The emerald tendril, pulsing with a light that seemed to hum with ancient power, plunged into Ethan's chest.
Not with the sickening squelch of flesh and blood, but with a soft, almost reverent *thump*.
It felt… oddly warm, like sinking into a bath after a long, arduous hike through a blizzard.
**The System:** *Warning!
Initiating "Spiritual Core Symbiosis."* A digitized voice echoed in Ethan's head, sounding suspiciously like a game show host.
*Commence one-hour countdown.
Side effects may include: shared vision, telepathic migraines, and an uncontrollable urge to sing karaoke.
*
Ethan blinked.
Karaoke?
Seriously?
He could feel Mia's consciousness brushing against his, a gentle whisper against the roaring tempest of his own thoughts.
Her memories, fragmented and hazy like a dream half-remembered, flickered through his mind.
He saw flashes of sunlight filtering through leaves, the cool press of earth against bare feet, and the faint, bitter scent of… something.
He couldn't quite place it.
Outside, Lucas's laughter, brittle and sharp as shattered glass, echoed through the now-trapped herb house.
The flimsy wooden walls rippled with an iridescent energy, shimmering like a heat mirage.
"Foolish boy," Lucas purred, his voice laced with a chilling amusement.
"Did you really think you could escape me?
"
Escape?
Oh, Ethan planned to escape alright.
He grinned, a wild, reckless glint in his eye.
Remember that "Divine Retribution" skill the System had so helpfully gifted him?
Yeah, about that…
He swayed, mimicking the drunken stagger of the Drunken Immortal Stance.
It was a move he'd only practiced once, and frankly, he felt more like a drunken earthworm than an immortal, but hey, desperate times.
He stumbled towards the nearest cluster of dried herbs, his hand sparking with a chaotic energy.
One swift motion, and *whoosh*!
The herbs ignited, a plume of acrid smoke filling the small room.
*Cough, cough.
* Not exactly the dramatic effect he was going for.
More like setting fire to his grandmother's attic than unleashing divine retribution.
**The System:** *Congratulations!
You have successfully ingested Level 3 Fire Poison.
Symptoms may include spontaneous combustion, internal barbecue, and a severe dislike for spicy food.
*
Ethan's jaw dropped.
"You're kidding, right? Now? Seriously?" He glanced at Mia, her face pale and ethereal in the flickering firelight.
Her eyes, usually wide and innocent, now held a depth he hadn't noticed before.
*Only Mia's unique herbal concoction can neutralize the poison*, the System chirped helpfully, as though suggesting a refreshing beverage.
*Tick-tock.
*
Suddenly, Mia spoke.
Her voice, clear and resonant, sliced through the crackling flames and Lucas's sneering laughter like a silver blade.
"Qingyun's end.
"
The words, spoken after years of silence, hung in the air, thick with an almost tangible power.
Everyone froze.
Even the flickering flames seemed to hold their breath.
Lucas's smug smile faltered, replaced by a look of stunned disbelief.
The emerald tendril, still connected to Ethan's chest, bloomed.
Not into a simple flower, but a magnificent, thousand-petaled lotus, radiating a blinding golden light.
The air thrummed with energy, and the confining barrier around the herb house shattered like thin ice.
Lucas cried out as the force of the blast threw him back.
His right arm, the one he'd used to activate the barrier, snapped at the elbow, revealing not bone and sinew, but gleaming metal joints and intricate gears.
Mia's eyes, now blazing with a fierce, otherworldly light, fixed on Lucas.
Her voice, no longer hesitant, resonated with the weight of centuries.
"You… are not what you seem."
**The System**: *Incoming message from… Tianji Pavilion?
* The system's voice, usually so chipper, now held a note of bewildered caution.
*Things are getting… interesting.
*
From the shadows of the shattered doorway, a voice, calm and deep as an ancient well, echoed, "Indeed, they are."
