Chapter 89: The Unrefined Nectar and the Watery Ascent

  The massive, heavily armored petals of the Abyssal Lotus groaned loudly as they pulled back, sounding exactly like ancient iron hinges protesting against thick rust. The exact moment the incredibly dark, bruised purple shell completely retracted, the center of the damp, toxic vault was bathed instantly in a surprisingly pure, soft, pulsing silver light.

  Resting perfectly within the absolute heart of the corrupted flower was a tight cluster of delicate, translucent tendrils actively cradling a glowing sphere of raw, unrefined catalytic nectar. It looked exactly like a captured, breathing star, humming with a gentle, entirely uncorrupted energy that completely defied the toxic, anti-magic environment that had bizarrely nurtured it.

  "The core is entirely exposed," Lyra breathed, her emerald eyes reflecting the beautiful silver light.

  She didn't hesitate for a single fraction of a second. She engaged her Flowing Step, entirely abandoning her pale green wind Tena to absolutely ensure she didn't accidentally feed the surrounding, highly aggressive vines, and sprinted directly toward the massive, shrieking plant.

  The starving Abyssal Lotus, completely desperate for new energy to replace its severed crystal supply, immediately sensed her approaching biological warmth. Massive, incredibly thick, thorny vines erupted violently from the dark soil surrounding the roots, whipping through the toxic air exactly like angry serpents to aggressively protect the core.

  "I have the weeds!" Zeno roared.

  He lunged completely forward, directly intercepting the violent botanical barrage. He didn't try to rip them this time; he simply used his massive, heavily armored body as an entirely unyielding, physical shield. The thorny, highly aggressive vines slammed brutally against his Crimson Spider-Silk tunic and heavy Rock Serpent gauntlets. They completely failed to penetrate the ancient armor, effectively wrapping his massive frame in a chaotic, constricting tangle of highly aggressive flora. The vines immediately attempted to drain the magic from his gauntlets, but the dense earth-magic within the obsidian scales resisted the pull.

  "Sledgehammer is busy being a trellis!" Zeno cheerfully announced from deep within the massive pile of writhing, dark violet vines. "Hurry, Lyra!"

  Lyra vaulted flawlessly over a massive, thrashing root, landing directly in the exact center of the giant blossom. She absolutely did not use her sharp daggers; cutting the delicate, translucent tendrils currently holding the core could easily cause the incredibly volatile, highly pressurized liquid nectar to spill, completely spoiling their only cure instantly.

  She reached out with her bare, heavily scarred hands, her nimble fingers moving with absolute, surgical precision. She gently, flawlessly unwrapped the translucent tendrils one by one, entirely ignoring the stinging, highly acidic sap they actively secreted onto her bare skin.

  With a final, incredibly delicate pull, Lyra completely severed the glowing core entirely from the host plant, securing it safely within her hands. It was incredibly cold to the touch, radiating a profound, soothing, cooling energy that instantly began to calm the angry, pulsing pink lines throbbing beneath her heavy leather bracer.

  The exact moment the glowing core was entirely disconnected, the massive Abyssal Lotus let out a final, horrific, shuddering wail. Deprived of both its crystal food source and its energetic core, it instantly began to rapidly wither. The thick, aggressive vines violently thrashing against Zeno completely lost their structural integrity, crumbling into dry, brittle dust and dissolving entirely into harmless, foul-smelling violet sludge.

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  "I have it!" Lyra shouted triumphantly, holding the glowing silver sphere high. "The clock is officially ticking, Zeno! Exactly thirty minutes before it spoils in the open air!"

  "Then we run incredibly fast!" Zeno replied, casually shaking the toxic sludge entirely from his heavy gauntlets and completely turning his attention directly toward the ruined iron doorway.

  They sprinted aggressively back down the primary stone corridor, entirely ignoring the remaining, rapidly withering flora. Without the central Abyssal Lotus actively radiating raw energy to sustain them, the mutated plants were already rapidly dying, rendering the return journey significantly less lethal and absolutely silent.

  They reached the massive, rusted iron primary valve in absolute record time.

  "Zeno, the big wheel!" Lyra yelled, pointing desperately at the massive iron structure. "If you turn it back, it completely stops the magical displacement pump and the vertical shaft will instantly flood again! We have to swim all the way back up to the city!"

  Zeno didn't question the logic. He grabbed the massive iron spokes with both heavily armored hands, perfectly braced his heavy boots against the slime-covered stone, and violently heaved. The heavy iron wheel shrieked in absolute mechanical agony, completely snapping back entirely into its original, locked position.

  The heavy, metallic grinding of the ancient First Era pump instantly ceased.

  A massive, terrifying, absolutely deafening roar echoed violently through the stone corridor as thousands of gallons of freezing, highly pressurized lake water immediately came violently crashing back through the massive hidden grates in the floor, aggressively seeking to entirely reclaim the drained vaults.

  "Take a very big breath, Lyra!" Zeno yelled, his voice completely drowned out by the roaring, freezing water.

  They both inhaled incredibly deeply, violently expanding their lungs to their absolute maximum physical capacity, just as the freezing, massive tidal wave completely slammed directly into them.

  The sheer, overwhelming kinetic force of the rushing water was absolutely incredible, entirely picking them up like ragdolls and sweeping them violently back toward the vertical access shaft. Zeno’s massive, heavy physical density, normally an incredible, unyielding combat asset, was an absolute, terrifying liability in the chaotic underwater current. He tumbled wildly, entirely out of control, his heavy Rock Serpent gauntlets and massive iron cauldron actively dragging him relentlessly downward toward the crushing depths.

  Lyra, holding the incredibly precious, glowing silver core securely against her chest with one arm, reached out desperately through the freezing water with her free hand. She firmly, blindly grabbed the thick leather strap of Zeno’s heavy backpack just as he tumbled heavily past her into the darkness.

  She absolutely could not use her wind Tena to propel them. The pink spores were already highly agitated by the earlier use of magic, and actively pushing elemental energy now to fight the massive current would completely paralyze her lungs, drowning them both instantly. They had to rely entirely on her raw, physical swimming ability.

  Lyra kicked her legs with absolute, desperate, purely muscular power, entirely utilizing her incredible natural agility to navigate the chaotic, freezing underwater current. She brutally dragged the massive, incredibly heavy boy behind her, fighting the tremendous, relentless downward pull of his heavy iron cauldron and highly dense, spiked armor.

  They finally reached the vertical shaft leading directly up to the heavy iron hatch they had originally opened. The freezing water was rising rapidly, entirely filling the vertical stone tunnel.

  Lyra looked straight up into the murky, terrifying darkness. It was a fifty-foot vertical swim directly against gravity, entirely without the vital aid of her wind magic, while physically dragging an impossibly heavy, armored Vanguard. Her lungs were already beginning to burn fiercely, screaming loudly for the oxygen she didn't have.

  She looked down at Zeno. He was holding his breath perfectly, his massive cheeks puffed out slightly. His amber eyes were completely calm despite the terrifying, suffocating situation, entirely trusting her to lead them to the surface.

  Lyra gritted her teeth, tightened her desperate grip entirely on his thick backpack strap, and began the agonizingly slow, incredibly grueling, purely physical vertical swim toward the distant, incredibly faint square of dim light marking the open hatch above.