Star Crossed In Time

My heart drops as I turn to him and say "What? Infected how and we can't just leave him like that! He's in pain!" Bai Lei places a calming hand on my lower back and says "Infected with dark energy and we aren't going to leave him. I'm going to help him but I need everyone else to stay back. The others aren't strong enough to resist the dark energy but I don't know how it'll affect you and I don't want to take any chances." I bite my lip and nod my head in understanding as I say "Just hurry up and help him... be careful!" Bai Lei gives me a calm smile before walking over to the gates.

He scans everything once more before kneeling next to Ren. He reaches out to him and we instantly feel a pulse of dark energy released from him. I stand still and let the dark energy wash over me like a cold wave of water but the others all stumble back to get away from it.

I see Bai Lei grit his teeth and try to touch Ren again but another wave of dark energy is released. I brush off the dark energy and start walking over to Bai Lei and Ren. Halfway there, Bai Lei turns to me and yells "Stay back!" I pause in my steps and say "It doesn't bother me at all. Let me help him, I think I might be the only one that can."

Bai Lei stares at me with conflicting emotions but I can see it in his eyes that he wants to believe it so I give him an encouraging nod and walk over. My mother quickly says "Nova may be right... let her try. Just be careful Nova." Bai Lei grits his teeth and quickly says "If you feel off at any time, you need to leave immediately. Understand?" I nod my head and kneel down next to him. Ren's breathing is labored and it looks like his skin is bruising from the inside out.

"What's happening to him? I thought he was here with everyone else." I say looking him over. Bai Lei grits his teeth even harder as he says "I asked him to find information on Eli. I can only ȧssume he found something and Eli decided to send him back like this as a warning. The dark energy is poisoning him... that's why his skin looks like that."

"This is the first time I've seen this in a very long time. The last time this happened... the humans and cultivators were nearly destroyed. If the last few immortals hadn't banded together, everything would have been lost. We have no idea where it originated from but it spread like a plague and destroyed everything it came in contact with."

"We were able to save some who weren't too bad but once it's past a certain point, we were unable to help them. Ren is... he's too far gone for me to help him." He says with pain in his voice. I reach out to Ren and instantly feel the dark energy roll off him in waves but they seem to roll off and over me like water.

I can see Bai Lei using his power like a shield of some kind but when he looks over to me, he seems genuinely surprised. He sighs in relief and says "I really shouldn't be surprised anymore but the things you can do are always out of the scope of my imagination." I give him a half-smile and say "I think you should get back."

It looks like he wants to argue but he curtly nods his head and steps back a few feet. I reach out and lightly touch Ren. His shivering form jerks but if I'm not mistaken, he seems to sigh a little. "Ren... I don't really know what to do to help but I'm gonna try, okay?"

I wait for a few seconds but he doesn't say anything, further adding to my worry and fear. Had Eli really done this? Who am I kidding... who else would do something like this!? He seems to definitely have an upgrade on his 'evilness'.

I lightly touch his arm and fight the urge to pull my hand back. He was like ice but when I look up to his face, it's filled with sweat. I swallow hard and think of the only thing I can do. I summon energy into my hand on his arm.

At first, nothing happens but then as my hand begins to glow, the bruising under his skin begins to fade and disappear. I sigh in relief and push more power into my hand and into Ren. His face, which was contorted in pain, slowly starts to relax and even looks relieved. 

Dark energy tries to push back against the light but with just a little push, the dark energy is pushed back. Another dark pulse of energy is released but it's so much weaker. I lift my other hand and place it on the side of Ren's face.

I release even more of my energy and watch with a smile when the bruising completely disappears. When I feel a large hand on my back, I know without looking that Bai Lei is back. After a few more moments, Ren's eyes slowly flutter open with a groan.

His eyes land on me with confusion so I give him a smirk and say "Welcome back, baldy." Ren's eyes suddenly grow large before his hands fly up to his head in a panic. Bai Lei and I both break out in laughter as Ren sighs in relief. 

Ren suddenly looks back at us with panic and says "I found him! I followed a few leads and found where he's staying. Even though there's a powerful barrier around the place, you can still feel the death and dark energy seeping from the place. When I was trying to find a way in, I was suddenly attacked... I don't remember anything else after that. I'm sorry." 

Bai Lei reaches out and pats him on the shoulder saying "Nonsense. You did a great job. That's all we need. Go get some rest." Ren sits up and says "I'm fine. I can help fight this bastard." Even though he says that, I can feel his energy and it doesn't feel right.

It's weak and shaky... I reach out and touch his shoulder. Ren freezes and turns to stone as I say "Ren, you need to stay here and rest. If you come with us right now, you'll die or we'll die trying to save you. You should know this better than anyone." Ren deflates at my words and slowly nods his head. "I got it... I'll rest."