The Rolling Jellyfish (Seeking Follow-ups~)

"Spirit Realm? What kind of place is this?"

Diana asked out of curiosity, never having expected that this monster could actually communicate.

"A strange transcendent human, ignorant of the Spirit Realm's existence, yet able to enter here as a spirit..."

Whether it was because Diana's two strikes had beaten it into submission, the phantom completely abandoned its combat stance and drifted back behind the shape emitting a cyan glow.

"The intersection of matter and spirit."

"The projection of reason and passion."

"This is the Spirit Realm." The phantom's tone became increasingly human-like, faintly reminiscent of a library archivist.

Ivan's tentacles couldn't help but prop up his chin; hearing the phantom's explanation, his mind began to churn with thoughts.

This creature is truly peculiar, capable of communication and reasoning.

The Spirit Realm, the intersection of matter and spirit... it must be the world where various spirits gather. Human transcendent spirits can also enter and exit through special channels.

The Spirit Realm, the Lord of All Spirits... hiss... it couldn't be what I think it is, could it?

Cold sweat broke out on his head. He grew increasingly anxious about usurping the identity of the Lord of All Spirits; he always felt that this Ancient God was not so simple.

Diana didn't quite grasp the phantom's explanation of the Spirit Realm and continued to ask curiously, "Then, Mr. Phantom, what must I do to leave the Spirit Realm?"

This was her most urgent matter. Since there was a resident of the Spirit Realm to converse with, she naturally had to seize the opportunity and demonstrate her manners.

"Since you are a believer of His, you naturally have a way to leave..." The phantom clearly did not wish to engage further with Diana and reverted to its wavering, unstable form.

The young girl clenched her fists, a flash of golden light in her eyes, and made a move as if to charge forward again. She clearly hadn't had enough of a fight and was quite dissatisfied with such a secretive fellow.

Seeing this, Ivan quickly spoke up, "Enough. I will bring you back when it is time to leave."

He did not want to cause further trouble and intended to use this opportunity to explore the area.

Diana retracted her fists with some reluctance and looked at Ivan beside her.

The Lord's spirit, how could it be such a cute jellyfish? I really want to touch that round, bouncy head...

Her eyes shone, and the blue ribbon on her ruffled sleeve was on the verge of brushing against Ivan.

Ivan quickly flew backward, looking at the young girl in front of him with some shock.

Hiss... this girl's thoughts are truly dangerous, and she even dares to act on them!

"Diana."

Diana was jolted back to her senses by the majestic voice. Only upon noticing the gaze from the jellyfish did she realize that she had just attempted to touch the Lord's spirit.

Her face turned red from the roots of her ears, and the freckles beneath her eyes stood out like cocoa powder sprinkled on a pink cake, looking exceptionally cute.

She hurriedly pulled her hand back, clasped her hands tightly in front of her chest, and lowered her head slightly, not daring to look directly at Ivan's spirit like a child who had done something wrong.

Diana's heart pounded: "Great Lord of All Spirits, please forgive your knight for her rudeness."

Her voice was so soft it was almost inaudible, yet it carried deep piety and shame.

Ivan simply hovered quietly beside her, observing the surroundings.

The membrane surrounding the Spirit Realm pulsed at a steady rhythm, its red veins contracting and expanding as if some creature were breathing.

Mysterious symbols were carved onto the massive, pitch-black pillars, looking like ancient vocabulary from a textbook.

After a moment, he spoke slowly: "It is fine. Only... in the Spirit Realm, your touch will affect the stability of its form."

"You have only just stepped into the transcendent world; this place is far too dangerous for you right now. You had best..."

Before Ivan could finish his sentence, a pitch-black pillar appeared in front of Diana as if it had teleported.

Before he could call out to stop her, her slender, elegant fingers unconsciously brushed against the pillar, tracing those recessed symbols and feeling their texture.

The pillar suddenly cracked open, and viscous liquid seeped out, flowing down the surface.

The liquid slowly coalesced in the pitch-black void, transforming into a deformed flying insect with compound eyes.

The insect tilted its head, its long, strangely colored wings vibrating a few times.

In an instant, a massive, chaotic, and incomprehensible stream of information flooded Diana's mind.

She felt as if a paint palette had been smeared across her memories, with colorful scenes flashing before her eyes incessantly.

There were sacrificial scenes from the Old Era, the smoke and fire of war from the New Era, and countless versions of herself flipping through ancient texts across different times and spaces.

The chaotic torrent of information scoured Diana's consciousness, fragments of the past, present, and future intertwining and colliding.

"Diana?"

Ivan sensed that something was wrong with Diana. Seeing her vacant, lifeless eyes, he quickly submerged his consciousness into his spirit body.

He discovered that Diana's thoughts were leaping in an incredible manner, far exceeding the limits of human processing speed and memory.

What is this thing? Did it affect Diana's mind?

He glared at the flying insect. The insect seemed to notice Ivan in the air, its body shuddered, and it dissolved back into a puddle of slime.

How did it disappear... what do I do now? I was counting on this bug to communicate and find a way out.

He gritted his teeth and looked down at his own body.

"I have no choice but to try."

Ivan utilized his faith energy, rapidly manifesting a portion of his tentacles.

"It's a good thing this Remnant Corpse is also effective in the Spirit Realm."

As the tentacles drifted slowly toward Diana's spirit body, those chaotic thoughts finally vanished, and Diana gradually returned to a state of calm.

"Not bad. As expected of my own ability; it truly cures all ailments."

Ivan nodded with pride, though a lingering sense of fear remained in his heart.

"I never imagined things in the Spirit Realm would be this dangerous—the suddenly shifting pillars, the inexplicable flying insects, the vibration of wings that nearly crushed one's brain capacity..."

He looked around again and noticed the membranes pulsing even more violently, as if every second they remained here made the space increasingly unstable.

Diana's eyes slowly regained their focus, as if nothing had happened just moments ago.

Ivan let out a sigh of relief, deciding that he would explore this place alone only after he had fully grasped the secrets of the Spirit Realm. Pretending that nothing had occurred, he continued to provide revelations to Diana:

"You had best... leave now, Diana. Do you still remember those two symbols you didn't recognize?"

Diana rubbed her temples, confused as to why she had suddenly gone into a trance.

She nodded obediently, silently recalling the symbols in her mind.

"Use your spirituality—that is, your spirit—to inject it into them, and you will naturally be able to leave," Ivan's revelation echoed further.

Upon hearing this, Diana closed her eyes and clutched the Myth of the Era in her hands tightly.

As ripples of spirituality radiated from her body, the twisted symbols on the surrounding black stone pillars began to light up.

The pitch-black ground beneath her rippled like the surface of water, enveloping her in a shroud of darkness.

The surrounding phantoms and stone pillars began to blur, appearing like a background being rapidly pulled away.

Diana's body slowly turned transparent within this space of red and black, eventually vanishing from sight.

Ivan watched this scene and nodded, taking advantage of the remaining time to fly straight toward the phantom he had seen earlier.

"You—what else do you know about the Lord of All Spirits?"

As Ivan drew near, the phantom seemed to open its mouth.

But before it could make a sound, its body violently exploded into a mist, dissipating into the void of the Spirit Realm.

"Was it because I asked a forbidden question, or was it simply scattered by Diana earlier..."

He shook his head, sighed, and subsequently departed the Spirit Realm as well.