Origins of the Fallen Ones

"... Speaking of which, you haven't actually noticed something, have you?"

After discussing Riko's mother, Odin gazed at Riko's pale green eyes and her crystal glasses. "Your vision is actually normal. The reason you wear glasses is because if you don't see things through the lenses, it will cause you headaches."

Riko took off his glasses. The things in front of him were not blurry, but the light seemed to be getting more and more vivid. It was as if there was a strange liquid or gas energy flowing in everything, so much so that his brain could not handle it for a moment, and he even lost his footing.

It wasn't until I put my glasses back on that things returned to normal.

Zhou Qing stepped forward and took a closer look, discovering that the lenses of Riko's glasses were neither convex nor concave lenses, but rather flat crystal glasses, which had no effect on correcting vision.

"What's going on?" Riko had worn glasses since she was a child, and her friends of the same age had never made fun of her for it, so she had never taken it seriously.

But now, Odin has actually told her the truth.

For a moment, Riko somewhat apprehensive.

"Perhaps this is a sign that you are about to become Fallen One," Odin said calmly.

"Ms. Odin, could you tell me what exactly Fallen One is?" Zhou Qing knew that Odin might know a lot about Fallen One, so he wanted to take this opportunity to learn about her understanding of Fallen One.

After all, Odin described Wang Sheng's state after his martial spirit possessed him as very similar to that of a mutated being...

The Fallen One that appeared at the Heaven Dou Auction House, aside from being a bit shorter, looked almost identical to those Martial Soul Possession...

Zhou Qing speculated that this Life form might be related to Martial Soul.

"You know about the Ascension Curse, right?"

Odin was not stingy, "So-called Fallen One are creatures that have mutated during the process of human ascension. They may also be formed by contact with some special things in the lower realms, or by experiencing strange regions and being influenced by the special forces there."

Generally speaking, Fallen One can be divided into two main categories.

"The first type is those that have lost their human form and become completely like animals or objects, and they look disharmonious, that is, asymmetrical. Although this type of Fallen One also possesses special powers, they are low in intelligence, and the more asymmetrical their form is, the less human they are, the less intelligent they are."

"The second type is those who can maintain a human appearance, similar to the situation of Soul Master Martial Soul Possession. Their physical attributes are greatly enhanced, and they can also retain all the memories and wisdom of being human, although their habits will be slightly affected."

"However, as long as they are Fallen One, they are unaffected by the Ascension Curse, just like the species that evolved from each layer. It seems that only humans are affected by the curse... or rather, humans need to adapt to the environment here."

At this point, Odin said, "Take the case of the Fallen One caused by the Ascension Curse. The Sixth Layer of the Ascension Curse will cause people to lose their humanity, or rather, to lose all perception of their bodies, and even their souls, thus causing their bodies to mutate during the ascension process."

The implication is that once you reach the Sixth Layer, any further ascent Baihui result in transformation.

But--

"How do you maintain your normal body shape?" Romantina noticed a blind spot. "Or perhaps you've never been to the Sixth Layer?"

"Am I acting normally?"

Odin countered, "The average height of the Abyss People is around 1.6 meters. I'm over 2 meters tall, which makes me taller than most people outside, right?"

After saying this, Odin showed no shyness, took off his clothes, revealing the oval-shaped black scales on his body, and then pulled down the hair sticking up on both sides of his head, revealing a pair of crystal-like bull horns to everyone.

Fallen One!

"I was very fortunate that I did not lose my wisdom during the ascension process, and my body also maintained a relatively perfect human form, and my strength was greatly improved."

Odin put his clothes back on and said calmly, "According to the outside world's classification of strength, I should be at the Soul Saint stage."

"Let's put it this way: anyone who manages to come up from the Sixth Layer alive and retains their intelligence will have undergone a certain degree of physical transformation, and their strength will be at least that of Soul Saint."

"However, once affected, most people don't really want to leave here... We are blessed by the Abyss, but everything belongs to the Abyss, so naturally we cannot leave the Abyss. Those Fallen One who leave the Abyss, if they don't return for a long time, will become violent, bloodthirsty, and even truly become mindless beasts."

The last sentence carries a strong sense of faith, but—

Tyrannical and bloodthirsty.

This made Zhou Qing think of Wolf Bandit.

Perhaps the Wolf Bandit really are the Fallen One in this Abyss Ruins. They were originally able to retain their intelligence, but because they have been away from here for too long, they have gradually lost their rationality and have been taken over by their wolfish, bloodthirsty instincts.

Unconsciously, Zhou Qing thought again of the Fallen One that had been unearthed in the Stone Gambling Area of Heaven Dou Auction House. He wondered whether it would return to this Abyss or remain outside, gradually transforming into a truly mindless beast...

Tang San, however, understood why Odin continued speaking: the key was no longer strength.

After all, as long as one can survive and come up from the Sixth Layer, one's body will be mutated, and as long as one can retain intelligence, one's physical strength can at least reach the Soul Saint stage.

Does this require arduous cultivation?

All you need to do is master exploration knowledge and skills.

The only problem is that after gaining power, it seems that one can no longer leave the Abyss, otherwise there is a probability of losing oneself and turning into a beast.

Moreover, this is something that most people in the outside Soul Master World probably don't know...

As Odin pulled the lever, the platform where Zhou Qing and the others were standing slowly descended.

"Teacher, after they go down, will they be able to come back up?" the Blue-haired Maid asked softly.

"Who among those who have gone to the Abyss can truly escape Abyss influence? Even if they escape, they cannot completely break free." Despite these words, an unconscious smile appeared on Odin's pale face.

"The teacher seems very happy?"

The maid was surprised.

"I was just marveling that there are children in the outside world whose thinking is so similar to that of us Abyss People."

Odin's smile gradually faded. "Although I have never been out there, over the years I have learned a thing or two about the outside world from the words and actions of the Soul Master who come here to adventure. None of them are truly there to enjoy the fun of exploration; most are there for profit. Therefore, the outside world is much more complicated."

The maid blinked her big, bright eyes and asked, puzzled, "Aren't they doing this for profit?"

"Yes."

"Then why?"

"The pursuit of profit and the enjoyment of exploration are not mutually exclusive; most Abyss People are the same..."