Damned Healer-Chapter 580: Everlasting Link

Darian's consciousness returned slowly, emerging from absolute nothingness.

Everything was in darkness. He couldn't feel the passage of time, nor his own form. The only thing he could feel, and with a terrifying intensity...

It was the cold.

Cold... very, very cold.

It was like being submerged in a frozen sea, at the bottom of an ocean where light would never reach.

Until, slowly, a very small warmth pulsed in his chest.

His senses began to return, but the cold was still dominant. He felt like a solid block of ice, and now someone had placed a living ember at his core.

That lasted for an indeterminate amount of time. Until... light began to fill his world again.

Darian opened his eyes.

In that instant, it was as if a bolt of lightning ran through his body. All of his memories flooded his mind at once.

But the cold was still so intense that he felt an absurd pain run through every muscle in his body.

He moved his eyes toward his own chest. There, he saw a female figure tightly hugging him, her arms wrapped around his neck and her head buried in his chest.

'Hm? Why am I not wearing any clothes?' Darian thought, with a strange expression.

Niara, meanwhile, was clinging to him so tightly it seemed like she wanted to fuse with his body. Her scent and softness were what made Darian realize he was alive.

"N... Niara?"

She trembled slightly and began to lift herself up, meeting his confused gaze. Darian's lips were trembling; his face was pale and fragile, like glass about to shatter.

"You woke up..." Niara murmured, taking a deep breath as she stared into his eyes.

Darian realized she was exhausted, as if she had made an absurd effort.

"... I didn't reborn... I still have a body and a soul, but something is wrong. What's happening?" he asked, his voice slightly shaky.

Before blacking out, Darian was sure his body and soul would die. He thought that, at best, he might reincarnate with only his soul because of the curse. After that, he would have to deal with a terrible problem: losing his body.

But he was there, in his own body. And that strange sensation running through him...

Besides the extreme cold, there was a terrifying emptiness.

Emptiness... just thinking about it made Darian's eyes tremble.

Niara began to speak calmly, "Dan... I brought you back using the technique your master sent me."

She explained seriously. The technique made it clear that when Darian reached the nine rings and the maximum power of his cores, he would be able to use a unique and terrifying power, one that would let him walk the line between life and death.

But Niara, his partner and the other half of the technique, could keep him alive and heal him, doing something that would benefit both of them equally.

'So... I used something I wasn't supposed to before reaching the nine rings...' Darian thought, swallowing hard.

Niara continued, looking at him, "But..."

She stopped mid-sentence and quickly looked away, her expression very strange.

Darian felt surprised by that. What could make her like this?

Niara wasn't shy; in fact, she was the complete opposite. Darian realized she felt nervous, mixed with fear of messing up. It was like she was trying to do something she had wanted for a long time, but had already failed at once before. Now, she wanted to do it right.

She took a deep breath again and, without lifting her gaze, murmured in a low tone:

"The technique wasn't really used completely. I only used the introduction, which is exactly what makes you wake up. This will last very little time. We both need to use it together for it to work. Only then will you be healed..."

Darian was confused at first. But noticing her racing heartbeat, and recognizing the feeling she was conveying at that moment...

'Wait?!' His eyes widened. 'Master said her mother helped create that... and the technique... was divided into two parts that work together... this...'

Darian remembered the story from that book.

Meru's mother met the current Heaven's Will when she was only ten years old, and she was a slave of a mediocre clan on an ascending planet. He accepted her as a disciple, and she became like an adopted daughter to him.

But that was only on his side. As she grew up beside that figure, she knew exactly what she wanted for the future.

However, her master was stubborn and troublesome.

When she became an adult, she began creating methods to make him see her as a woman. She learned and studied to the fullest some very strange techniques, in which cultivators of opposite genders united their essences to grow stronger. From that, she managed to create something of her own.

In the end, it didn't work, obviously. She was very young, and that was a pretty childish way to try to win someone over.

Much later, things changed after several events, and she got a happy ending, with him accepting her completely.

After they got married, the two of them discovered together a real use for the techniques she had created. They combined them with other powerful methods. In short, the couple developed a technique that allowed them to abuse suicidal techniques, because when they united, they could recover in a short time.

