Three days have passed since the Refinement began.

During this time, Vivian neither moved nor ate.

He didn't even close his eyes for a single breath.

His eyes, bloodshot from three sleepless nights, trembled slightly from exhaustion.

His face had grown pale, almost ghost-like, from the constant pain running through his body.

The room around him was filled with a heavy silence, broken only by the faint hum of mana.

Ash lay scattered across the floor, remnants of countless mana stones that had turned to dust during the process.

The once bright stones were gone, leaving behind only a gray trace of what they once held.

The Vehemoth Heart, floating before him, had changed greatly.

Its glow had faded, and it was now nearly transparent, around seventy percent fused.

Each time it absorbed his mana, a faint pulse of light spread through Vivian's chest, linking itself deeper with his own heart.

He could feel his heartbeat slowly syncing with the Vehemoth's rhythm.

Every beat was heavy, slow, and filled with power. Yet he didn't relax.

He knew this was only the second phase.

When the heart became completely transparent, when it reached a hundred percent, it would no longer be a separate being.

It would become a part of him.

He heaved a long sigh as his tired eyes fell on the Vehemoth Heart.

"It would've been better if the Vehemoth pair hadn't fused," he muttered under his breath. "I don't even know if this fused one will be stronger or weaker."

Back then, when he first saw the Vehemoth pair, hope had flickered in his heart.

Two hearts meant his chances would increase, two paths to survival.

Even if the battle had been brutal, he believed that with the Black Shadows by his side, they could somehow pull through.

But out of nowhere, the Vehemoth pair had fused, becoming something far more powerful than he had ever imagined.

It was a brutal battle, one that pushed him and the Black Shadows to their limits.

Even thinking about it now made his body ache.

"It was really unfortunate but what is there to fret about?"

He forced those memories aside and focused on the heart floating before him.

He reached into his subspace, pulled out another mana stone, and carefully placed it on the ground beside the others forming a circle around him.

The faint blue glow of the stones flickered, pulsing in rhythm with his heartbeat.

The Vehemoth Heart was changing fast now, its surface growing more transparent with each passing second.

The shift was so clear that one could see it happening with the naked eye.

Vivian's tired eyes suddenly lit up.

The exhaustion, the hunger, the pain, all of it faded for a moment.

His heart thumped hard in his chest, filled with both excitement and nervousness.

The end was near, and with trembling hands, he continued to channel his mana into the heart, determined to see it through to the very last moment.

Time flowed quietly as Vivian kept channeling his mana into the Vehemoth Heart, his breathing steady but faint.

The mana stones around him dimmed one after another, turning into piles of pale ash as their energy was drained.

The heart, suspended before him, pulsed softly as it absorbed everything he offered.

Its surface was now so clear that it looked like glass filled with liquid light.

Vivian's expression shifted. A faint spark appeared in his weary eyes, and his lips curved into a determined line.

He raised his right hand and snapped his fingers.

A flash of light rippled through the air, and from the subspace, a familiar dagger appeared, the same one he had used to cut his wrist on the first day of refinement.

The blade was spotless, not a single trace of blood staining its surface.

It gleamed faintly, reflecting the soft light of the floating heart.

Vivian's grip tightened around the hilt.

He slowly brought the dagger to his left wrist, the same wrist he had cut open just three days ago.

The old wound had only recently healed, the skin still fragile.

But hesitation had no place in his eyes.

With a steady breath, he pressed the blade down and sliced through the faint scar without mercy.

The blood never touched the ground, it was drawn instantly toward the Vehemoth Heart, vanishing into it like smoke in the wind.

For a brief moment, the heart glowed a faint crimson, but the color faded just as quickly, returning to its transparent state.

"Not enough?" Vivian muttered under his breath, frustration mixing with exhaustion.

He steadied his trembling hand, turning the dagger toward his stomach.

His eyes hardened. With one decisive motion, he plunged the blade deep.

A sharp gasp escaped his lips as warm blood poured out, but before it could spill, it was again pulled toward the floating heart.

The Vehemoth Heart pulsed violently as it absorbed the surge, glowing a deep red that spread through its entire form.