The smoke from the still-smoldering herbs swirled around Lucas like a shroud, obscuring his mangled, partially mechanical arm.
He scrambled back, his face a mask of shock and… fear?
Yes, fear.
The kind of fear reserved for spiders the size of small dogs and tax audits.
The arrogant smirk was gone, replaced by a thin-lipped grimace.
Mia stood, bathed in the golden light of the blossoming lotus, an avenging angel carved from moonlight and stardust.
The air crackled around her, humming with an energy that made the hairs on Ethan's arms stand on end.
He felt strangely… connected to her, like they were two branches of the same river, flowing towards an inevitable confluence.
He could almost taste the bitter scent he'd sensed earlier in her memories – nightshade.
Lots and lots of nightshade.
This girl had a *thing* for poisonous plants.
From the shattered doorway emerged a figure draped in shadows.
Only his face was visible, a stark canvas of pale skin and sharp angles framed by raven hair.
His eyes, the color of a winter sky just before dawn, held a depth that seemed to swallow the light around them.
This was not a man to be trifled with.
Ethan felt it in his gut, a primal instinct screaming, *DANGER!
DO NOT POKE!
*
"Tianji Pavilion," Lucas hissed, spitting the words like venom.
"What business do you have here?
"
The newcomer, unfazed by Lucas's hostility, inclined his head slightly.
"We are merely observers… for now," he said, his voice smooth as polished obsidian.
"However, interference with the natural order, particularly involving artifacts of such… significance…" He gestured towards Mia, the golden light reflecting in his unsettlingly calm eyes.
"…tends to pique our interest.
"
"Artifacts?
" Ethan blurted out, momentarily forgetting his impending spontaneous combustion.
"Mia's an artifact?
" He glanced at her.
She looked more like a slightly pissed-off goddess than a dusty relic.
The Pavilion representative – Ethan decided to call him Shadow Dude until further notice – ignored him completely.
He focused his attention on Lucas, who was now attempting to subtly reattach his dismembered robotic arm.
It wasn't going well.
"Your… enhancements," Shadow Dude continued, his voice dripping with a subtle disapproval that would make a disappointed parent proud, "are… unconventional, to say the least.
The Tianji Pavilion takes a dim view of such… modifications.
"
Lucas, finally managing to click his arm back into place with a sickening *clunk*, straightened his robes.
"My methods are my own affair," he snarled, trying to regain some semblance of his usual composure.
"The Qingyun Sect answers to no one.
"
Shadow Dude raised a perfectly sculpted eyebrow.
"Is that so?
" He took a step forward, and the temperature in the room seemed to drop several degrees.
"Perhaps a… reassessment… is in order.
"
Ethan, feeling decidedly like a third wheel in this cosmic showdown, decided to chime in.
"So, uh… about that fire poison…" He coughed, hoping to subtly emphasize his rapidly deteriorating condition.
He imagined his internal organs were starting to resemble well-done kebabs.
Mia turned to him, her gaze softening.
The golden light around her pulsed, and a single petal detached from the lotus, drifting towards him.
He instinctively caught it, and as his fingers brushed against its silken surface, a wave of cool energy washed over him.
The burning sensation vanished, replaced by a sense of profound… calm.
He felt… *better* than he had in years.
**The System:** *Congratulations!
You have achieved Level 4 Poison Immunity!
Side effects may include an insatiable craving for raw garlic and the ability to communicate with squirrels.
*
Ethan stared at the System message, dumbfounded.
Squirrels?
Seriously?
Meanwhile, Lucas and Shadow Dude were locked in a staring contest of epic proportions.
It was like watching two cobras sizing each other up before a fight to the death.
Ethan had a feeling things were about to get a whole lot more… interesting.
And he still hadn't figured out how to do the Macarena.
So, there you have it!
Let me know what you think.
Is it sufficiently weird?
Are there enough squirrels?
Should I amp up the karaoke references?
I'm all ears!
(And maybe a little bit tail, because, you know, squirrels…)