Change

Lumian had previously briefly told Ryan and the others about the Black Thorn Symbol prominently displayed on Guillaume Béné's chest, the Hidden Being of "Fate" in his Honorific Name, and the materials corresponding to his domain, such as Gray Amber, Tulip, Lilac, and Musk. However, he attributed all the origins to the Parish Priest and said it had nothing to do with him personally.

Now, upon hearing his reminder, Lya, Ryan, and Valentine immediately became alert and made their own guesses.

"A place of sacrifice?" Ryan muttered to himself.

As he spoke, everyone turned their attention to the Basement.

Using the meager light streaming down from the steps, they could barely make out the general layout of the interior:

The space Church Underground was even larger than the entire first floor of Lumian. The floor was paved with Gray-White Stone Slab, and the surrounding area was extremely dark due to the lack of light. In the center stood a Stone Platform about half a person's height.

The top of the Stone Platform is slightly Depths, as if hiding something, but it is not clear what is inside.

Lumian murmured as he pondered, "This might be the place where the Parish Priest prayed to evil beings for ' Gift '."

"They actually built Altar to Evil God Church Underground!" Valentine was absolutely furious. Lumian suspected that he was about to Burning into flames and transform into Holy Light, purifying everything in the place.

"Calm down," Ryan patted Valentine on the shoulder. "Get ready to light the Flames."

He then signaled to Lya to do some scouting.

Lya maintained her sweet smile, sniffed her pert nose, and said, "That One Hidden Being Honorific Name contains the word ' Fate ' really likes fragrances..."

As she sighed, she walked into the Basement, her lips moving as if she were silently reciting something.

The four little silver bells rang again, sometimes loudly, sometimes softly.

One step, two steps, three steps... Lya turned around and said to Ryan and the others, "There's nothing unusual in the area near the entrance."

Ryan, Lumian, and Valentine then entered the Basement through the old brown Wooden Door and arrived at the place where Lya had stopped.

Lya continued on her way.

She hadn't walked far when the silver bells hanging from her veil and boots began to shake violently.

Jingle bells!

The sound traveled urgently in all directions.

Immediately, specks of Dawn -like light appeared around Ryan, condensing together to create a set of Silver-White Full-Body Armor on Ryan body.

At the same time, Ryan now wielded a greatsword of pure light.

Valentine opened his arms halfway, letting the Golden, illusory Flames Burning beside him.

One of the Flames suddenly lengthened and widened, and Lya's figure emerged from it.

She returned from the area near the Altar to where Lumian and the others were.

How amazing... Lumian was once again amazed by Lya's performance. Compared to the "Sun" Pathway ability and Ryan's combat state, which were understandable and imaginable, Lya's various behaviors were more bizarre and amazing. For example, the ability to transfer his wound from his thigh to the edge of his calf yesterday was simply unbelievable.

Faced with the sudden "alarm," Lumian still made his only response:

He pulled out the Iron-Black Axe and shrank behind Ryan, whose body had grown considerably larger.

During this process, he glanced around but didn't notice anything Change.

Keep in mind, he has "Spirit Vision" activated.

Of course, Lumian also made some discoveries—with the help of the Golden Flame, he saw piles of human skeletons at the edge of the Basement, some of which were covered with light-colored Sheepskin.

These were the previous Sacrifice? The Parish Priest have been performing cult Ritual here for at least half a year, and Aurora and I were completely unaware... Lumian's thoughts raced, and once again, the Cordou Village, where he had lived for nearly five years, felt so unfamiliar. Something had become abnormal here at some point, or perhaps, it had never been abnormal from the very beginning.

"Is everything alright?" Ryan asked Lya, keeping a wary eye on the Altar.

Lya shook her head:

"I don't feel there's anything wrong, just some signs of danger."

"That's strange..." Lumian had just turned his head to glance at Lya when his voice abruptly stopped.

He saw that the beautiful woman's face had become translucent, and below it seemed that Distortion Worms were crawling and burrowing in and out. She was more terrifying, more sinister, and more Evil than any Evil Spirit in legends.

This was beyond Lumian's imagination; he suspected he would have Nightmare about it for a long time.

"You, your face!" he cried out to Lya, barely able to contain his terror.

Lya subconsciously touched her face with her right hand, and her eyes suddenly Change.

As for whether her expression changed, Lumian couldn't tell from the transparent, Distortion Worms.

Lya quickly looked at the back of her hand, where the skin had also become translucent, and the flesh beneath seemed to have turned into strange Worms.

"You're almost Loss of Control!" Valentine also noticed Lya's condition.

Lya muttered to herself in confusion:

"But my mental state is fine."

"First, make sure this isn't your hallucination," Ryan reminded him, turning his head slightly.

