Chapter 161: The Weight of Creation

Grace looked into the Bloom’s eyes.

Her rapier hovered an inch away from her neck. From this perspective, it looked like Grace was about to kill Eternia herself.

[Do I have to…?]

The Bloom’s face shifted between expressions – fear, acceptance, confusion. Tears rolled down her cheeks and became butterflies that died instantly.

“You’re her.” The Bloom’s voice came out broken. “You’re Eternia.”

“I’m not—”

“You have her face. Her energy.” The Bloom’s body writhed, corruption spreading like ink through water. “You made me like this.”

Grace’s hand shook. The rapier trembled.

“I didn’t make you.”

“You did!” Multiple mouths opened across the Bloom’s form. “You put creation in me! Told me to make things! Said it was my purpose!”

[Suddenly, she thinks I’m Eternia? Or is she trying to manipulate me? Is she trying to confuse me?]

“And now you’re here to kill me.” The Bloom’s original face reappeared. “Did I do something wrong? Did I create badly?”

Grace’s chest tightened.

“No. You didn’t do anything wrong.”

“Then why?” The Bloom’s tears became thorns.

“Because someone corrupted you. Used you. And…” Grace swallowed. “You might be too dangerous be left alive.”

“The silver woman?” The Bloom’s form rippled. “She said she was helping. Said you’d be proud of what I’d become.”

“She lied.” Grace lowered her rapier slightly. “Eternia, the actual Eternia, wouldn’t want this for you.”

“How do you know?” The Bloom’s voice cracked. “She left! Created me and left! Just like she left all of us!”

Arms sprouted from the Bloom’s body, reaching for Grace. Not attacking, yet.

“I just wanted to make beautiful things.” The Bloom sobbed. “Flowers that sing. Trees that dance. Worlds where everyone smiles.”

“I know.” Grace’s hand, the one painfully wrapped around her rapier’s hilt, trembled. “I know you did.”

Grace couldn’t put her sword down though.

[There has to be another way.]

Grace thought about her skills. Blade of Eternia? Useless here. Aura Cleanse? The corruption was too deep.

[Wait. Aura Release.]

The skill that let her absorb corruption and fire it back. She’d used it on Cinder, turned the Veil angel’s own attack against her.

[But the Bloom probably has way more corruption than Cinder did. The entire Veil’s been feeding her corruption.]

A notification flashed in her vision:

[Warning: Target contains extreme levels of Sin energy]

[Absorption may cause permanent damage to host]

[Proceed anyway?]

[Permanent damage? What does that mean?]

The System didn’t answer.

“Please.” The Bloom’s voice broke her thoughts. “If you’re going to kill me, do it now. Before I hurt anyone else.”

Grace looked at the writhing mass of corrupted creation. At the innocent Pillar trapped inside.

[I can’t kill her. Not like this.]

“I’m not going to kill you.” Grace sheathed her rapier.

“What?” Hope flickered in the Bloom’s eyes. “But I’m… You have to—”

“No.” Grace stepped closer. “I’m going to save you.”

“How? The corruption is too deep. It’s part of me now.”

“Then I’ll take it.” Grace raised her hands. “All of it.”

The Bloom’s eyes widened. “That’s impossible. It would kill you.”

“Maybe.” Grace activated Aura Release. “But I have to try.”

Golden light mixed with purple energy swirled around her hands. The corruption in the clearing responded, drawn to her like iron to a magnet.

“No!” The Bloom tried to pull away. “You don’t understand how much is in me!”

“Doesn’t matter.” Grace grabbed the Bloom’s shoulders. “Let me help you.”

The moment they touched, corruption flooded into Grace.

[FUCK!]

It was like drinking liquid fire. Sin energy poured through the connection, far more than Cinder’s blast. Grace’s vision went white with pain.

[Too much. Way too much.]

Her knees buckled. The corruption spread through her veins, trying to remake her from the inside. Her skin burned. Her bones ached.

“Stop!” The Bloom tried to break free. “You’re killing yourself!”

Grace held on tighter.

“Not… stopping…”

More corruption flowed in. Grace felt her body changing. Her wings darkened at the edges. Her eyes burned.

[System notification after notification flashed by, too fast to read.]

“Please!” The Bloom sobbed. “I’m not worth this!”

“Yes… you are…” Grace gritted her teeth. “AAAAAAAAAGH!”

The corruption kept coming. Layers upon layers of Sin energy that Cinder had pumped into the Bloom. Grace’s body screamed for her to stop.

[I can do this. I have to do this.]

