Watching the girl’s expression flicker through a kaleidoscope of emotions, Eros’s lips curled. He knew when to stop; teasing required a delicate sense of balance.

  He gave her a light pat. "Let’s go! We need to move faster; the others are waiting for us."

  Upon arriving at the dining hall, Eros led Ayesha upstairs into his private box. The meal was uncharacteristically silent. Joanie, still overcome by bashfulness, had lost her usual liveliness, and Undine didn't say a word either, keeping her head down as she picked at her dinner.

  The only sound in the room was Eros "hand-feeding" Ayesha. After watching her finish a meal meant for three people for the second time, the four of them parted ways and headed back to their respective residences.

  Back in his room, Eros finished washing up and sat on the edge of his bed. A moment later, a tall, graceful female figure emerged from his shadow.

  Seeing her, Undine gasped in surprise. "Sister Irina?"

  She knew Irina had become Eros’s shadow, but she had assumed it was in a metaphorical or purely spiritual sense. She never expected this. She reached out to touch Irina’s arm—the skin felt real, with a distinct warmth.

  So when that dog-thing said she became his shadow, he meant she literally moved in? Or are there other details I’m not privy to?

  Irina offered Undine a small smile before extending her palm toward Eros. Resting there was a verdigris-coated metal ring, etched with strange patterns. Eros picked it up, counting exactly seven distinct, bizarre symbols carved into its surface.

  "Can you tell what this is?" Eros asked internally.

  The next second, his left eye turned a deep, abyssal black.

  "There are lingering traces of a Sequence 1 Saint’s power on this. No wonder I missed it initially."

  Eros was stunned. The Status of this thing is that high? It was connected to a Sequence 1 Saint—the pinnacle of mortal existence.

  "Then what exactly is it?" Eros pressed.

  "The aura of Original Sin. Seven types of it, to be precise. I think I’ve figured out its purpose." Barbara’s tone turned uncharacteristically grave.

  Hearing her seriousness, Eros’s expression grew solemn. "What is it for?"

  "Do you remember the path to godhood I mentioned before?" Barbara didn't answer directly, choosing instead to pivot.

  "Bearing the Sins of the World," Eros replied after a moment’s thought.

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  "Exactly. He who wishes to become a God must bear the world's sins. This object is linked to that."

  "This is a ritual component for a Saint preparing to uplift their Divine Throne!" Barbara enunciated every word with chilling clarity.

  Eros’s pupils contracted. Uplifting the Divine Throne? Achieving Greatness? Someone was trying to become a God!

  But a thought struck him. "Wait, that doesn't make sense. Why would a ritual item for a Saint end up in the hands of someone like Raymant? He was only a Sequence 9." It wasn't that he looked down on Raymant, but the gap in status was absurd.

  "Heh," Barbara let out a low, cold laugh. "Who told you there was only one of these?"

  "What?"

  "The sins of the world are not easily borne. This device acts as a filter for the corruption of sin. Once someone holds this ring, they are contaminated and driven by an uncontrollable urge to seek out and 'bear' original sins. Then, the ring transmits the pure 'Divine Attributes' extracted from those sins into the Saint’s body, while leaving the toxic contamination behind in the host."

  "That’s why I said there’s more than one. The amount of sin required to ascend cannot be gathered by one or two people. I must admit, it's a clever, refined method. By leaving the pollution in the 'seeds' and only absorbing the pure essence, the Saint avoids being consumed by sin and falling into the Abyss during the ritual."

  "However... this method likely requires the sacrifice of many people. Many, many people."

  Eros fell into a heavy silence. Just then, he felt someone leaning in close to him. He turned to see Undine. Her eyes were glazed, staring at the ring in his hand, her body drifting closer to it as if possessed.

  "She’s being drawn in. Low-sequence dwellers can't resist the allure of this item. It accelerates the accumulation of 'Spirit' within the body, multiplying one's growth rate. Even if someone realizes something is wrong, they would find it nearly impossible to throw away such a shortcut."

  As Eros listened to Barbara’s explanation, he reached out and grabbed Undine’s cheeks, stretching them outward and giving them a firm shake.

  The sharp sting of pain snapped Undine out of her trance. She glared at Eros, fuming. "What are you doing?!"

  Eros rolled his eyes. "Maybe you should think about what you were just doing."

  Undine froze, replaying her actions in her mind. A look of terror washed over her. "What... what happened to me?"

  Eros shook the ring. "You were influenced by this."

  At the same time, he asked Barbara: "I’m holding it right now, so why don't I feel my Spirit accelerating? And why isn't Irina affected?"

  Barbara gave a metaphorical eye-roll. "Don't you have any idea how special you are? This is just an item with some leftover Saint power; it’s not even a Holy Artifact. How could it affect you?"

  "As for Irina, she shares a portion of your Authority since becoming your shadow. Objects of this level are useless against her. It’s precisely because it can't influence you that it keeps projecting that 'allure.' If it were held by someone it could contaminate, that magnetism would vanish—which is why I didn't notice it earlier."

  Eros nodded in realization. So, Raymant was merely a sacrificial lamb for some entity’s ascension? And there were likely many more like him.

  Who is the one trying to ascend? It couldn't be the Church; they already had complete, established pathways to godhood. If not the Church, then it had to be a secret organization. This was likely the first attempt to "Uplift the Throne" in thousands of years.

  The world was about to fall into chaos. But for the Night Clan, this was a silver lining. The Church’s gaze would be diverted by this new "Goddess-to-be," potentially easing the pressure on his family.

  As Eros was lost in thought, he felt a sudden vibration from the ring on his left hand. Before he could react, he was tackled onto the bed by a sudden, petite figure.