In the physical world, inside Estelle’s bedroom, the soundly sleeping Estelle suddenly jolted awake. Her beautiful eyes scanned the side of her bed with sharp vigilance, her palm silently sliding beneath her pillow.
However, a moment later, her wariness dissipated, replaced by an expression of helpless amusement. The reason was simple: the face that had suddenly appeared by her bed belonged to Eros.
At this moment, Eros had half his body in the physical world and the other half submerged in the shadows beneath her bed. Estelle shifted to the side, making room, and looked at him with a teasing tone. "Can't sleep?"
Eros waved his hands frantically, signaling that wasn't his intent. Estelle blinked, confused. Eros then recounted the events of his late-night excursion.
Naturally, he left out the part about the Silver Moon Goddess. He simply explained that while using his "Night Remnant" persona, he had accidentally exposed the Full Moon Bracelet to outsiders. To prevent the Church from suspecting his family, he devised this plan to give them a "preventative shot." By claiming the bracelet was stolen by the Night Remnants tonight, the Church wouldn't suspect the family later if news surfaced that the Remnants possessed it.
After hearing the plan, Estelle nodded gently, her tone soft. "I understand."
Seeing that she got the message, Eros shrank back into the shadows. Afterward, he had Barbara thoroughly smooth over any lingering shadow energy in Estelle’s room.
Returning to the ritual circle he had set up to "summon shadow creatures for combat," Eros turned his gaze toward the Silver Moon Goddess. She had been standing aside in silence, lost in thought.
"Still haven't figured out which is more important?" Eros asked.
The Goddess’s expression was complex. After a long silence, she spoke with visible difficulty:
"...Master."
Eros sucked in a sharp breath, goosebumps erupting across his skin. Who could understand this? The taboo sensation of desecrating a deity was truly... intoxicating. It took him a good while to stop the trembling and steady himself.
"Your name," Eros commanded.
"Master may call me Cynthia."
Since accepting her new status as a plaything in another's palm, Cynthia—no longer the Silver Moon Goddess—had adjusted quickly. Because she had fallen from godhood, her name no longer carried mystical weight; others could speak it without consequence.
Eros nodded. "In a moment, when I activate this ritual, you can join in the attack against me."
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Cynthia narrowed her eyes. There's such a good deal? She immediately agreed. "As you wish, Master."
Eros activated the ritual. A series of pitch-black shadows rose from the ground of the Shadow Realm, forming grotesque creatures that lunged at him. Cynthia didn't hesitate. Though her strength was capped and she was a soul body, a spirit can still manifest physically. She condensed a layer of solid spirit-matter over her fists and began to beat Eros mercilessly.
Eros endured an hour of this "mixed doubles" beating from the shadow beasts and Cynthia until the ritual exhausted its energy. Looking at his bruised and battered body, then glancing at Cynthia’s visibly pleased expression, Eros’s mouth twitched. This woman was definitely settling a personal grudge.
Thanks to his thick skin and long health bar, he was still in one piece. He cast a quick Healing Spell on himself, mending the surface wounds, then showed his tattered clothes to Barbara.
"Do I look like I've been in a long, desperate battle now?"
Barbara appraised his disheveled state and nodded. "Close enough."
Eros breathed a sigh of relief. Now he just had to wait for Estelle's end of the plan to kick in. During this downtime, he recounted the answer he received from the Star Spirit to Barbara, including their strange reverence for him and his own theories about it.
Barbara frowned, her small face full of doubt. "'Pay attention to the anomalies around you... the opportunity for advancement has always been by your side?' Does 'anomaly' refer to a person or an event?"
Eros shrugged, indicating he didn't know. Barbara pondered for a while.
"If it's an anomalous person, they’re easy to find: Sifreya, Ayesha, and that Angel-blooded student hiding in the academy. They all qualify. As for events... an unknown existence ascending to godhood is one. Then there's the Moon-Worshiping Cult's goal in Intiles and the Silver Moon Goddess's attempt at Divine Descent."
Beside them, Cynthia looked up in shock. "When did I ever attempt a Divine Descent? And my believers aren't in Intiles."
Eros arched an eyebrow. "It seems that was the Usurper's plan." He then asked Cynthia if she remembered a "Grace" bestowed over a decade ago—the one Natalia had received.
Cynthia frowned. "I have never bestowed children upon my believers!"
Eros and Barbara exchanged a look. Barbara analyzed, "It seems her faith in the physical world was stolen by the Usurper over ten years ago."
Eros nodded. "Ayesha is flat-chested, but Cynthia is a 36D. I've personally confirmed this, so Ayesha definitely isn't Cynthia’s child."
Barbara: "..." Cynthia: "..."
Seeing their speechless expressions, Eros gave a dry laugh. "Just lightening the mood."
Barbara rolled her eyes. "Regardless of what the Usurper is plotting, we have our list of anomalies. For safety, we'll start investigating the 'anomalous people' first."
Eros agreed. Barbara then added, "As for why the Star Spirits respect you, it's likely as you guessed—the presence of the One in the Deep Sea."
Hearing this, Eros suddenly remembered something else: the gargantuan Eye he had glimpsed while entering the Astral Realm, the one reflecting a rotating galaxy.
He opened his mouth to tell Barbara, but a sudden, causeless fear surged in his heart. It was as if speaking it would trigger an irreversible catastrophe. It was his spiritual intuition—a warning. Cold sweat broke out on his forehead.
This was exactly the feeling he had when he first tried to tell Estelle about the "Tentacles." Boundless terror surrounded him. But Estelle was only a Sequence 6 then; Barbara was a Divine Artifact. Why was the warning still triggering?
Barbara looked at him, startled as he began to shiver and sweat. "What's wrong?"
After a long moment, Eros calmed down. He gave a forced laugh. "My leg just went numb. It's nothing."
Barbara narrowed her eyes, her gaze suspicious. Her intuition told her Eros was hiding something, but if he wasn't going to talk, she couldn't force him.