Asimi looked at Lucian with pleading eyes and spoke up:
"My lord… the chalice…"
Right now, Asimi was extremely thirsty—a thirst that came from her very soul.
That sensation was like approaching complete desiccation, an unbearable dryness that gnawed at her constantly.
Fortunately, the silver-white chalice was right in front of her. As long as she could drink what was inside, this thirst would surely be quenched.
More than that, the liquid within the chalice, something that could be called the very origin of her birth, would allow her to undergo an even greater transformation.
"My lord, I am terribly thirsty."
"As long as you can relieve this thirst of mine and nourish me, I will be able to serve you with even greater strength."
Lucian took out the silver-white chalice and examined it for a moment.
It truly was a strange object, containing an extremely high concentration of "mystery," condensed directly into liquid form.
Even now, Lucian still could not fully understand what exactly this so-called "mystery" in the Lands Between truly was.
Yet this concept undeniably affected many things—those underground beings, for example, were clearly influenced by it.
Lucian handed the silver-white chalice to Asimi.
Earlier, when she was still in her Silver Tear form, she had been constantly wriggling, trying to get closer to the chalice.
It was obvious that she desperately wanted it.
"Here. You can have it."
However, Asimi shook her head and said to Lucian:
"My lord, my core is currently inside your body, so it will only be effective if you drink it yourself."
Lucian looked at the purple liquid inside the chalice and frowned.
"Me? You want me to drink this?"
Would it really be okay to swallow this thing?
Unlike silver tears, he didn't have an inorganic body.
Asimi nodded repeatedly.
"Yes. Please, drink it without worry."
"This is the cradle chalice of us Silver Tears."
"I will use my core to devour it. It definitely won't affect your body."
Asimi's form dispersed, returning once more into Lucian's body.
"All right, my lord... quickly, please drink it."
Lucian raised the silver-white chalice and drank all of the purple liquid in one go.
At the instant the liquid entered his mouth, Lucian felt his thoughts freeze for a brief moment, his vision plunging into profound darkness.
This sensation…
It was as though he had returned to that moment when he communed with an Outer God amid the stars.
Just as Lucian prepared to carefully sense it, everything vanished in an instant, leaving him no time for insight.
That said, it wasn't completely without effect.
The "mystery" did leave something behind within Lucian.
It seemed to slightly enhance all of his night-related sorcery, a small but unexpected gain.
Aside from that, just as Asimi had promised, it had no negative effect on his body.
Asimi guided the liquid into her core, and throughout the process, Lucian felt no discomfort at all.
Only after Asimi had fully absorbed the liquid did she begin the process of "digestion."
She slowly absorbed the power within the chalice, her core continuously contracting.
"Ah… thank you for nourishing me, my lord."
"The liquid from the chalice has eased my thirst. My core now feels an unprecedented sense of pleasure."
"Once I've completely absorbed it, I should become significantly stronger than before and be able to draw out more of your power."
Asimi quickly finished absorbing all of the liquid.
However, soon after, she let out a stunned sound:
"…Ah, how could this be…"
"I'm sorry, my lord, but I'm still very thirsty."
"Even after drinking the liquid from the chalice, it still wasn't enough."
"I thought that such a precious chalice would require only a single cup to satisfy my thirst, but it seems I need much more than that."
Seeing Asimi repeatedly mention her thirst, Lucian asked:
"This 'thirst' you keep talking about, what exactly is it?"
"If you can't relieve it, will something go wrong?"
"Earlier, before I took out the chalice, you were completely motionless."
Asimi emerged from Lucian's body and reformed her physical shape.
"My lord, I am a special creation of the Eternal City. That 'mystery' is an essential component of my birth."
"Therefore, it is indispensable to me."
"If there is no trace of 'mystery,' I lose the ability to act."
"Unfortunately, I only realized this after leaving the Eternal City and coming to the surface."
"At that time, I had already fallen into a deep slumber. If you had not taken out the chalice and replenished the aura of 'mystery,' I would not have been able to move or awaken."
"As for whether other Silver Tears are affected the same way, I do not know."
Lucian thought for a moment, then asked.
"Then while you're inside my body, if you become thirsty again, will you fall asleep too?"
Asimi pondered this, carefully examining her current condition.
"It seems that won't happen anymore. The liquid from the chalice has eliminated that flaw."
"The current thirst only causes discomfort, it no longer affects my ability to act."
Lucian nodded. Since it didn't affect her ability to act, then it wasn't a serious problem.
Asimi continued.
"That chalice is the origin of Silver Tear creation. I believe that in other 'Eternal Cities,' there should also be chalices."
"My lord, please seek out more chalices and soothe my thirst."
"If you do, I will become stronger as well, eventually able to wield power equal to yours."
