“Give me back the Blood of the Divine… I beg you…”
The gnome’s eyes were filled with longing and desperation.
“That was never yours to begin with, Trotus,”
Moriah said calmly, his voice devoid of pity.
“No, it is mine…” the gnome pleaded, trembling.
“Please… I’ve given so much, endured so much… cough… I…”
He reached out with his remaining left hand, as if still trying to speak.
But in the end, nothing came out.
The hand dropped limply.
His eyes, filled with bitter regret, slowly lost their light—he was gone.
A bloodstained coin slipped from his lifeless hand and rolled across the ground, only stopping when it tapped against Moriah’s boot.
Though the coin was soaked in blood, the sun-shaped crown etched on its surface still shimmered faintly.
Moriah let out a quiet sigh.
He bent down, picked up the coin, and held it to his forehead in silent prayer.
Then, gently, he placed it back into Trotus’s hand.
A warm flame ignited from the coin, gradually spreading until it enveloped the gnome’s entire body.
“Rest now, Trotus.”
The knight offered a final prayer for the pitiful soul.
When it was over, Moriah looked around what was once a laboratory.
The flesh abominations created by the Divine Blood had razed everything.
Aside from the bloodstained floor, not a single trace remained—not even a mangled limb. Nothing.
He approached the others, turning to the wild mage Nasha.
“Give it to me. It will be placed within the Sanctum of the Temple, where no one can ever touch it.”
Nasha had never wanted to hold onto the strange gemstone in the first place.
She quickly used her Invisible Touch to hand it over to Moriah.
At last, Hallick let out a deep breath.
Just moments ago, he’d nearly wet himself facing the flesh dragon, and when Nasha snatched the Divine Blood using her spell, he’d been paralyzed with fear, terrified she’d do something reckless.
“Well then… since the monster’s been dealt with, how about we head back now?” he said with a sheepish grin.
Truth be told, he had already forgotten why they’d come to this cursed place in the first place.
“And what about you, Miss Mephisto?”
Moriah turned to Li Wen.
“Everything’s been devoured by that monster. Any lead on the Shadowfall Elixir is likely lost forever,” she replied, locking eyes with the knight.
“In that case, there’s no reason to stay.”
But Moriah shook his head.
“That’s not what I meant, Miss Mephisto… I was asking—what are your plans moving forward?”
Li Wen’s brow furrowed.
Instinctively, she took a step back.
Moriah wasn’t surprised by her silence. He continued:
“The Temple welcomes all who are willing to serve the Light. No matter one’s past or background—so long as they’re sincere in their devotion, and willing to reform—the Temple offers them a chance. Do you understand what I mean, Miss Mephisto?”
His words…
Li Wen frowned deeply.
Had she slipped up somewhere?
No, in this lifetime, she’d barely even started playing the game.
What could’ve drawn the attention of the Temple’s First Son?
She could only think of one possibility.
“Path of the Lightchaser?”
Moriah neither confirmed nor denied.
He merely continued, “Trotus was a pitiful soul. Perhaps his past made him lose faith in humanity and the Light, and led him astray. But you’re different, Miss Mephisto.”
“The very fact that you chose this path means you, too, seek the Light. And so… the Light shall show you mercy.”
He extended a hand toward her.
But Li Wen stepped back.
She had long known that not all promises born from the Dark Dawn were sweet.
She just hadn’t expected the consequences to come so soon.
“And if I refuse?”
She drew the Bone-Eating Dagger.
She still needed to retrieve the Codex of the End.
She had no time to follow Moriah to the Temple.
“The path of the Lightchaser is forbidden. The Temple will not allow such a path to linger in the mortal world. Since your decision is made…”
Moriah raised his longsword, flames roaring along its edge.
From within the blaze, a pure white lamb emerged, slowly walking forward, as though it might step into the world.
“I will try not to harm you… only to render you incapable of resistance.”
In that moment, Li Wen felt a flame ignite inside her, burning slowly, fiercely—as though it would dry out her blood and boil her soul.
Through the searing pain, she focused all her remaining will on the Eye of the Transcendent in her hand and silently chanted: Eternal City.
A mysterious, formless power surged into her body in ways she could not comprehend.
Everything in her vision began to distort and peel away, like the broken textures of a glitched game world falling apart piece by piece.
The burning inside her subsided, but a new terror gripped her—an ominous tension, like walking through a silent forest only to hear a sudden rustle behind, birds scattering into the air, a beast unseen closing in.
She clutched her ears, but a sound—one imperceptible to most living beings—wormed its way in.
It pierced her mind and stirred her brain like a blender, flooding her with nausea, lust, agony—overwhelming every thought.
When the pain finally faded and she regained clarity, Li Wen found herself in a city of silence, cloaked in twilight.
Amber City.
She’d left it barely a day ago, yet here she was again.
Atop the towering clock tower, the Lonely Giant still stood guard.
His voice echoed like thunder as he looked down at her.
“Oh, it’s you. Didn’t expect you back so soon. What’s this, are you ready to invoke your Promise? I warned you, didn’t I? If you don’t fulfill my request first, I won’t grant you anything.”
Li Wen massaged her pounding temples and shook her head.
“No. I’m here for the Codex of the End.”
She held up a slender vial, inside of which flowed an inky-black, colorless liquid—like liquid shadow itself.
It was the Shadowfall Elixir.
From the moment she entered the laboratory through the secret passage, she had noticed the elixir lying quietly on the floor.
And while everyone else had been focused on the monster that dropped from the ceiling, she’d silently slipped the vial into her pocket.
She had it with her all this time.
With the elixir in hand, she wouldn’t have to expend as much effort when facing the Daughter of Amber.
But the Giant of the Dusk Bell eyed the vial and offered a warning.
“That elixir carries a terrible side effect. It might drag you into the abyss—beyond reincarnation. Are you sure you want to drink it?”
Even an immortal being like him had used the word “terrible.” It was undoubtedly a frightening price to pay.
But that side effect—was precisely what Li Wen needed.