Chapter 41: Hope

As Nina's upper body fell, time seemed to slow down. Ren watched this scene unblinkingly, his lonely past life flashed before his eyes. Years of solitude was his punishment for being weak, but he thought it was different this time around. Why was Nina there? Ren was sure he set her down further away, did she get lost in the forest? Ren felt immense regret, thoughts of 'I should've done this...' and 'I wish I did that...' filled his mind.

"Why...?"

Ren fell to his knees, tears streamed down his face. He felt sorrow overcome him, and tears blinded his eyes. *Drip drip drip* As his tears watered the ground, Ren looked over at Elios's dead body. Leviathan had damaged Elios's body beyond repair, and blood dyed the dirt crimson. But despite that horrific scene, a big smile was on Elios's face.

Suddenly, Ren's tears evaporated, following Ren's mood change from sorrow to rage. As the surrounding temperature rose, Ren stayed on the ground, his eyes never leaving Elios's blissful expression. *Bwoof* Ren's uncontrollable rage caused his body to heat up uncontrollably, covering his body in blue flames. The surrounding forestry quickly caught on fire, with Ren continuously feeding it in the middle.

'Ren.'

As Ren kept burning his own energy uncontrollably, King interjected. Although he didn't want to use this method, he also couldn't stand watching Ren self destruct. His method was unprecedented, but it worked in theory.

'Ren, get to Nina. I have a plan.'

The surrounding temperatures dropped, and Ren felt a ray of hope in his heart. Hurriedly standing back up, Ren quickly made his way towards Nina *Fwip* *tap* Ren touched down near Nina, walking slowly towards the two halves of the young girl.

'Move her torso near her legs, then make contact at the cut.'

Ren obediently followed King's directions, gently setting Nina's torso onto the ground. *pat* As Ren held Nina's torso and legs together, King made his move.

'Just a warning Ren, this will reduce the amount of power I can give to you.'

Ren nodded immediately, this was an offer he would never refuse. Ren watched King walk to his palm nervously, waiting for his next move. When King reached the back of Ren's hand, his body stayed still, becoming stagnant. Suddenly, a white light glowed between Nina's torso and legs, connecting them.

"King? What's happening?"

As the light dimmed, Ren's face lit up when he saw Nina's healed body. Although the healing process left a giant scar separating her upper half and lower half, it was still better than the alternative. But Ren's joy was quickly replaced by exhaustion, when King returned to Ren's body.

'I used my power and your a little bit of your soul to heal her. Leviathan stole parts of her soul, but she's alive.'

Despite the immense exhaustion Ren felt, he was still relieved at Kings words. But one thing still bothered him, the issue regarding Nina's incomplete soul.

'Is there any side effects to her having an incomplete soul?'

King waited for a while before he answered, because he already knew Ren's reaction. Before he replied, King thought about his next words carefully.

'Yes, her soul is going to constantly degrade if it isn't whole, which is why I will have to stay with her, repairing it frequently.'

Ren nodded solemnly, expecting the bad news beforehand. Although this will weaken him greatly, Ren couldn't care less.

'If the other part was stolen, can we get it back?'

King stayed silent, clearly trying to avoid answering this question. But Ren took King's silence as confirmation, which gave him a new goal. Defeat Leviathan, and take back Nina's soul piece.