He finally entered the forest and headed to his usual spot next to the snow-bark. He climbed up and stayed on top of the tree. Laniakea's breathing was ragged and heavy as overusing his Aura had left a sharp, stabbing pain in his chest.
"I should be safe for now, but what is this pain? It's stabbing my Aura heart," he thought. He focused his remaining Aura into his eyes. Though the effort intensified the agony, he knew it was a risk he had to take.
As he observed the flow within himself, he noticed that the Aura around his heart had crystallized, piercing him from the inside. The pain became so intense that he couldn't even scream. Instinctively, Laniakeas body used a desperate preservation method: he coated his vital organs and brain with his remaining un-crystallized Aura. As the crystals touched this coating, they shattered and expelled into the air, leaving empty voids inside his body.
His internal Aura levels plummeted, but the pain finally began to recede. Gasping, Laniakea looked up to see the air around him shimmering with the Aura that had escaped his body.
He pulled the cultivation manual from his pocket and turned to the first page:
"This is both a greeting and a warning. You likely wonder why I caution you: this technique is for Liquid Aura, not the usual Aura you know. To even attempt this is nearly impossible as of the 248 who tried to acquire Liquid Aura, I was the only survivor. I suggest you destroy this manual unless you possess it yourself."
Laniakea stared in shock. Only one survivor? He quickly flipped to the next page, only to find it... blank.
No, not blank.
The expelled Aura in the air began to illuminate the surroundings, acting as a beacon. The book became a magnet, sucking the energy back in, even the Aura still left inside Laniakea's body. As it absorbed the power, the physical pages began to vanish.
"No! I can't lose it!" Laniakea gasped. "This might be the only Liquid Aura manual in existence!"
He tried to stop the drain, but he coughed up blood as his internal wounds reopened. He was being hollowed out. His skin turned pale and his limbs went numb as the manual drained him dry.
Yet, the book wasn't satisfied. It latched onto his soul, attempting to consume his very essence. But Laniakea's soul was different, it was already bound to that strange liquid. His spirit roared in rejection, dominating the manual and forcibly reclaiming the stolen energy.
The vanishing pages flew into Laniakea, entering his mind directly. He let out a final, agonizing scream as the manual's extensive knowledge was branded into his consciousness.
He passed out, bleeding from his eyes, ears, and mouth.
As he drifted into unconsciousness, he saw the strange sphere from his dreams again. It approached him, pulsing with the manual's information.
"If you see this, you are worthy," a voice echoed. "This manual was forged from the souls of those who died seeking Liquid Aura. Had you failed to subjugate the book, one of those spirits would have taken your body, adding your soul to the collection. Now, I will explain to you how to truly cultivate liquid Aura."