Cracka, cracka!
A pure white hellfire flickered into existence within the all-encompassing darkness.
'This boy…' Eden thought. 'What did he feel every time he tried this alone? Frustration? Hopelessness?'
When Foile reported the details of the curse, Eden didn't immediately spiral into suspicion over which of her siblings had done it.
Instead, her mind stayed fixed to the possibilities of what the youngest had felt upon hearing such a traumatizing curse.
Thinking about the one responsible for it now, her face contorted.
House of Hart had this tradition in which the younger sibling is born, all of the older siblings would present a sacred object— a coin, for example, is said to bring fortune.
It was the perfect moment for the curse to take root.
Thing is, regarding the claims of legends, books, and bedtime stories about the Envy needing to have physical contact, that was a myth, and nothing more than a forged lie!
An object is enough, like if an object carried the curse of Envy, then the moment someone infused zi into it, the curse would transfer to the next person it touched except the one who had infused it.
'Who dares? To rob the youngest of fifteen years of his ascendancy... such an act is unforgivable!'
For a moment, she lost control of her emotions (mainly rage) that she momentarily lost focus which could've resulted in the failing of the aiding process.
Clearing her thoughts, she focused, again.
As the aider, Eden did not interfere directly— though she had the option to. She merely guided or rather, built the highway upon which Seven could reroute, allowing the threads of zi to flow along the path she prepared.
This was an important moment for Seven after all, and thus she wanted him to embrace the feeling.
Little did she know that he had already attempted this alone.
I mean, she technically knew from Foile's reports that he had struggled alone attempting this, yet she could only see a cursed brother, not a stranger from another world who had claimed his identity.
Cracka, cracka!
As the pure, white hellfire continued to flicker, it did not take long before they reached the white flame.
The heart (a/n: the HART!!).
Just like before, Seven guided the threads of blue zi and weaved them into a ring encircling the white flame.
But, just like before too…
Sczkk, sczkk!
The pure white fire turned into a black inferno, followed by black hands that burst forth from nothingness and seized both ends of the ring before pulling them outward, trying to tear it apart.
'Ughh…!'
Pain exploded inward.
It felt as if his consciousness itself were being split open, peeled apart thread by thread.
Unlike his previous attempt though, he could endure the agony, feeling like the amount of pain had been reduced significantly, not knowing Eden was shouldering more than half of it for his sake.
But the curse of Envy was no minor affliction, and it was never intended to let its victims off easily.
Pop, pop, pop!
One by one, the threads of zi snapped in succession.
— "Hang in there. Don't let the curse snap that last thread before I come back. This is our only chance."
Despite the pain she could feel, Eden still comforted her little brother and wished him luck.
"Yes, I'll do my best."
Seven tried his best to hold onto the very last threads of zi, and Eden scattered her zi throughout his arteries.
Truth be told, there were two shades of red flowing within her little brother's blood— Leviathan's and his.
He had noticed it too, coming up with the realization that this unknown blood might be the one responsible for the sudden spike of his strength.
Sczzhk, sczzhk!
With patient and perfect control, Eden began to separate the unknown blood. Eden is called a prodigy of her generation for a reason!
Even so, the process was anything but easy.
An hour had passed, it was now exactly 2 PM. The snowstorm finally stopped, leaving their bodies half-buried beneath the fallen snow, vulnerable.
Had anyone attacked them then, they would have died without resistance, for even someone like Eden could be shattered in such a state.
Truth is, something really did attack them, and it was a dominant polar bear whose corpse had now sunk on the snow as Foile easily cut the bear into halves.
Time slipped by, unnoticed.
Three hours passed.
Four hours.
Five.
Eden had finally re-routed every drop of Leviathan's blood back onto the flickering pure, white fire.
There, Seven was still desperately clinging to the miniscule thread of his zi. He refused to let the black hands of the curse tear it from his grasp.
"You've held on quite well, my little brother. Leave the rest to me."
"Yes."
Eden, with her once again perfect control, guided the three disparate energies together and merged them into a single, formidable line of force. It was now a sturdy cord braided from three distinct strands: her own zi, her little brother's, and the blood of Leviathan.
The rope extended, forming a ring around the heart.
Still, the curse did not make the process easy as more and more of the black hands emerged, reaching out desperately, clawing and pulling, trying to prevent the connection from being made.
But, the struggle was futile.
Time was now 8 PM, and the two ends of the braided rope had finally touched each other.
All of the black hands had vanished, and the black flame returned to its natural white color, though deep within its core the curse still remained, hidden like fuel feeding the pure white fire.
Nonetheless…
Huff, huff!
Seven's first ring of zi had been finally formed!
Outside, the blood leaking from his eyes, the thin streams staining the snow burying half of his body, had stopped.
Eden groaned as she opened her eyes, wiping off the faint blood cascading down her nose, her breath uneven as the strain finally caught up to her.
Then, Eden smiled.
"You seem to be in a good mood, milady," Foile muttered, rinsing off the blood on his sword using the melted snow. "I assume the youngest is now an ascendant."
"...He is," Eden replied, flatly.
Her gaze swept across the clearing, landing on a corpse, no, two... three... seven— a total of seven bears lay dead in the snow. They must have sensed a higher predator in a vulnerable state and moved in for the kill, only to be intercepted by Foile.
"You worked hard," Eden said, acknowledging the carnage.
"It was nothing, milady," Foile replied with a slight bow. "Mere beasts like these could never truly tax me."
Eden gave a sharp nod of approval.
"Clean up the tracks and dispose of the carcasses."
"Yes, milady. As you command."
Foile disappeared in an instant, as well as those carcasses of dead bears.
Eden turned towards her little brother, then scooped up a handful and melted it between her fingers and gently wiped the blood off his face.
"I hope you like your birthday gift," Eden said softly, her lips curving into a tired smile, "even if it's a little early, my little brother."
There was no response.
Seven, still drifting within his inner awareness, beheld a breathtaking sight.
His nerves and countless pathways he had never seen before ignited one by one, in succession, carrying the faint blue light coming from the ring through every part of him until it felt as though an entire constellation had awakened within him.
After, he could also see the outside world. He saw himself sitting in the same position and half-buried in snow, with Eden smiling as she looked at him.
— "I hope you like your birthday gift, even if it's a little early, my little brother."
Somehow, he was able to hear what she had said.
'Yes. It's the most precious thing I've ever been given, sister.'
Blinking, he felt his consciousness snap back into his physical form.
He quickly forced his face to light up, mimicking the reaction a boy like Seven would have after finally forming a heart ring to avoid suspicion.
"Did it..." he muttered, pushing himself upright to face his oldest sister. "Sister Eden, we did it. I finally have a—!"
Before he could finish, Eden shoved him by the chest.
He stumbled back until his boots found only empty air as the ground vanished beneath him.
"—eh?!"