Enlightenment · Five (Continued)

Skills, and more skills.

As her body's transformation rate steadily increased, accompanied by the accumulation of knowledge and soul, Miss Surtr felt her lower limbs gradually transcending the realm of Ashen Body. She could perceive the Fire Keeper in her arms more clearly, feeling the trickle of blood beneath her skin and the slightly trembling heartbeat—it was just an ordinary embrace, yet the Princess Highness of the kingdom unexpectedly seemed shy. It was as if all her usual composure and calmness had vanished.

So cute.

—I really want to bully him.

The Flame-haired maiden thought to herself that she had only let the Fire Keeper sit on her lap to boost her spirits and, incidentally, to provoke Clara, who had transformed into a spellbook and was still teasing her. However, now she felt that perhaps she shouldn't just simply hug this pretty girl.

The energy chains of the primal runes in her eyes still flickered incessantly. Playing around aside, serious matters couldn't be neglected. Having gradually regained her body, her mind could easily split into multiple threads, allowing her to complete multiple different tasks simultaneously.

—Multi-threaded thinking, in a fantastical and somewhat absurd world I visited before, spellcasters considered this a kind of basic skill.

—And my study of the Primal Runes has not encountered any cognitive obstacles. In other words, at the current pace, when I reach the very bottom of the world, the surface of Ashen Lake, my understanding of this world will have reached a reasonable limit. And after I break through the Oolacile Township and take Filianore from this world, I will complete my planned work before heading to the First Flame.

—Time is still plentiful, and the plan is going smoothly. I have at most three more battles... Ah, I originally planned to go to Lothric after dealing with the Farron matter. But now, Lothric should be the last stop, the last stop where I don't need to fight.

I wonder how Kal'tsit is doing now, whether she's doing well in Lothric. Has she found her career, and whether she's had enough time to consider and reflect?

—She should be alright, though I don't know how she's doing. But I can sense that she's still alive, and since she's alive, given her talent and decisiveness, her life shouldn't be too difficult, right?

The girl thought to herself, her eyes still analyzing the runes. Meanwhile, a hand gently brushed down the shoulder of the Fire Keeper was curled up in her arms—she noticed an interesting design to the Fire Keeper's black ceremonial robes. Although they appeared completely covered from the outside, there were actually many openings in various places where one could slip their hand inside by loosening the laces.

So she slipped one hand under the Fire Keeper's armpit—and as she touched that warm, soft mass at point-blank range, she distinctly felt the girl in her arms tremble from her neck to her toes, and even the blindfold that she never took off slipped quietly from her forehead.

"Ah!" the Fire Keeper screamed, grabbing the blindfold that had slipped off.

For the first time, Miss Surtr formally, directly, and clearly met the eyes of her Princess's handmaid.

Those were... a pair of very beautiful silver eyes, the same color as her hair, with a slight Platinum hue and adorned with starlight-like brilliance— Miss Surtr gazed at her, and at that moment, those eyes occupied at least seventy percent of the red-haired creature's thoughts.

In the book, Clara is swearing.

Miss Surtr pretended not to see or understand—she simply gazed at the Fire Keeper from top to bottom, at her smooth forehead, straight nose, and moist lips—the color of her lips was an alluring pink, radiating a magnificent glow visible only to her, slightly parted, like an invitation that was never spoken.

Regaining Terra's physical senses also has its downsides.

The downside was that she, who didn't need water at all, was actually a little thirsty at this moment—she felt that she might still need some water. And the nearest water source was undoubtedly right here.

So, should we do it?

Right here, right now?

Anyway, the progress won't be delayed, and there's still so much time.

"Miss?" The usually serene Fire Keeper was flustered at this moment, her hands and feet flailing about, yet she was unwilling to break free from her embrace.

"At least let me wear an eye mask..." Her voice was soft and sweet.

However, a light flick of Miss Surtr's fingertip interrupted her, causing her to let out a faint scream.

"From now on, don't wear your eyepatch when you're with me." Miss Surtr gazed intently at her. She leaned down and gently touched the Fire Keeper's forehead with her lips. "Such beautiful eyes, it's one thing if you don't let others see them. But I can't get enough of looking at them."

