"Ugh…"
Just as Bonanus was happily absorbing the karmic debt from Bosacius, her eldest brother, the body beneath her suddenly showed the faintest sign of movement.
Looking more closely, something happened that she had never expected…
Big Brother was actually about to wake up!
Good heavens—did she and Big Brother wake up on the same day?! Bonanus had thought Bosacius would still need to sleep for several more days!
[Karmic Debt Absorption Progress: 36,500 / 50,000]
"So uncomfortable…"
Bosacius slowly opened his unfocused eyes. His gaze was weary and dull, giving him a frail, sickly appearance.
His vision was still blurred. Simply put, having just awakened, everything looked distorted and indistinct—completely normal. It would clear up soon.
"Cold…"
His body instinctively curled inward, trembling slightly. Bonanus could clearly see it.
Bosacius's condition was exactly the same as how Bonanus herself had felt upon awakening.
After sleeping for so long, the entire body felt icy cold—like sleeping with an air conditioner blasting directly at your face all night, then waking up freezing the next morning.
"Big Brother Bosacius…"
Bonanus gently wrapped her arms around him. For some reason, seeing him like this made her heart ache deeply.
She thought that in his current miserable state, she was probably the first among all Yakshas to ever see him this way.
After all, as the eldest brother, Bosacius had always borne most of the pain himself, then turned around and greeted everyone with that bright, carefree smile that told you there was nothing to worry about.
"Big Brother Bosacius, just endure it a little longer. You'll feel better soon…"
Bonanus softly stroked his forehead, like a mother soothing a sick child.
Bosacius's head rested against her chest. His consciousness was still blank, but the faint warmth from Bonanus's body gave him a sense of comfort.
Looking at such a powerful Bosacius reduced to this state, Bonanus shook her head slightly. Though her heart ached, she couldn't help but think:
Big Brother… your image has completely collapsed. If this got out, where would the title of Marshal Tengshe even stand?
"Bonanus… is that you?"
Bosacius's vision remained unfocused. His body felt stiff and unbearably uncomfortable.
Though his mind was still foggy, he clearly heard Bonanus's gentle voice comforting him.
"It's me, Big Brother Bosacius. Rest properly," she said softly, continuing to stroke his head.
After all, he had only just awakened from several hundred years of deep sleep. Some buffering time was inevitable.
What? You're asking why he still hasn't finished buffering after resting that long? Then go ask the system! This little lady's knowledge is limited…
(System: Don't shift the blame.)
"So it really is you…"
Bosacius lightly rubbed his temples. The motion brought slight relief to his aching head.
Feeling the stiffness and cold throughout his body, he genuinely believed he had already entered the afterlife, reunited with his family.
"This pitch-black place… where is it? Is this the world after death?"
"I feel like… aside from you four… I've forgotten so many things…"
He let out a helpless laugh, one tinged with lingering unwillingness.
"I really am a useless eldest brother…"
Bosacius had witnessed the other four Yakshas right before they succumbed to madness from karmic debt. In his memories, Bonanus had already died.
So he naturally assumed he was now in the afterlife.
When Bonanus and the heavily injured Bosacius first met in the Chasm, his wounds had been too severe and the karmic corruption too deep. Having only just awakened, many of his memories were still muddled.
"Big Brother Bosacius, both you and I are still alive."
Bonanus smiled gently as she continued stroking him.
Though her hands were sharp and might hurt him, she trusted that her thick-skinned eldest brother could definitely handle it.
Bosacius merely shook his head, clearly unconvinced.
"It's true!"
"Haha… little sister, don't joke around," Bosacius said. He still believed this was the afterlife, assuming Bonanus was simply comforting him.
"Where are Menogias and Indarias? Why is it just you? And where's that brat Alatus? Why didn't he come to greet me?"
(Note: In Bosacius's memories, Alatus had gone mad from karmic debt. He never witnessed Alatus being saved.)
The moment she heard this, Bonanus's gentle smile stiffened.
If this were an anime, several ominous stress symbols would be popping up above her head.
"Big Brother Bosacius! I already told you—we're not dead!"
As she spoke, Bonanus reached out and grabbed both of Bosacius's ears.
Then she pulled.
Hard.
"Ah—?! It hurts, it hurts, it hurts!"
The sharp pain instantly jolted Bosacius awake. He struggled violently, uncoiling his body and performing an elegant roll to escape Bonanus's embrace.
Bonanus was a Yaksha with terrifying close-combat strength—also a caster, also a healer, with absurdly powerful hands to top it off.
Even Bosacius couldn't ignore that pain.
Familiar. Painfully familiar.
Though it hurt, there was no danger of his ears being torn off. Yakshas were illuminated beasts—not fragile mortals.
That pain snapped him fully awake.
Sometimes, being a little rough really was effective.
Bosacius rubbed his swollen ears. The pain was real—far too real.
Slowly, warmth returned to his body. His adeptal power began flowing again. Fragmented memories rapidly reassembled.
He stared at Bonanus in disbelief.
Though the surroundings were pitch black, a Yaksha's night vision far surpassed that of mortals.
"You… me? We're still alive?"
Bonanus stared at him in silence.
This eldest brother… why does he suddenly look kind of dumb?
Big Brother. Your image just collapsed again.
Before she could say more, Bosacius's expression suddenly twisted. One hand clutched his chest, the other covered his mouth.
Something was coming up.
"Big Brother Bosacius, are you okay—?"
Before she could finish, Bosacius turned away, braced himself against the stone wall, and vomited violently.
The vomit was black.
Nothing but black.
Bonanus frowned deeply, patting his back while questioning the system.
[Bonanus: System? What's going on? Was that healing pill fake?]
[System online. Answering host: This is a normal effect. While healing, the pill expels impurities.]
[Methods include vomiting, defec—]
[Bonanus: That's enough!]
She immediately cut the system off.
If it kept talking, readers might be eating.
Patting Bosacius's back, she said with forced cheer:
"Go on, throw it all up. You'll be fine after."
As for how she'd explain everything later…
Well, she only had a junior-college education.
But this foolish eldest brother?
He looked very easy to fool.
Let him finish vomiting first.