Returning to her senses, Undine quickly understood the intent of the Moon of Eternal Slumber and immediately followed it. Seeing her comply, the miniature silver crescent continued its flight.
Undine trailed closely behind. Although she didn't understand why her ancestor’s holy artifact had appeared here, she was certain it was connected to Eros. The artifact was undoubtedly leading her to him.
As she jogged after the moon, several spirits intercepted her path. However, the moment they appeared, their bodies were inexplicably severed in two. The suddenness of it startled Undine, but she soon realized the artifact was the one acting. Casting aside her distractions, she focused solely on keeping pace.
Ten minutes later, towering giant trees loomed before her. Undine’s eyes lit up; she knew she was close. As she drew nearer, thousands of spirit corpses came into view. Roots were skewered through each one, continuously draining their essence to sustain the forest’s existence.
Undine gasped. Is this truly the extent of Eros’s power? It was overwhelming. Even the Sequence 5 elders in her family likely couldn't achieve a feat of this scale. Suppressing her shock, she pushed forward.
Elsewhere, Eros slowly opened his eyes after an indeterminate slumber. Suddenly, the soft "pillow" beneath his head vanished, causing his skull to thud against a hard tree root. The sharp jolt of pain cleared the cobwebs from his mind.
He frowned. He could have sworn he’d been resting on something soft and supple. How had it turned into a tree root? Had his senses played tricks on him?
Regardless, it didn't matter. He struggled to stand, only for the tattered remains of his clothes to fall away in flakes. Within seconds, he was completely naked. He wasn't surprised; after such a brutal battle and exposure to the meat-mountain’s corrosive fluids, ordinary fabric stood no chance.
Thinking of the spirit, Eros whipped his head toward the spot where he had bound it.
Empty.
Fortunately, Barbara’s voice echoed in his ear: "The spirit has been purified."
Eros exhaled in relief. For a moment, he’d feared the creature had escaped. He walked to the edge of the roots and peered down at the ground. Jumping down from the root-platform, he saw the area carpeted in Spirit Essence (灵髓)—the concentrated remains of the meat-mountain.
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
Rummaging through the essence, Eros pulled out a dark-green mouth. He grimaced. Unbelievable. Even burnt to ash, this thing left a mouth behind. This was the spiritual material of a Beyonder-level spirit, typically used by artisans to craft Grade 2 Sealed Artifacts. Even if he didn't use it, it would fetch a handsome price to support his "household."
He tossed the mouth into his shadow and scanned the remaining essence. "Irina, come out and help me clear this up!"
A moment later, a graceful, curvaceous silhouette stepped out from Eros’s shadow. She looked at him, and a deep blush instantly crept across her face. Eros rolled his eyes, unbothered. As his shadow, Irina saw everything unless he specifically blocked her vision—a precaution he had long since grown too lazy to maintain. Who stays on guard against their own shadow, after all?
With Irina’s help, the essence was quickly gathered. Then, an object appeared that confirmed Eros’s suspicions: an ancient bronze ring engraved with seven distinct patterns—the Bronze Ring of Original Sin.
My guess was right. Someone had smuggled the ring into the Sin Realm. Its aura had been detected by the "Great One" on the Red Moon, who had cast a gaze downward. A single glance from an Evil God was enough to instantly contaminate a person and elevate them to the Beyonder rank.
From the meat-mountain’s earlier ramblings, it was clear that the gaze had also bestowed forbidden knowledge. Eros briefly entertained the thought of seeking such a gaze himself for the sake of secrets, but he quickly dismissed it. Trying to "freeload" off a chaotic deity was a death wish.
As he picked up the ring, the Soul Ring on his left hand began to vibrate violently. Strands of inexplicable power were drawn from the bronze ring and swallowed by the Soul Ring.
Is this artifact devouring the "Sin" within the ring? It had never reacted like this before. Perhaps the previous hosts of the bronze rings were too weak for it to care?
As the Soul Ring continued its feast, Eros felt a familiar, unwelcome sensation. Despite being shirtless in the cool air, he began to feel a scorching heat coursing through his body.
Damn it. The negative side-effect. It was hitting him faster than usual—likely due to the sheer volume of "Sin" being processed.
Irina, seeing "Eros" suddenly standing tall and battle-ready in a very different way, turned an even deeper shade of crimson. "I’m... I’m leaving!" she coughed, diving back into his shadow.
With his vision clouding with a reddish tint, Eros summoned the Weird Girl. The moment she appeared, she followed her instincts and clung to him. Eros let out a long breath of relief as the familiar sensation took hold. He set about resolving the artifact's side-effect within the cage of interwoven roots.
CRACK.
A loud noise shattered the peace. A section of the root-cage was smashed open from the outside. A petite, pretty figure stood there, peering curiously into the gap. In the moment their gazes locked, the atmosphere turned excruciatingly bizarre.
Backtracking slightly: Undine had encountered the root-structure and was about to bypass it when the Moon of Eternal Slumber emitted a silver flash, slicing through the roots.
Peering inside, she saw Eros holding a dark, blurry figure that could barely be identified as human.
Undine’s mouth fell open.