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Leyton continued to rub his fingers, and the floating starlight around him gradually condensed, eventually forming drops of pale golden water, carrying the aura of life.
Under his control, these water droplets entered his ears, rapidly mending the damage to his body.
A moment later, the sound of waves from the surroundings became clear again, and only then did he stop, gently waving his hand to disperse the remaining pale golden water droplets.
"The physical quality of a Reader and a Mystery Pryer is truly fragile," Leyton lamented inwardly.
He then turned his gaze to Sasrir and the "Book of Calamity."
He saw that the layer of Darkness covering the "Book of Calamity" had receded, but the yellowish-brown parchment ancient book now had a thumb-sized hole, a mark left by Sasrir's staff just now.
A translucent, ethereal figure emerged from the book; she was a beautiful woman with jet-black hair styled into a high bun, slightly pointed ears, delicate features, and dull, lifeless brown eyes.
"'Queen of Calamity,' Cohinem."
Leyton softly spoke her identity, then looked at Sasrir with a slightly puzzled gaze and said, "Was the part of her consciousness remaining in this book grazed by you?"
This was the conclusion he drew from Cohinem's state.
Sasrir gently nodded and said, "Yes, but the part of Cohinem's consciousness hidden in the Dark should have sensed some issues. Without the concealment, an angel-level intuition is very keen."
"Are we going to find her now?" Leyton asked tentatively.
Sasrir gently shook his head:
"Wait a moment, my main body is still on the way."
Leyton gently nodded. Amidst the interacting starlight, he once again condensed a high-backed chair from starlight and leaned back lazily. It seemed Sasrir had full confidence in finding and resolving Cohinem's remaining will.
Sasrir glanced at Leyton's actions. The shadow beneath him flowed like water, quickly condensing into an ancient-looking high-backed chair.
He leaned back in the high-backed chair, his posture upright, and his blurred face appeared stern.
The transparent, ethereal figure floating above the "Book of Calamity" swayed slightly, then looked at Sasrir with a blank expression and said, "I stripped off a portion of my Sequence 3 Beyonder characteristic. It was swallowed by a lucky sea serpent and did not lose control or collapse, becoming the Sea God worshipped by the indigenous people here."
"The Calamity Beyonder characteristic was hidden in my former palace, and a part of my will slumbered within the 'Book of Calamity,' awaiting an opportunity for resurrection."
"Without the maintenance of the 'Book of Calamity,' that fortunate sea serpent would be utterly unable to resist the mental imprint I left within the Beyonder characteristic it swallowed, and it would inevitably collapse."
Sasrir lowered his head, seemingly recalling something. After a moment, he said thoughtfully, "The Sea God worshipped by the indigenous people here? That fellow named Kalvetua?"
Leyton nodded gently, then said in a calm tone, "As long as that Beyonder characteristic remains, a new Sea God will appear."
"A new Sea God? Do you want to reclaim this group of beliefs belonging to the Sea God?"
"If the image corresponding to the belief differs too greatly, it becomes a burden instead."
Sasrir leaned back against the chair, offering a leisurely reminder.
Leyton opened his mouth, wanting to explain, when he saw a clear face emerge on Sasrir's blurred shadowy body, and his black robe gradually transformed into a black robe intricately woven with silver threads, inscribed with complex symbols, and adorned with magnificent accessories.
He rose from the high-backed chair, and the surrounding shadows flowed away like water, disappearing into nothingness.
He slightly raised his right hand, and the "Book of Calamity," which had a hole poked through it, flew into his hand. The transparent, ethereal soul form of Cohinem, which had been floating in mid-air, rapidly faded and vanished.
"Can you enter the deep sea?"
Sasrir looked at Leyton and asked.
"Deep sea? Barely."
Leyton pondered before replying.
After he transformed himself into countless pieces of starlight, he could ignore the pressure of the deep sea.
"Let's go." Sasrir gently nodded.
The layer of shadow floating on the surrounding seawater suddenly became profound, like a bottomless, pitch-black cave.
Sasrir stepped forward, and his figure was swallowed by the profound Darkness.
Leyton hesitated slightly, took a deep breath, and a faint starlight appeared on his body. Only then did he step into the profound Darkness below.
