Elemental Magnetic Star

Chapter 188 Willow Wood and Luminous Harmony

"Silver Tan, is that you?" Raina Grace tried to communicate with the ice worm, hoping for a response from Silver Tan.

After a long wait, just when everyone was about to give up hope, a weak voice came through: "Raina Grace? Where am I?"

"It's really Silver Tan! He made it!" Raina Grace excitedly told Flame Wave and Flicker Shadow, "Did you hear that?"

However, Flame Wave and Flicker Shadow exchanged puzzled looks, realizing they hadn't heard anything, and shook their heads simultaneously: "No."

"You didn't?" Raina Grace was surprised, "He was clearly asking where he is. Didn't you hear him?"

"I can only communicate with you through mental strength; they probably can't hear me," Silver Tan explained.

Raina Grace realized, "You can't make sounds? Or the ice worm can't?"

"I'm still figuring out this new body," Silver Tan was more concerned about their current situation, "Where are we? Is everyone alright?"

Hearing his concern, Raina Grace reassured, "We've already left the Ice and Fire Marsh and are still in the abyss, but we'll be able to get out soon."

"Is that so... Why do I feel like I'm in a hot, stinky place? And I can't move..."

After a moment of silence, Raina Grace, seeing Flicker Shadow puzzled about what to do with the worm in his hand, told Silver Tan, "Can't you fly?"

"Fly?" It took a moment for Silver Tan to grasp the concept, now that he had become a creature capable of flight.

After some time, either processing the news or trying to fly, he finally said, "I still can't move, probably too weak."

"Do you need to rest, or is there something you need?" Raina Grace asked.

"I... don't know... but I seem to crave..." Silver Tan's voice was confused, "this stench?"

The stench? Combining his earlier comment about "heat and stench," Raina Grace realized he was referring to Flicker Shadow. Anyone staying in the abyss for long would emit an unpleasant smell, including herself, so she didn't find Flicker Shadow particularly odorous.

Given that Silver Tan's "head" was buried in Flicker Shadow's large, dark palm, perhaps he felt the smell more intensely. But why would he crave that "stench"?

She wondered, asking Flicker Shadow, "Did the ice worm especially cling to you before because it liked your... smell?"

"Smell?" Flicker Shadow was confused, "What smell?"

"It might be due to elemental magnetic power," Flame Wave guessed, "Could your elemental magnetic power have attracted it? Remember how it swallowed your sound waves and grew? Maybe that's its energy source."

Recalling the incident where the worm grew after absorbing the sound waves, Raina Grace considered Silver Tan might also need energy, possibly from Flicker Shadow's elemental magnetic power. She shared Silver Tan's successful attachment to the ice worm and suggested to Flicker Shadow, "Silver Tan might also need your elemental magnetic power for energy. Could you try sending some to him?"

"He needs it too?" Flicker Shadow felt mixed emotions. It was strange enough to be caring for a worm, and now that worm housed a person needing his care? But after all their efforts to save Silver Tan, contributing some elemental magnetic power was the least he could do.

Indeed, the ice worm stood up straight, indicating that with more elemental magnetic power, it could fly, prompting Flicker Shadow to increase the transfer, sparing himself the effort of holding it.

"He says he's feeling much better but needs to adapt to his new body," Raina Grace conveyed to Flicker Shadow, watching the clumsily circling ice worm.

Flicker Shadow still felt odd about nurturing a creature that seemed only interested in consuming his elemental magnetic power without acknowledging him. The worm kept circling Raina Grace, making it feel as if they were jointly raising a pet, which surprisingly comforted Flicker Shadow.

As Silver Tan adjusted to his new body, Raina Grace learned that the water pond floating in mid-air, referred to as the "Abyssal Tear" by the Sky Whispers, indeed offered a way out. They just needed to prepare, and they could leave directly through it.

Their adventure in the abyss was drawing to a close, a relief for everyone. The trials and tribulations faced, if considered a form of growth, could not excuse Willow Wood, the instigator of their hardships.

Silver Tan knew the most about Willow Wood, especially revealing that the guidance he provided Flicker Shadow was under the minimal influence of Willow Wood's mental strength, making them even more wary of him. Was such godlike mental power truly possible for a carbon-based life form?

Described by Silver Tan, it seemed like wisdom from afar, a light piercing through darkness, a conversation beyond senses. He could sense the energy flows and transformations of the abyss and the threads of that mysterious power.

Flame Wave had never heard of such power, not even recorded in humanity's splendid civilizations, "What exactly... is he?" Clearly, Willow Wood was an adversary, or rather, deemed them unworthy of being considered enemies, presenting a formidable challenge.

Learning how Silver Tan knew him, Flicker Shadow was more concerned about whether he retained the ability to read minds, "With such a small body, it probably can't hold that much information, right? Can you tell what I'm thinking now?" He directed the last question towards the ice worm.

Raina Grace relayed, "He says he doesn't know. The power was too overwhelming; acquiring it for a few seconds nearly drained all his energy."

"So how could Willow Wood's body support such a vast amount of information?" Flame Wave pondered, "It's still flesh and blood, no different from us."

Raina Grace agreed, "Right, maybe he can't use that power freely, at least not beyond the limits of his vessel."

This realization made Willow Wood seem less daunting. However, a new question arose, "Why did he seek out Luminous Harmony?"

Silver Tan couldn't fathom either, "I wonder how Luminous Harmony is, if he's still beneath the Ice and Fire Marsh. I intended to look for him first after getting a new body, but you brought me straight out." Given the circumstances, Flame Wave's quick decision was correct, but it was no longer feasible to go back, "I've always suspected Luminous Harmony might have willingly accepted Willow Wood's possession."

"Is that so?" Raina Grace felt a mixture of emotions. How could someone who taught her and gave her a chance to know herself have such an unfamiliar side?

Wait, it wasn't entirely unfamiliar. No wonder she always felt a sense of deja vu with Willow Wood. Could it be that the person she had been dealing with in the Sky Domain was actually Willow Wood?