Investing in My Crippled Wife: Every Return Makes Me Stronger

As soon as the integration started, Soren felt a profound stillness washing over his mindscape. It felt as though a massive, invisible barrier inside his head had silently dissolved, allowing his mental sea to expand outward into an immense, crystal-clear reservoir. His thoughts, which had been frantic and disjointed from the exhaustion of the battle, suddenly aligned into perfect, synchronized rows.

This sudden expansion marked his official breakthrough into the Intent Foundation Realm, stabilizing his consciousness in an instant.

With this newly acquired mental foundation anchoring him, the rest of the returns integrated smoothly without any discomfort or strain. The deep insights of the Sovereign Soul-Refining Scripture, the intricate preparation methods for the four ancient culinary dishes, and the analytical parameters for Advanced Appraisal poured into his memories like ink soaking into parchment. His fortified mindscape processed the massive influx of knowledge with flawless ease.

Soon, the familiar notification flashed at the center of his vision.

[Integration Complete!]

Soren took a deep breath, his mind instantly analyzing the new returns and locking onto the parameters of Soul-Binding Symbiosis.

’What’s mine is yours, what’s yours is mine...’

The brief description of the new effect echoed in his mind, sparking an immediate realization.

’Perhaps, with this, I can save her!’

Pushing through the lingering numbness in his limbs, Soren forced himself to stand up on the frozen head of the beast. He yanked his boots free from the ice and hurried down the massive corpse, his boots striking the ground as he made a direct break toward the cloaked vehicle.

Just then, the car door flew open, and Aunt Clara stepped out. She took one look at him and froze, her eyes widening in sheer horror. Soren was completely bloodied, his clothes torn to shreds and his skin marred by deep, jagged lacerations from the shattering ice wall and the beast’s brutal wing sweep.

”Soren!” she gasped, rushing forward to meet him. She quickly grabbed his arm, supporting his weight as she helped him cover the final few meters to the vehicle.

Soren didn’t waste a single second on pleasantries. He scrambled straight into the passenger seat and threw his gaze toward the back, where Ethea was lying down. She was still completely unconscious, but her state had drastically worsened. A thin, crystalline layer of black frost had begun to creep across her pale skin, and her veins were dark and slightly visible beneath her surface, her muscles twitching nonstop under the intense pressure of the curse’s mysterious effect.

His heart ached fiercely at the sight of her agonizing restraint. Reaching into his inventory, Soren quickly pulled out the bottle of Clear-Mind Serenity Pills he had just received and looked back at Aunt Clara with absolute urgency.

”I’m so sorry, Soren,” Clara said, her voice trembling as she looked between him and Ethea. ”I tried everything. I fed her the recovery potions and used a healing spell, but nothing changed. She...”

”It’s alright, Auntie. I will handle the rest from here.” Soren gave a tight nod, his expression rigid as he passed the small glass bottle into her hands. ”Just feed these to her. And Auntie, I need your absolute promise right now that you will never tell anyone what happens next. Once I begin, ignore me no matter what happens to me. Even if things look bad on my end, even if I look like I’m dying, do not do anything else. Just focus all your attention on Ethea.”

Clara looked at him with clear confusion and growing worry, but the absolute gravity in his eyes left no room for argument. She swallowed her questions and nodded quickly, her fingers already working to pop the seal on the pill bottle. ”I promise.”

Turning his attention back to the corner of his vision, Soren glanced at the glowing timer one more time. The seconds were still bleeding away. Taking a slow, deep breath to steady his racing pulse, he closed his eyes and looked inward, calling upon the newly evolved core of their connection.

Deep within his expanded mindscape, the invisible spiritual tether connecting him to Ethea flared with a brilliant, silver light.

As the connection awakened, the operational mechanics of the evolved bond settled completely into his awareness. The new active effect, Symbiotic Equilibrium, operated on a strict rule of mutual exchange. It allowed them to freely share their powers, abilities, knowledge, thoughts, and even pain or injuries.

However, the mechanism came with a set of rigid, complex requirements that demanded a fair balance. The exchange was mostly a strict shift in volume rather than a simple duplication. For example, if he chose to grant her one of his abilities, he would temporarily lose access to that power for the entire duration of the process. The same rule applied if he wanted to take something from her.

That’s why Soren initially intended to use this bridge to take the entire eighth-circle curse onto himself, locking it inside himself. But the moment his intent brushed against the invisible force wreaking havoc inside her, he realized it was impossible. The curse was woven too deeply into her body and soul, far beyond what a temporary bridge could completely sever.

He could, however, take the current effects of the curse that were actively killing her right now. He could pull all of it into his own body and mind, dragging the freezing necrosis, the spreading black frost on her skin, the neural shock, and every drop of agonizing pain she was experiencing straight across the bond link.

And in return, he intended to send some of his own vitality and a few select abilities back through the same link, fortifying her system from within so she could survive the sudden onslaught.

With his target parameters firmly locked, Soren focused his mind and triggered the ability. The moment the equilibrium engaged, Soren’s entire physical frame went rigid in the passenger seat. A violent shockwave of agony tore through the link, slamming directly into his consciousness.

”ARGH!”

A sharp groan tore from his throat, echoing loudly within the cramped vehicle as his hands clamped onto his head. His vision warped instantly, the edges of his sight blurring into a dark, chaotic haze as Ethea’s subconscious terror flooded his mind.

It felt as though countless jagged shards of glass were scraping against the inner walls of his brain, a relentless mental assault that threatened to tear apart his mind and drag him under.

He could feel the darkness pulling at him, tempting him to lose consciousness, but he knew that if he let go for even a fraction of a second, the connection would snap and everything would end.

’Endure... I... ha...e to... en....u...e...’