The Fire Keeper opened her mouth, as if wanting to say something but lacking the strength... She lowered her eyelids, her long eyelashes trembling slightly. After several seconds, she let out a soft "hmm" like a kitten. And the hand that was holding the blindfold fell silently to her side, no longer making any resistance or obstruction.

She is ready—ready to face the gentle breeze and light rain, or the raging storm.

Ah... how cute.

—However, a great battle is imminent. Rather than rewarding myself, it's best to keep this in mind for now... The formalities can wait until we return to Terra. For now, it's enough to get what's a step beyond a kiss.

A subtle emotion stirred within Miss Surtr, an emotion that might be described as pleasure—she knew she had, in truth, backed down. After all, having been a dullard for so many years, to leap to the point of being able to act and speak was almost a split personality. And if she continued, she might truly transform herself into a black and white entity, a mixture of purity and madness.

She didn't intend to cut herself in two, but that didn't mean she was going to back down—even if she couldn't eat the pork, she could at least see the pigs run. And as her rigid mind began to function, some actions she couldn't understand before were now gradually revealing their causes and consequences.

So she whispered in the Fire Keeper's ear.

"You know what, Fire Keeper? There's someone in Terra who you'll know well later, who once lied to me."

The Fire Keeper was slightly startled; she felt the hand that had been resting on her chest sliding downwards.

"Yes, is it Miss Persephone?" She immediately noticed some clues in the word 'deception'.

"Hmm." Miss Surtr nodded, her fingertips tracing the Fire Keeper's lower abdomen. "She was clearly going to sing me a beautiful song. But she deliberately used the broken bones in her hand to disguise it as a soft moan of pain—I didn't know what she was up to before. But now I do. Of course, I won't blame her. But I still want to hear what that song is about..."

Her tongue gently licked the Fire Keeper's burning earlobe. She placed the spellbook aside on the ground, deliberately leaving the pages open.

"So, Fire Keeper, would you like to sing your song for me?"

She spoke softly, but did not give the Fire Keeper a chance to choose. For as soon as she spoke, her limbs had already partially overlapped with the Fire Keeper's body.

This time, she was both a listener and a performer. She would use her own hands to play this unique and exquisite instrument, making it produce a melodious song that sounded like heavenly music.

The Fire Keeper did not refuse. Her cheeks flushed, she lowered her head, and her response was accompanied by the prelude to a wordless song.

"Um..."

Miss Surtr arrived at Ashen Lake an hour later, as she perceived it—she placed the 'somewhat weary' Fire Keeper in the ruins of the giant's skull palace and had the giant cling to something above the lake.

She felt very happy, extremely happy. So happy that even if Persephone told her, "This whole headache you're going through is all my doing," she wouldn't be angry—after all, the Fire Keeper was fragrant, soft, and had a lovely voice. Therefore, enduring some hardship for this was certainly not unbearable.

However, this does not mean that she cannot do anything.

Ah, when I get back to Terra, I'll definitely have to give Persephone a good talking-to... Now that I think about it, even though there's no direct evidence, I'm sure she was behind it all, that I arrived in Lordran looking so Seven Injuries. And while there was a promise between us, being tricked like this is still a bit unpleasant.

She thought about it.

—It's decided, this is how I'll deal with her. What 'personal entertainment methods'? Making it sound so professional and academic, I actually thought you'd done something legitimate... You like to play around, don't you? When I get back, I'll corner you in my office and make you do the whole 'personal entertainment' right in front of me!

—Let's see if you're not ashamed!

She thought to herself that although she didn't think Persephone would be shy, she still thought it—thinking about it wouldn't make a mistake. As for how to proceed when she got back, she'd have to figure that out when she got back.

Ah, that's right, we'll talk about it when we get back.

She landed at the edge of Ashen Lake and looked around. The bottom of this world had not evolved into the Smoked Lake in Dark Souls 3. It was still as silent and empty as when she last came here.

No, not like. It was even quieter than last time—she saw no living thing other than herself. All she could see were countless ancient stone trees rooted in the dark lake, and the boundless expanse of the lake.

Her fingertips touched the dark surface of the lake...

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God walked on the surface of the waters.

The lake surface rippled. She could clearly sense the darkness surging beneath the water.

The abyss is located here.