Rot Heart: A LitRPG of Rot Magic in an Ancient World (Book 1 completed)

Div woke up to a strong nausea, sickened by the boat rocking on the river waves.

Skill leveled up: Echoes of the Rot Heart Lv9 -> Lv10

His wounds were closed, and he was feeling much better. Not completely healed, pain lingered in the leg that had been torn to shreds by the captain's spear.

"Div! You're awake." Gennorina exclaimed, rushing to his side.

Still disoriented, Div took a moment to inspect the situation. Gennorina seemed fine—at least physically. The druid seemed on the verge of panic.

Lugsellos was steering the boat, a frown plastered on his face.

"Div! Are you there? Dana needs your help," Gennorina took him by the shoulder and shook his body.

He winced. "Hey, it hurts!"

"We don't have time for that," Gennorina cut his protestation short. "Dana…"

Dana? What about Dana? Div looked around and found her collapsed on the floor, not too far from where he was sitting.

"Dana?" he called, approaching her. "What happened?"

Lugsellos spoke up from the back of the vessel. "She fought against the captain. Dragged him into the river and killed him. But she was injured."

Div's breath quickened. He took Dana's pulse, it was so weak he could barely sense it with the boat's movements.

"How long?"

"An hour or so," Gennorina said. "Hurry up and do something!"

"Do something? I'm not a healer. What am I supposed to do?"

"Div, there's no time for semantics, use your magic or your skill to heal her. If you can do it for yourself, you can do it for others," Gennorina said, grinding her teeth.

"Genno, this isn't how Echoes of the Rot Heart works. I can only use it on myself."

Div watched Dana's unconscious body, her chest barely lifting as she breathed. He wanted to help her, but he couldn't.

"Are you sure, Div?" Lugesellos asked. "I'm afraid she will not hold on very long. Not long enough to reach help."

"I…"

He looked at Gennorina and Lugsellos, knowing they expected so much from him, and almost resenting them for it. Why couldn't they heal her? Why couldn't a druid wield the powers of nature to fix Dana? Couldn't she ask the ancient spirit of the river to bless her?

"I'm sorry, Div," Lugsellos said, wincing as Div felt even more annoyed at his words. "There's nothing I can do."

"You, Div," Gennorina started, pointing her finger at him. "Are going to figure it out. Your healing skill is basically an advanced application of rot magic. You better heal her. After what she's done for us, for you, we cannot let her down."

Div sighed.

Gennorina's hands were shaking. She was gripping the edge of her coat so hard, her knuckles were white. Her breathing, sharp and uneven, barely masked the tremble in her voice.

"Div, please," she whispered first, before catching herself and raising her tone. "Do something."

He didn't know why he was so hesitant. There was nothing he could do but try. Even if he had no confidence in replicating the effects of his skill on another person.

Kneeling next to Dana, he used all his abilities to diagnose her problem.

Bruises, open wounds, broken bones, hypothermia, her medical condition was self-evident. But it wasn't what Div was focusing on. He was painfully aware that his meager medical knowledge had little to do with his healing skill.

No, what he wanted to see was how her rotlife was activated.

He closed his eyes, letting his senses stretch beyond the physical. The world dulled into nothing but the faint hum of rotlife and mana. Dana's body was a battlefield.

It wasn't that different from when he was wounded. Internal and external rotlife had gathered near her wounds and were slowly consuming her broken flesh. Rot-attuned mana and essence were being produced.

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The only difference was that she didn't have the skill to harness this essence into healing power.

Could he do it for her?

He didn't know.

Surely, if this was a theoretical discussion, he would have said it should be doable. But, at that moment, he had no idea where to start.

All his levels in Mana Manipulation, Rot Magic, and Rotlife Sense were useless when it came to controlling essence. He could not influence the mysterious energy with these skills. The only skill that could, was Echoes of the Rot Heart.

But…

It was not something he did consciously. In a very literal way, he was not present when the skill worked its miracles.

The only time he saw it for what it was, En had been the one channeling it. To this day, he still believed he wasn't meant to see it. He and his twin mind had gone around and inadvertently peeked into the inner workings of their skill.

But now En wasn't here to help. Even if he was, it wouldn't change a thing.

