“Laia!” John yelled out loudly in worry, as Laia’s aura was like a candle in the wind, ready to be snuffed out at any moment.
Laia’s pale and fatigued face shifted upwards to John, while an exhausted smile appeared on her face.
“Don’t…don’t worry about me. I’ll hold on as long as I can!” she said, her voice almost like a whisper.
Che!
John unleashed another Divine Reaping Scythe towards the lightning avatar that was fast approaching, who unleashed its own battle art to counter.
“You won’t last long enough!” John called out, as he could tell she did not have the Qi reserves to last long enough. As he was the opponent of the lightning avatar and not Laia, only he could tell exactly how long the battle was going to last.
A grave look appeared on Laia’s pale and exhausted face as she heard John’s words. John’s mind raced for answers, as his original plan would no longer work. At the same time, his battle arts continued to fly towards his opponent, their battle not pausing for a moment..
An idea suddenly popped into John’s mind, one that he had realized was possible once Laia had started healing him. However, it was beyond dangerous to use, and even he didn’t know if he would ever be able to recover if he used it. However, it was all he could think of at the moment, and knew it was this or death.
“Kirii, can you handle this fucker for a minute?” John asked Kirii through their soul connection.
“Ahhhhh…” Kirii mumbled, unsure if he could manage that.
“You don’t need to damage it, just stop it from reaching me and Laia,” John explained further.
“Aye…I should be able to manage that,” Kirii replied, “although a minute is all I can promise!”
While Kirii was beyond strong, and almost equal to John in might, he was still a bit weaker. He was a natural enemy of the lightning avatar, but even still would not be able to hold out for as long as John had managed to do. At the same time, Kirii wouldn’t have Laia’s healing powers to help him, making the battle even more difficult.
“Good, trade with me!” John said as he shot down towards Kirii and Laia.
ROAR!
Kirii roared out loudly, as if hyping himself up for the brief but terrifying battle to come and shot up into the sky towards the lightning avatar. A tempest of lightning formed in the sky around Kirii, quite similar to John’s lightning domain.
He arrived before the lightning avatar immediately and began to fight against it, who seemed to have no interest in Kirii and still focused on John. However, Kirii’s might was strong enough to stop any forward progress, and a fight between the two broke out in the sky above John and Laia.
John landed before Laia as a wave of weakness washed through his body, but he shook aside that weakness as he kneeled before Laia, who was still kneeling on the ground. He undid his Asura Transformation Art and unlocked Limiters, as his sinister and powerful aura was beyond something Laia could withstand in her current state.
“Laia…are you okay?” John asked with deep concern. He could tell she had already pushed past her limits, and was on the verge of collapse.
“I’m…I’m fine,” Laia replied through ragged breaths while looking down at the ground beneath her, as if raising her head was beyond her ability to do at the moment.
John’s hand reached out towards Laia, and he gently nudged her chin upwards, forcing her to look into his eyes. He needed to see her gaze for his question to come, to see the truth behind her words. A lie would mean his death.
Laia’s eyes widened slightly at his actions, but she didn’t move her head as they peered into each other’s eyes.
“I have a way to defeat the lightning avatar,” John said to her, his gaze firm, “but to do so, I’ll have to push my body to the absolute limit. When I do that, I’ll need at least as much healing energy as you were able to give me at the start, if not more, or I’ll perish without question. Do you have enough energy reserves to do that?”
Laia gazed into John’s eyes as well, her eyes not averting from his gaze. She remained silent for a brief moment, the sounds of the apocalyptic battle drowning out that silence.
“I do have a way,” Laia replied after her brief silence, “but for that way to work, you’ll have to trust me with your life! And a future calamity may befall you as a result…Are you prepared to make that choice?”
John’s gaze stayed focused on Laia’s eyes, as he weighed the truth of her words. He could detect no lie at all, and even felt the weight of her last statement, as if his life would be in her hands, and future dangers would arise as well.
“I trust you,” John replied without a single moment of hesitation. Not only had Laia earned his trust with all her actions, from saving Adam to helping him with his tribulation, it was also the only way he saw both of them surviving this tribulation of death.
Laia was slightly surprised to hear John’s reply so quickly and so resolved. She nodded her head at his words, committing herself as well for what’s to come, although a heavy expression filled with hidden worry appeared on her face.
“Good, then open your soul to me,” Laia instructed. Her instructions were something that no cultivator would ever do unless forced, as opening one’s soul to another left them at the complete mercy of the other person.
John’s soul defenses faded away in an instant, his resolved actions once again surprising Laia. He now knew she he had said he needed to trust her, as lowering his soul defenses was akin to letting her decide his fate at the moment.
She ignored that surprise as her head leaned forward towards John, her forehead resting against his. He felt her heat of her brow and her sweat slick his forehead, but he ignored any distracting thoughts, although it was beyond difficult, even in this situation.
The Dao of Life rune on her forehead lit up once again, and John felt an incredibly vibrant energy instantly invade his soul from his forehead’s direct contact with the rune. However, unlike the energy she had used on him before, this energy contained a soul aura as well. John’s eyes widened slightly as he realized she fractured off a small portion of her own soul, which firmly rooted itself in the core of his own soul.
He didn’t know how this was possible, but didn’t ask any questions as he allowed her to do what she needed to do.
Their thoughts, hearts, and feelings seemed to link together for the briefest moments as her soul seed rooted into place. The sensation was incredibly odd to him, but also profoundly intimate. Both John and Laia shivered at the sensation, but both ignored the sensation as best they could.
Laia’s invading energy faded away, while John’s soul defense surged once again. Both breathed out a deep breath, their gazes locking once more.
John’s eyes widened slightly as he felt Laia’s healing energy flood through his body, the source being the soul-seed within his own soul. The energy flooding into his body was much more profound than before, while it was also more abundant as well. A look of comprehension appeared on his face as he realized why Laia had done what she did.
The soul-seed within his own soul allowed her to infuse his body directly with her Dao of Life powers, ignoring the distance between them as well as increase the compatibility between the two of them. Both factors allowed her to provide him with much greater healing energy, without having to expend any more Qi than before to do so.
A small smile appeared on John’s face as he stared at Laia, as he could tell that this decision was not made by her lightly. She had definitely made some sort of sacrifice to do this, but at the moment he could not concern himself with that.
“How long can you hold out for?” John asked as horrific explosions blasted overhead.
“I’m almost out of Qi,” Laia replied softly, her voice even more ethereal and enhancing than normal, “but with our soul connection. I should be able to last for five more minutes.”
“Good,” John replied firmly as he stood up. “Then it’s time to end this tribulation once and for all.”