4. Searing heat

Zilong, breathing heavily and barely able to stay on his feet, winced in pain as he reached for the pouch at his side. Blood trickled down his back from the deep gashes inflicted by the monster's claws, each movement sending waves of agony through his body. His hands trembled, slick with sweat and blood, as he fumbled to untie the pouch's leather strings.

With a determined grimace, he finally managed to open the pouch, revealing a small vial of shimmering liquid within. The liquid glowed faintly, an ethereal light emanating from it that hinted at its potent healing properties. Gritting his teeth against the pain, he carefully poured the liquid onto the gaping wounds on his back.

As the liquid made contact with his torn flesh, it spread quickly across the wounds, seeping into the deep lacerations. A cool, soothing sensation replaced the burning pain almost immediately, as if the liquid were numbing the injury. The man felt a strange warmth radiating from the site of the wounds, and he watched in awe as the torn skin and muscle began to knit themselves back together.

The bleeding stopped within moments, and the deep gashes closed, leaving only faint, pink scars in their place. He could feel his strength returning, the pain subsiding into a distant memory. The man took a deep breath, feeling the renewed vitality coursing through his body, a testament to the powerful magic of the liquid.

'Thank goodness I stored some of the spring water', he grimaced.

The battlefield, once a dense and vibrant forest, was now a scene of utter devastation. The ground was churned up, the soil darkened with blood and littered with splintered trees and uprooted vegetation. Massive claw marks and deep gouges scarred the earth, testaments to the ferocity of the battle that had taken place.

Broken branches and fallen trees lay strewn across the area, some still smoking from the friction and impact of the monstrous clashes. The air was thick with the scent of blood and the acrid smell of splintered wood, mingling with the damp, earthy aroma of disturbed soil. Patches of scorched ground indicated where sparks had flown, igniting brief, fierce fires that had quickly burned out.

In the center of this chaotic scene lay the bodies of the two colossal creatures, now still and lifeless. The lizard, as large as a truck, sprawled on its side, its once-glimmering scales dulled and cracked, patches of its thick hide torn and bloodied. Its powerful tail, now motionless, lay heavy against the ground, and its fierce yellow eyes stared blankly into the void.

Beside it, the monster with six arms and glowing white eyes was equally ravaged. Its claws, once so lethal, were now chipped and bloodied, its three horns—two intact and one half-broken—standing as a silent testament to its battle prowess. The leathery skin, mottled with blood and dirt, bore deep wounds and gashes, evidence of the lizard's fierce retaliation.

The forest around them bore witness to their epic struggle, with broken trees forming jagged silhouettes against the moonlit sky. The once-thriving underbrush was trampled and smeared with blood, creating a macabre tapestry of destruction.

Despite the carnage, an eerie silence now enveloped the battlefield. The sounds of the night had yet to return, as if the forest itself was holding its breath, waiting for the dust to settle. The occasional drip of blood from the creatures' wounds and the rustling of disturbed leaves were the only sounds, underscoring the sheer scale of the devastation left in the wake of their titanic clash.

Zilong looked at the battle ground in awe, the two titans had a Themselves entangled, the lizards reptilian tail had been brutally cut off, lying in the far side if the clash... It was dead.

But the brutal abomination was still alive.. barely, it's injury, creating a path for streams of blood to gush out, its eyes, once ferocious, reflected fatigue and exhaustion.

Zilong of course could run right now.. but he had something in mind.

In the corpse of the great lizard a blue glow was emating from its chest, the blue glow seemed to attract Zilong, almost like faint whispers tantalizing him to get close.

Zilong looked at the alive abomination at the other side, grabbed a tree branch, and walked towards it with cautious steps, as he reached the abomination, he took a glance at its eyes.

The bloodied abomination's eye, once glowing with an otherworldly white light, now stared lifelessly into the dark canopy above. Its eerie luminescence had dimmed, leaving a dull, milky pallor that contrasted starkly with the surrounding blood and grime. The eye, slightly sunken and partially obscured by the creature's furrowed brow, was framed by jagged, cracked skin where the monster's own claws and the lizard's serrated teeth had inflicted deep wounds.

Blood and ichor oozed from a gash running perilously close to the eye, mingling with dirt and debris to form a gruesome paste. The once-piercing intensity that could strike fear into the hearts of any who met its gaze was now gone, replaced by an empty, glassy stare. The surrounding socket was bruised and swollen, the result of brutal impacts during the fierce battle.

In death, the eye had lost its terrifying brilliance, yet it still held a haunting quality, a lingering echo of the malevolent intelligence that once resided within. It stood as a silent testament to the creature's primal savagery and the relentless fury of its final moments.

Zilong looked at it..

And mercilessly thrusted the branch in the abominations eye, the huge beast wiggled weakly, and Zilong with all his strength powered by hatred sunk the branch deeper into its eyes.

The abomination slightly shook its head and then stopped moving.

And then something strange happened

[Soul core is being transfered]

Zilong didn't have a moment to grasp what he just said and binding pain shot through his entire body, making him wail in pain.

Zilong felt an intense, searing pain emanating from deep within his body. It is as if his internal organs are on fire, being scorched by an invisible flame. The sensation is unbearable, a combination of sharp, stabbing agony and a relentless, all-consuming heat. Each breath he takes feels like inhaling molten lava, burning his throat and lungs. His muscles contract involuntarily, spasming in response to the internal torment. The mysterious energy coursing through him disrupts his body's normal functions, causing him to feel disoriented and weak, yet the pain keeps him agonizingly alert. His skin, though unburned on the surface, feels hypersensitive, amplifying every slight movement into a fresh wave of torment. This relentless, internal burning leaves him writhing in pain, desperate for relief from the mysterious energy that is consuming him from the inside out.