Tangled in Moonlight: Unshifted novel Chapter 352

"What do you mean?"

You’ll need to draw the energy into yourself, he explains, and then overpower it with your own magic.

This is not what I expected. "Draw it in? Like... absorb it?"

He nods. Exactly. The resulting friction between your magic and the taint creates a sort of burning purification. It neutralizes the harmful energy and can even bolster your own reserves.

The idea of pulling this dark, ominous energy into my body makes my skin crawl. "And what if there’s too much? What if I can’t handle it all at once?"

Grimoire’s ears twitch. In those cases, you’d need to purify in stages or enlist help from other magic users. The stronger you are and the more magical capacity you have, the more efficiently you can handle these situations. This amount should be easy for you, especially with your recent expenditures at the wards.

I grunt, still uneasy about the whole concept. The thought of willingly drawing this taint into myself feels wrong on a visceral level.

It’s relatively easy magic, Grimoire assures me. It just requires fine control, which you’ve been improving lately.

His words are meant to be comforting, but they don’t quite hit the mark. Maybe because it feels kind of like he just told me to eat evil. It’s just wrong. "Does it hurt?"

Grimoire pauses, and that hesitation speaks volumes. It can cause fevers as your body fights against the toxic nature of the taint, he admits. But it doesn’t necessarily hurt in and of itself.

"Fevers," I repeat, my voice flat. "Great. For how long?"

As long as it’s required.

So, a while. Not super cool, but we can’t just leave a mass of aggression-inducing taint—which really doesn’t sound right—around. It’s invisible. None of our wolves would be able to avoid it, even if they knew its scent.

I close my eyes, too distracted by how it’s not visually there, and reach out with my magic. It surges to my command immediately, as easy as breathing.

The taint feels like an oil slick on water, but light and fluffy, like clouds. It’s strange.

Good, Grimoire encourages. Now, imagine drawing that energy towards you. Like you’re inhaling it.

My eyes snap open. "Wait, literally inhale it?" My lungs cringe at the thought.

No, no, he says quickly. It’s just a visualization technique. You’re pulling it into your magical core, not your lungs.

Closing my eyes again, I inhale as deeply as I can, even as I let my magic touch the strange, icky energy before me.

Soon enough, it’s like some sort of magical siphon as it flows over my magic and into circulation.

As the first tendrils of tainted energy touch my magical core, I gasp. It burns, a cold fire that spreads through my veins. My teeth clench against the discomfort.

Keep going, Grimoire urges. You’re doing well.

I push through the pain, breathing slow and steady, continuing to draw the energy in. It feels endless, like I’m trying to drink an ocean through a straw. Just when I think I can’t take anymore, it slows down.

Marcus is there in an instant, steadying me with a strong hand on my arm. _{free𝑤ebnovel.com}