Floor 13 was quiet. It was so silent I could hear my own heartbeat. Chen was still gripping my hand tightly. Perhaps because of the sensory link from the blood pact, I could feel her pulse vibrating through my palm.
"Li-An, something is wrong. I don't see anything, but I'm shivering."
Mei rubbed her arms and pressed close to my back. Jia also flared her golden scales, staying alert. There was clearly nothing in front of us. But suddenly, an icy chill brushed against my cheek.
"Ah...!"
I instinctively swung my sword. But I only cut through thin air. Nothing was hit.
"You can't see them? They're right in front of us!"
Chen shouted. She pulled my hand toward her chest. At that moment, my vision flickered, and blue shapes appeared. Blurry, smoke-like entities were surrounding us. Frost Wraiths.
"It must be because you mixed blood with Chen. She can see them, but we can't!"
Jia realized the situation and grabbed my shoulder firmly.
"Li-An, share your mana through your body! Or we're all going to freeze to death!"
The wraiths shrieked and lunged. No sound reached my ears, but I felt a pain like my head was being split open. I gripped Chen's hand even tighter. The 'Vessel' inside me swirled, forcibly injecting Chen's visual data into my brain.
"I see them...!"
Now their forms were visible to my eyes as well. I coated my blade in mana and swung. This time, I sliced through one's shoulder. They didn't have physical bodies, but they reacted to mana-infused attacks.
"Mei! Jia! Touch me!"
At my shout, both women embraced me at once. Mei wrapped around my waist, and Jia clung to my back. The mana of the four of us intertwined into one, centered on my body. A brilliant light erupted from me like a lightbulb turning on.
"Now I see them! You arrogant ghost bastards!"
Mei shouted, throwing her daggers. A wraith scattered in the air with a silent scream. Chen, still holding my hand, grabbed another wraith by the throat with her free hand and froze it solid. The beast-women's mana was changing properties as it passed through my 'Vessel.'
The battle was messy. Fighting invisible enemies was physically draining. But we didn't stop. In the narrow corridor, our four bodies moved forward, tangled and entwined.
"Li-An, just a bit more... give me more mana..."
Jia whispered, licking the nape of my neck. Even though it was the freezing Floor 13, the air between us began to heat up again. Every time we killed an enemy, their cold essence entered my body, only for the girls to melt it away with their warmth.
We pushed through the darkness like that. I didn't know what was waiting at the end of Floor 13, but at least in this moment, I could endure it thanks to our shared heat.