When the plot-skips players into the game world

The entire underground wine cellar seemed to come alive in an instant and began to writhe.

As the sound of peeling echoed, limestone fractured and collapsed from all directions.

Like veins composed of tentacles, like worms, they spread throughout the underground space.

With increasingly intense writhing, they began to emit a shrill sound—or rather, what wasn't so much a "sound" but more like the noise of glass being scraped.

Yet the limestone did not entirely shatter; it left behind traces, becoming sharp spikes.

On every spike, there were spiral markings. They resembled some sort of rune, or perhaps a language.

"Are these...teeth?"

Isabel felt a slight inspiration and spoke subconsciously.

And as the ground began to writhe and roll, Sherlock instantly chose an appropriate spell and cast it without delay.

—Petrification Light!

It was a spell mimicked from the Path of Dusk.

Sherlock slightly pressed his staff against the "ground," close-range shooting.

The petrification marks spread instantly. Like frost spreading over glass, a layer of frosty, solidified rock formed in an instant.

The next moment, the ground collapsed with a crash.

The group fell directly downwards. However, beneath their feet was the solid rock layer.

Aiwass had intended to open his wings—but before that, Sherlock had already cast the second spell instantly.

—Group Feather Fall Technique!

Semi-transparent silver-grey radiance wrapped around each person, and the air resistance suddenly increased, making it feel like a non-Newtonian fluid. The falling speed was much slower than even sinking in water, and it gradually slowed further until it was feather-light.

The stone disc beneath their feet descended gently like an elevator platform, supporting their gradual descent.

And here, they finally saw everything clearly—

The original wine cellar had been entirely hollowed out.

There might have been stairs leading down here, but with the violent agitation of the vein-worms, they were torn to pieces in an instant.

And beneath, there was a vast space like a plaza.

On the walls were "murals" formed by countless tangled and entwined human veins.

They wound together like two massive crimson wings, or roots reaching upwards, or hands extending towards the sky in prayer. At the top, there was a clustered blood ball connected with the veins. It beat like a heart, emitting light like the sun shining down on the earth.

Even at first sight, Aiwass could recognize... that was the Blood Celestial Marshal.

For some reason, it seemed to have fallen into slumber.

Although that "heart" glowed, thin strands of black smoke continued to emanate from it.

It was an ominous black. It wasn't black smoke that obscured light, but a hollow that erased all color.

And in the center of the wall, between the pair of wings... was a heap of bottles.

Champagne bottles piled together, haphazardly forming a small hill.

Their projection on the wall condensed into a blurry figure.

It was impossible to tell if the figure was facing them or turned away. All that could be seen was its arms spread wide, as if embracing the sun.

And beneath the shadow cast by that sun stood a woman with her head bowed.

She wore a hat adorned with a feather and a light green satin dress. It was the classic style of Iris Flower, popular among many noblewomen and young ladies.

She bowed her head towards that mural, clasping her hands before her chest like a devout believer in prayer.

The black smoke slowly seeped into her body, thread by thread.

Though she faced away from them, making it impossible to see her face...Arsene felt she looked somewhat familiar.

...Had he seen her somewhere before?

The "elevator platform" beneath their feet had not fully descended yet. In the air, witnessing this bizarre scene, everyone was momentarily dazed.

Seeing no one speak, Isabel volunteered, "Should I go and talk to that lady?"

She wasn't the type who particularly enjoyed chatting. But in their group, she was the only girl, perhaps having more topics in common.

If it had been six months ago, she would have hesitated to approach strangers. But now, Isabel was quite adept at small talk and socializing.

However, Aiwass stopped her.

"...No, not yet."

He frowned slightly, sensing a hint of ominous foreboding.

—Why would there be a living person beneath the wine cellar?

Yes, a living person.

The abilities of a top-tier healer, combined with the special vision provided by the missing eye, allowed Aiwass to instantly see the life force status of others. Simply put, he could see others' health bars.

