Hearing Barbara’s words, Eros sucked in a sharp breath of cold air. He spoke with disbelief, "How can a Grade 3 Sealed Artifact contain Divinity?"
Barbara shook her head. "I don't know! But who cares? If it really is Divinity, it might be the solution for your advancement to Sequence 6." By the end, a look of excitement colored her small face.
"Divinity can help me ignite my Spiritual Fire?" A look of pleasant surprise appeared on Eros’s face as well.
"Let’s leave this place first. The Church's people are already searching the area."
Barbara didn't answer his question immediately. Instead, she led him through the Shadow Realm for a distance before returning to the physical world at a different location.
"We’re going to the Spirit Realm!"
Before Eros could even open his mouth, he was stuffed into the Spirit Realm by Barbara once again.
Upon arriving in the Spirit Realm, Barbara let out a long sigh of relief. Seeing this, Eros hurriedly pressed, "Can you tell me now?"
Barbara nodded, her tone light and brisk. "Divinity can certainly ignite Spiritual Fire. However, if you use Divinity to do it, your future—even if you become a God—will be restricted by the owner of that Divinity. In this case, that Silver Moon Goddess."
"Therefore, I don't plan for you to use the Divinity directly. Instead, I want you to borrow its power to temporarily travel to the Astral Realm and seek the help of the Star Spirits."
"Since they are known as the Polymaths of All Things, the Witnesses of the World, and the Recorders of Civilization, they must have a way to help you temporarily suppress the projection of the One in the Deep Sea."
"But why would they help me?" Eros voiced his confusion.
Barbara thought for a moment before explaining, "It’s actually a transaction. They provide help now, and in the future, you will be destined to help them once in the way they desire."
So that’s how it is. A look of realization dawned on Eros’s face. If it was a transaction, he could understand why the other party would step in.
At that moment, Barbara looked at the Moon of Eternal Slumber and said, "Let’s continue. The moonlight absorbed earlier should be enough to support the rest of the cracking process, right?"
The Moon of Eternal Slumber flickered slightly, indicating it could proceed. Seeing this, Eros felt a bit apprehensive. "If we continue, won't we attract the gaze of those Gods again?"
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Barbara spoke with absolute confidence. "Don't worry. To some extent, the One in the Deep Sea is the Master of the Spirit Realm. Since His projection is inside you, your entry into the Spirit Realm is equivalent to His entry. When He enters, His power resonates with the Spirit Realm, and His Status (Level) will envelop the entire realm. During this time, no one can peer through the barriers of the Spirit Realm."
Having said that, the confidence on Barbara's face suddenly collapsed into a sigh. "It was indeed our blunder earlier in the physical world. We truly didn't expect a Grade 3 Sealed Artifact to contain something related to Divinity, which drew their attention."
Hearing her say this, Eros’s heart tightened. He asked solemnly, "Did they see us?"
Barbara waved her hand in dismissal. "No, they didn't. However, after that Silver Moon Goddess failed to find us at the site, She immediately cast Her gaze into the Shadow Realm. She likely guessed it was our Night lineage attempting to crack the Full Moon Bracelet."
"As for the three Traitors alerted by Her gaze, although they saw nothing, they’ve probably guessed we were there too. Therefore, the Church will likely begin a screening process near Intiles."
"When you return, you must warn the family members in the city. Tell them to be careful and avoid going out for a while."
Eros nodded. "I'll make sure the family is alerted."
Barbara hummed in response and fixed her eyes on the Moon of Eternal Slumber, quietly waiting for the cracking to finish.
Eros waited by her side for a good while. Seeing that no divine gazes had indeed fallen upon them, he felt a mix of love and hate for the "Tentacle Brother" in his mind. He loved the various useful passives He provided, but hated that His presence blocked his path to Sequence 6.
Earlier, Barbara had mentioned that Weird Things could ignite Spiritual Fire because they contained a trace of that "Tentacle Brother's" aura. When he heard that, he had entertained the idea of using the one in his own head.
At the time, Barbara had looked at him like he was an idiot and said only one thing: "An ant attempting to steal a spark from the sun."
Eros gave a bitter smile and reined in his thoughts, focusing back on the Moon of Eternal Slumber as it cracked the bracelet.
About half an hour later, a wisp of golden light separated from the Full Moon Bracelet. Instantly, a profound and lofty aura began to spread in all directions from that golden wisp.
But at that moment, an anomaly occurred. The instant the golden light appeared, a transparent phantom drifted out from the bracelet. As soon as it emerged, it grabbed the golden wisp and charged toward Eros, vanishing into his body in the blink of an eye.
A cold, majestic voice lingered in the air:
"Humble one, sacrifice this body to me. I shall grant you eternal life and share with you my Great Authority!"
Seeing this, Barbara’s pupils shrank violently. She shrieked, "Damn it! It wants to parasitize Eros’s soul and seize his body!"
She transformed into a streak of light, intending to dive back into Eros’s soul space to help him. However, as she neared his body, a wisp of golden light erupted from his skin, blocking her entry.
It was the power of that Divinity. Seeing herself unable to enter, Barbara bit her lip hard, her small face filled with intense tension and worry.
Inside Eros’s body, his consciousness was dragged into his soul space by the phantom. Looking at the silver-haired, tall, and cold-faced "Big Sister" (Onee-san) figure appearing before him, Eros frowned.
"Who are you?"
The silver-haired woman glanced at him but didn't answer. Instead, she appraised his soul space, commenting, "Strange body, strange soul... Clearly just a Sequence 7, yet you didn't mutate upon witnessing Divinity. Excellent. I'll take this body!"
"Humble one, fall to your knees and sacrifice this body to me. I shall grant you eternal life and share with you my—"
At that moment, the woman suddenly froze. Her voice turned into a shrill, cracking scream:
"Why is HE here?!"