Victor Wang revealed a smile of triumph, pushing aside every distracting thought that might send him away, and focused solely on charging forward at full speed.
But after only a few steps, he realized something was wrong—the Abyssal reaction was weakening. By the time he reached the end of the corridor, he found that the end had somehow become the entrance again.
He entered the passage once more and sprinted toward the opposite side. After running for more than ten minutes, the Abyssal reaction shifted from weak to strong, then back to weak again—and the other end turned out to be another entrance!
To avoid overthinking and causing an accident, Victor Wang temporarily exited the corridor.
"What's that supposed to mean? Are you telling me you're right here… or is it because my perception of your location is just this passage itself?"
Victor Wang rubbed his chin, feeling helpless before this corridor whose two ends were actually one and the same. It was different from those ghostly mazes or infinite loops that trapped people inside—this goblet was trying its best to hide itself, to send others away.
But since the goblet didn't indiscriminately send everyone who approached it to the ends of the earth or into some dead zone, there must be a proper way to truly get close to it.
Victor Wang thought of [The Two Ends of Beginning and End]. Back then, the two original Abyss Heralds guarding the Sands of Time had referred to him as 'the Apostle' based on the aura he carried.
To those two Heralds created by the 'God of Khaenri'ah', that being indeed counted as their god. But once one knew the origin of the 'God of Khaenri'ah', calling it an 'Anti-Divine Weapon' would actually be more fitting... though not exactly pleasant to the ear. It wasn't hard to understand why Enjou had been so hung up on the name. For now, Victor Wang decided to call it 'the Sinner'.
Enjou once said that Khaenri'ah's artifacts were ultimately dealt with by 'the Sinner'. The Sands of Time had clearly been waiting for someone to retrieve it, and this Goblet of Eonothem must be the same—waiting for the right person. Although Enjou had also mentioned that 'the Sinner' was a madman, and that trying to find logic in a madman's actions was futile, there was no other choice.
Mad or not, 'the Sinner' surely intended for the Abyssal forces or the people of Khaenri'ah to reclaim these relics. So... what distinguishes those two groups from ordinary humans?
Victor Wang paced in circles.
When he thought of reaching the Goblet of Eonothem, he wasn't immediately transported there. Instead, the scene around the goblet shifted. If that was a form of guidance, it meant his intent to locate the goblet was correct. Anyone clever enough would realize this. Which meant... the next step could only be achieved by those two factions.
He had to further lock onto the Goblet of Eonothem.
"Is that even possible…?"
Those who had once accepted the projection could always visualize the Goblet of Eonothem's shape—the same black silhouette depicted among the artifacts.
"Let's give it a try."
Returning once more to the spot where the Abyssal reaction was strongest, Victor Wang said, "Goblet, oh goblet, I wish to go to this place…"
In his mind, he vividly projected the image of the Goblet of Eonothem. The corridor ahead began to change again.
This time, it finally worked. With every step forward, the Abyssal reaction grew stronger. New side passages and chambers appeared—ones he hadn't seen before—and faintly ahead, he could hear the sound of running water.
At the very end of the corridor—its true end—stood a massive Ruin Serpent, blocking the way forward. At last, this seemingly endless tunnel had a destination.
It was enormous. Just as there were distinctions between a Ruin Guard and a Ruin Grader, this one was something in between—perhaps a Giant Ruin Serpent?
In any case, it was larger than the one beneath The Chasm. The networks connecting the underground realms of the Seven Nations surely owed something to its existence.
But it was dead. A machine doesn't decay, yet it can rust.
Victor Wang recalled a fitting phrase: "Dry for a thousand years, wet for ten thousand; half-dry, half-wet—it lasts only half a year."
Above the Ruin Serpent were crumbled ruins. Between those ruins were cracks, and through those cracks, seawater had been seeping down into the tunnel. Perhaps the seabed above had collapsed, or maybe the water pressure had broken through. Either way, the serpent lay in a state both dry and wet.
The seawater hadn't flowed out of the tunnel because beneath the serpent's head sat a goblet—swallowing every drop that might otherwise have spilled forth, water that might have been dripping for five hundred years.
Perhaps not that long, judging from the scattered debris and soaked books on the ground—there must have been seawater escaping once, some time ago. Even so, it was astounding. After all, it was just a slightly oversized wine goblet.
That goblet was the Goblet of Eonothem. Its base and rim were black, its body decorated with golden patterns, and much of it was translucent like glazed crystal—allowing one to see its contents from outside.
Victor Wang crouched down to inspect it and found it already full. The goblet brimmed with deep blue liquid, perfectly level with the rim, so much that even the slightest disturbance might cause it to spill.
How much seawater did it contain? If it spilled... could he even dare to move it?
It wasn't a question of daring or not.
Taking great care, Victor Wang touched the goblet. Ripples inevitably spread across its surface, yet none of the liquid spilled. It wouldn't spill. The moment his hand met it, a strange understanding filled his mind—he now knew its name: 'Goblet of Endless Thirst.'
The instant he lifted it; the seawater above began to pour down and fill the tunnel.
Seeing this, Victor Wang immediately retreated. To prevent the water from flooding the Enkanomiya ruins below, he fell back to a safe distance and blasted a massive section of the wall, sealing off the passage completely.
Only after finishing this did he have time to examine the [Goblet of Endless Thirst] in his hands.
"Goblet, oh goblet, send me back to bed!"
No response.
"Goblet, oh goblet, send me to Keqing's house."
Still nothing.
"I knew it…"
Like [The Two Ends of Beginning and End], this wild relic displayed great power in its natural state, but once in his possession, it was almost like a different artifact—its strength nearly impossible to draw upon.
Not entirely useless, though. Upon learning its name, Victor Wang also understood its capacity and contents. Its internal space was indeed 100% full: Composed of 99% seawater, 1% sand and gravel. The items within could be taken or stored at will, and even living beings could be absorbed—essentially functioning like a massive Serenitea Pot.
The space inside was truly vast.
So vast that even surveying it through spiritual perception gave one a sense of boundless immensity.
So vast it felt capable of holding an entire nation. Unsurprisingly, it had likely once been created to carry Khaenri'ah during its great migration…
Yet, much like Sub-Space Creation, storing living beings required their consent. To contain an entire nation at once was far beyond what a single person's spiritual power could manage—other tools must have been needed to accomplish that.
One peculiarity stood out: even when its space usage reached 100%, the goblet could still accept more items. But the excess—where it ended up—no one knew.