Chapter 5753

He did not slow for a single breath, pushing his speed to its final limit.

Blink after blink, he tore fresh rifts, short Spatial Folds that feasted on his dwindling essence until the malignant presence chasing him finally dulled and the suffocating aura of oblivion fell away. Only then did he allow himself to falter -plummeting like a spent meteor into a vine-choked crevice that opened into a narrow, hidden cave.

Thud. He hit the stone floor hard, coughed, and spat more clotted blood. His face bleached to the shade of ash, his breathing ragged and broken.

That frantic escape had drained more than half his celestial energy-and nearly all his will.

Gavin and Yvette tumbled beside him, dizzy but alive; Jared’s protection had spared them anything worse than bruises.

The small fire unicorn, eyes wide with alarm, nosed up to him. It licked the blood from the corner of his mouth and whimpered, low and mournful.

Jared took half an hour to steady himself and catch his breath. The coppery taste of blood ebbed behind his teeth as the tempest raging through his meridians finally calmed. His organs still throbbed, and his reserves of celestial energy felt hollowed out, yet the worst of the backlash subsided.