Shane couldn't see a single thing. An empty wasteland of white nothing stretched infinitely toward the horizon. He closed his eyes to blot out the brightness of the landscape and realized his ears were ringing. Without warning, a notification ping echoed in the distance of the purely cleansed hellscape.

-Notice-

Current Status and Elemental Effects:

Blinded

Deafened

Dazed

Burned

The window with its dark text was only faintly visible after he opened his eyes again. The world of white slowly disappeared, allowing the window and the chamber to replace it as his vision returned to normal. What was only a soft ringing morphed into the sound of muddled chaotic noise as the smell of burnt flesh kissed the tip of his senses.

Shane observed the same chamber sparsely lit by many small fires through the white haze. Thankfully, the many flickering shadows cast by the flames weren't coming to life. Shane meekly felt around with his hands, trying to get a bearing for where he was in the chamber while his vision continued to clear. His skin felt singed and warm to the touch prompting him to check his health and other primary stats.

HP: 110/180 (18 Overshield)

Mana: 90/190

Fatigue: 20/143

That's…not great, Shane thought dully. It was like he couldn't quite think straight. Likely from the dazed status effect, he figured with more mental effort than he would have liked to exert. He shook his head to clear it, which was a bit painful. It was all so overwhelming.

Okay, the first thing I should do is see if the tied-up hybrid woman is okay. She wasn't as close to the blast as I was, and I'm okay, I think. Seconds later, Shane realized why he had survived the out-of-control spell explosion.

Sharlot was full size and standing over him. Half her legs were on the ground, with the other half on the wall. She shielded me! He thought, now understanding that he had been much closer to the fireball than previously thought—only a couple meters at most.

"Master…are you okay?" Her voice's slow and creeping weakness immediately made his heart race with worry.

"You're hurt!" his feeling of worry was compounding by the second. "I'm gonna heal you real quick."

She was in dire shape. The entire side of her thorax and abdomen facing the spherical inferno turned crispy and either bled or had bubbled. A few of the legs she had been standing on had been burnt to ashes. My diminishing mana doesn't matter at this point! She must live. He touched a part of her body that wasn't burnt and cast [Restoration].

A bright golden light enveloped the entirety of her, with a concentration of the brilliant glow surrounding her more devastating wounds. The golden glow quickly grew to peak brightness and vanished with a dazzling flash. Shane observed Sharlot's wounds and was relieved to see they had been mostly treated—even her legs had been restored.

To his surprise, Sharlot immediately but gently pinned him against the wall. She reached out with a hairy limb and lovingly stroked his cheek.

"I love how you take care of me, master," her voice oozed with provocation.

Irritation began bubbling deep within his chest as he forcefully brushed the hairy limb aside.

"You could have died!!" he heard himself scream. The anger welled up inside him. He didn't care if Cain heard him or not.

"You don't get to come back if you die! I do! I'm the one that can revive!!"

Sharlot didn't respond but stayed focused on him as the small fires continued to burn and flicker within the chamber. Shane's breath came bellowing out in short, powerful gasps. I have to calm down. I have to take deeper breaths.

His anger receded as quickly as it had flared after slowing his breathing.

"I'm sorry, Sharlot," he spoke slowly and carefully. "I appreciate what you did. Honestly, you probably saved my life. I just don't want you risking your life for mine. Not when I don't stay dead."

Sharlot lowered her head as she backed away slightly from the wall.

"I know you can revive, but it takes so long. I don't like to wait. I would rather save you, so you don't leave me," As a spider, Sharlot was incapable of shedding tears. Her voice in his mind told him otherwise.

"Don't worry, Sharlot. I will ALWAYS return, no matter how long I'm gone."

Shane was feeling calmer now and had an easier time speaking his mind. Sharlot remained motionless as he reached out to grab her basketball size head and looked her straight in her many eyes.

"You aren't like me, and I can't bring you back if you die, at least, not yet. Losing you would make my time in this world all the more bleak."

He barely got the word "bleak" out when Sharlot pulled him into a many-limbed hug.

"I understand, Master. I will…try," sadness still saddled her voice as she slowly let him go.

"It will be okay. I'll keep getting stronger, and you won't have to put yourself in danger. Just you wait," Shane's confidence was as convincing as it was secretly forced.

Whether his words convinced Sharlot or not remained to be known; either way, she nodded her large head at him. Sharlot shrunk back down to the size of a quarter and donned his shoulder once again. While she went through that routine process, he looked over his own wounds.

Deep burns radiated heat on parts of his arms and legs where Sharlot's sizable frame didn't completely protect him. He felt it necessary to conserve his mana for any surprises and decided to explore his inventory for always-valuable healing and mana potions.

After a few moments of inventory management, Shane laid out three minor health potions and two mana potions. He decided to drink every one of them. The health potions had a watered-down cherry taste that matched their dull red color. Whereas the mana potions had a lively mix of blueberry and lemon—easily the one he preferred taste-wise.

Small glowing blue and red lights circled his body from his feet to his head. Their wispy trails left him feeling like a Christmas tree in a room, slowly falling to darkness as the fires burned themselves out. When the effects ended, Shane observed his stats again.

HP: 170/180 (18 Overshield)

Mana: 140/190

Fatigue: 10/143

A smile of satisfaction touched his lips, born from the alleviation of his burns and restoration of his mana.

"That's odd," he said while gazing up at the now broken ropes slightly swaying in the breezeless chamber.

The edges of the room were no longer fully lit from the cursed light of the lava river. The lack of light made finding the avian woman harder, especially when her form was mostly hidden behind a burnt and bloodied Alabaster.