CHAPTER 295: SECLUSION

Over the next course of hours, his parents came as soon as they heard, their faces etched with relief that barely held back the tears. Elder Gideon was the first to enter the chamber, his usual stern composure faltering the moment he saw his son sitting upright, alive and breathing.

He moved closer, his eyes glistening. "My son," he said softly, his voice trembling ever so slightly. "You have no idea what these past months have been like."

Lucas smiled faintly, though his strength was still a flickering flame. "I’m sorry to have worried you, Father."

Elder Gideon reached out and placed a firm hand on his shoulder, but even that simple gesture carried so much unspoken emotion that Lucas had to lower his gaze to hide the ache in his chest. "You’ve always been reckless," his father said, his voice attempting to sound scolding but breaking halfway through. "But this... this was beyond reckless."

Before Lucas could answer, Lady Mariana entered behind her husband, her steps soft yet hurried. The sight of her son awake made her stop mid-step; for a brief second, she couldn’t even breathe. Then she moved forward and knelt beside him, cupping his face in her trembling hands.

"Xavier," she whispered, her eyes glistening. "My sweet boy... I thought...." Her voice faltered, and she pressed her forehead to his. "Don’t ever make me feel that kind of fear again."

Lucas’s heart clenched at the sound of her voice. He could still sense her worry even now, like an invisible weight pressing around him. "I’m fine, Mother," he murmured, placing his hand gently over hers. "Truly, I am."

Elder Gideon exhaled and looked at the faint blue glow of Lucas’s body...traces of the Ice Belle’s energy still circulating within him. "You’re far from fine," he said firmly, his tone returning to the elder’s authority that everyone respected. "Your meridians have suffered heavy damage, and your Dantian is unstable. You must rest, Xavier. You cannot push yourself right now."

Lucas nodded, his gaze distant for a moment. "I can feel it... my Qi flow is uneven."

Lady Mariana looked toward Elder Gideon, concern etching her features. "Will he recover fully?"

Gideon thought for a long while before answering. "If anyone else had taken that kind of internal backlash, their cultivation would have been crippled forever. But Xavier..." His eyes softened with a rare hint of pride. "He has a strange affinity...his body adapts in ways I’ve never seen before. If he rests, if he cultivates quietly, he’ll recover. Perhaps even stronger than before."

Lucas exhaled slowly, the weight of his father’s words sinking in. "Then I’ll do just that," he said quietly. "I’ll enter seclusion."

The Ice Belle, who had been perched silently beside him all along, nodded as if she understood, her little head bobbing gently. She climbed onto his chest again and curled up like a tiny guardian spirit.

Lady Mariana brushed a stray strand of hair from Lucas’s face, her touch motherly and full of love. "Promise me, Xavier," she whispered. "No heroics for a while. No battles, no training, no adventures. Just... heal."

He smiled faintly. "I promise, Mother."

Elder Gideon stood straight, looking down at his son with deep respect. "The path of recovery will not be easy. But you have never taken the easy path before, have you?"

Lucas shook his head, the faintest smile tugging at his lips. "Never."

As his parents finally left the chamber, Lucas leaned back against the cushions. His vision dimmed, not from weakness but from the heaviness of thought. He could feel the stagnant Qi inside him, fractured yet restless, like a storm waiting to rebuild itself.

He looked down at the Ice Belle, who had already fallen asleep on his lap, her faint frost spreading across his robe. He placed a hand gently over her and whispered, "Let’s heal together, alright?"

Then he closed his eyes, drew a deep breath, and began to guide his Qi into the rhythm of seclusion cultivation.

The days soon blurred into nights, and the nights into weeks. Lucas remained within his chamber, rarely stepping beyond the door that separated his resting space from the world outside. His seclusion began quietly...just him, the rhythmic pulse of his Qi, and the steady heartbeat of the Ice Belle who never once left his side.

Every morning, faint light would creep through the ornate lattice windows, and Lucas would awaken before dawn. He sat cross-legged on the cultivation mat, eyes closed, his breathing deep and slow. At first, his Qi flow was uneven, jagged and unstable. When he tried to circulate it through his meridians, pain erupted in sharp waves, forcing him to halt and start again. His Dantian felt fractured...like a broken vessel struggling to contain the sea within it.

Each time his Qi clashed with the lingering celestial residue left by the Empress’s explosion, it sent jolts of agony through his body. He coughed blood often during those first days, his body trembling under the strain. Yet he refused to stop. He knew that this pain was the price of repair. The Ice Belle often intervened during those difficult moments, her frosty aura soothing the burning energy inside him, freezing the unstable Qi until it could settle again.

At first, he meditated for hours, but as the weeks went on, the hours turned to days. His control over his Qi improved; the once-chaotic energy began to move in harmony, responding to his will. He could feel his meridians knitting together, slowly reforming the channels that had been damaged. Sometimes, faint strands of frost laced his skin as the Ice Belle’s divine energy intertwined with his cultivation, mending what his own strength could not.

The palace servants who brought food and water would often find the chamber cold as winter, frost coating the walls and floor. They never stayed long, for the divine chill that surrounded Lucas during his cultivation was overwhelming, heavy with both power and serenity.

Weeks turned into a month. Lucas’s hair grew longer, his face sharper, his presence stronger. The faint aura of divinity that had once belonged solely to the Ice Belle now lingered faintly around him too. Each day he spent cultivating, his Qi became purer, more refined, like molten gold flowing within his veins. The celestial energy that once threatened to destroy him was now a part of him...subdued, absorbed, and reshaped by his will.

Sometimes, he would awaken from meditation to find the Ice Belle asleep beside him, tiny frost feathers spread across the bed.

On the seventh week, something changed. As he sat deep in meditation, the Qi within his Dantian stirred violently, expanding in a sudden surge. His body trembled, the air in the room thickened, and his breath turned to mist. The frost on the walls spread like wildfire as he crossed the final threshold of his recovery. His Qi no longer felt broken or scattered....it was whole again, but different. Denser, colder, alive.

When the storm of energy finally subsided, Lucas opened his eyes. They glowed faintly blue, the same hue as the Ice Belle’s divine frost. He exhaled slowly, his breath crystallizing in the air. For the first time in over a month, his body felt light....no pain, no weakness, no trembling. Only calm strength, refined by endurance.

He lowered his gaze to the small figure sleeping peacefully beside him, a faint smile forming on his lips. "Thank you," he whispered softly. "I wouldn’t have made it without you."

The Ice Belle stirred, opened one eye lazily, and then curled back into his lap. Lucas chuckled quietly and leaned back, his mind clear. He could feel it...the balance restored, the power steady within him once more.