It wasn't that forests couldn't exist within a Sin-Domain; it was that a forest so brimming with vibrant, untainted life was an impossibility. Everything within such a domain was bound to manifest in a twisted, grotesque fashion, no matter its original form.

  Hearing Irina’s question, Eros gave a dry cough and turned his back to her. "This is the Sin-Domain coordinate you provided. Have you never been inside before?"

  Irina shook her head slightly. "I was alone then, so I didn't dare venture through the rift recklessly. Once I used the Star Crystal to confirm the presence of an Ancestral fragment, I headed back to notify the clan. That’s when my identity was exposed to the Nightwatchers. You know the rest."

  Eros nodded, a look of realization dawning on him. It’s a good thing she didn't enter. If she had, she would have been slaughtered instantly. No one could have predicted that the entrance to this specific Sin-Domain dropped travelers directly in front of a Transcendent being.

  It was also a stroke of luck that the entity had focused all its attention on him. That distraction had allowed Estelle and the others to successfully trigger the Spirit Gate’s return mechanism.

  His body could withstand the corruption of a Transcendent, but Estelle and the elite guards certainly could not. The thought left him oscillating between relief and a lingering cold sweat.

  Seeing that Eros understood, Irina blinked her beautiful eyes, her curiosity piqued. "Did you not pass the message to the clan?"

  In her mind, if the clan had known about the fragment, they would never have allowed Eros to risk entering the Sin-Domain alone. From what she could see, he must have encountered an accident during an attack by an evil spirit, which explained why his clothes had vanished.

  He’s covering himself so tightly, she thought, but she couldn't help catching a glimpse of bloodstains near his upper thigh. I didn't expect a specter to attack a man... there. I hope he’s alright. The clan only has one Mythic bloodline left. If this injury prevents him from fathering high-sequence heirs, it will be a catastrophe. A flash of genuine worry flitted through Irina’s eyes.

  Noticing her gaze, Eros offered a bitter smile. "I told them. I actually came here with Lady Estelle’s team, but we hit a snag midway. Fortunately, the 'accident' has been dealt with."

  Irina let out a breath of relief. If Lady Estelle was involved, she surely wouldn't let her child come to harm. In Irina’s logic, the reason she couldn't see Estelle right now was likely because Eros was naked, and the Lady was hiding nearby out of embarrassment. As for Eros calling his mother by her name, she found it odd but dismissed it as a minor quirk.

  Just then, a petite figure began to manifest beside Eros. It was Barbara, who had been dormant until now.

  Irina’s pupils dilated the moment she saw a stranger appear out of thin air. "Look out!" she cried.

  Without a second thought, she leaped from Eros’s shadow, shielding him with her body while glaring at Barbara with intense suspicion.

  The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

  Barbara gave Irina a fleeting glance, her eyes lingering for a fraction of a second on Irina’s ample chest. Her already cool expression turned even more frigid. With a soft, dismissive huff, she turned her attention back to Eros.

  With just one look, Eros understood Barbara’s silent irritation. After a few awkward coughs, he explained Barbara’s identity to Irina.

  Upon learning that the young girl before her was the Spirit of the Divine Artifact, the Eyes of Eternal Night, Irina’s face was instantly washed with profound reverence. Then, remembering her "offensive" behavior of treating the Spirit as an enemy, her expression shifted to one of sheer panic. She bowed her head low, not daring to meet Barbara’s eyes.

  Seeing this, Barbara waved a hand dismissively. "It is nothing," she said in an indifferent tone.

  Having received the Spirit’s forgiveness, Irina visibly relaxed. Then, she suddenly became acutely aware of her own state—naked and exposed. Her face turned a shade of red that reached her ears. But since the Artifact Spirit hadn't dismissed her, she didn't dare retreat back into the shadow. She stood there, head bowed, enduring an agonizing level of shyness.

  Eros, of course, didn't fully grasp the depth of reverence people of this world held for Divine Artifacts. He looked at Irina in surprise, wondering why she was standing there without even trying to cover herself.

  It wasn't until Barbara cleared her throat that Eros turned back to her. "How did you wake up so quickly this time?"

  Barbara glanced at the gray-white ring in Eros’s hand. "I devoured her spirit," she said calmly. "It was her own fault for trying to consume your soul. Because of that connection, I was able to reach through and swallow her spirituality to wake myself."

  So... that eldritch girl entered my soul space, ran into 'Tentacle Bro,' and then got counter-eaten by Barbara through an invisible tether? Yikes. Sucks to be her.

  "Do you know what she was?" Eros asked, curious.

  "An Oddity (诡物)," Barbara replied, her voice crisp and clear.

  Eros looked at the ring in his hand, puzzled. "An Oddity? What’s that?" It was a term he had never heard from his clan elders.

  Barbara’s expression remained unchanged as she explained. "Oddities are beings on an alternative path to Godhood. They are neither human nor specters, but something existing in the space between."

  "An alternative path to Godhood..." Eros repeated softly.

  "Yes. They choose to bear the sins of the world to ascend. Because of this, the corruption of an Oddity far exceeds that of a common evil spirit."

  "A normal person might merely be tainted by looking at a specter. But looking at an Oddity? Their body might instantly collapse into a mass of mutated flesh. Your mother and her team were corrupted simply by catching a glimpse of her from a distance."

  Seeing the flashes of worry and panic on Eros’s face, Barbara added with a slight cough, "Relax. They are fine. The Oddity’s attempt to steal your souls woke me. I sensed a fragment of my Master’s Divine Kingdom within this space."

  "Using a sliver of the fragment’s residual power, I interrupted the soul-stealing process and purged the corruption from them. I also triggered the return mechanism of that sealed object. Once they are out, they will be unconscious for a while, but there will be no lasting damage."

  Eros sighed in relief, though he couldn't help a twinge of resentment. If you could send them out, why not me?

  Barbara caught his disgruntled expression. "I know what you're thinking. It’s not that I didn't want to send you out—it’s that the artifact couldn't do it. It’s only a Grade-3 object. The power gap was too vast; it didn't have the 'leverage' to pull you through. That is why I left the message telling you to run."

  Eros’s mouth twitched. Run? From a Transcendent-level Oddity? "Transcendent" meant moving beyond the boundaries of mortality. In a sense, such a being was practically a Demigod. Usually, only those at Sequence 4 or 3 were considered Transcendent. Asking a Sequence 7 to run from a Sequence 4 entity was like asking a snail to outrun a lightning bolt.