Within the unfolded Ouroboros Ring Ritual, Iver felt his consciousness gradually being drawn away.
After being supplemented by the Shepherding Method, the Ouroboros Ring Ritual seemed to have completed some crucial piece. The Shepherding Method within his body began circulating automatically, while his mana and vitality were continuously drawn into the void.
Yet Iver felt a strange dizziness, as if he had fallen asleep while soaking in a bathtub.
When Iver awoke again, he saw a bizarre sight—
He was floating in the chaotic darkness of the void, his feet touching nothing.
Before Iver appeared a strange door that was gradually lighting up.
It was a ring-shaped door formed from crimson streams of light. It looked like the heart had been dug out of a sunset, or like a golden-red sun mostly obscured by an eclipse. It rotated slowly and steadily, its edges radiating scorching heat as golden-red flames billowed around it.
—Just like the ring that had appeared on Lancelot's chest.
Iver stared at it, yet always felt as though something was missing.
In an instant, inspiration struck him, and he turned to look behind himself.
There was another "door" behind him.
It was an "∞" symbol formed by a crystal serpent biting its own tail and coiling around itself.
Judging from its oval-shaped head, it might have been a nonvenomous snake. Overall, the crystal serpent was a captivating shade of violet, its translucent body carrying faint gradients of cyan, red, and yellow.
"...The Fire of Emptiness and the Infinite Serpent?"
Iver murmured.
The Art of Shepherding had come from the mysterious techniques of the Ring Angel.
The power of dedication and transcendence left behind by the Ring Angel of the Path of Transcendence...
Thinking of this, Iver reached out and touched it, somewhat nervous yet resolute.
When his