Eli Walker secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Was this a mutual attraction?
He was unwilling to part ways with the Gray Mist, and the Gray Mist apparently hadn't fully accepted the failure of the second wrong toss, still willing to provide some care?
"In any case, this is much more cost-effective than going crazy as a Parasite."
Eli once again jumped back into the sea with Arrodes, heading towards the more remote deep sea. Before he could become a Sword God of Ten-Mile Slope and an Angel on Earth, he would never return to land.
"You previously said you knew the whereabouts of a Calamity Beyonder characteristic. Is that accurate?" he asked while diving.
"Accurate. This Calamity Beyonder characteristic comes from an Elf Sub-God, but it was polluted by the underground, which is why the Elf King allowed it to be lost and did not retrieve it."
Arrodes shared the information it knew with Eli. It had noticed this Beyonder characteristic because it was attracted by the underground aura.
"But you might also be polluted. You Elves should still have safe Calamity Beyonder characteristics, and I can also help you find other usable Angel characteristics."
"I will consider the Elves' side. I need believers to advance to Sequence Three, and I am also willing to provide some protection for the Elves, but having an Angel Beyonder characteristic as a backup is always good."
Eli found a place in the seabed where it intersected with the Spirit World, opened up a living area, and then cast a fervent gaze at Arrodes.
"Wh-What's wrong?" Arrodes was a bit at a loss.
"Spectator Pathway. The Beyonder ability of virtual personalities. You should be aware of it, right?" Eli said with a smile.
If Arrodes hadn't seen Eli tear apart the sea monster that originally occupied this place and roast its eight tentacles into skewers, it would have really thought its Elf friend was very gentle.
"I know... You want me to help you separate a virtual personality?!"
Arrodes first agreed, then the entire mirror looked at Eli in a daze. It couldn't do that; it had never even thought of such a thing.
"It's very simple. I'll teach you. Since you've been in contact with the Mirror World, you're not unfamiliar with the knowledge of Mirror People, right? Right now, isn't there a 'Mirror Person' on your surface?"
"Although I am not a Demoness, and this 'Mirror Person' is just a temporary projection, you are the great Arrodes. Any mirror can become a vessel for your descent. Your power, my spirituality and mental strength, together, can make my Mirror Person walk out from your surface."
Eli began to coax him patiently.
"Can this work? It seems it really can?"
Arrodes simulated it and found it might actually be feasible.
"Eli, did you also consume a Beyonder characteristic from the Reader Pathway?" Arrodes asked curiously.
"That's not important. My wisdom doesn't need the Reader Pathway to prove it."
"Then you did."
"Isn't it normal for Elves to eat a little more? We're not those white-furred monkeys on land; we don't lose control that easily."
Eli shrugged. Which Elf only had one Pathway? The Elf Queen and the God of Luck both consumed quite a few Beyonder characteristics from other Pathways.
"Alright, let's begin."
Eli closed his eyes. A blurry human figure composed of lightning condensed in front of him. The lightning approached the magic mirror, and Arrodes tried to contain and absorb it.
The lightning followed the patterns on the mirror surface, approaching the Elf's mirror projection. The Eli in the mirror opened his eyes, and electricity flashed in his eyes. The projection in the mirror shattered, losing all spirituality.
It failed.
Eli let out a soft snort, feeling uncomfortable from the loss of both his extended spirit and spirituality.
"Sorry, Eli, I didn't use my power in time to stabilize your mirror projection," Arrodes said apologetically.
"It's okay. Succeeding on the first try would be abnormal. Our direction is correct. You are the most important. Only you can provide a safe shell for my outward-projected spirit."
He didn't mind. His emotions were still stable, and he had already seen the hope of success.
It was basic for a Storm Pathway demigod to integrate their spirit into a sea area. He just needed to treat Arrodes as the sea now.
"Let's continue."
Eli tried again and again. After an unknown number of failures, he was finally able to stably preserve his spirit and spirituality on the mirror's surface.
"Eli" curiously observed the Mirror World. This was still the Mirror World sealed by Arrodes; otherwise, if it wandered around the Mirror World, it would quickly appear somewhere else, right?
"Eli, although we succeeded, if your main body is too far from my main body, your Mirror Person will still revert to a normal projection," Arrodes reminded him.
It also used its own power to bless the Mirror Person, allowing it to collect and view information and images it was interested in through the Spirit World.
"I know. Of course I know. I am not a Marauder or Seer Pathway demigod; I cannot split myself. But that doesn't mean I'm powerless."
He looked up at the sky. Even the crimson moonlight could not illuminate the gloom of the deep sea. He sang softly:
"The moonlit evening, the river wrinkles with autumn waves,
A boat full of clear dreams pressing against the starry river.
But there are nightingales, their sad songs unknown to anyone..."
"I know the green mountains play the river,
I only know the green mountains know the river's joy,
Playing the zither for people, no one knows my joy."
Eli recorded "Know Me" into his mirror projection. A smile curled at the corner of his mouth, his singing melodious. Using Arrodes's power, like making a charm, he preserved the demigod's song.
Arrodes listened quietly. Its silver mirror surface reflected the free and unrestrained Elf. When the singing stopped, the Elf in the mirror seemed to be full of "power." It meditated, activating the charm, communicating with the Gray Mist. A crimson light flashed, and the projection in the mirror blurred, first disappearing, then reappearing as a normal projection.
"It seems... it succeeded?" Eli blinked at the magic mirror.
"It seems... it succeeded," Arrodes replied, a blinking emoji forming on its surface.
The Gray Mist space really doesn't mind him being forced onto the Storm Pathway?
Eli didn't know how much Arrodes's help contributed to this success, but being able to maintain some connection with the Gray Mist was a victory.