When those flames were fully absorbed by the card, the pattern of the upside-down tree on the table began to fade.
After it disappeared completely, the Arcane Card separated itself from Lane’s Card.
Adeline reached out, picked up the card, and examined it.
There was no change in its appearance, and the ritual description on the back remained exactly the same as before.
That meant this Arcane Card was not a single-use consumable.
Adeline filed this discovery away in her mind.
Since the Initial Secret Ritual Card could be used repeatedly, did that mean Lane could perform this ritual multiple times?
Or could it also be used on other people?
These questions had no answers for now, but at least it indicated that this card’s value was far higher than she had initially estimated.
She set the Initial Secret Ritual Card aside and was about to reach for Lane’s Character Card when her body suddenly grew hot.
The heat came without warning.
It surged from some indescribable place inside her, as if something had ignited a spark of flame within her body.
That spark was small, even faint, but it undeniably existed, permeating her limbs and bones in a way she had never felt before.
It was a metaphysical burning.
Invisible, intangible, without any change in temperature, without any flush on her skin, and without even any physiological reaction like a racing heartbeat.
But it was there, real and unmistakable, deep inside her body like a flame that could not be extinguished by any means.
Then Adeline noticed something else.
Her body seemed to be getting better.
This change was gradual, manifesting little by little as that intangible something burned.
Her limbs, which had been sore and weak, now had some strength.
Her heavy eyelids had become much lighter.
Even her breathing was smoother than before, no longer having that feeling of weakness where she couldn’t catch her breath after exerting even a little effort.
More noticeable was the mental change.
Adeline had not closed her eyes for an entire night.
Ever since yesterday evening, when she had been watching Lane’s Arcane Rite judgment, she had been forcing herself to stay awake.
Waves of drowsiness kept crashing over her, and several times she had nearly dozed off leaning against her pillow.
But now, those feelings of sleepiness had been wiped away like a cloth cleaning a blackboard—completely gone.
Her mind was incredibly clear, and the speed of her thoughts was even faster than usual.
It was as if staying up all night had never happened.
Adeline looked down at her hands.
Her fingers were slender and pale, just as before.
But she could feel that these hands were stronger than yesterday.
She tried clenching her fist, releasing it, and clenching again.
Her knuckles no longer made that weak clicking sound, and her grip strength had indeed increased.
She knew all too well the original condition of this body.
Bedridden for years, muscles atrophied, bones fragile, panting heavily after only a few steps.
And now, while still far from the standard of a healthy person, she was noticeably closer to a normal person’s state compared to yesterday.
Adeline closed her eyes and carefully felt the thing burning inside her.
It wasn’t hot, not even warm.
If she had to describe it, it was more like a continuous, low pulse, beating inside her body with a very regular rhythm, like a second heart.
Each pulse brought a faint but real warmth, spreading from her chest to her limbs, and wherever it passed, the weakness of chronic illness retreated a little.
Adeline opened her eyes, a glimmer of light flashing in her amber irises.
She understood.
Lane had completed the Initial Secret Ritual and gained the ability of Sleeplessness.
And this ability had been synchronized to her through the card’s connection, fed back to her in some form.
Did that mean that everything Lane gained through the Arcane Rite would be synchronized to her as well?
This realization made Adeline’s heartbeat quicken.
She had always treated the card game as a pastime for dull moments and a way to explore the outside world, to collect information and understand what was happening beyond her four walls.
That was its greatest function.
But now, the flame burning inside her body and the improving condition of her health were telling her one thing very clearly.
This wasn’t just a game.
It was also Adeline’s path to the supernatural.
Lane was performing rituals, gaining power, and going on adventures in Ash Lane, while she sat in this gorgeous bedroom, remotely controlling everything through the cards, and simultaneously enjoying the feedback of the power Lane obtained.
She didn’t need to go anywhere dangerous.
She didn’t need to risk her life facing unknown situations or enemies.
She didn’t need to use this frail body to do anything beyond its limits.
All she had to do was sit here quietly, controlling Lane’s Card, and step by step, she could walk toward the supernatural.
Thus, her relationship with Lane was no longer simply that of controller and controlled.
Lane was her pawn, but even more so, he was her agent in the supernatural world, the medium through which she acquired power…
Taking it one step further, since the power Lane gained after completing the ritual could be fed back to Adeline, then did that mean his death would also be fed back to her?
Adeline couldn’t help but think this way.
She let out a long breath, pushing down the chaotic thoughts.
Excitement was excitement, but there were more urgent matters to confirm at hand.
She closed her eyes and focused her attention on the flame within.
That flame seemed extremely sensitive.
The moment she brought her consciousness a little closer, it suddenly leaped, like a startled cat.
Adeline was startled by this reaction and quickly withdrew her attention.
The flame settled down, returning to its previous low and regular pulsation.
She tried again, this time more carefully, gently brushing the edge of the flame with her consciousness.
The flame leaped again, more violently than before.
It surged inside her, the heat rising abruptly, spreading from her chest to her limbs.
She opened her eyes, and then she saw it—the Card Box that had been placed beside her pillow was now emitting a faint glow.
The glow was very weak, almost negligible.
If the room hadn’t been dark enough, she probably wouldn’t have noticed it at all.
It was a warm light somewhere between amber and bright yellow, seeping out from the gaps in the box, outlining its contours with a blurry halo.
It wasn’t just the box.
The Initial Secret Ritual Card lying on top of the lid was also glowing.
A very fine halo circled the edge of the card, exactly the same as the light on the box.
Adeline stared at the box for a few seconds, then shifted her gaze downward to its side.
She saw a slot.
This slot was exactly the gap that appeared briefly whenever a card was ejected, then disappeared.
Now it was stable and persistent, with no sign of vanishing.
The slot’s size perfectly matched the thickness of a card.
Adeline hesitated for a moment, then picked up the Initial Secret Ritual Card and carefully aligned it with the slot, pushing it in.
The card slid smoothly into the slot, like a key entering a lock.
The entire card disappeared into the box.
The box itself showed no change at all.
Adeline withdrew her consciousness from the flame, ceasing to stimulate it.
The flame quieted, returning to its low pulse.
The halos on the box and the card faded together, and the slot disappeared as well, as if it had never existed.
Adeline stared at the box for several seconds.
She once again brought her consciousness close to the flame inside her.
The flame leaped, the glow emerged, and the slot appeared.
She gently shook the box.
A faint clicking sound came from inside, and then the Initial Secret Ritual Card ejected itself halfway out from the slot, just like the previous cards had done.
Adeline pulled the card out.
The slot remained.
She withdrew her consciousness, the flame quieted, the glow faded, and everything returned to normal.
So that was it.
The Card Box was indeed a supernatural item.
This was likely its normal way of functioning.
The slot on the box, the faint glow of the Card Box and the cards—these things had always been there.
She just hadn’t been able to see them before.
Her current state could be compared to having a high Spirit Vision in some games—seeing things that were normally invisible.
Or rather, this was a kind of Spirit Vision.
The flame inside her was her eye, an eye that could glimpse the supernatural.
As long as she was willing, she could ignite it at any time and see the things hidden beneath the normal world.
However, this also brought up a new question.
Adeline picked up the Initial Secret Ritual Card and looked at the ritual description on the back.
She didn’t know whether this Spirit Vision ability was something anyone who had completed a ritual could obtain, or if it was exclusive to those who had performed this specific ritual.
If Spirit Vision was a unique additional effect of this ritual, then would other rituals bring different effects?
Premium Chapter
Login to buy access to this Chapter.