Shrouded Seascape

Chapter 610: Wait

In the dimly lit underground cavern, Charles stared at the half-black half-transparent worm coiled around him. The creature didn't seem like it had any visual organs, but Charles could feel its gaze for some reason.

"Your woman informed the Explorers Association of the darkness' coordinates, so I came in advance. My subordinate gods and I intended to directly seek the darkness and bring it back to the Subterranean Sea. However, as you can see, the task isn't that simple," Paiper answered in Charles' mind.

It was an answer within Charles' expectations. Though Charles remained puzzled over Paiper's swift arrival, he had more pressing questions.

"What's up there? Was that thing a surface Divinity? Did you encounter the Foundation?" A series of questions emerged from Charles' mouth.

Paiper's voice resonated in his mind again, the hint of annoyance unmistakable.

"Your questions lack focus. Which do you want me to answer first?

"That thing out there could kill us at any moment. Yet, you're not even afraid and have the luxury of time to ask all this."

The corners of Charles' lips curved upward into a dry smile. "Maybe I would have been afraid in the past, but I think I'm getting used to it now. So, the first question—what was that thing? Is it a surface Divinity?"

"It's not a surface Divinity. In fact, it's not even a Divinity at all. What it is exactly, I'm not too sure either. I need to observe it further. But regardless of what it is, it's powerful, and it killed two of my subordinate gods in an instant."

Charles wasn't sure exactly how powerful the Haikor demigods were, but the fact that they were highly regarded in the Subterranean Sea indicated that they were formidable.

If the triple-eyes could easily kill two demigods, then its power could surely rival the Divinity guarding God Fhtagn.

Paiper added, "We didn't explore much of the skies above, so we're not sure what's there. But one thing to note: the darkness is up there, and we need to find it."

Charles was taken aback at the new information. "The darkness outside isn't the darkness that belongs to the Subterranean Sea?"

Paiper's monstrous mouthpart twitched slightly. "No. That's just an offshoot. You must have noticed by now that the higher we get, the quicker any dead matter reverts to its primal form—which, in your words, becoming a relic.

"We suspect that the surface darkness has likely been relicfied too. In fact, I strongly suspect that it has become fully sentient."

"What?!" Charles exclaimed, his pupils shrinking to the size of a needle's tip.

"I know it's hard to believe, but it's the most plausible theory. That's why we need to detour around those powerful entities and retrieve it."

Charles' brows furrowed as he tried to process the mindblowing information. This was bad news. A relicfied Darkness. He couldn't imagine what it would look like or what abilities it would possess.

"It's gone. We need to get out of here fast."

Upon emerging from the hole, Charles had barely just let out a sigh of relief when the darkness before him was flooded with a pink light.

He looked around in bewilderment and realized that three colossal eyes, as large as planets, were orbiting in the airspace above the floating island.

Their overlapping pupils were staring directly at Charles and his crew. The pink light they emitted bathed the entire island in an eerie, bright glow.

It hadn't left at all!

It had been watching them from outside the entire time!

The moment Paiper saw the giant eye, it let loose of its body and with a burst of speed, it burrowed into the ground once again, leaving only an afterimage behind it.

A crescent-shaped beam, reminiscent of moonlight, manifested in the air again. However, it wasn't just a single beam this time. One by one, the crescent beams appeared and wove together into a vast silver net.

Charles could feel Lily's small body trembling against his own. She was terrified. She wasn't the only one. He glanced around and saw the same look of despair in the eyes of his crew members.

Humans were even less significant than ants in front of a Divinity.

However, Charles wasn't going to give up. Even though hope was slim, he had to try.

"Go!" Charles shouted. In his bat form, Charles spread his wings to cover everyone and activated the teleportation die.

Their figures repeatedly flickered across the floating island. Charles could feel his stomach churning violently, but he had to endure it. This was their only hope of escape.

However, no matter how useful a relic was, using it always came with a price.

Thud!

Charles collapsed to the ground, vomiting mouthful after mouthful of blood. The crimson liquid was mixed with fragments of his own organs. His body couldn't withstand the strain of using the die.

Just then, the silver net from above descended like a waterfall.

It was a beautiful sight—a beautiful yet lethal sight.