Third Person's POV
And just as he had hoped, their reactions were exactly as he expected.
There were no screams or sobs, but silent tears welled in their eyes as they clenched their fists tightly.
Their bodies trembled not from fear, but from the seed of resolve beginning to sprout inside them.
He nodded to himself and his lips tightened as he had achieved his objective.
Turning inward, Ethan focused on the injuries again.
He froze the foul blood and pus with his frost and then shattered it into black powder that scattered into the wind.
With slow, controlled effort, he summoned his soul sense and carefully traced it through the damaged areas of his body.
He winced as arcs of wild lightning crackled against the probing strands of his soul sense.
Each sharp and shocking jolt was like being branded anew, but he pushed through and soon meticulously mapped the extent of the infection.
They had now spread across his hands… his neck… and some parts of his torso.
