The moment Jade accepted the Eye Echo, the crystal eye dissolved into countless particles of icy blue light.
Without warning, every particle rushed toward his face.
Straight into his eyes.
"Argh!"
An unbearable chill erupted throughout his body.
Unlike ordinary cold, this icy sensation invaded every vein, every nerve, and every drop of essence flowing through him. Frost rapidly spread beneath his skin before bursting outward, covering his entire body in a thick layer of transparent ice.
Within seconds...
Jade became a frozen statue.
Time slowly passed.
One minute.
Ten minutes.
An hour.
Two hours.
The bungalow remained completely silent.
The only sound was the faint crackling of frost continuously fusing into Jade's body.
Finally—
Crack.
Tiny fractures spread across the frozen shell.
Another crack followed.
Then dozens.
The ice shattered into countless sparkling fragments before disappearing completely.
Jade slowly opened his eyes.
Cold mist escaped from his mouth as he took a deep breath.
He lowered his head and examined his body.
Everything looked the same.
His muscles hadn't grown stronger.
His essence hadn't increased.
His body hadn't transformed.
Jade frowned.
"So... that's all?"
He had expected a Mystic-class Echo to grant him overwhelming power.
Instead...
Nothing.
Then suddenly—
His pupils contracted.
The wall before him seemed to lose all meaning.
Beyond it, he perceived several people walking through the streets outside.
He couldn't truly see them.
Instead, glowing silhouettes appeared inside his mind.
Each heartbeat.
Each movement.
Each fluctuation of essence.
Everything within twenty meters became unbelievably clear.
Jade slowly smiled.
"My Beast Sense..."
"It evolved."
He closed his eyes.
The perception didn't disappear.
If anything...
It became sharper.
Someone laughed outside.
He heard every word.
A child chased a bird across the street.
He sensed every footstep.
Even a tiny insect crawling beneath the wooden floor entered his awareness.
Then he felt another familiar presence.
Ling.
Without hesitation, Jade focused on the little shadow.
Immediately...
His vision split into two.
One remained inside the bungalow.
The other...
Belonged to Ling.
The sudden flood of information made Jade stagger.
Receiving two completely different perspectives at the same time was surprisingly difficult.
His head throbbed.
His vision blurred.
After several deep breaths, he finally adjusted.
"So..."
He whispered.
"Let's see what trouble you're causing now."
---
Far away...
Inside the Ashen Cave...
Darkness swallowed everything.
Ancient stone pillars stretched endlessly into the distance while cold water dripped from the ceiling.
The cave itself felt alive.
Every shadow seemed to hide another danger.
Ling silently clung to the ceiling.
Unlike its usual playful self...
It remained completely motionless.
Its attention rested on two familiar figures below.
Blake.
And Ella.
Both of them looked miserable.
Their clothes were torn.
Their bodies were covered in wounds.
Blood stained the cave floor behind them.
They had been running for what felt like hours.
Yet the creature chasing them never hurried.
It didn't need to.
Because it already knew...
They couldn't escape.
Heavy footsteps echoed throughout the cave.
Boom.
Boom.
Boom.
The Elite finally emerged from the darkness.
It was nearly four meters tall.
Its body appeared to have been carved entirely from flawless green jade.
Unlike ordinary stone, the surface reflected light beautifully, giving it an almost sacred appearance.
Yet nothing about it felt holy.
Around its enormous body floated dozens of streams of crystal-clear water.
The water never touched the ground.
Instead, it revolved around the creature with impossible precision.
Sometimes becoming blades.
Sometimes becoming chains.
Sometimes becoming dozens of floating droplets that hovered perfectly still before suddenly accelerating like bullets.
The creature possessed complete mastery over every single drop.
Not merely control.
Mastery.
Its emerald eyes calmly observed Blake and Ella.
It looked less like a monster...
And more like an executioner deciding how its victims should die.
Blake gritted his teeth.
"We can't beat this thing."
Ella remained surprisingly calm despite the blood running down her body.
"I know."
"Then what do we do?"
She remained silent.
Because she didn't have an answer.
The Elite slowly raised one finger.
Immediately the floating water responded.
Not one stream.
Not two.
Hundreds.
The water moved like living snakes.
Each stream curved naturally through the cave, changing direction whenever Blake attempted to dodge.
"What?!"
Blake pushed Ella aside.
The water missed them.
Then—
It turned around.
His eyes widened.
"It can change direction?!"
The water wrapped around his legs before he could react.
Another stream captured his arms.
More followed.
Within seconds Blake found himself completely restrained.
Ella immediately summoned another spirit.
A ghostly knight materialized before her.
"Attack!"
The spirit charged.
The Elite didn't even bother looking.
A single ripple spread through the surrounding water.
SHING!
The spirit split cleanly into two pieces before disappearing.
One movement.
One attack.
One kill.
Ella's expression darkened.
"So fast..."
The jade creature finally moved.
One single step.
BOOM!
The cave trembled.
Before either Initiate realized what happened—
The monster stood directly before them.
Neither Blake nor Ella had even seen it move.
Only the shattered stone beneath its feet proved it had taken a step.
The creature calmly extended one arm.
Water condensed around its fingers.
The droplets became thinner.
Sharper.
Until they resembled invisible blades.
Ella suddenly sensed danger.
Her instincts screamed.
She attempted to jump backward.
Too late.
A flash of blue crossed her vision.
Pain exploded throughout her body.
"Aaaah!"
Her right arm spun through the air before crashing against the cave floor.
Blood erupted from the wound.
The agony nearly forced her unconscious.
Blake struggled violently against the water binding him.
"ELLA!"
The Elite ignored him.
It calmly picked up the severed arm.
Then...
Bit into it.
Slowly.
Methodically.
As though enjoying a meal.
The horrifying sound echoed throughout the cave.
Blake felt despair unlike anything he had ever experienced.
They weren't fighting.
They were being hunted.
Ling immediately abandoned the ceiling.
The tiny shadow wrapped itself around Ella's shoulder.
Darkness spread over the wound.
Although it couldn't heal her...
It greatly reduced the bleeding.
Ella clenched her teeth.
"Thank... you..."
Ling simply nodded before glaring angrily at the Elite.
Ella slowly raised her remaining hand.
One final spirit emerged.
This time...
The Bad Luck Charm rested inside its hands.
It was their final gamble.
"Go..."
The spirit rushed toward the jade monster.
For the first time...
The Elite shifted its gaze.
Water gathered into a single spear.
It moved.
The spirit never even reached halfway.
CRACK!
The spear pierced straight through its chest.
The ghost exploded into countless particles.
The Bad Luck Charm slipped from its hands.
It struck the stone floor.
Crack.
A second crack followed.
Then—
The relic shattered.
Silence.
Absolute silence filled the cave.
Blake stopped struggling.
Ella lowered her head.
The last hope they possessed...
Had just been destroyed.
Through Ling's eyes, Jade watched everything unfold.
His fists slowly clenched.
His breathing became uneven.
He wanted to help.
He wanted to save them.
Yet all he could do...
Was watch.
"Blake..."
"Ella..."
His voice was barely a whisper.
"Please..."
"Don't die..."