Weightlessness instantly struck him. He felt himself continuously falling, yet his body had no sensation of falling at all, as if it were merely an illusion caused by his inability to adapt to this profound Darkness.
Sasrir's calm voice echoed in his ear, as if they were speaking without any distance between them:
"There's still some distance to that underwater palace. You can try to adapt to your current state first."
"As the deep-sea pressure increases, this shadow world will also become heavier. You need to adapt to this state."
"Okay."
Although it was pitch black and he couldn't see anything, he still instinctively nodded and replied.
A moment later, Leyton felt the heaviness Sasrir had spoken of.
The surrounding Darkness felt as if it was being squeezed by an invisible force, becoming not only thick and viscous, but Leyton also felt his breathing become heavier, and it was more difficult for his limbs to move.
"Is this what it feels like to be bound by shadows?" As he murmured, Leyton felt the pressure on him increase further.
In the midst of the pitch-black, a faint blue glow flickered in Leyton's eyes.
The next moment, he spread his spirituality to envelop himself, adhering to his body surface, twisting into peculiar patterns, and his outer skin rapidly hardened, displaying a subtle golden luster.
He sighed. He felt the heavy pressure from the surrounding shadows lessen by more than half, leaving only a thick, viscous sensation that unnaturally slowed his body's movements.
In the profound shadows, the passage of time became less noticeable.
Leyton silently counted his heartbeats to estimate the time.
After about half an hour, the pressure from the surrounding shadows made Leyton feel breathless, and his head began to feel dizzy, as if from lack of oxygen.
"We've arrived."
"Get ready, I'm about to dispel this shadow space."
Sasrir's voice suddenly echoed in his ear.
Leyton was slightly stunned. The next moment, his figure instantly became transparent, as if turning into a statue formed by countless Stars.
The dense profound Darkness around them rapidly faded, surging like flowing water to Leyton's left, condensing into layer upon layer of ethereal black wings behind Sasrir.
These wings drooped, covering most of his body.
Deprived of the shadow's concealment, the statue formed by starlight instantly shattered, transforming into shimmering, surging starlight.
Leyton was not in a hurry to reform his body; under the deep-sea pressure, maintaining his current state was the most effortless.
There was no light in the deep sea, so Leyton, having transformed into surging starlight, could only rely on the feedback from his spirituality and intuition to roughly outline his surroundings in his mind.
This area seemed to be a coral reef, and in front of them was a palace the size of a small mountain, composed of layers of thick, overlapping coral.
Although he couldn't see the specific colors, he could imagine the vibrant hues of the coral reef.
Sasrir stepped forward as if on flat ground; the pitch-black environment was like walking in his own kingdom for him, who could control shadows.
Enveloped by shadows, he ignored all obstacles and effortlessly entered the gigantic coral palace.
The surging, brilliant starlight followed closely behind him, using the shadows as crevices, penetrating layers of obstruction, and flowing into the interior of the grand palace.
Pieces of starlight rapidly converged, revealing Leyton's figure. He quickly surveyed his surroundings and casually remarked, "There's no seawater inside this palace."
"Although elves are naturally Beyonders of the Storm Pathway, it's difficult for them to adapt to the deep-sea environment before becoming demigods."
"Since this is a palace, it's impossible for Cohinem to be the only elf here."
Sasrir's voice calmly responded to Leyton's casual remark.
Leyton nodded gently; he naturally understood these things, but he had been in the Darkness for too long and felt an urgent need to speak.
He stepped onto the somewhat soft, azure coral-paved floor. These azure corals also had scattered silvery-white speckles, making them look like a shimmering sea surface.
All the decorations and furnishings in this palace were made of various corals, and the palace was illuminated by smooth, round luminous pearls, each about the size of an adult's fist. These luminous pearls were embedded in distinct layers at the top of the coral walls, like a pure, bright night sky.
The overall style of this coral palace leaned towards solemnity and elegance, with the coral colors inside the palace primarily azure, silver-white, and pale pink.
Purple light flowed in Leyton's eyes as he freely surveyed the elegant coral palace, but the feedback he received made him frown slightly.
The Eyes of Mystery Prying, which could easily penetrate obstructed vision, encountered its first obstacle in this coral palace.
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