Then, just like on the first day, thin, glowing threads began to appear.

They wove through the air, twisting and shifting until they reached Vivian's chest.

When the first thread connected to his heart, a wave of pain exploded through his body.

His vision blurred, his breath hitched, and every muscle in his body trembled.

But he didn't scream. His jaw tightened, teeth gritted so hard they almost cracked.

He endured it, his mind locked on a single thought, 'endure it, endure it'

When the final thread sank into his chest, the red glow faded from the Vehemoth Heart, leaving behind the same transparent brilliance as before.

The light around it softened, pulsing faintly in rhythm with Vivian's heartbeat.

He exhaled shakily, the pain still echoing through his body, but a faint smile crept onto his lips.

This was the third and final cycle, the last step of the nerve connection.

Once this ended, the fusion would be complete.

Vivian's gaze stayed fixed on the heart as it hovered before him, glowing softly like a living crystal.

"Two hours more," he murmured, his voice weak but steady.

The words carried both exhaustion and relief.

His pale face, drained of color for days, began to show a faint glow, as if life itself was returning to him.

As time slipped by, the Vehemoth Heart became even more transparent, its glow fading little by little until it was almost invisible.

With each passing second, a faint light returned to Vivian's face.

His body trembled, but his eyes shone with a quiet, burning anticipation.

Soon, the heart was completely transparent, so clear it could no longer be seen by the naked eye.

Yet Vivian could feel it.

Every beat resonated inside him, deep and powerful, as if the Vehemoth Heart was no longer a separate being but a part of his own body.

He drew in a sharp breath.

The sensation was strange, like something alive was settling into the rhythm of his own heartbeats.

The real fusion had begun. This was the final step.

"It's starting…" he whispered, his voice barely audible.

Vivian looked down through the open wound on his chest.

What he saw made his breath catch.

His own heart was changing, it was turning transparent at an unbelievable speed, almost twenty times faster than the Vehemoth Heart had.

The sight was both terrifying and awe-inspiring; the glow within him was fierce and pure, like living light.

In mere moments, his heart had become fully transparent, pulsing with an ethereal glow that matched the Vehemoth's.

The two were now perfectly aligned, beating as one, their rhythms merging into a single, powerful pulse that shook through his entire body.

"And now… the last part," Vivian muttered, his voice steady but heavy with tension.

His eyes gleamed as he guided the flow of mana straight into the Vehemoth Heart.

The heart responded instantly.

Its faint glow pulsed once, then began to sink into his chest. The fusion had begun.

The moment it started, a wave of unbearable pain tore through Vivian's body.

It felt as if every nerve was being burned alive.

His muscles twitched, his vision dimmed, and his heartbeat thundered in his ears.

But not a single sound escaped his lips. He bit down hard, refusing to let out even a groan.

He had come too far for that.

Seconds felt like hours before, finally, the process neared its end.

The light faded, and when Vivian looked down at his chest, his heart had changed completely.

The wound still bled faintly, but within it pulsed a new heart, black as night and slightly larger than that of any human.

It glimmered faintly with a strange, otherworldly aura.

"It's done," he whispered weakly. "Now… the last thing."

He picked up the dagger with trembling hands, ready to shatter the Vehemoth Heart.

The plan was simple: destroy it so the heart's innate regenerative ability would rebuild itself perfectly within him.

But just as he raised the dagger, his arm froze midair.

"...Huh?" His expression stiffened. Panic crept into his eyes.

His hand wouldn't move. Neither would his legs.

He tried to speak, but no sound came out.

His entire body felt distant, numb, as though someone had cut the link between his mind and flesh.

Even the pain vanished, leaving behind only cold stillness.

'This is bad…' he thought frantically. He knew the process.

If he didn't destroy the heart within one minute, his chances of survival would plummet.

The new heart wasn't stable yet, it could reject him at any moment.

'Damn it…' he cursed inwardly, forcing his mind to reach out toward his mana core.

His consciousness flickered, then, finally, he managed to move a tiny thread of mana.

Using the last of his strength, he sent out a weak transmission.

["…Charlotte."]

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