“I see, so this is the path to demigodhood that Miss Karina sought so desperately.”
Standing amidst a glowing white mist, a pensive Shade gripped the cold, oval ice crystal. The extreme cold stung his palm, serving as a reminder that this special souvenir finally belonged to him.
Looking up, he saw a giant tree connecting heaven and earth within the white mist. Its root system was extensive and its canopy lush; the grain on the transparent trunk recorded stories of time and eras.
Though there was no wind, the branches and leaves still swayed in the white mist. A warm sensation washed over Shade's body and soul, dispelling all negative statuses.
“But is Miss Chloe's journey truly repeatable? Or rather, can someone else's path to demigodhood be walked a second time?”
Shade asked himself, then noticed two leaves overlapping as they drifted down from the swaying canopy.
He overlapped his hands, feeling a renewed sense of loss, and held them above his head to catch the two falling leaves. With this, he now possessed four Leaves of Eternal Youth.
The silhouette of the giant tree gradually blurred, and the white mist before him began to dissipate. But before Shade completely exited the [Time Corridor], a voice reached his ears
【Outlander, the Father of the Infinite Tree has sensed the power of the Pantanal abomination.】
“Hmm?”
For a fleeting moment, Shade hoped the Tree Father's power could simply wipe out that abomination. Although that would mean the nun's firewood would be gone, at least the battle would be much easier.
【Message from the Father of the Infinite Tree:】
【This is the resentment born from the decaying flora of the material world.】
“I see. So it really is an ancient, primordial abomination.”
The white mist before him cleared entirely. Shade was still sitting on the rock by the lakeside campfire in the same posture he had been in when he left, with his relics and alchemy items lying at his feet. The two extra leaves and the cold ice crystal in his hand represented the end of another adventure.
As Shade returned, although the cold in his body and soul had been driven away, some of the terrifying chill from the peak of the Silver Mountains had been brought back with him. He almost immediately heard the rustling sound of ice forming in the lake water.
Fortunately, the freezing area was only a small patch of the lakeshore illuminated by the campfire.
【Outlander, you have returned to the present time.】
【Message from the Ancient God, “Father of the Infinite Tree”:】
【Infinite time protects you.】
Holding the two leaves, he was about to tell Iluna about the miraculous experience he just had, but he saw Iluna holding [Nightwatch] high, like a silver torch, walking toward the lake water with a flushed face. Shade could clearly see an expression of struggle on her face, as if she were currently unable to control her own movements.
“Didn't I only leave for three seconds? What happened?”
Doubt suddenly surged in his heart. Once the powerful miracle elements brought by the shadow of the Father of the Infinite Tree vanished from around him, he almost instantly sensed another extremely terrifying elemental trace: the element of Whispers.
He heard the splashing sound of water from the snow-covered lake surface; he heard the seductive laughter of a beautiful woman frolicking in the lake.
Even without looking at what had appeared in the lake, he instinctively imagined a naked, snow-white beautiful lady laughing and playing in the dark, snowy lake. This eerie image did not make Shade feel afraid; instead, it stirred some of the most primitive human desires.
“Oh!”
He sprang up as if jumping in place, instantly blocking Iluna's path. The campfire illuminated Shade's slightly panicked face; his eyes widened as he looked toward the dark edge of the lake.
The head of a beautiful woman was smiling at him from the lake, her head appearing outside the ice layer as if using it as the edge of a swimming pool. That beautiful face happened to be at the edge of the campfire's light, with light and shadow intersecting across her features. It was beyond any adjective; it was as if every beautiful trait in the world were concentrated on that one face.
Within it, Shade saw shadows of familiar girls; even those purple eyes were extremely similar in color to Luvia's.
Glowing eyes looked at Shade, and white teeth lightly bit her lower lip, leaving a faint red mark. Stray hairs across her forehead covered her fair brow, and droplets of water on her wet hair slid down her cheek, along her neck, and into the cold lake water, making one unable to stop imagining what kind of enchanting figure lay beneath that neck.
The panicked Shade already knew what he had encountered
“Desire!”
He did not hide his hostility or panic at all. He had fully understood what a Grade 0 relic meant during the Battle of Midshill Castle. His body completely shielded Iluna, and when he spoke, he realized his voice was incredibly hoarse
“Why are you here?”