She thought about the Root, lonely and abandoned. The Tide, desperate for connection. The Flame, burning with rage. The Tempest, lost in indecision. The Mountain, frozen in stubbornness. The Void, empty and aching.

All of them victims of Eternia’s inability to deal with her own emotions.

[The Bloom doesn’t deserve this fate.]

Grace pulled harder. The corruption flowed faster. Her body felt like it might explode from the pressure.

“Almost… there…”

The Bloom’s form began to stabilize. The chaotic mutations slowed. Her original shape started to emerge from the writhing mass.

But Grace was running out of room. The corruption filled every part of her. There was nowhere left to store it.

[I need to release it. Now.]

“Stand back.” Grace’s voice came out distorted.

The Bloom, now mostly herself again, scrambled away.

Grace pointed both hands at the sky. Every ounce of corruption she’d absorbed compressed into a single point.

“AURA RELEASE!”

The beam that erupted was massive. A pillar of pure Sin energy shot into the heavens, purple-black light that could be seen for miles.

Grace screamed as it tore through her. The corruption fought to stay, to change her, to make her into something else.

[Get out. GET OUT!]

She pushed harder. The pillar of light grew wider. The ground cracked beneath her feet.

For a moment that lasted forever, Grace was nothing but a conduit. Divine energy and Sin energy warred inside her, using her body as a battlefield.

Then, finally, the last of the corruption left.

The pillar of light faded.

Grace collapsed.

[Did I… did I do it?]

She couldn’t move. Every muscle screamed. Her vision swam in and out of focus.

“Grace!”

The Bloom’s face appeared above her. Not corrupted anymore – just Eternia’s features covered in normal, beautiful flowers.

“You saved me.” Tears rolled down the Bloom’s cheeks. Real tears this time, not thorns or butterflies. “Why?”

“Because…” Grace’s voice was barely a whisper. “You didn’t… deserve that…”

“But I hurt people. My creations—”

“Weren’t your fault.” Grace tried to sit up. Failed. “Cinder used you. Corrupted you.”

The Bloom helped Grace lean against a tree. A normal tree that stayed a tree.

“I can feel it.” The Bloom touched her chest. “The corruption is gone. But…”

“But?”

“The urge to create is still there.” She looked at her hands. “What if I lose control again?”

“Then we’ll figure it out.” Grace managed a weak smile. “Together.”

The Bloom stared at her.

“Now… I can’t tell if you’re Eternia or not.”

“I’m not. Just someone trying to clean up her messes.”

“That’s not fair to you.”

Grace laughed. It ached.

“I do what I can.”

They sat in silence for a moment. Around them, the clearing slowly returned to normal. The chaotic colors faded. The impossible geometry straightened out.

“What happens now?” The Bloom asked.

“Now?” Grace checked her System notifications.

[Quest Complete: Stop the Veil’s plan to weaponize the Bloom!]

[Rewards: +25 Compassion, New Skill: Corruption Resistance]

Compassion: 91/100

[Warning: Permanent changes detected in host]

[Some Sin energy remains integrated]

[Permanent changes? Great.]

“Now we get you somewhere safe.” Grace tried to stand. Her legs shook but held. “Away from anyone who might try to use you again.”

“Where?”

“I don’t know yet. But we’ll figure it out.”

The Bloom helped Grace walk. Despite everything, she was surprisingly strong.

“Grace?”

“Yeah?”

“Thank you.” The Bloom’s voice was soft.

“You’re welcome.”

—

It took Grace an eternity to walk back to the town. All around her, the creations that previously couldn’t make up their minds on what they wanted to be slowly started gaining consistency. Form.

All while Grace whimpered with every step.

“Ow.” She said after another step, continuing to heal herself. “Ow. Ow.”

Once she was within view of the town, a few guards saw her stumbling along and ran up to help.

“Thanks. Take me to the others, will ya?”

They did just that.

—

At the inn they were staying in, Mara and Petriel saw her and both of them took hold of Grace’s limbs, lifting her up into the air. She was draped over a bed, like a sad sheet. Immediately, Petriel went to heal Grace up and the sensation was soothing.

“Oh dear, you didn’t-” Mara started.

“I did.” Despite the fiery pain spread all throughout Grace’s body, she smiled victoriously. “The Bloom has been purified.” Grace closed her eyes. “That’s it. The Pillars have been dealt with.”

Venus and Mara looked at each other.

“Grace, please.”

“I just wanted to see what was up with it!” Grace stated in her defense. “And, uh… one thing led to another, you know. B-But, yeah, it’s done!”

Mara rolled her eyes.

“You are too much.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep