Chapter 1111: Chapter 1111: The “rmaid” in the Dark Lake
“So this is the path to becoming a demigod that Miss Galina has been seeking desperately.”
Standing amid the luminous white mist, Shard held the cold, oval ice crystal, its frigid temperature a reminder that this special keepsake ultimately belonged to him.
Looking up, he saw before him a giant tree, its roots extending wide, its canopy lush, connecting heaven and earth. The transparent trunk bore patterns that recorded stories of ti and years.
Though there was no wind, the branches and leaves swayed within the white mist. The warmth washed over Shard’s body and soul, dispelling all negative states completely.
“But can Miss Chloe’s journey truly be repeated? Or can another’s path to demigod be walked a second ti?”
Shard asked himself, and then watched as two leaves intertwined and fell from the swaying canopy.
He placed his hands together, catching the falling leaves above his head with a feeling of poignant loss. Thus, he now possessed four Ever-Youth Leaves.
The shadow of the giant tree gradually blurred, and the white mist before him dissipated. Yet, before Shard completely exited the Ti Corridor, he heard her voice by his ear:
“Outlander, Father of the Infinite Tree has sensed the power of Pantanal Evil Creatures.”
“Hmm?”
For an instant, Shard wished the Tree Father’s power could directly wipe out that evil object. Although the nun’s firewood would be lost, at least the battle would be much easier.
“ssage from Father of the Infinite Tree:”
“This is the resentnt born from the decay of plants in the material world.”
“Ah… it really is an Ancient Evil Entity.”
The white mist before him completely cleared, and Shard sat in the pose he had when leaving, by the lakeside bonfire, near his relics and alchemical items. The two additional leaves and the cold ice crystal in his hands marked yet another adventure’s end.
As Shard returned, though the cold from his body and soul had been driven away, he brought back a hint of the terrifying chill from the Silver Mountains’ peak, and he almost imdiately heard the rustling sound of ice forming from the lake.
Fortunately, the area icing over was just a small patch of the lakeside illuminated by the bonfire.
“Outlander, you have returned to the present ti.”
“ssage from Ancient God ‘Father of the Infinite Tree’:”
“Infinite Ti blesses you.”
Holding the two leaves, he was about to tell Iluna about the miraculous experience, but he saw her raise the Night Watchman akin to holding a silver torch, her face flushed, walking toward the lake. Shard clearly saw a struggle on her face as if she couldn’t control her actions.
“Wasn’t I only gone for three seconds? What happened?”
A surge of doubt arose within him, as the powerful miracle elent from the Tree Father’s shadow faded away, he almost instantly sensed another extrely dreadful elent trace—it was the Whisper Elent.
He heard the plashing sound of water from the snow-fallen lake surface and heard enticing laughter of a beautiful woman playing in the lake.
Even without looking to see what erged from the lake, he instinctively envisioned a naked, snow-white beautiful woman laughingly playing in the dark, snowy lake. This bizarre image didn’t terrify Shard; instead, it stirred so primal human desire within him.
“Oh!”
He leapt up as though springing into the air, instantly blocking Iluna’s path. The bonfire lit up Shard’s slightly panicked face; his eyes widened, staring at the edge of the dark lake.
A beautiful woman’s head was smiling in the lake, appearing beyond the ice layer as if treating it as a swimming pool’s edge. Her lovely face was precisely at the edge of the bonfire’s light, crisscrossing light and shadow on her face, beyond any description, as if all world’s beautiful traits concentrated on that face.
Shard saw familiar shadows of young won within, and even those violet eyes were strikingly similar to Luviya’s eye color.
The glowing eyes watched Shard, white teeth gently biting her lip, leaving an indistinct red mark. Stray hair covered her alabaster forehead, while droplets from her wet hair slid down her side face, tracing her neck into the icy lake, inducing thoughts about the enchanting figure beneath her neck.
Shocked, Shard knew precisely what he had encountered:
“Desire!”
Not hiding his hostility and fear, he knew well what a level 0 relic ant since the Battle of Midshire Fort. Completely shielding Iluna, he spoke with a voice that startled him with its hoarseness:
“Why are you here?”
“Long ti no see, interesting soul.”
The woman’s slightly husky voice greeted, in the snow night, her glowing white arm stretched from the lake, upper arm on the ice, forearm upright, little finger hooking the black strands wound around her ear.
The bright and charming eyes watched Shard with a smile, but Shard could clearly see the greed in those captivating eyes.
“Father of the Infinite Tree, shouldn’t you protect
once I complete my task and return to the present ti? Why…”
[Probably because she doesn’t have any hostility towards you.]
Shard absolutely didn’t trust this judgnt. He tried hard to use his body to block Iluna, the seventeen-year-old girl who faced the Level 0 Relic [Desire] for the first ti, was just as overwheld as Shard was back then under the Aphrola Mansion in Coldwater Port. After Shard appeared, she sowhat regained her clarity, hid behind Shard, grasping his coat edge, blushing while lowering her head.
Even without directly looking, just that one glance, the image of the “rmaid” had already crept into her heart.
“Let
see, [Gluttony], [Greed], [Sloth], now [Wrath] too. Not bad, truly not bad.”
The hoarse woman’s voice continued. Her voice was incredibly clear despite the wind, even though the two parties were separated by a distance of ten ters.
Behind that beautiful woman’s head, a gigantic splash resonated from the lake. Shard instantly associated it with a rmaid’s giant tail slapping the water’s surface, but then imdiately realized that the “rmaid” before them wasn’t a real rmaid in the true sense.
[Desire]’s true form, Shard no longer wished to recall it once more.
“Does wrath count as a desire as well?”
Shard asked, the beautiful woman’s head chuckled softly. The laughter teased the heartstrings of both present, Shard clearly felt Iluna, behind him, shudder slightly.
“I’m here because soone summoned . An ancient ritual, using the Crystal of Desire as a sacrifice. Before using the ritual, they probably didn’t know what they would summon. But upon seeing , they were quite surprised. However, those people seed oblivious to what I truly am.”
She said with a laugh, the water’s surface fluctuated, but her smooth chin and arms remained above the ice. Beneath the water, her gigantic body was recklessly churning the lake bottom.
Shard also possessed this special material, the “Crystal of Desire,” and he decided to hurry ho and sell it as soon as possible.
“What did they ask you to do?”
Shard inquired, Desire truly answered him:
“Offered up so souls as sacrifices, directed
to block those attempting to reach the island from the lakeside. But I knew you were coming, so I ca directly to find you.”
Biting her lips lightly again, this deanor for so reason imdiately reminded Shard of Miss Chloe.
The black night was profoundly deep, and even snowfall couldn’t perceive how icy Shard’s heart was. Compared to The Chosen One, he even thought [Desire] more troubleso, but fortunately, this ti, the other party indeed seed without malice:
“You need not worry, I can guarantee that the so-called ‘test’ to stop people from landing on the island isn’t more dangerous than .”
Shard could hardly imagine anything more dangerous than her.
“Then, did you read the book I gave you?”
Noticing Shard ceased speaking and was attempting to find a chance to leave, the beautiful lady’s head laughed and asked.
“Yes, I completely read it several tis, and learned so practical Arcane Techniques.”
The sound of soft laughter was as lovely as silver bells. Even if it wasn’t the first ti interacting with Desire, Shard still felt the rising desire inside him. No mortal could entirely resist [Desire]’s influence, even Shard with the Blessing of the Sage was no exception.
“That’s good, but I can’t let you leave so easily. Just like last ti, interesting spirit, help
with so tasks, will you?”
Shard nodded, the seventeen-year-old girl behind him gradually regained composure but still didn’t wish to release her grip on Shard’s clothing:
“What do you need
to do? Ah, on the Heart Lake Island across, it’s a place full of souls brimming with desire.”
“Yes, it’s quite an interesting place.”
A fair hand slid across lips covered with lipstick. As Shard’s eyes keenly observed the lip lines in the darkness, the hand on the ice withdrew back into the water, leaving only the head on the surface:
“The soul with the most intense desire amongst them even attempts to peep into the crown of God’s Knowledge and Wisdom—kill The Chosen One for , and acquire his soul—do you think I’d make such a request?”
Yet another soft laugh, still enchanting and graceful. To be honest, in the snowy black night, a girl swimming in the lake without clothes would likely possess an extraordinary charm.
[Desire]’s light purple eyes gazed at Shard, voice exceptionally gentle:
“Without even peeping into your desires, I could see such thoughts from your face. But regretfully, I won’t ddle in the Sixth Era’s epic.”
“Then what would you want
to do?”
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