Chapter 3902: Solving the Mystery (Part 1) ’Our time is much shorter than you think, and if we don’t find a solution quickly, we are going to waste more tanks of the Elemental Storage on diagnosis than on the actual cure.’ Faluel said. ’On top of that, don’t forget that Xenagrosh is in agony as we speak. If she loses consciousness or stops fighting, the degeneration of her life forces will progress faster.’ Tista’s thoughts froze as she realized they had a mammoth task ahead of them, and she didn’t have the faintest idea where to start. ’Everything your friends said is the truth, child. There is no guarantee a cure even exists.’ The Red Mother’s mind sounded stern, but also confident and steady. ’Luckily for you, you have me. If there is a cure, we will find it. ’Now follow my lead.’ The Chaos and Decay had already consumed over half of the light and darkness contained in the Elemental Storage. It was only a matter of seconds before their conflict re-escalated and Baba Yaga’s breathing technique lost its effectiveness. She followed Vastor’s advice and used her tier five Body Sculpting spell, Cradle of Life, to produce deep cuts in the black sun of the Eldritch life force. Usually, the Chaos would have neutralized the light element of the spell. Yet due to the outpouring energy from the Elemental Storage, the outermost layers of Chaos had stabilized into darkness that the pinpoint bursts of Cradle of Life carved at a safe distance from the vital organs. Baba Yaga also took care not to affect the threads orbiting the black sun, so that as soon as its gravity well weakened, more threads managed to wrap themselves around the troll side unimpeded. At the same time, Cradle of Life coated the tendrils of the human side that were about to break and infused them with vitality. The renewed vigor allowed the human aspect to withstand the conflicting energies of the other two life forces and produce new threads, reinforcing its hold on the Eldritch and the troll sides. Each thread drained the Decay and injected it into the wounded black sun, weakening the troll side. Exactly as Baba Yaga wanted. She kept carving the Eldritch side and bleeding its Chaos, making it hunger for Decay and shifting its focus from the troll side to the team of Healers. ’Zoreth’s vitals are plummeting!’ Quylla warned the others. Weakening both life forces also meant draining what little vitality the Shadow Dragon had left. Baba Yaga’s strategy had lessened the distance between the life forces at the expense of their vigor. ’Don’t worry, everything is still going according to plan.’ The Red Mother replied. ’Sometimes things must get worse before they can get better. Everyone, with me.’ She stored her Spirit Tier Five Body Sculpting spell, Lifespinner, inside the Library, which shared it with everyone else. Thanks to Soluspedia, Lith and the others knew Lifespinner like the back of their hand, but they still had no practical experience with it. ’I see what you want us to do, but should we?’ Not even Faluel, the most skilled Healer of the group, felt confident using an unknown spell in such a delicate situation. ’By yourself, no. It would be madness. Just do exactly what I do. Perform one loop each and make sure not to ruin each other’s work.’ Baba Yaga replied and took the lead of the procedure. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢 The golden needles from the Hands of Menadion injected short bursts of darkness magic that numbed the extremities of the split life forces, while the forceps brought their margins closer. Then, she conjured the emerald strings of Lifespinner and sewed the two life forces together. The stitches were close and narrow, so that the life forces would have to fight each other as they consumed the emerald strings. The spell was bound to fail sooner than later, but it still bought Zoreth time, stabilized her condition, and greatly lessened her pain. Faluel understood the Red Mother’s intentions first and coiled her own Lifespinner around Baba Yaga’s. The others quickly followed, forming multiple layers of defensive energy around the main strings. ’Good, good.’ The Red Mother called upon the power of both the Apprentice and the Master Set to further strengthen the Lifespinner spells and adjust them to an optimal positioning. ’Yet this isn’t over. ’With so much foreign mana inside Zoreth’s body and her life forces weakened, she will die of mana poisoning if we leave her like this. We need to restore her vitality.’ ’But if we do, the Lifespinner spells won’t last an hour, and everything we have done will be for naught.’ Lith pointed out. ’You would be right, if we didn’t follow the Master’s second piece of advice.’ Baba Yaga replied, pouring a vast stream of her endless stamina and the Spirit Magic of the Storage solely into the still-healthy part of Zoreth’s hybrid life force. The others quickly followed suit, and the red warning signs on the holographic display disappeared as the Shadow Dragon’s vitals returned to normal. By then, the Elemental Storage was empty, and the Healers withdrew their mana before they would get hurt. By feeding the healthy life force, the part that struggled to return whole, Baba Yaga gave it the power it needed to knit the split extremities closer before they regained the strength to resist the push. The distance between the two life forces shrank further, and their strength was now split on too many fronts to be effective. The combined effect of the Lifespinner spells, Zoreth’s human life force, and the vigor stored solely in the hybrid part alleviated all of her symptoms. The pain abated to the point that she no longer wanted to scream, and the violent spasms disappeared, replaced by small twitches limited to her extremities. "Byt, I feel good!" Zoreth said. "The pain is almost gone!" "Good is a big word, and ’almost’ only works for fireballs and meteors." Lith had lifted the Hush spell at the end of the procedure, allowing Baba Yaga to reply. "Your life force is stable now, but your affliction is unchanged. It’s like putting tight bandages around a deep wound. "It stops the bleeding for a while, but you still need a Healer. Solus, take her out of the tank." "Are you sure?" Solus asked. "What if her condition deteriorates?" "It’s a risk we must take." The Red Mother shrugged. "Our patient is special and the Chaos of her body is a treacherous opponent. A prolonged stay in the Infirmary might allow the Chaos to adapt to the mana flow of the various life support arrays. "If that happens, the enchantments of the Infirmary will become less effective because the Chaos feeds on them and turns our own strength against us. Moreover, with everything she went through, I doubt Zoreth wants to spend her days like a fish in a tank." Solus nodded and emptied the crystal tank while keeping the floating spell active so that Zoreth didn’t fall to the ground but landed safely on her chair. "Zor!" Bytra reached her first, hugging her as tightly and delicately as she could. "You gave me a huge scare." "You and me both." Zoreth gave her wife her best smile, but between her gaunt skin and the deep lines left by days of torture, she looked one step away from the grave anyway.