysandra gasped. An extraordinary burning sensation struck the palm pressed against the young man's chest.
It wasn't the heat of the curse or her healing magic. This heat came from inside the young man's body.
Something emerged beneath the skin of his chest, directly under Lysandra's palm. A blood-red glowing line began drawing itself, forming an incredibly intricate geometric pattern.
"Wait... what symbol is this?" Lysandra tried to pull her hand away, but for some reason, it seemed firmly stuck to the young man's chest, locked in place by an invisible suction force. "Let go! Ow, it's hot!"
The red lines grew clearer and spread outward, forming an ancient symbol resembling a coiled dragon devouring its own tail. The symbol pulsed in time with the young man's heartbeat, and every time it pulsed, it reacted violently to the remnants of Lysandra's silver energy.
"Why is this symbol draining my energy?!" Lysandra panicked. She couldn't free her hand. "The magic is overreacting! Hey, wake up! Please, wake up!"
The young man remained unconscious, but his face tightened as though he were experiencing an incredibly intense nightmare.
The ancient symbol on his chest shone brighter and brighter, changing the color of its light from blood-red to a dazzling blend of golden red and silver. The light was so powerful that it pierced through the gaps between the leaves and colossal branches of the Forbidden Forest, illuminating the entire dark area around them like a gigantic beacon.
In an instant, a magical shockwave exploded from the symbol, hurling Lysandra several yards backward until her back slammed into the root of a great tree.
"Argh!" Lysandra groaned in pain, clutching her dizzy head.
She stared at the young man, breathing hard. The light from the symbol on his chest gradually dimmed, but the magical pressure in the air of the Forbidden Forest had changed completely. Something ancient and incredibly dangerous had just awakened at her touch.