Shadowfall Potion

"Give the Great Blood... back to me! Please..."

The dwarf's eyes were filled with longing and pleading.

"It does not belong to you, Zotes." Moria's expression remained calm, his tone utterly devoid of pity.

"No, it is mine..." the dwarf begged bitterly. "Please... I have given so much, endured so much... Cough... I..."

Zotes stretched his still-existing left hand toward Moria, seemingly wanting to say something more. But in the end, he could not say anything at all. The dwarf's left hand fell limply, his eyes full of resentment and unwillingness—he was dead.

A bloodstained gold coin rolled from Zotes's hand, only stopping when it struck Moria's shoe. The coin was covered in blood, yet the crown-shaped sun emblem upon it continued to shine with Radiance.

Moria sighed, picked up the coin, and held it before his forehead as he silently offered a few prayers. Then he placed the coin back in Zotes's hand.

Warm flames slowly rose from the coin until they enveloped the dwarf's entire body.

"Rest in peace, Zotes."

The knight offered a final prayer for the pitiful dwarf.

Only after everything was over did Moria look around what had once been a laboratory. The flesh-and-blood monsters created by the Great Blood had destroyed everything here. Aside from the blood-dyed floor, not even a piece of a corpse remained. There was nothing left.

Moria walked over to the others and said to the Wild Mage Nasha, "Give it to me. It will be placed within the Temple's holiest sanctuary, where no one will be able to touch it."

Nasha had not wanted to hold that strange gemstone in the first place. She hurriedly controlled Invisible Touch and handed it to Moria.

Only then did Halik finally let out a breath. He had nearly pissed himself when facing the Flesh-and-Blood Dragon, and when he saw Nasha snatch the Great Blood with Invisible Touch, he had been scared senseless, terrified that his companion would do something foolish.

"Well, since the monster has been punished, shouldn't we head back?" Halik said with an awkward grin. To be honest, he had already forgotten why they had come to this damned place in the first place.

"And what about you, Miss Mephisto?"

Moria turned to look at Li Wen.

"Everything was eaten by that monster. The clues to the Shadowfall Potion are probably gone as well." Li Wen gave the knight a deep look. "Since that is the case, leaving is fine."

At that, Moria shook his head.

"That is not what I was asking, Miss Mephisto... I mean, what do you intend to do from now on?"

Li Wen frowned and instinctively took a step back.

Moria was not surprised when Li Wen said nothing. He continued:

"The Temple will take in all those willing to serve Radiance. No matter what kind of past they have or where they come from, so long as they are devoted to Radiance and willing to turn over a new leaf, the Temple will give them that chance. Do you understand what I mean, Miss Mephisto?"

That sounded...

Li Wen's brows furrowed tightly. Had she revealed some flaw somewhere? No, this life had only just begun, even the game itself had only just started. What could possibly have made the Firstborn of the Temple say something like that? After thinking it over, Li Wen could only come up with one possibility...

"Light Chasing?"

Moria neither confirmed nor denied it, merely continuing, "Zotes was a pitiful man. Perhaps because of his past experiences, he lost his trust in humanity and Radiance, and thus walked down the wrong path. But you are different, Miss Mephisto. Since you were able to embark upon such a path, it means you too are someone who longs for Radiance. Therefore... Radiance will show you mercy as well."

He extended his hand toward Li Wen, but she merely stepped back. She had long known that promises obtained from Dark Dawn were not always sweet, but she had not expected the consequences to catch up with her so quickly.

"What if I refuse?"

Li Wen drew the Bone-Gnawing Short Sword. She still had to obtain The Final Codex. Where would she find the time to follow Moria to the Temple?

"The Path of Light Chasing is a forbidden path. The Temple will not allow those of the Path of Light Chasing to wander the Mortal World. Since you have made up your mind..." Moria pointed his longsword at Li Wen. Blazing flames began to burn, and within them, a pure white lamb slowly approached, as though it were about to emerge from the fire. "I will try not to harm you. I merely intend to strip you of your ability to resist."

In that instant, Li Wen felt a flame slowly burning within her body. The searing heat nearly boiled her blood dry and made her soul boil.

Amid that scorching heat, Li Wen focused what little strength she had left on the Eye of the Transcendent in her hand and silently recited, "City of Eternity."

An intangible, mystical power descended in an instant through means Li Wen could not comprehend. Everything within her field of vision gradually peeled away and shattered, like the colored blocks of a game model slowly disappearing.

The burning sensation within Li Wen eased, but she felt another, even more terrifying unease. It was like walking through a silent forest and hearing movement in the brush behind her, birds taking flight in alarm, as though some horrifying beast were quietly drawing near.

She covered her ears. Some sound undetectable by living things wormed into them and entered her mind, then churned through her brain like a blender. Nauseating desires and agony replaced every one of Li Wen's thoughts.

When the pain finally faded and Li Wen regained consciousness, she was already standing in a dead-silent city beneath the dusk.

Amber City. Less than a day had passed since she left this place, yet she had returned once again.

Atop the towering bell tower, the lonely giant still stood guard. It watched Li Wen, its voice like thunder.

"Oh, it is you. I did not expect you to return so soon. What is it? Are you going to invoke the 'promise'? I warned you before: if you do not fulfill my request first, I will not agree to anything you ask."

Li Wen rubbed her throbbing temple and shook her head. "No. I came to retrieve The Final Codex."

As she spoke, Li Wen took out a slender test tube. Inside flowed a pitch-black, colorless liquid, like liquid shadow.

This was the Shadowfall Potion.

From the moment she entered the laboratory through the hidden passage, Li Wen had noticed this potion she desperately needed lying quietly on the ground. While everyone else had focused on the monster that leaped down from the ceiling to attack them, Li Wen had silently slipped the potion into her pocket. It had remained there until now.

With this potion, Li Wen would at least not have to expend too much effort when facing the Daughter of Amber.

However, upon seeing the Shadowfall Potion, Giant Bell warned her, "This potion has terrifying side effects. It may even cause you to fall into darkness and be forever denied reincarnation. Are you certain you wish to drink it?"

If even the Giant Immortal described its side effects as "terrifying," then they truly had to be dreadful.

But that side effect was precisely what Li Wen needed.