That technique made the two of them unite all their energies. And by using Yin, Yang, life power, and everything else in their bodies, they could make those energies grow rapidly, then divide a much larger portion between them.

Darian understood everything in a flash. He immediately tensed up.

"Dan..." Niara murmured, slowly lifting her gaze toward him.

Without saying anything else, she touched his forehead. In that instant, a torrent of information flowed directly into Darian's mind. It was exactly what he needed to know for everything to work.

'Everlasting Link.'

The name of the technique echoed in his soul. For the connection to be complete, both of them needed to unite in every sense: physical, spiritual, and existential. There were no shortcuts or magic formulas; the technique demanded the most primitive and natural connection between a man and a woman. No barriers, no secrets.

That wouldn't just heal Darian's soul; it also seemed to have a strange connection to The Eightfold Celestial Path, benefiting both of them in other ways. In other words, everything was guiding them in the same direction, placing one in front of the other.

Darian swallowed hard.

When he looked at Niara, he noticed a trace of uncertainty bloom in her eyes. She looked away, as if afraid the situation might seem like a burden or something forced by fate.

Darian didn't hesitate. He gently moved his hand to her chin, guiding her face back so she focused only on him. Their gazes met, and the world around them seemed to disappear.

He leaned in, closing the distance between their lips.

At the touch, Niara seemed to explode inside. They stayed that way for several minutes, immersed in each other, as if nothing else existed but them.

However, reality was cruel. Darian felt extreme weakness suddenly rise; his mind began to blur.

He had only been awakened so they could perform the technique properly, and his time was running out.

Niara sensed the fluctuation in his energy and immediately pulled away, even though their bodies were still very close.

She was breathing heavily, her face completely flushed, radiating a heat Darian had never felt before.

For him, who carried that deadly cold and emptiness inside, being pressed against her was the best and most pleasurable feeling in the universe. His eyes were immediately drawn to her curves; physically, Niara showed her desire in every way, like a volcano about to erupt.

Darian took a deep breath. Even wrapped in desire and urgency, he hesitated for a second, worried about the situation they had put themselves in.

"This feels a bit forced by the circumstances... but I had already decided to move forward with you at the first chance I got."

Niara let out a soft laugh, a sound that warmed Darian's soul more than any technique. He was basically worried about the same thing she was.

"I wish you wouldn't overthink me so much sometimes, Dan. I'm already yours, and you're mine... and also, there isn't a single day I don't think about this. Just let everything out until you're satisfied. I love you, idiot!"

Darian felt an immense relief. She understood that this wasn't a forced situation; they were simply tearing down the last barrier between them.

The hesitation died there. What came next wasn't just about survival, but about the promise that no matter how deep the abyss was, they would always be each other's anchor.

Niara waited for him to act; she didn't know exactly what to do next. Darian took a deep breath, letting his mind open completely, not thinking about anything else.

Nothing in the world was more important than her at that moment. All of his focus and will connected to her.

Darian moved his hands with reverent gentleness, removing her clothes. Without wings or scales, Niara's skin reflected the violet glow of the flowers outside. Darian couldn't hold back his admiration. It felt like the heavens had used supernatural sculpting skills to create such a perfect woman.

Niara, in turn, watched him with fixed, intense eyes. Her thoughts weren't very different from his. She felt no less desire; in fact, she had spent a long time 'secretly' watching him while he remained unconscious on the bed.

The instant their skin touched with no barriers at all, the outside world ceased to exist.

They seemed perfectly synchronized, as if the Everlasting Link was guiding every touch. Hesitation vanished, replaced by an overwhelming urgency. They gave themselves to each other with an intensity bordering on madness, like two forces of nature finally meeting after an eternity of waiting.

...

Time became irrelevant. Day and night, light and shadow... nothing mattered beyond the presence of the other.

With every touch, Darian felt the icy void of the Origin being filled by Niara's burning vitality. The cold that threatened to erase his existence was replaced by a deep, comforting warmth.

Eventually, Darian had completely recovered. Even so, neither of them seemed to want to stop; both were completely addicted to it.

But eventually, their bodies reached the absolute limit. It was as if someone had pulled the energy thread that sustained them.

Both passed out on the bed, still clinging to each other, arms intertwined and breathing in sync. They sank into a sleep so deep and comfortable that they would never forget that moment in their lives.