This trick was certainly useless against top-tier Phantom Demons—like the Celestial Marshal, but it was effective against living beings. After all, this technique was essentially designed for the convenience of healing... to prevent people who are particularly good at enduring pain from saying they're fine, when in reality, their bodies are already battered.

——This person is definitely alive, and their energy level is not high. At least not reaching the Third Level…

Because life force only begins to leap from the Third Level. Transcendents below the Third Level could die instantly if hit in a weak spot.

Then here's the question.

Hadn't the Blood Celestial Marshal already killed all the Sons of the Moon? None of the ritual performers who summoned Him survived... and this basement had just collapsed, yet she had been here for a long time. Most importantly, she witnessed such a terrifying scene... and instead of panicking, she was calmly praying here.

Aiwass didn't know how long she had been here.

But when something abnormal happens, there must be a demon.

He had confidence in dealing with the Blood Celestial Marshal alone, which was why he dared to bring Isabel along to assist him. After all, she was still pregnant, and if there was danger, no matter what Isabel said, Aiwass would definitely not let her come.

Aiwass was somewhat familiar with the Blood Celestial Marshal, but this strange, unfamiliar woman...

She seemed to hear something, putting down her hands.

She turned back, her lips moving slightly, speaking in a gentle voice:

"Initially, sin did not exist upon the earth.

"Until someone committed an unforgivable sin, and thus the sun wheel reversed, the candle flame burned backwards..."

When the woman turned back, Aiwass saw her eyes clearly.

Faint yellow eyes, incomparably complex expression.

... Path of Dusk?

But it seemed not so.

Her face had lines of terrifying black marks, making what might have been a delicate face appear hideously grotesque.

"All because of his selfishness, the people of this world fell into an inextricable eternal reincarnation.

"The rich remain rich in the next life. The poor remain poor in the next life. Heroes remain heroes in the next life. Sinners remain sinners in the next life.

"Blind fools walk the earth, a false starry sky obscures the sky. People are born here, they die here. They cannot see the true Sun, nor the true stars.

"In the prison, meaninglessness and pain sweep across the earth like a flood. The past suffering must happen again in the future, the sins committed must be committed again in the future.

"The future becomes the past, the past is also the future. Time flows backward, eons revolve. All because he was not satisfied, so all meaning, all beings' happiness and suffering turn into Void..."

As she chanted word by word, one after another pitch-black mark appeared on her face. The dim yellow radiance at the bottom of her pupils grew brighter.

——Aiwass knew that she was speaking of the "snake".

At that time, the snake was still the Reincarnation Celestial Marshal—the Celestial Marshal of Self-Destruction, the Celestial Marshal of Restart and Resurrection.

Since he abandoned the Ring of Ouroboros and gained the Endless Knot... he became the current Serpent Celestial Marshal.

Who would be an enemy of the Reincarnation Celestial Marshal?

That answer appeared instantly in front of him.

——Void!

In that instant, Aiwass felt his heart explode.

He, like his hair standing on end, was overwhelmed with extreme fear and astonishment.

Void had been breached?!

How could it be!

He had never felt such a strong sense of crisis—even when facing the Supreme Heaven, he wasn't this terrified.

Yet the woman simply gazed at Aiwass.

"The time has come. The snake, saturated with sin, rise and greet me. I am your savior."

In her eyes, there seemed to be nothing else, only using those amber-like dim yellow pupils to gaze at Aiwass.

In Aiwass's eyes, her pupils spun and constantly grew larger—as they expanded to the limit, a door slowly opened.

Behind that door was again this woman. The whole world still spun, her pupils enlarged and opened again, another new door.

A door opened, a door opened, a door...

The chanting, the praying, the singing, the bell tolling, the sorrowful weeping, the crying of a baby, the joyful laughter, the hysterical laughter...

The doors opened faster and faster, the noise grew louder and louder.

The entire world was spinning; countless doors, billions of mysteries assailed his mind.

And a voice like a great bell hummed in Aiwass's heart:

"——Do not panic, do not resist, do not waver. For I am sacred, for I come bearing the grace of a million worlds.

"Accept my grace, and I will forgive your sins."