Almost simultaneously, Lumian noticed that the tall Warrior was rapidly shrinking, and his Silver-White Full-Body Armor and the greatsword of light in his hand were also disintegrating.

In the blink of an eye, Ryan had become a short man, barely over 1.5 meters tall, his brown shirt and light yellow trousers either too big or too long.

He's also Mutation? Only Valentine and I are unharmed... Lumian's pupils dilated sharply, and he subconsciously looked at Valentine.

"Ryan, you've shrunk!" Valentine, now a pure light being, urgently reminded his companion.

"..." Lumian, who was almost blinded by the light, hurriedly asked Lya, "Have I changed?"

Lya, surrounded by countless transparent Worms that seemed to be crawling out yet inseparable from flesh and blood, said, "You're perfectly normal."

"But in this situation, what seems normal might actually be the biggest abnormality."

Am I normal? Could it be that the Black Thorn Symbol protected me, making the 'danger' here think I'm one of their own? Lumian suddenly had a guess.

At this moment, Ryan had finished examining his body and said cautiously, "I didn't shrink; I've reverted to my former form, and I've even lost my Extraordinary Ability."

"What it used to be like?" Lumian blurted out.

He had a vague idea of what was going on in his mind.

Ryan nodded:

"Well, I was born short, which is a great misfortune for a man, so when choosing a ' Potion ', I chose ' Warrior ', which can effectively change my height."

"Whether it's luck or bad luck, in the last five or six years, there have been many extraordinary Monster and abnormal phenomena related to the ' Warrior ' Pathway, which has made me relatively less worried about the materials needed for advancement."

After hearing Ryan's words, Lumian roughly understood the source of the Mutation:

You've gone back to the ' Past '!

"As far as I know, That One Hidden Being Authority is connected to the Past..."

At this point, he paused deliberately for a few seconds, mimicking That One mysterious Lady, and added a few other Vocabulary:

It also involves the present, and, and, and the future.

Although he is currently speaking Intis language, caution is still necessary.

Lya reacted extremely quickly and blurted out:

"Valentine and I have entered the Future; is this some kind of Future state we live in?"

"And I am now?" Lumian confirmed Lya's guess with a rhetorical question.

He then thought of the Three-Faced Monster he had encountered in the Dream Ruins.

The Monster had only one head, but it had three faces: one old, one middle-aged, and one young.

Lumian suspected that this was also Gift from the owner of the Black Thorn Symbol, but at a higher level. However, the recipient could not bear it or encountered some accident, turning into Three-Faced Monster.

Lya nodded gently and said, "Probably, but this change in my state hasn't affected my mental state. I don't feel like I'm about to Loss of Control at all."

"I don't feel like I'm Burning either," Valentine added.

Ryan thought for a moment and said, "Similarly, I haven't lost my memory either."

"Perhaps only a trace of power remains here, unable to affect the mind, spirit, or memory, but if this state is maintained for a long time, I'm not sure if there will be any serious aftereffects."

"I'm alright. At worst, I can take the Potion again and advance again. As for you, the Future should have had many possibilities, but now, the future may already be Predestination. One Loss of Control, and the other will turn into Holy Light. This is, well, what I understand as ' Fate '."

"It's terrifying," Lya exclaimed with a smile. "Fortunately, we can Reboot the Loop, and we can try to find the 'present' here."

Seeing that there were no terrifying Monster attacking from the surroundings, Lumian suggested, "Why don't we go outside first and see if we can recover naturally?"

"Moreover, we might even encounter a force representing 'the present' along the way."

Ryan did not object:

"You can give it a try."

He is now an Ordinary Person, and going any further would be very dangerous.

"I'm afraid another change in circumstances could lead to a complete Loss of Control," Lya said cautiously.

Encountering the "present" is certainly good, encountering the "Past" is troublesome, and if you add the "Future" on top of that, who knows what will happen.

Lumian took the initiative to speak:

"I'll scout ahead; I still have one chance to change things."

He mainly wanted to test whether he was just lucky to have encountered "the present," or whether the Black Thorn Symbol on his chest was protecting him.

"Be careful," Ryan cautioned without stopping her, and Lya nodded in response.

Valentine's gaze toward Lumian also softened.

He couldn't help but think:

This young man has a great spirit of sacrifice, and he is also Devout believer of my Lord. After the Loop www. hetushu. com. com is broken, let's see if there is a way to cleanse the hidden Corruption in him and let him join our ranks.

Seeing Lumian about to take a step, Valentine, having regained his composure, suggested, "Let me try to see if I can get rid of this state first?"

No one objected, and neither did Lumian, because he was in the "present," and did not need to expel the "negative state" or undergo purification.

The next second, he realized he had miscalculated.

Valentine didn't directly Create Holy Water to purify Lya and Ryan; instead, he first used the "Sun Halo."

A flash of dark Golden light, and an invisible force spread outwards.