Cat's piercing gaze was fixed intently on Mike, who was pinned against the wall, his movements severely restricted. "Now shall we proceed?" she asked.
Mike nodded slowly. "I'm ready when you are," he replied.
Cat turned to Miram and gave her a nod of encouragement, a subtle gesture that seemed to imply that the time for action had finally arrived. However, Miram didn't seem to get her message.
"What am I supposed to do?" she inquired.
"You give him the witch's kiss, of course!" Cat exclaimed.
Miram's eyes bulged out of her sockets as she heard Cat's words. "Can I do that?" she sang.
"That's the procedure for soul drifting, aren't you supposed to know this?" Kit, who had been observing the scene unfolding before her with great interest, chimed in, her tiny voice echoing through the cavern.
"Don't waste any more time and go ahead. I'm so anxious!"
Miram took a deep breath, steeling herself for the task that lay before her. Then, with a sudden burst of confidence, she flung herself at Mike, her lips meeting his in a passionate kiss.
Her kiss was awkward and unpracticed, a stark contrast to the passion and intensity she had mustered. However, Mike didn't reciprocate; he just stood motionless, his eyes widening in astonishment as Miram's kiss became more fervent, her lack of embarrassment or restraint on full display.
Deep inside him, Mike felt a pang of relief wash over him, a feeling that was tempered by a hint of displeasure. He was grateful that he had shared his first kiss with Christina, otherwise, he would have regretted losing his innocence to Djuma's immature daughter.
The thought sent a shiver down his spine, and he couldn't help but feel a sense of unease and discomfort as Miram's kiss continued to linger on his lips.
The council members grunted in collective discomfort, their faces averted from the scene unfolding on the cavern's raised platform. Garo, who has been quietly observing the situation, flinched as she saw Miram's activities.
Her cheeks turned beet red in frustration as she felt the urge to go push her away, but she remained quiet. If none of the council members intervened, then she had no reason to.
Half a minute ticked by, and Miram's kiss only seemed to be intensifying, her emotions raw and unbridled. Her lips were pressed fervently against Mike's, her passion and ardor filling the air.
"That should be enough, Miram!" Cat's voice intervened, her commanding tone cutting through the charged atmosphere.
Reluctantly, Miram pulled away, her breath all over her face as she struggled to keep her heart pounding relentlessly in her chest down.
"Whoa! That felt so good!" she purred, her voice dripping with pure, unadulterated bliss.
Mike's face contorted in frustration as he realized nothing happened after all. "Pervert! I didn't feel anything!" he declared.
"Wha… what!? Really?" Miram exclaimed. "You didn't feel anything? I mean, your heart didn't beat fast?" She placed a hand on her breast, words tumbling forth in a breathless rush. "Whereas I felt like my heart was going to pop out of my chest. Wait a minute..." She paused and turned toward Cat, the realization hitting her like a blow. "Isn't he supposed to be unconscious already?"
"Yes, if you'd done your job correctly," Cat retorted. This was her first time lashing out ever since they met, and her face was already like a villainous witch in movies. "What kind of witch are you? I asked you to kiss him while wielding your witch's power, or didn't your father teach you the process of soul drifting!?"
Miram didn't seem to be affected by her harshness. She must have been too satisfied with kissing Mike to care for little nagging.
Nonetheless, the task at hand had finally become crystal clear to her, her earlier desire and infatuation having blinded her to her duty. Though she hasn't done it before, her instincts told her what the task was, since it involved the use of gastra.
She'd been training for something like this her whole life, she wouldn't blow it.
With a newfound sense of determination, Miram clenched her fist, and a surge of energy coursed through her veins, her eyes glowing with a dim yellow light.
She stepped closer to Mike and placed her lips on his, and at that moment, a burst of orangish aura emitted from her mouth, entering Mike's.
In less than ten seconds, Mike felt his body temperature rising, a sudden wave of dizziness assaulting him, and his senses began to reel. He struggled to maintain his consciousness, but it was a losing battle.
His eyes fluttered closed, and he lapsed into unconsciousness, his body slumping forward in a lifeless heap.
Miram's eyes returned to normal, worry and fear coming to her face. "Will he be alright?" she asked.
"Let's hope so," Cat responded enigmatically. "It's an adventure only he can unravel, a treacherous journey only he can embark on. He's the only one who can save himself and Perebia." Her eyes bore into Mike's unconscious form, as though she was warning him telepathically to succeed in his quest.
But Mike suddenly flipped his eyes open, staring at Cat and Miram in front of him with a look of utter bewilderment.
"I'm still conscious, guys, nothing happened!" he exclaimed, but they didn't reply to him. They were staring at him, however, no one answered him. He lurched forward and noticed that he was free from the grasp of the vines that had bound him earlier.
He approached Cat and Miram, his hand outstretched in a desperate attempt to make contact with them. But his fingers simply passed through their bodies like they were mere specters or illusions.
The realization dawned on him that none of the individuals in the room could see or hear him, and he felt a chill run down his spine.
Fear gripped him like a vice, its icy fingers closing around his heart. He turned back, his eyes drawn inexorably to his physical body, which remained pinned against the wall by the unyielding vines.
The sight filled him with a sense of dread and trepidation. "Am I dead!?" he muttered under his breath, his voice barely audible even to his ears.
"Not yet…" A soft, ethereal voice whispered in his ears, the words seeming to come from everywhere, yet above him. Mike raised his head to the cavern's ceiling for the source of the voice.
That was when he saw it: a dark, shadowy mist hovering above him, its presence both ominous and foreboding. A sudden, intense flash of memories struck him like lightning, transporting him back to the night of his encounter with the krara.
The recollections came flooding back, and he remembered the shadowy mist that had shot into his nose, imbuing him with an otherworldly energy.
His eyes widened in terror as he realized that the same mist was now looming above him, its presence threatening to engulf him once more.
He trembled with fear, attempting to escape the scene, but it was too late. With a sudden, swift movement, the shadowy mist descended upon him, enveloping him in its dark, impenetrable folds.
Mike felt himself being pulled out of the cavern, dragged into a thicker, more profound darkness that seemed to have no end.
The last thing he saw was the faint outline of Cat and Miram, their faces blurred and indistinct as the darkness closed in around him.