So what if he could see what Echoes of the Rot Heart was doing? He couldn't replicate it for Dana.

He stared at Dana's unnaturally pale face, eyes closed, lips tinged with blue. Even like this, she looked dangerous. The muscles she built after years of service and training showed through her clothes.

They barely knew each other. Days ago, she'd been a stranger, a threat.

And yet...

Something had shifted. In the way, they had spoken since fate had forced them to cooperate. In how she had stepped forward during the Kheironite attack. Despite her orders. Despite her loyalties. With no regard for her own safety.

For them. For him.

Why?

Why would she risk herself like that?

She could have sided with the soldiers. She had no reason not to.

He didn't know. And that uncertainty made his gut twist in fear and guilt.

He was afraid. Not just of losing her. But of what it would mean if he tried and failed.

He clenched his fists. She was slipping away, and all he could do was sit there, paralyzed.

No, he couldn't let it end like that. He had to try. Even if it was rotten and a single mistake could ruin everything. Even if he wasn't sure if it would help, it could do more harm than good.

Slowly, he pulled mana from his Rot Heart. His bloodline, hailed as the most potent rot-attuned mana source there was. It was time for it to prove itself.

To prove that he hadn't been exiled for nothing.

Countless thick threads of mana streamed out of his body, his hands and will expertly weaving them into what he thought Echoes of the Rot Heart looked like.

Inside Dana's body, through her limbs, coiling around her organs, her head, her heart.

A flicker of doubtful inspiration. But it was better than nothing. Better than letting her rot.

His unsteady spell weave held at the tip of his finger, he paused. Should he activate it… Should it fail…

As if seeing the struggle on his face, Gennorina kneeled in front of him and stared straight into his eyes. "You can do it, Div."

Div took Dana's hand, a deep breath, and activated the spell.

For a moment, nothing happened.

Then, rotlife started stirring, moving away from the wounds. Was it a good sign? Div didn't know. All he could think was that he hadn't intended for that to happen.

Rotlife spread inside Dana's body, moving along the lines of his spell. Then, they started to consume her again. They produced essence, but it was unmoved by his spell.

It wasn't healing her. At best, he had slowed down the worsening of her injuries by spreading the hurt everywhere.

"I don't know what to do…" he muttered under his breath. Loud enough for his friends to hear, but too desperate for them to argue.

But that wasn't entirely true, was it?

Something inside him ached to bridge the gap. A resonance. A link between him and her.

He realized then: he didn't want to heal just anyone.

He wanted to heal her.

It was almost instinctive, a calling deeper than his skin, his flesh, or even his bones. It was coming from his soul.

Without thinking, without considering the fact that it was impossible, he reached inward to his inner world. To the source of Echoes of the Rot Heart.

There, he was immersed in the rhythm of the heartbeat. He watched his tree grow next to En's. Holding Dana's hand, he reached out. Not physically, but on a deeper level.

He didn't know if it was his own heart or the one in his bloodline that was thumping in his ears. Perhaps, it was Dana's.

He couldn't know, he didn't care.

His actions guided by something beyond his consciousness, his soul collided with hers. It didn't feel strange or unnatural. If he had to describe it, it was close to how it felt when he was one with En.

Together yet separate.

One yet two.

He was her and she was him.

Echoes drummed from the Rot Heart, filling his universe with visions of decay and renewal. It was humid, the air was thick and smelled atrocious. Yet, flowers were blooming in endless fields, bolstered by the sun, the rain, and the endless cycle of rot.

His heart wasn't beating alone. Joined by hers their chorus was filling their joined soul.

His mind wasn't there anymore. Somewhere else entirely. In the stars or in the sea, he flew and swam toward the light.

Then, without so much as the tiniest warning sign, he felt their souls being pulled apart.

The heartbeat had stopped.

For the first time ever, he had run out of mana.

Echoes of the Rot Heart has evolved into Chorus of Renewal

His eyelids felt heavy, yet he forced them open. Dana was looking at him. She looked exhausted, fragile, weak. But she was alive, and a glint that wasn't there before shone in the depth of her pupils.

He closed his eyes again and collapsed on his back.