“Long time no see, interesting soul,” the woman's slightly raspy voice said. In the snowy night, a glowing white arm reached out from the lake, the upper arm resting on the ice while the forearm stood upright, the pinky finger hooking a strand of black hair wrapped around her ear.
Bright, seductive eyes looked at Shade with a smile, but Shade could clearly see the greed within those captivating eyes.
“The Father of the Infinite Tree was supposed to protect me when I completed the task and returned to the present time. Why...”
【Perhaps she harbors no hostility toward you.】
Shade did not believe this judgment at all. He struggled to shield Iluna with his body. Facing the Grade 0 relic [Desire] for the first time, the seventeen-year-old girl was as vulnerable as Shade had been back in the basement of the Aurora Mansion in Coldwater Port. After Shade appeared, she regained some clarity, hiding behind him and clutching the corner of his clothes with a flushed face, looking down.
Even without looking directly, that single glance had already etched the image of the “mermaid” into her heart.
“Let me see... [Gluttony], [Greed], [Sloth], and now [Wrath] has been added. Not bad, truly not bad,” the raspy woman's voice continued. Her voice was incredibly clear in the wind, even though they were ten meters apart.
Behind that beautiful woman's head, a massive splashing sound came from the lake. Shade immediately thought of a mermaid's giant tail hitting the water, but then remembered that the “mermaid” before him was not a mermaid in the true sense.
Shade didn't want to recall the true form of [Desire] again.
“Can Wrath be considered a desire?” Shade asked. The beautiful woman's head laughed softly, the sound plucking at the heartstrings of the two people present. Shade clearly felt Iluna tremble behind him.
“I am here because someone called me. An ancient ritual, using Desire Crystals as offerings. Before using the ritual, they probably didn't know exactly what they would summon; they were quite surprised after seeing me. However, those humans didn't seem to know what I am,” she said with a smile. The water surface fluctuated, but her smooth chin and arm remained above the ice, while her massive body beneath the surface stirred the lake bottom wantonly.
Shade also possessed the special material known as “Desire Crystals”; he had already decided to sell them as soon as he returned home.
“What did they ask you to do?” Shade asked. Desire actually answered him
“They offered some souls as sacrifices and asked me to block those attempting to land on the island. But I knew you were coming, so I came straight to find you.”
Biting her lip again, this manner somehow reminded Shade of Miss Chloe.
The black night was so deep that even the falling snow could not convey how cold Shade's heart felt. Compared to the Chosen, he even felt that [Desire] was more troublesome, but fortunately, the other party seemed to truly have no malice this time
“You needn't worry. I guarantee that among the so-called ‘trials’ blocking people from landing on the island, none are more dangerous than me.”
Shade couldn't imagine anything more dangerous than her either.
“So, did you read the book I gave you?” Seeing that Shade remained silent and was trying to find an opportunity to leave, the beautiful woman's head asked with a smile.
“Yes, I read it through completely several times and learned some practical occult arts.”
The light laughter was as pleasant as silver bells. Even though it wasn't his first time dealing with Desire, Shade still felt the desires within his heart rising. No mortal could be completely immune to the influence of [Desire], not even Shade with the [Blessing of the Sage].
“That's very good. However, I cannot let you leave so easily. Just like last time, interesting soul, do something for me.”
Shade nodded. The seventeen-year-old girl behind him gradually regained her reason, but she still refused to let go of the hem of Shade's clothes.
“What do you need me to do? Oh, on the island in the center of the lake opposite us, there are many souls filled with desire.”
“Yes, it is a very interesting place.”
A fair hand brushed across lips coated in lipstick. Just as Shade's eyes somehow keenly observed the lip lines in the dark night, the hand on the ice retracted into the water, leaving only the head on the surface
“Among them, the soul with the strongest desire even attempts to peer at the crown of divine knowledge and wisdom—kill the Chosen for me and take his soul—you didn't think I would make such a request, did you?”
Another light laugh, still so charming and elegant. But honestly, in a blizzard-stricken black night, any unclothed girl swimming in a lake would likely possess an extraordinary charm.
[Desire] gazed at Shade with her light purple eyes, her voice exceptionally tender
“I don't even need to peer into your desires to see such thoughts on your face. But unfortunately, I will not interfere in the epic of the Sixth Epoch.”
“Then what do you want me to do?”