The lightning strike landed with thunderous finality. A white-violet current surged down the spire and through the Thunder-Leech, now wrapped around the crystal apex like a vein plugged directly into the sky. At that moment, the pulse-shield of the soul-body flared wide, and for an instant, every particle of fog around Beacon-0 glowed as if struck by sunrise.
The system flashed an urgent message:
> ⚠️ Safe Diversion Suggested: Route 5,000 QP to filters. ⚠️ ⚠️ Risk: Leech may drain 1,500 QP directly. ⚠️
Then the Beacon's voice echoed within him: "The light is for us. The memory is theirs."
---
Instead of choosing between energy or memory, the protagonist opted for a third path—a maneuver both surgical and soulful. He released 40 QP of sealed positive emotions from the Spirit-Tongue rune, fed them through his fog-veins, and projected them directly into the Leech's open maw, wrapping the memory of the saved steam newt around the pulse.
At the same time, he directed 80% of the lightning's flow through the Heat Core and Cocoon Filter. The remaining current looped into an outer spiral, forming an encasement around the Leech's body.
The creature hesitated, its jaw frozen, segments swelling with indecision—then, stilled.
---
Pulse Focus initiated. He applied a clenching electric-etheric lock at the base of the Leech's skull. It convulsed with a neon-green flash, and then compacted into a crystalline ovular core—a Grade-β Thunder-Leech Core, crackling with residual energy.
> [System]: Thunder-Leech Core Secured Residual Charge: 620 QP Stable Containment: 4 mins
---
But victory came at a price. A vertebra of the spire cracked—one previously noted as weak. Sparks arced through the break, threatening to ignite Beacon-0.
He split the remaining burst:
300 QP into a First Aid Bone reinforcement, melting and re-solidifying the fracture.
320 QP back into his own body, raising Bio-Flow Integrity from 89% to 95%.
---
He brought the Thunder-Leech Core to the Beacon's heart. Coiling his 40%-integrity Soul-Seed around the core like a silver spiral, he created a bond of memory and current. Each fed the other.
> [System]: Dual-Core Reactor ONLINE Energy Output: +2.7 QP/min (Heat), +2.2 QP/min (Electric) Soul-Seed Integrity: 48% ⚠️ Prolonged Exposure Warning: Potential Bio-Flow Oversaturation ⚠️
---
An unnatural joy surged through him. Blood Pulse widened. Every spark in the sky felt like food. But the Anchor Glyph pulsed a warning:
> "Each bolt is poison unless shared."
He set a personal quota: 30% of future lightning QP must be grounded to balance the environment. A pact of equilibrium.
---
Three Echo-Wraiths emerged from the drifting ash. Semi-transparent, they bowed briefly, then dropped three glowing crystals before vanishing.
> [System]: Echo Crystals ×3 Contents: Refined Lightning Memory + Fragmented Ancient Locus Map
They were fragments of subterranean leyline maps—paths of planetary energy, pointing toward deeper mysteries beneath Kamtrouha.
---
The storm circled still, but Beacon-0 endured. The Beacon whispered:
> "Your pulse has become our lantern."
Far on the horizon, a cloud flashed—not with violet but crimson. The system whispered:
> ⚠️ Forecast Detected: Thunder-Surge Alpha ▸ Arrival in ~3 Days ⚠️
He stared outward.
"Three days to turn soul into spire… or become mist in the blood of thunder."
The chapter closed as he embedded the three Echo Crystals into the Beacon's map table, revealing a lattice of lines leading into the depths.
The journey beneath the surface was beginning.