Relieved

'It went better than I expected.' 

Still uncertain about why he had fainted, as the level of pain he had experienced shouldn't have been enough to render someone as resilient as him unconscious.

'Did she do something to me?'

This thought continually visited Adrian's mind because he was well aware of his own pain tolerance, strengthened by his werewolf healing and genetic makeup.

The pain he had endured should have been relatively inconsequential, unless there was something wrong with the mark that he and the Runecaster had overlooked.

The absence of the scrutinizing gaze directed at him offered Adrian some reassurance, as at least one of his concerns had been addressed.

"Do you have any inkling of what she's up to? Seems like she's going through some kind of upgrade."

Chris inquired, considering Adrian to be a well-versed individual from a distinguished lineage.

Adrian cast a glance toward the Runecaster and discerned her efforts to consolidate another core. He had never witnessed someone undergoing this process in person, although he had come across descriptions of it in his readings. 

It surprised him, and he contemplated the level of trust she had placed in them, or perhaps it was the urgency of the situation that had prompted her to take this step.

"We don't have any further obligations to her. She fulfilled her role, and it appears she didn't squander the mark," speculated Adrian.

Adrian deduced that, given the Runecaster's statement that the ancient mother had implanted a mark in every shadow manifestor, she might possess the capability to absorb the mark that had been afflicting him.

Not entirely certain about the intricacies of the situation, Adrian simply disregarded it as a passing concern, as it was no longer relevant to him.

He got what he came for, and that's all that mattered.

"Shall we leave?" Chris inquired, noting Adrian's absent-minded state as he appeared lost in thought about unknown matters.

Just as Adrian was on the verge of nodding in agreement, he sensed the formerly tranquil dark energy strands growing increasingly chaotic. They began to whip around the room like unruly tendrils.

"I believe this is our signal to depart. She's a dear friend, much like you, and I have faith in her ability to manage this kind of energy," Chris uttered this with a sense of urgency, as if he were determined to leave this place behind and be done with the entire situation.

Adrian remained silent and simply tapped his cane on the floor.

Chris had always found it somewhat perplexing why Adrian, a young man, carried a cane as if he were the leader of some secretive organization.

Observing Adrian tapping his cane on the ground and detecting no apparent results, Chris became increasingly convinced that something might be amiss with Adrian's thought processes.

Adrian opted not to elaborate or clarify anything to Chris, recognizing that Chris seemed uninterested in his musings. He simply closed his eyes, appearing to be deep in thought. After some contemplation, he opened his eyes and directed his gaze at Chris.

"Alright, let's make our exit. Our part is finished here. She's capable of handling it on her own. It seems her fifth core can't be fully saturated due to the energy limitations," Adrian suggested in a relaxed manner.

Adrian fell silent, then moved closer to Chris. Without another word, Chris placed a hand on Adrian's shoulder, and in the next moment, they both vanished from the location.

Once they had disappeared, the Runecaster opened her eyes and surveyed her surroundings. Observing her energy in a state of chaos, she let out a sigh and began the process of reining it back in, consolidating it into her cores.

"What a pity. If only that mark had contained a tad more energy, I might have succeeded," she lamented.

She let out another sigh and directed her gaze to her hand, which had held Adrian's hand. On her hand, there were two triangles etched, positioned in opposition to each other. Seeing these markings, she sighed once again.

********

"I bent over backward to help him, and what does he do? Gets rid of the mark! It's so frustrating. Why do you think he did that? I even saved his life when I could've just left him to be a crispy critter in the hands of that dumb lantern. Maybe I shouldn't have let him live in the first place, but what can I do? He means something to me; he's special. He's probably regretting his decision now. I'm sure he's regretting it. Doesn't he see that I'm looking out for him and don't wish him harm... at least not for the moment."

If the lifeless body in her hand had the capability to respond, it would have readily agreed. The more she spoke, the more unstable the surrounding darkness became. However, this instability soon passed, returning the environment to its usual state.

There was something distinct about her. Her voice resonated with such authority that it commanded the shadows to her will. It was as though the shadows emanated from her, and this entire void seemed like an extension of her own being.

"I wish I could see him again. It was so refreshing to meet someone different from all these shadow manifestors. They can be so dull, always either sleeping or, in the rare cases they're active, just going around committing murders. It's utterly exasperating. Why did he remove the mark? Did I scare him when I went to help him?"

Her incessant rambling appeared unending, as if she poured her thoughts out without the slightest concern for conserving energy.

If Adrian had been present, he might have regretted having the mark removed, for she exuded an unparalleled beauty that might have made him feel as though he would taint her with his presence. Her allure was unique and unmatched in all of existence.

"I'll have to punish him the next time we meet. He shouldn't have taken that action, and he must understand that there are consequences for such behavior. But what if my actions make him resent me? No, I need to brace myself and do it. He had the audacity to consult that self-proclaimed runecaster to remove the mark, allowing her to even lay her hands on him. Yes, there must be a penalty, but how should I go about it?"

Her ranting seemed to go on forever, a relentless cascade of thoughts and emotions that filled the void with her words.

In the grip of her tumultuous emotions, the lifeless body she held underwent various contortions as she fervently cursed all nine generations of Adrian, whether in this life or the afterlife, if such a realm existed at all.