"Surely, that would be even more advantageous for you."
Lucian didn't refuse. After all, this was something that needed to be done sooner or later.
Since he had already allowed Asimi to parasitize him, then naturally she had to be strengthened to the very limit.
Once fully enhanced, she would surely be able to replicate values identical to his own.
When that time came, Lucian's enemies would be facing a brutal double-team beatdown.
Asimi wasn't spirit ashes—summoning her didn't require a spirit calling obelisk nearby. She could be called out anywhere.
Just imagining that scene made Lucian almost pity his opponents.
Earlier, Asimi could probably replicate about sixty percent of his strength. Now she had improved by another ten to twenty percent, which was already quite impressive.
Once she was fully completed using the Teardrop Chalices, she should be able to unleash his full power.
And so, Lucian officially added the 'Asimi Completion Plan' to his agenda.
In any case, he already knew where those "Eternal Cities" were, it would only take a couple of trips.
The liquid inside the chalice had already been absorbed by Asimi, and there was no immediate need for her to take the field, so Lucian had her return to his body and remain on standby.
After briefly comforting Sif who looked like its toy had just been taken away, Lucian turned his gaze to Selinsax.
It was thanks to Selinsax's earlier explanations that Lucian had learned about that place which once existed in the center of the Lands Between.
Now that he had his answers, this was the perfect opportunity to tell her everything.
It would also help her understand what had happened in the Lands Between during the time she was frozen.
Lucian sat down face to face with Selinsax.
Then, following the timeline, he told her everything he currently knew.
From the founding of the Golden Order, all the way to the present day after the Shattering War—Selinsax finally gained a full picture of that history.
After Lucian finished, Selinsax shook her head.
"So that's how it was… I have to say, this situation is far more complicated than I expected."
"The annihilation of the Hornsent is quite surprising."
"I didn't have much contact with them, so I won't comment too much."
"But the structures they built were truly magnificent, completely different in style from the Eternal Cities."
"And speaking of which, for the Numen to rise again on the surface after the destruction of the Nox Dynasty… that's really impressive."
Lucian nodded in agreement.
Marika herself was a Numen, and she ultimately succeeded in founding the Golden Order.
The Carian royal family was also a branch of the Eternal lineage, you could tell just from their heraldry.
And the Moonlight Altar was even directly connected to the Eternal City of Nokstella.
Come to think of it, if Marika was a Numen, then Radagon—being her other half, must have been a Numen as well.
That meant all the demigods in the Lands Between were, in fact, of Numen blood.
Supporting her chin with one hand, Selinsax said:
"Oh right, while we're at it, let me explain the evolution of civilization in the Lands Between."
"Now's a good time to sort it all out at once."
"There's really no other way you could learn about such ancient history."
Lucian nodded. He was genuinely interested.
As Selinsax recalled the past, she spoke.
"At the very beginning, it was us ancient dragons and beasts who ruled the Lands Between. After that came the giants."
"The giants were enormous in size and incredibly powerful. As long as the ancient dragons didn't intervene, they were virtually unmatched."
"However, as the Crucible evolved, the giants' bodies continued to shrink, until they were eventually no larger than the head of their ancestors."
"With the emergence of many other lifeforms, the giants' dominion quickly came to an end."
"After that came the rise of various humanoid races."
"From the earliest Sun Realm, to the twin dynasties of Uhl and Uld—they were all extremely powerful and controlled most of the Lands Between."
"The Hornsent inherited part of Uld's legacy, which allowed them to develop as they did."
"The ancestral followers we encountered underground earlier are another remnant group with beliefs different from the Hornsent."
"They abandoned the legacy and forsook their former civilization, yet they still worshipped the horns."
"After that came the Nox Dynasty, founded by the Numen from beyond."
"While the Nox ruled underground, surface factions continued to expand."
"The Hornsent occupied vast territories, and Stormveil—supported by us ancient dragons, also held a place in the Lands Between."
"Although I remained underground, back then there should have only been two surface powers: the Hornsent and Stormveil."
"The Golden Order and the Carian royal family you mentioned didn't exist at the time, they arose later."
Lucian casually tossed two chunks of meat to the bored Sif, then patted its head.
"All right. That about clears up the history of the Lands Between."
"I still have a few things to take care of, so I'll have to trouble you to keep looking after Sif."
"Oh, and if you want to continue spreading the faith of the ancient dragons in Stormveil, you can enlist the Storm Knights to assist you."
"I've already informed my people in advance, just do things however you like."
Selinsax nodded. She had already planned to start spreading the ancient dragon faith among the Storm Knights first.
As successors to the original Storm Knights, they would be far more receptive.
Meanwhile, Lucian prepared to return to the Academy, now known as Hogwarts to finish up the remaining matters.