Olivia’s eyes widened in panic.

"Kraven! What is happening?!" she screamed, her voice cracking with fear.

There was no response.

Julian remained completely motionless. His chest rose and fell in slow, measured breaths as though he had slipped into a deep meditative trance.

Around him, the mana continued to gather and circulate, its presence growing denser with each passing second.

Olivia’s heart hammered in her chest. She was still trembling from the aftermath of her orgasm but that sensation was quickly drowned out by a rising tide of fear.

What is this? she thought, panic creeping in. Did something go wrong during the transfer? Did I give him more than I should have? Is he... losing control?

Her instincts took over before she could fully process it. She reached forward and lifted her hands as if to grab his shoulder and force him back to awareness.

For a brief moment, it felt like the only thing that mattered was breaking whatever state he had fallen into.

But just as her fingers were about to make contact, she hesitated.

Something about him felt different. The pressure radiating from him made her skin prickle, warning her that interfering now might be a mistake.

No... I can’t, she realized with horror. I don’t even know what’s happening. If he’s consolidating the mana, any interference could destabilize everything. He could suffer a backlash... or worse.

Her hands lingered in the air for a moment longer before slowly lowering. The urge to act was still there but it was buried beneath uncertainty and fear. She had no idea what the right choice was, and that ignorance left her feeling more powerless than anything else.

So she waited.

The situation remained in a tense stalemate for nearly half an hour.

Olivia remained perched at the edge of the bed, her hands clenched tightly in her lap as if that alone could steady her nerves. Every few seconds, her gaze flickered back to him, searching for any sign of change.

But there was nothing.

The mana surrounding him refused to settle. At times it would quiet, flowing in smooth, controlled patterns that almost gave her hope that the process was stabilizing. Then, without warning, it would surge again, flaring violently and sending sharp ripples of pressure through the room.

She didn’t dare leave.

She didn’t dare get too close.

All she could do was watch, pray, and wait.

Please... come back to me, she thought desperately. Don’t leave me like this. Not after what we just did...

Her mind kept replaying the events of the past hour — the way she had moaned, the way she had come apart so shamefully under his hands and the way her body had betrayed her completely.

The guilt was crushing, but right now it was secondary to her fear for his life.

**

Time crawled by agonizingly slowly.

Thirty minutes passed.

Then forty.

The wild mana in the air began to fluctuate more violently at times, making her flinch. At one point, a particularly strong surge made the windows rattle.

Olivia’s heart had nearly stopped at that. She had to physically stop herself from lunging forward.

Finally, when the clock on the wall showed that a full hour had passed since the surge began, the wild mana in the air started to thin out.

It didn’t vanish all at once. It slowly, gradually receded, like a storm losing its strength.

The golden-red sparks grew fewer and dimmer. The oppressive pressure in the room eased. The temperature began to drop back to normal.

Olivia let out a shaky breath she didn’t realize she had been holding. Her hands were still trembling as she watched Julian closely, searching for any sign of danger. Her heart refused to slow down, still racing from the terrifying display of wild mana and the overwhelming events that had preceded it.

However, surprisingly, the next moment his eyes opened.

Julian’s eyelids lifted slowly, revealing his calm gaze beneath. He scanned the room once, as if assessing his surroundings, before his eyes settled directly on Olivia.

He could clearly see the turbulent mixture of emotions burning in her eyes — surprise, overwhelming relief, and a heavy layer of shame that she couldn’t hide no matter how hard she tried.

Before he could speak, Olivia reached forward with both hands and cupped his cheeks gently but urgently.

She leaned in close and her face was just inches from his.

"Kraven... What was that?" she whispered desperately. "What did you just do?"

Julian looked at her for a long moment, taking in her disheveled appearance. Then, a soft, genuine smile curved his lips.

"Mother..." he said. "It seems I have broken through to mid-level Arch Mage."

Olivia’s eyes widened dramatically at that. For a second, she simply stared at him, processing the words.

"What do you mean?" she asked, still holding his face between her hands.

Julian didn’t pull away from her touch. Instead, he placed one of his hands gently over hers, caressing the back of them.

"I don’t know exactly how it happened either," he explained. "During the last few minutes... the mana that I absorbed from you was so pure and so abundant that it filled my core completely. It was like a dam breaking. The energy surged through my vessels, repaired what was damaged, and then... it pushed me forward. I broke through to the next stage."

Olivia seemed confused at first. The concept was extraordinary - advancing an entire sub-stage in the middle of a chaotic mana surge, all because of the mana she had given him.

But she didn’t ask any more questions. She was far too relieved that nothing catastrophic had happened to him. The fear that had gripped her heart for the past hour slowly began to loosen its hold.

"So... are you healed now?" she asked, a slight note of hope coloring her voice.

Her thumbs gently stroked his cheeks as she searched his face for any lingering signs of pain or exhaustion.

Julian nodded slowly. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

"Yes, Mother," he said. "Almost completely. The breakthrough helped stabilize everything. One more session like this... and I will be stronger than ever."

"..."